The Lexington intelligencer., 1904-05-07
The Reign OF LawIessness.

The Reign OF LawIessness.
The natural, inevitable consequence
Of blind and unbrldled greed for both
capital and labor, the real fruits of the
lawlessness practiced by both employer
and employee in our modern industrial
conflict are shown givldly in an article
on the labor struggle in Colorado in the
May McCime's BY Ray Stannard Baker
MI Baker writes his moving story OF
this industrial var under the heading
.The Reign Of Lawlessness, and
such indeed It appears Indeed almost
might it be called . reign of terror for
the citizens of Colorado.
Clearly, concsey Mr. Baker de-
scribes The condiuons leading MP toll
and resulting from the great miner's
strike n Colorado. Loss Of lite sup
preston of free speech, ruinauon OF.
business, destruction Of property
violation Of law, prostitution otjastioe
corruption Of law-making bodies and
public officials, finally in sections the
absolute breakdown of democracy and
reversion to military despotism are all
graphically pictured as the fruits OF
the lawlessness which both parties to
the struggle have practlced. Capital
and labor in Colorado have both sewed
the wind and are reaping the whirl-
wind. The garnering of such har-
vest may well stop thinking men,
Disregard and contemp of law bring
government without law, despotism or
anarchy.
The strike itself, with its causes snd
effects, makes dramatic and power
ful story and the reader feels all thu
storm and stress OF the fierce battling
Of giant forces in Mr.. Bakers descrip
tion. 1t is tragedy 10 substance ant
import, made up not only of the in
dividual tragedies of miner and min
operator whose lives have paid the for
felt for their fidelity to their causes
but tragedy Of business, tragedy Q
society, and, saddest of all, TRACED
of democracy.
Out of all this have grown bitterness
hatreds and distrust which are fairl
rending great state. And the heaV
est part of the burden falls not on Law
less capital nor on lawless labor, bI
on the honest, hard-working, respec
able American citizens, who apparen
" innocent victims, are yet in part T
sponsible for such conditions throut
! their own failure to better them.
One appalling feature OF the stu
/ tion is the partisanship of courts al
public officials in the controveri
4 Reviewing this, Mr.. Baker puts
} timely question "Are we then Deco
ing so much unionists, so much G.
porationists that we forget we
I American citizensP Are our own /
! yate or class interests absorbing
I allegiance SO strongly that we for
D our broad, national, state and G.
! duties2n
Getting down to fundamental pI
ciples, the condition in Colorado
that the people have broken the
and are being punished for it.
the long run the law gets itself exc
ed, inevitably, mercilessi. not
the ordinary machinery ol the c
officials, then by the extraordiI
machinery Of martial rule" The
sponsibility Mr.. Baker would place
7 every voter. The remedy also lie
the voters hands, and 1t Is the
ton to Office OF honest men who
enforce the law, not union men
corporation men, but Americans.
Lawlessness IS not cheap and
haps the cost and punishment 1t
entalled will be sufficient to shake
people Of Colorado and Of the col
nom their indolent indifference
Bakers vigorous article will cert
10 its part in that arousing. =