Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-19
ALL SIDES OF THE STRIKE.


vorces in Omaha seem to be residing on
Easy street
Fremont Tribune: The Bee gives some
excellent advice to both sides Of the labor
controversy in Omaha, that It will be wise
to heed. It sensibly admonishes both to
think well before bringing themselves to an
| irreconcilable position. 1t points out the
destructive effects to fiow from a stubborn
and long drawn-out struggle between two
wellnigh irresistible forces.
Tilden Citizen: While as a rule strikes
are accompanied by disorder and often by
bloodshed, It is noteworthy that no serious
| disturbance has marked the disagreement
| of Omaha employers and employees Each
side has however, invoked the aid Of the
local courts and this fact in itself shows
a wholesome and reasonable regard for
| law that justines one in the belief that the
differences leading up to the strike will be
adjusted without recourse 20 violence.
Columbus Telegram: In asking the court
| for an injunction against their employers
the union men of Omaha made a mistake.
| OF course we grant the workman much
| right to use the injunction as has any
| employer, but our contention is that the
laborers should not dignity the injunction
| business by taking advantage of it. The
/
out sanction of law, save that unclean and
criminal thing known as court-made law.
| Government by Injunction is wholly wrong
| in principle. This has been and is the con-
| tention Of all intelligent labor leaders. In
| asking the court for an injunction the
| labor forces in Omaha have done much to
break down their own protest against that
| evil
Arcadia Champion: The labor disturb
ances Of Omaha are Of more than passing
| interest to us in this locality, because Of
its proximity, and because that is our chief
jobbing center. 1t is a good object lesson
| as to what labor troubles are, and show
mighty plainly what they could be.
Whether they are right or not is question
that we are unable to answer. because
1t generally depends on a mans environ
ments that makes right TO his mind and
| conscience. If we were a capitalist we
would doubtless say that they are entirely
| wrong, and II we were among the class of
wagelearners we would doubtless see it
the other way. There ought to be some
| medium by which our two great elements,
| capital and labor, could peacehbly and per-
| manently combine, for mutual and general
good.
York Times: Nobody is SO directly in
terested in the growth of a town as the
mechanics and it requires no philosophy to
| see that they subserve their own interests
more than any others by fostering and en-
couraging building, by making it easy to
build and occasioning no unnecessary an
noyance and expense. But in Omaha
soon as man loosens up and gives them
| job they treat him as a mortal enemy and
seek by every possible means TO make him
all the unnecessary trouble and expense
they can. They strike because they do not
! like the boss and they strike because the
boss is discharged, they strike because a
man is laid off and they strike because a
man is put on. They strike because a lock.
! is bought at an unfair store and they
strike because 1t was brought to the build
| ing by "scab' and If there is no other.
possible excuse they strike because some
one else has struck in New Orleans or San
Francisco. or because the turkey pickers
are out on a strike in their own town. II
they would fix a price on their work and
the number of hours they wanted to put in,
and then go ahead and put up building
as quickly and cheaply as they could so
that men would know what they could and
what they could not do. they could have as
short day as they wanted and almost any
wages they were mind to ask, and Omaha
would commence to move up to the aspiring
cities of the west. They have carried the
strike weapon far beyond the limit and
made 1t ridiculous in the eyes Of sensible
people.
| O'Neill Frontier: on the question of the
! recognition Of the union II might at this
! time be fairly considered as the leading
question IN the controversy and on this
| point there is room for a wide difference
| of opinion by honest people In the matter
of the unions managing the business of the
firms where they receive recognition It is
! only fair at this time to state that for more
than twenty years without a break The
Omaha Bee has recognized the unions in
! all It's mechanical departments, but no one
believes that the printers. pressmen and
| stereotypers of Omaha run" The Omaha
| Bee The World-Herald and the News
| never got out an edition of their paper that
| was not got out by union men that were
! recognized but no one supposes that the
| unions run" these great institutions. There
| is not a printing establishment in Omaha
| and has not been for years that did not
! recognize the union that their employees
, affiliated with. There are several hundred
| cigar makers in Omaha and every factory
| in existence there has been recognizing the
! cigar makers union for more than fifteen
years, yet no one has charged that the
union has run" the cigar factories The
cigar makers union has within its men,
| bership, generally speaking most Of the
! country. and. having in their treasury
nearly 100000 which could be called on as
| a strike fund, they have had but little
| trouble of late years, Without going into
| details further, suffice II to say that fully
| one-half, or more, Of the successful busi-
ness institutions of the city of Omaha are
| operated by firms that have recognized
union labor, and. under the circumstances
It appears to us that the great bugaboo
of recognition that has been raised by the
Business Mems association is really more
Of the nature Of a scarecrow than what It
would appear on first sight.