The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-09-11

trial locusts of the old world by wise and
discriminating laws which shall do injus-
tice to none, and which, while indicating
our ancient hospitality as a worldwide
asylum for the lovers of liberty md inde-
pendence, shall shut out the swarm of
mere mercenaries and the Understandable
elements" which other lands seek to
thrust upon MS, from whatever quarter
they may come.
Labors next great affllction Is to be
found in the absurd and tyrannical de-
mands made by some labor unions
which seems to have the suicidal policy
OF antagonizing capital at all times and
under all pretexts and of widening the
breach between capital and labor. with
the result that labor itself is the heaviest
sufferer through tneir insane follies. The
most brutal tyrant the southern negro
knew in antebellum days was not the
white man. but the negro himself who
was made the oyerseer of the plantation.
In the same way In many cases the most
brutal tyrant the laboring man has today
is not the capitalist, but the walking
delegate" or the mercenary political
trickster who, as a laboring man, manip-
ulates the executive committees which
govern the labor unions for their own
ruin. OF course this indictment in not
universal in its application. There are
many honest and upright and benehcent
labor organizations, like that of which
the late Mr.. Arthur was president-name-
ly, the Brotherhood of Locomotive En-
gineers. Mr.. Arthur brought that or
ganlzation up to such perfection that 1t
not only looked after the interest of the
owners of the different railroads, but
after the interests of the engineers them
selves There are many clear Drained.
sagacious and noble minded labor leaders
whose object is not to dsorganize the
labor market, but to steady 1t, so that
employers as well as the employed may
have their due. 81 do not believe in
strikes for the laboring man." said Ter
ence V. Powderly few months ago.
ut Is true we had some when | was at
the head of the knights of Labor, but we
settled 100 labor disputes without strikes.
Indeed. I might say we prevented over
LOCO strikes" Yet. strange to say. where
there has been one able and sagacious
leader whose chief object seemed to have
been to make every man do his honest
quota of work and get h. just pay there
have been many whose chief object has
been to find out how little they can per-
nit a laborer to do and how much they
can make an employer pay without liter
ally breaking his back. Such men are
an incubus on LABOR Like the Old Man
of the Sea, who sat on the neck of Sind
bad, they sit heavily upon the working
mans shoulders. Impeding his progress
and involving him in endless disputes and
trouble. The sooner he rids himself of
such incumbrance the better.
Like Marie Antoinette.
Now, my laboring friends, mark you
this. l am not claiming that capital is
all right and labor is all wrong | think
some of the most merciless men in the
world are to be found In the ranks of
capitalists. Some of them will sqeeze out
of a worker his last drop of blood. Some
of them have no more sympathy with the
hunger and poverty of the worker than
Marie Anto.nette lad with the suffering
of poor Paris when she heard the cry Of
the mobs: Give us read We must have
breadn why said the shallow Drained
French queen to one of her attendants
do they ask for bread? If they have no
bread why dom they eat cake?" But,
while capital in some instances may be
merciless, ii Is quite certain that II the
labor unions will stop their petty bicker-
ings and their unjustitiable tyrannies and
unitedly demand What is right capital
will be compelled TO yield to all of labor s
just demands. So long IS labor persists
in making absurd claims just so long will
labor not only be refused such demands,
bu labor Will lose much of what she
Wien a labor union comes and says,
Capitalist. sou must nire the men send
to you and no Others" then the capital
list, stung by such tyranny. replies:
Rather than have you dictate to me
what l shall 10 1 will fight your organi-
cation to the last dollar. My forefathers
died on Lunker Hill and at Valley Forge
for liberty Free / was born, free |
shall live, and free I shall die" 1t Is
flint against steel and Is the inevitable re-
suit of such a course of action. This is
the spirit with which capital Is today
fighting labor when labor makes absurd
and unjust demands.
But | would speak also In reference to
another great affliction from which labor
today is suffering. | allude not to the
competition of American labor with the
foreign hordess but to that unnatural
an ever-increasing competition between
GU American boys and their American
sisters In the labor market Brothers
struggle for bread in competition with
sisters: fathers compete with their own
daughters. Now. knowJthe few words
THAI am going to spfak will not be