Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1905-11-09
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Law and Order, or What?

to the laborer. A company has no
more moral right to refuse a man work
because he belongs to the o. M. w, of
A., than if he belonged to either one
of the leading political parties, or any
other organization.
The State and nation each grant
charters to the miners's organization,
this being fact, it is not proper to
style those who belong to this organic
alton as being lawless element and
an immoral communion, but such is
daily being perpetrated, and ostensibly
in the name and pretensive spirit of
law and order. / have heard criticisms
rendered against the promiscuous
shooting by the non-union men at
Whitwell, and heard answers from
their sympathizers expressed in this
language: Well, it was not the union
and it don't amount to anything. OF
course its all right for non-union
man to shoot, but all wrong for UNI
ion man to fire a gun.
hold that a, non union man is just
as amenable to the law as union man.
Yet on one occasion in the town of
Whitwell we had several union men
prosecuted for shooting when the proof
showed when Investigated, that the
company's employees did shoot numbers
of times over into town where inno-
cent citizens lived and some of their
houses were struck, whereas, on the
other hand, there was no proof of any
thing except promiscuous shooting.
It's law and order for the company S
armed representatives to fire into peo-
ple's houses, and very immoral, in
deed, for anyone to criticize it. 1t
is law and order for the company to
furnish their employees guns and charge
them on the book without some Of
their solicitations. This has been done
for the negroes of Whitwell and we
have been practically under this kind
of guard.
The past record shows that these
people are not held amenable to the
law, for this town is full of proof Of
pistol carrying and other violations Of
the law. Further, men have been re-
fused admission to our grand jurie'
who knew these facts and who still
know them But, of course, law ant
order will excuse them in the future
as in the past
This reign Of law and order keep
imported into this town such men tina
will sell whiskey ON our public high
ways and will even go into business
houses and solicit its sale, and yet tn,
4 citizens of this town are enjoined from
interfering with these privileged char
acters, and this is called and style(
law and order.
But this is the tactics of heartles
corporations to exercise all the freedom
granted them by law and then violat
and transgress upon the law in thei
stubborn efforts to deprive workin
men of all their rights under the law
and when this is accomplished the cor
poration becomes monarch of all it sur
veys
These corporations and their agent
say the principle of union is all RICH
but that it is not carried out right bu
when you demand their aid to he'll
carry out good principle they refuse
and show themselves just as antagonis
tic to the principle as they were to tn
way it is carried on. Don't lend you
ear, sentiments, will power and mus
Gle to the hired agents of the T. G, ]
Co., for they don't believe themselve
what they say.
Remember that the promise is to tn
faithful, and that the victory in thi
struggle will go either to the union 9
the 7. c. !. Co. 4, and that there is n
: victory for the non-union man. If til
company wins this fight it will rea
the reward, for President Don M. b
con has said, 'If the company can wi
4 this fight the profits to the compan
will be incalculable. If the unio
wins this fight they will not pay tn
expense and will receive a living wage
There are three cudgels mainly use
by corporation to whip labor, and
will name them in their order, viz: I
engender strife between workmen, I
set up starvation among the Poop
and to prevent the enforcement of IL
, law.
I One Of these elements in this ca,
: has been eliminated, and that is, sta
e walton conditions. John Mitchell hi
! more money today than when tn
3 struggle began, so there is no hope f,
a the company that they will have ii
help of starvation conditions
e Strife among the workmen they hay
u set up, but with no success as a meal
+ to an end.
The perversion of the enforcemeI
Y of the law they have set up in mo-
: ways than one. They havethe injun
+ ton in force which the Supren
. Court has styled illegal and unjust,
Il and they have cried out for the sol
. iers at Tracy City when about all Il
d disturbance was a nervous sheriff tt
: soldiers were found useless and retur
ed to their native heaths.
Now, as a means to an end, the 1
i :. - !.