The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-06-25

America ito worship God according to their con-
| science and make everybody else do the same AS
soon they found they were free to practice helr
religion in their own way, they proceeded to hang
| Quakers and drive out of their community every
body who did not exactly coincide with their pecul-
lar views. So with these labor unions. They hrst
organize to secure their rights and liberties and
then proceed to prosecute and Kill every 1eHo"
workman who dares to differ with them
You refer in your editorial to the dynamltlnG OF
a depot platform at Independence upon which a
number of non-union men were standing ana WHO
were blown into thousand pieces, ana you very
properly express horror at the act. 1t VIII hardF
be claimed that the mine owners did this, because
these were the men who were willing to work 1t
viii hardly be claimed that the military authorlles
did it. because these were the men they were there
to protect from violence The only other element
involved was the labor union. 1t was a slgnlhcant
fact that at the time of the explosion there were
no union men on the platform, although there had
been but few moments before This tact taken
in connection the fact that other non-unlon men
had been assaulted and killed by union men during
the struggle, that photographs of men marked 1or
assassination had been discovered III the union
headquarters 1t looks very much as II the union
had hand Ill it.
These non-union men were not engaged III vlo-
lating the law. They we're peaceable, laW-abldlDS
citizens merely asking from their fellow workmen
the poor privilege of working and earning their
daily bread; and the response from these fellow
worbnen was blast of dynamite. hurting them into
the presence of their Maker without moments
warming
There is such thing as pressing weak human
nature beyond the bearable point, as you SO forc-
bly, express it. When this wholesale assassination
took place following the heels of individual as
sassnations the citizens of the community rose Ell
masse-a classes, grocers, butchers, bakers, shoe
makers doctors. lawyers-every man who had lett
in him particle of manhood, and determined to
rid the community forever of the murderouS gang
+l,o 1rhn
those whom they believed implicated, they
loaded them OIL train and carried them TO a point
near the state line of Kansas, and put them OF with
orders never to back to the state OF Colorado
The parting salute of rifle shots over their heads,
intended to enforce the injunction, and which you
shudder,at was more harmless than the parting
Lutte of dynamite which these same "exiles' gave
the helpless unodendlng nonunlon men on the plat
form That dynamite salute did not go over their
heads but through their heads and their hearts,
leaving them shapeess corpses. with helpless wld-
ows and orphans to mourn their untimey end.
1t is true that the deported murderers should
have been given the food which had been provided
bv the authorities for them and the leaving Of them
without such food wrong: but so far as report
ed not one of them died, and they we're given much
more of chance for life than they gave the poor,
unfortunate victims on the depot platform.
CONSTANT READER
We give space to the above communication, be-
know. is sincere and honest. We do not see how
the writer applies the editorial to which application
he objects. He tells of the rights of union labor
to organize if they so desire, and of union la
Dor being entitled to their liberty if they did not
sec fit to join the union. This the lntermountain
Catholic has always maintained and has been the
first to condemn lawessness on the part strikers.
No loyal law-abiding citizen endorses the action
of union men preventing non-union men from work
ing "The union men," the writer>says, "claim the
right not only to quit work themselves, but to COM
pei their fellow worlnen to quit" The latter claim
is wrong, and we doubt if it will be found in the
bylaws of the organization of union labor We
proceed: "The non-union men Z are as
saulted beaten and in many cases killed. etc.
This again. we repeat, is wrong and the guilty par
ties should be punished
"The employers were not endeavoring to compel
the union men to go to work. etc. This and what
follows brings out the whole trouble, which the
writer turns upon the union. "1'he employers rec
ognized the rights of the union to quit work
if they saw it." A gracious condescension! Did
they also recognize the will of the people calling for
eight hours as legal work day! On this point,
which was the real bone of contention and the first
OF dlScontent, our correspondent Is NUE.
We're the rich mine owners and smelling trust JUS
titled in defeating the will of the people, Why con-
ceal the real cause and shoulder "the fighting and
rioting on the workmcn themselves? Surprising
100000 votes In a state, and that $4,000 of these
votes were cast for the establishment of certain
law and the ill of the majority defeated by the
power and influence of a small minority. Would
there not be cause for discomfort On this point
the Detroit Free Press has this TO say:
Until Colorado goes to the root of the evil and
elects a Legislature that will make effective the
eight-hour law which the people of the state en-
dorsed overwhelmingly at the polls, there will be
trouble and the striking miners will feel that they
have support IN their grievances if not in the
shameful measures of vengeance that some of the
perverted ones have taken. But Governor Peabody
and the Mine Owners association are much to
blame for the deaths of those non-unon miners as
the strikers or criminals who placed the mine"
There is no effect without cause, and it is to
the Oppression" of the miners the Columbus Press
Post attributes the troubles That paper says:
"Lawlessness is always the result of oppression
on the part Of somebody, and if the history of the
rao,, of terror in Colorado Is nroperlv understood