Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-07-28
PARRY SCORES UNIONS
President of National Manu-
facturers' Association Crit
icizes Organized Labor
DRIFT OF PUBLIC THOUGHT
DRIFT OF PUBLIC THOUGHT
Refers to the Constitution as an Unsafe
BuIwark to the Liberties Of Capital
ists-Also Scores Proposed nvestisa.
ton and Publicity Bill, and Pays
Respects to Strikes.

New York, July 2s.-D. NJ. Parry,
president of the National Association
OF Manufacturers, spoke before the
Furniture Dealers Association con-
vention here last night. He devoted
much of his address to union labor.
Organized labor, the speaker said,
was laying claims to rights Of sover-
eighty, that have not often been eX-
ercised by the most despotic govern
ments. Its entire warfare is being con-
the country to acknowledge that it pos
sesses the right to say % that no man
shall work without its consent and ca
no industry shall be operated without
its consent. He cited number of
strikes for the purpose of Illustration
and then said: ''The usurpation of
such powers by irresponsible and ig-
norant men bids fair to bring about
such unbearable conditions that crisis
sometimes seems fast approaching in
which 1t Will be decided whether this
country shall be handed over to the
agitators, or whether the latter shall be
relegated to the oblivion Of private ex
istence, discredited and powerleSs to
work further evil. Already you can dis
Germ the handiwork OF the compromiser
who, calling himself a peacemaker,
seeks to have the country grant to or
ganized labor, partial recognition oil
those rights of sovereignty which IL.
a NTay In, ny, q
peared to believe that compromise II,
the sum and substance of political wis
dom, but in my humble opinion, this;
country is either going to have individ.
ual freedom, or it is not. 1t took cen.
turtles of struggle to establish this lib.
erty, of the individual, and now we
are asked to abandon 1t at the be-.
hest of lot of so-calleu business
agents, who have rightly earned the
title of social brigands.
There is no safe dependence to be
placed In the action of legislators
whose political life is dependent TO
some degree upon the labor votes. Ev-
en- the constitution of the country does
not appear to be a sufficient bulwaik
for our liberties, and while the majority
of the Judiciary is in the main stalld,-
ing firm, our judges are being sul'-
jected to such serious attacks That
there is serious thought of
a counter organization to that of or
ganized labor. for the purpose of cor
recting public thought, giving moral
support to men who want to do what
they know to, be right, without endan-
gering their political life for the DE-
Tending of the constitution, and for the
of industrial welfare and
the happiness of the
whole people.
Mr.. Parry then cited the proposed In
vestigation and publicity bin as an in
dication of what he regarded as the
dangerous drift of public thought in
this country. He explained the purpose
OF the bill as being that of government
of labor difficulties thru
commissions appointed by the presi-
dent.
IA more atrocious piece Of legisla-
ton said the speaker, has not been
suggested for some time. The bin Ds-
tensively asserts the superior sovar-
eighty OF the government over the SOW
ereignty claimed by organized iator,
but by implication 1t recognizes the
right Of the unions to shut down fac
tories, and to deny to men the natural
right to work 1t goes further. Il
provides means whereby the govern
ment can supplement the efforts OF the
unions. The unions say that they Jos
sess the wisdom to fix the rate. of
wages off hand; but the bill says In eff
feet, that this is not scientific; that
it should be first ascertained whether
the proposed wage would bankrupt en-
ployers. The logical results of such
legislation would be the multiplication
of the demands of organized labor, and
as public opinion would not be able
to bring It's force to bear on all cases,
it would be the precursor OF compul-
sorry arbitration, for when the recon-
of the commissions proved
ineffective the government would be
asked to step in to compel their en-
forcement. AS an entering wedge for
socialism the publicity bill would serve
very well.'
Mr.. Parry also gave few OF his
of strikes, saying that
they We're violent attempts to over
ride natural law and that the only
thing they succeeded in doing was to
and lower the rates of real wages. They
are marked by outrages on persona.
liberty, by murderous assaults by de-
fiance of organized authority. by black
mail and by displays of the basest pas
sions of men. The leaders of organ
lied labor proudly claim that there
were but eight murders committed in
the anthracite district on account of
strike, only four OF which
the leaders say, can be justly laid at
the door OF organized lahor-only four.
Thus the claim is made that organized
labor does not sympathize with crime
and violence. But I would like TO ask
these deluded men if any one OF these
have been avenged by the law. |
Suppose that the Catholic church or
or the Odd Fellows should
commit four murders to advance the
alleged purposes of their organization.
What a wave of protest would go up
il even one murder was committed by
such an organization.