Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-31
PEACEFUL SELECTION OF LABOR
TROUBLES.

Of the forces had made preparations for
a protracted struggle and the extremists
in both camps were clamoring for a
war of determination. Had these radi.
Gals had their way Omaha would have
witnessed bloody riots followed by mar
tial law and interminable strife, coupled
with losses on both sides a~ggregating
hundreds Of thousands, If not millions,
Of dollars.
Fortunately for Omaha and Nebraska,
pacific councils prevailed and the hot
heads who wanted to meet force with
force were compelled to give way to the
men who advocated a peaceful adjust
ment Of the labor troubles. While the
tirul and prudent course pursued by the
civil authorlties-the mayor, chief of
police and sheri1-have been highly
commended, the daily press, which from
the outset opposed a resort to force and
counseled moderation and Cancellation,
has incurred the displeasure Of not only
the men who were thirsting for gore,
but of business men who under ordi-
nary conditions are ~level-headed and
cl~ear-sighted.
These people could not comprehend
why the advertising patrons of the
Omaha dailies should not be able to en-
list the support of the press for their
side of the controversy. These good
people seem to be oblivious of the fact
that the Omaha dailies had just as
much at stake in the prosperity and
growth of Omaha as any other interest
in Omaha and were just as deeply con-
cerned in the outcome as any other
commercial interest. But n great many
people In Omaha, as in every other
community, know better how to con-
duct a newspaper than the men who
have brought a lifetime training to the
task. For the benefit of this class of
the disaffected The Bee ventures to re-
print editorials that have appeared in
the st. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City
papers during the recent labor troubles
in those cities.
Taking, for example, Kansas City,
where more than 1000 men were on a
strike and the class of the wage work
crs engaged in the conflict was very
much the same as in Omaha, we find
the Kansas City Journal of Commerce,
the organ of the retailers and jobbers
of that city, in its issue of May % MAX
ing the following appeal:
A fearful condition ~confronts the bust
ness interests of Kansas City. Every day
the clouds are growing blacker. The storm
is gathering strength and the most pitiful
circumstances may bring on a period of
Industrial war. An Industrial war means
hell. The closing down of factories, the
boycott, the lockout-all mean fearful
losses to the merchants. When wages stop
the buying power OF the workman ceases.
The retail merchant thus becomes the un-
willing victim to the man who is slaugh-
tered in the contest.
His labor of years may be DESTROYED al
most in the twinlling of an eve. The re-
ward Of his brain and savings are scattered
TO the winds. Shall Kansas City follow
In line with Denver, Omaha, st. louis,
Chicago and other cities? Shall retailers
stand idly by and see their business ;ar-
alyzed and crushed and raise no hand tc
end this carnage? There is time vel
to avert t~his-quick action is necessary
Both sides have rights and both sides have
reasonable conservative men who will wei.
come the power that averts the Threatened
storm, Let the Retail Merchants associa-
ton act at once. Let the Real Estate ex
change and Manufacturers exchange joir
with 1t. Act together and provide a plar
by which you will not have your business
slaughtered TO crafty the vengeance Of
two warning elements. Let not an insane
desire to rule-by either side-be allowed t.
p~aralyzs our business interests.
When the first cloud appeared in tbs
sky above st. Louis the Globe Demo
crat made an earnest appeal for a pa
cifc solution of the threatening conflict
which closed as follows:
There is room for employers associations
and they are capable of great usefulness 1
wisely planned and c~onservatively man
aged. IT would in every instance be a mis-
take, however, to model them on trade
union lines or TO launch them with procIa
nations open 10 criticism or the score o
insincerity. That some initial mistakes will
be made in these respects is probable, In
deed. some have been made already. DIpio
macy will serve the purposes of employer
much better than fighting; to do what 4
right and just and generous is a much NOR
useful reputation than that OF desiring L
, conquer peace by lighting for It.
/ The Chicago dailies have pursued tn
same pacific course regardless Of al
} pressure from advertising patrons. onl.
? three days ago the Inter Ocean, whicl
has never beer accused of Partially t
strikers or organized labor generally
had this to say:
When one side to a labor controversy re
fuses the petition Of the other side for arbi
tration the natural Inference Is that III
| side refusing doubts the justice of its con
J tention. 1t is the side which feels that 1t
l demands are just that naturally seeks AT
bitration. for arbitration means an apes
from force TO justice. When one side re
] fuses to arbitrate the public thinks, natu
rally enough, that justice is with the othe
' side. Labor unions cannot succeed great
without public opinion. They have sue
ceeded as we'll as they have because the
have so far generally carried the publ
with them. They have generally done 5
Q because they have usually been willing an
anxious to give their case publicity by Al
bitrating II. Their employers, on the othe
D hand. have more frequently been reluotsr
J. to do so. They have said arbitration NEAR