The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-01-17

AAnSIlSdA cillZelS are aDuSeO, cr4ppleu
 and murdered in dozens and hundreds
 by an organization or trust, having for
 its purpose, thrusting what it has to
 sell Qabor) upon us whether or no.
 Suppose an American in a foreign city
 should be chased by a mob, caught and
 beaten unconscious, then his mouth
 pried open and carbolic acid poured
 down his throat, then his ribs kicked , in and his face well stamped with iron
 nailed shoes, murdered because he tried
 to earn bread for his children. By the
 Eternal, sir, a fleet of American men-of-
 war would assemble there, clear for &C.,
 tion and blow something off the face of
 the earth, if reparation were not made
 for the blood of one of our citizens.
 And what answer do we make to the
 appeals of the hundreds of widows and
 orphans of those Americans murdered
 by labor unions? How do we try to protect the thousands of intelligent cit
 izens who, with reason, prefer not to
 join any labor union and be subject to
 the tyranny of the heavily paid rulers of the labor trusts?
 Upon a firm refusal by MT. Post to
 join this criminal conspiracy a general boycott was ordered on Grape-Nuts and
 Postum all over the country, which set
 the good red blood of our ancestors in
 motion, bringing forth the reply that
 has now passed into history: We re-
 fuse to join any conspiracy of organized
 labor to ruin publishers, nor will we
 discharge any of our trusted employees upon the orders of any labor union. If
 they can make their boycott effective
 and sink our ship we will go down with the captain on the bridge and ill com lnand." s.s This set the writers in labor papers crazy and they redoubled their abuse.
 Finally one of their official organs came
 out with a large double column denun.
 citation of Battle Creek, calling it Ia
 running sore on the face of Michigan"
 because it would not become organ ized' and pay in dues to their labor leaders. The usual coarse, villainous epi- thets common to labor union writers were indulged it. The result was to weld public senti-
 ment in Battle Creek for protection. A citizens association was started and mass meetings held. Good citizens who happened to be members of local un- ions, in some cases quit the unions en- tirely, for there is small need of them there.
 The working people of Battle Creek are of the highest order of American mechanics. The majority are not union
 members, for practically all of the man ufacturers have for years declined to employ union men because of disturb
 ances about eleven years ago, and the
 union men now in the city are among the best citizens S.@ ..t...: < No city in the state of Michigan pays
 as high average wages as Battle Creek,
 no city of it's size is as prosperous, and no city has so large proportion of the
 best grade of mechanics who own their own homes. So the work people massed together with the other citizens in the organiza- tion of the Citizens association with the following preamble and constitution: Whereas from 1891 to 1894 the strikes instigated by labor unions in Battle Creek resulted in the destruction of property and loss of large sums of mon- ey in wages that would have been ex- pended here; and .~.-2st.. Whereas, these acts caused serious
 damage to the city and in a marked way delayed its progress at that time; and, X Whereas, since the year 1894 the citi-
 zens have been enabled, by public se1- timent, to prevent the recurrence of strikes and labor union disturbances which have been prevalent elsewhere; and, |9 ~A
 Whereas, the employers of this city have steadfastly refused to place the
 management of their business under the control of labor unions, but have
 maintained the highest standard of wages paid under like conditions any
 where in the United States, and here by unanimously declared their intent to
 continue such policy; and the employees of this city, large percentage of whom owe homes and have families reared
 and educated under conditions of peace
 and the well-earned prosperity of steady employment, have steadfastly maintained their right asfree American citizens to work without the dictation
 and tyranny of labor union leaders, the bitter experience of the past offering
 sufficient reason for determined stand for freedom; and, '' + Whereas, the attitude of the citizens on this subject has been the means of
 preserving peaceful conditions and con tinuous prosperity in marked contrast to tha conditions eyiStinpc in other cities suffering from the dictation of trades unionism; it is therefore, r..,. . Resolved, that the continuance of peace and prosperity in Battle Creek
 can be maintained, and the destructive
 work of outside interference avoided