New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-18
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY s0f~A~
THE CAUSE OF LABOR.
# Book,by a We'll Knosrn american
4gitdtOr.

TIE STORY OF LABOR AGITATION. By 10
seph r. Buchanan limo, pp n. %el The out
look Company
In dealing with his experiences as a public
speaker Mr.. Buchanan tells Of incident at
Denver mass meeting called to protest against
the award OF a contract for the construction OF
the State Capitol to a firm which employed the
convicts in the penitentiaries of Nebraska and
Illinois Though not particularly significant in
the progress Of his efforts as labor leader it IS
typical OF those qualities OF readiness, alertness
and daring that won him the confidence Of vast
bodies Of workingTnen- The protest was init
ated by organized labor. and was concurred IN
almost unanimously by leading business men,
capitalists. professional men and the press.
Among the other speakers at the meeting were
two former Governors of the State. the pres-
dent Of a national bank, the chairman Of the
Board OF Trade a prominent merchant, three
clergyrnen and two labor representatives. While
the speeches showed sympathy for the honest
Colorado workingman," the agitator's mind was
busy searching for the colored gentleman be-
hind the woodpile." BY the time his turn came
he thought he had found the explanation. and he
set it forth:
That was about all there was TO my speech.
but. judging by the row il made. that was
enough The truth Of the matter was that the
ex-goVernors and other capitalists who were
oTsdo WoTkingmen, owned the rock quarries- the
iron mines and mills and the railroads which
operated between these sources OF building sup
plies and Denver. where the Capitol was to be
erected. While the lips of these gentlemen were
singing the praises Of free" labor and our
honest Workingmen at home" and depicting the
horrors of erecting capitol building for the
great State Of Colorado with the labor Of slaves
in striped apparel, their minds were busy fig
uring on the profits that would get away from
them IL the contract went TO outsiders. At any
rate, the case appeared to me. and so l de-
4l,-4 a.rzF 1rcffix -alNP
rude TO say those things in the presence Of the
gentlemen, especially in such blunt fashion, but
I WAS not feeling we'll enough that day to soar
aloft and take in the situation at long range or
to sugar coat unpleasant words: besides, at my
doctors orders. my time was short. so 1 just
spoke the truth as saw it
The trait of audacity, as read in Mr..
Buchanan's informal and interesting reminis-
cences. not confined in operation TO contests
and conferences with 1.-THE enemy" He did not
hesitate TO oppose the dearest hopes Of his as
sociates when this seemed wise, and OF the big
strikes in which his services were involved
those apparently that were not undertaken with
out his advice were discouraged by him. for rea-
which. IN the individual instances, he tried
20 show were sufficient. He put out of the
labor association to whose rapid growth in the
West he had largely contributed. the knights
OF Labor. for his strenuous opposition to its
later policy. espoused personally by the General
Master Workman. the course OF making MEM
bershlp in the order incompatible with labor
union afflliatiOn-
The struggles Of Mr.. Buchanan 10 maintain an
organ Of radical social thought for his rather
unrespensive labor audience make an interesting
tale. The excitement and extravaganza Of con-
duct in the early Denver mining strike are in his
description picturesque and absorbing. He tells
us of his speech AT monster San Francisco
meeting, in which he answered a perplexing re-
guest from an auditor for a plan Of instant re-
lief for the unemployed by anticipating, with
the sudden inspiration Of cornered orator. the
conception carried out some years afterward in
THE Chicago Enquirer a labor newspaper,
which the Editor of the little Denver Enquirer
was invited to direct. We read here also of the
rad attempts TO secure reversal Of sentence on
appeal, and, falling that. executive pardon for
the men convicted Of participation IN the Hay
market bomb throwing. Mr.. Buchanan tells a
story we'll. though often copiously He makes
frequent quotations from his speeches and from
the files OF his newspapers and renders his mar
rative personally vivid with the recital of con-
versations and discussions rather than the bare
radical development, and lean toward a social
revolution without force He so rarely onits
names and exact details, and his survey OF la
bor organization is so Illuminating an account
from the standpoint OF an active participant
that his book can hardly fail TO be welcome and
valuable TO students Of recent industrial and
economic history.