The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-03-04
Mr.. M'EWEN ON ANARCHY
Labor Asitator Talks to An Audience
at Mankato Theatre.
He Gives the Trusts and Combinations
Some Hard Raps.
But Lauded the Labor Trust With
Equal Force.
The Speaker Took a Hopeful View
of the Future.
From Fridays Daily.

Four hundred people, principally of the
working classes but containing some
of all conditions, gather
ed in the Mankato Theatre last night
to listen to the long expected lecture of
William E. McEwen of Duluth, secretary
and treasurer of the State Federation of
Labor and editor of The Labor World.
1t was public meeting, free and open
to everybody and was managed under
the auspices of the Trades and Labor
Council of Mankato Mr.. McEwen was
introduced by Garfield Morrison, secre-
tary of the council, who remarked that
the great question of the day with regard
to labor was: ''Why does not the la
borer share in the prosperity that CAPT
tai enjoys?"
Mr. McEwen said in part:
''When looking for the anarchist we
are too wont to think of the kind pic
tured in the comic magazines. Where
there is one anarchist in ditch or at
a bench, there is 100 in Wall street.
What is anarchy? A philosophical an
archist once told me that if man ever
reached period in civilization where he
was capable of doing wrong he could
live in state of anarchy with the ut
most pleasure.
"The Standard Dictionary defines an
archy: AS utter disregard for govern
ment. The American plutocratic defini-
ton is: "a state of lawlessness, where
utter disregard is shown for the laws
of community
"'If this definition is accepted then we
are living in the very midst of anarchy,
in its most dangerous form.
ct not only prevails in labor riots in
the large cities, but it tarries in the most
inner circles of Wall street, where it is
capable of doing the most harm. 1t
fingers in legislative halls, and occupies
seats of honor, therein. 1t pollutes
executive chambers, in some instance,
and defantly flaunts it's red flag at
pleading populace. What is anarchy!
Organization of trusts in restraint of
trade, literally and morally in viola
ton of state and national laws is anar-
chy.
Importing boards of undesirable i'm
migrants to this country during per-
iods of industrial activity, or at any
time, when it is known that immigration
laws are being violated is anarchy.
organizing mammoth corporations
with one part capital, and with from
three to four parts water, and COM
polling them to pay dividend of from
7 to 10 per cent on the total capitaliza-
ton, which is equal to an annual earn
ing of from 25 to IS per cent on the &C
tual investing, and in order to secure
this labor is compelled to work for less
than living wage, and helpless pub
lie is forced to pay almost prohibitive
prices for it's proudcts, is anarchy.
"Bequeathing one million dollars to a
church or educational institution, and
then arbitrarily raising the price of oil
the poor mans light-to make it up,
is anarchy, because no just law, stat
utary or moral permits it.
Fighting coal miner who is strugg-
ling for a wage, and working conditions
in keeping with his growing intelligence
on one hand, and under the pretense that
there is a scarcity of coal, arbitrarily
raises its price, compelling thousands
of poor people in the large cities to act
ually freeze to death, and extorting from
a helpless public millions of dollars an
nually, at time too, when it is least
able to bear such extortion, and then to
cap the climax of the crimes for which
they are guilty to brazenly declare that
by Divine Right they own and operate
the coal mines of America is anarchy in
its worst and most dangerous form.
Taking little children from five to
twelve years of age, from the home and
the school; denying them the sweet lib
erty of childhood, and placing them amid
the whirl and buzzing of discordant ma
chinery-turning their very life blood
into gold, as is done in the cotton mills
of new south, is anarchy of the most
disgraceful type.
Through ignorance and false leader
ship labor has in some instances violat-
ed the law. 1t is not general, however.
Every time that it does occur the
daily press never fails to make mention
of it, and the strong arm of the law
very righteously is brought down upon
it. They lose most who lose the friend
ship of the law. No righteous cause
needs to resort to lawlessness to gain
victory. With but few exceptions, wher-
ever labor has violated the law it has suf-
fered ignominious defeat. Let us profit
by the experience of the past. If par
TALLY is shown to some violaters of the
law, let us not ask it. Let us be content
with justice for all. Let us not only de-
mand it, but work necessarily for it.
"There is that violation of law that is
permitted to occur without interference.
1t is just an additional form of anar-
chy.
'Defrauding the government out of
| thousands of acres of valuable timber