Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1903-08-20
ON ORGANIZED LABOR.
Vice President Kidd, Of the A. F. Of
L., Speaks In Favor of Unions.
UNIONS DENOUNCED BY DAVID PARRY.
The President Of the Manufacturer As
ISOLATION Declares That Organized Ia
Dor Socks By Force to Override In
dividual RiRhts,


can Federation Of Labor. opened the
discussion at the mob conference on
"The Labor Unions and the Mob
Spirit" He asserted the leaders in la
Dor riots were usually recent converts
to unionism, flushed with the posses
sion Of power. One explanation Of
riots advanced by him was that thou.
sands Of workingmen have been en-
Uttered by conditions Of their child
hood and their experiences in later
life with the company store and the
other ethics Of greed and power ar
rayed against them have made them
more desperate. Mr.. Kidd insisted,
however, that the percentage of riots
in labor troubles was very small, say
ing that records Of $4,000 strikes in
seven years show less than one per
cent. attended by riots. He did not
believe Mr.. Parry correctly represent
ed the employers of the country.
The employment Of detectives and
agents who excite the men to violence,
said Mr.. Kidd, places much RESPONSE
bility upon certain employers. Organ
lied labor, said he, was not RESPONSE
BILE, for the employment Of private po-
lice during the anthracite strike, for
the whitecapping Of miners in Colo
RADIO nor for the riots at Danville and
Evansville. The lawlessness of the
few, he insisted, should not obscure
the good citizenship Of the majority
of trade unionists. To properly con-
duct" unions to please the employers
would make them valueless to the
workmen. The employer claims the
right to conduct his own business and
the union insists upon the right to
pass judgment upon conditions under
which the work is done.
David M. Parry, president Of the
association, was to
have delivered his address on "The
Mob Spirit in Organized Labor" in I
the morning, but he was delayed and I
did not arrive here until the after I
noon. Mr.. Kidd was to have followed
him, but the schedule was upset and
Mr.. Kidd spoke first. However, he
was supplied with summary of the
remarks Mr.. Parry purposed to make
and 80 was able to some extent to an
icipate the points made.
Mr.. Parry's speech in the afternoon
vas an arraignment Of organized la y
,or in his usual vein and ELECTED much Z
applause. He said in part: 8
"In this country in the last year n
here have been many mobs of differ
mt kinds, but to my mind the most q
angerous of them is the mob of organ u
zed labor. No man, l take 1t, can OBJ q
oct to any kind of an association, la d.
or or other, which is organized for u
awful and beneficent purposes, but or u
anized labor, as 1t is conducted to- n'
az, stands convicted by its own lead ~
rs as a lawless organization. In that 10
seeks by force to override individ- lie
al rights and its continually railing a..
yainst the laws and denouncing courts W
nd public officials for enforcing these .e
WIS, 1t fulflls all the requirements 90
the definition of mobocracy. Unlike So
10 lynching bees and the vigilance VI
1t is what might be termed ",
standing mob, under fair discipline GU
; Its officers, and ready upon occasion
commit the overt acts Of outrage
ID destruction which are the outward r.
anifestation of the mob spirit. 1t de-
,res in effect that Its will is superior
customs, traditions, government ,
gulations and even the constitution -
the country. 1t asserts that the in $50
7idual has no inherent rights that -.
mot be taken from him and that, xo
srefore, It has the right to say that w., w
man shall work and that no Indus ~.
shall run without Its consent In 70,
attempt to compel a recognition of o." GU
pretentions to sovereignty It relies ~
! on reason, but upon coercion, in IN
lidation and the bludgeon. In Its ny
ltinual preachments against law and .ue
constant appeal to the baser pas s sui'
ms of men, It is doing more than MI M '
? other agency to inculcate the mob guy
rit and to encourage unfurling Of wv
ieu HAe - ~AN- mil,
7 ANNED m pEJEASE HIM