The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-05-12


forth that the labor difficulty began asa
lockout and that so far as there hatl
been any striking 1t had been q strike
for arbitration, the unions involved pe-
Ing committed both upon principle ana
by specific contract with the empowers
for arbitration. I'VE have tho written
right TO demand arbitration SAID the
petition "a demand has been repeatedly
spurned by the employers IN the presence le
of Mayor Dunno, of Chicago, ana why
spurned? Because they openly BOAST that
they can spurn 1t and that the troops
under yo,,r command will shoot down him
who dares to openly protest against their
action. They flatter themselves that the
Federal army is their ready tool 70 act
upon their suggeston-right or wrong
md they therefore refuse TO have any
inquiry made as to whether they are
right or wrong.
is the army all that these men think
II is? Is it not n fact, after oil, that the
power OF the army even rests to a great
extent upon the support Of the people!
What would few soldiers be against a
nation q
Tho petition then quoted from an In.
condary speech made by General B. T..
Butler during a strike in Lowell, Mass,
about sixty years ago:
II know the record Of these
corporations" said General Butler.
81 know many of the men who have
been in charge. They have mhdo a mis-
take In appeal to force. When that
weapon Is tried they are weak and you
arc strong. They have their mills and
machinery, their bricks and their mortar,
and that is the extent of their power.
You are stronger than they. You have
your right arms and your torches, and
by them we will blot out this accurscd
outrage.
Following this quotation came the fol-
lowing concluding paragraph in the PEI
tition:
peace rests not upon the militia or the
army, but upon the patience and long SUI
1ferng Of the toiling mass. The army, SO
far as 1t has any effect, Is not to quiet,
but to disturb 1t is not to terrorize, but
to make the people mediate. They wonder
what all this 'bluffing' Is for. Can a few
soldiers scare tho men Who make armies
and who compose the flower of American
manhood? Arc we serfs that we cringe
at the mention of troops?"
The President, in his reply, resented
the cortcmptuous allusion to the Federal
army and made ringing speech in be-
half OF law and order. II want to say
one thing with all the emphasis in my
power" said he, in unfolding law and
order, in doing what he is able ITO do
to suppress mob violence in any shape
or way, tho Mayor Of Chicago has my
hearty support In further colloquy
with the spokesman Of the committee,
he said, II nm believer in unions. I
am an honorary member of one union
but tho union must obey the law just
as the corporation must obey tho law,
just as every man, rich or poor, must
obey the law. *
There is nothing new in this, but It is
significant and reassuring that the Presi-
dent OF the United States should assert
the principle SO plainly, and pointedly 10
tho strikers. Labor unions have rights
which the law will protect, but they
have no right to commit trespass, to in
terfero with the rights OF others, nor to
break the peace. The military is never
called out to Cypress strikers nor to
erablo their employers to browbeat them.
Such proposition Is SO monstrous that
1t would not be tolerated n moment In
this free land. Tho military is never
called out, save to prevent disorder and
riot. So long as strikers and sympathizcrs
do not violate the law, the military will
never be called out; when they do vio-
late the law and the local authorities
arc not able to put down riot. the military
must DO called out TO preserve order.
Tho President sums it all up when he
says the State is behind the city and the
nation behind the State.
1t would be worse for the working
classes than for any other class, II this
were not true. 1t would be bad for
the poor man, truly. II the Jaw did not
protect him In his rights.
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