The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-11
WISDOM IS QUESTIONED
Laboring Men Not All Favorable to
Socialistic Resolution. r.

0OSACb4AOV4N AoSoSA~oASAAs
Resolutions relating to the arrest Of
the officers Of the Western Federation
of Miners, asking, among other things,
that these men be given a fair and i'm
partial trial in the ordinary way, were
passed at the recent regular meeting
Of the Trades and Labor assembly. IA.
sr While it is pretty certainth that organ:
lied labor in this city is anxious and
willing that all those concerned be
given fair trials before unbiased courts
and juries, there are not a few who, all
things considered, seriously object to
some of the things contained in the
resolutions referred to. Thomas Van
Lear, in speaking upon the resolutions
before they were adopted by the as
sembly, reviewed the events which have
transpired in the states Of Idaho and
Colorado in connection with the cases
of Meyer and Haywood and the assas-
sination of former Governor Steuen-
berg, whom he alluded to as the for
mer bull-pen governor and murderer of
ignorant workingmen in Idaho.'
He spoke of what he considered the
undue haste exercised by the authorities
in the arrest and extradition of the
mine workers officers, and pointed out
that no chance had been given them to
defend themselves before being taken
from their native state. Mr.. Van Lear
said that a "subsidized capitalist press
was sclamoring for the blood Of these
officials and added that '.'the inten-
tion Of this midnight seizure is murder,
cold-blooded and deliberate; murder
carefully planned and executed by the
| Mine Owners association, thinly
/ masked under forms Of the law, and the
intended victims are our brothers, our
fellow workingmen. /" He then cited
several arrests of officers of other labor
organizations in other places by way of
comparison, among them the arrest of
the officers of the Machinists' union in
the Santa Fe railroad strike, officials
of the Typographical union and others.
Mr.. Van Lear paid his respects to
''courts prostituted in the interests of
the employer and wound up with the
following: - e. !.
''Now is the time. to act. It is not
money that our brothers need. What
we should give them is our moral support,
and show these capitalist murderers
that we fully understand their design,
Impress these conspiring governors and
corporation-owned courts with the fact
that this vile conspiracy has aroused
the manhood of the American workers
from Maine to California, and that
more than 100000 Of law-abiding citi.
zens will not break the law to use force
against these orporation-emp as
sassins, bdt if they break the law in
order to murder members of the work
ing class, 100000 organized workers
stand ready toause force if necessary
to enforce the law, regardless of cor
porate interests and their bought funk
les of Colorado and Idaho. -
Expressions are freely made that the
sentiments contained in the speech oil
Mr.. Van Lear are not and would not be
countenanced or Endorsed at full meet
ing of delegates to the assembly. The
/ meeting at which the resolutions were
passed was slimly attended, and it il
extremely doubtful if they could have
| been gotten thru the assembly at any
other time. AS is probably well known
the Western Federation of Miners is ;
! socialist organization, standing aloos
i from every other regular labor or
ganlzation, and it's members are, Q:
course, socialists. It is a singular coin
4 cidence, to say the least, that Mr.. Val
Lear was for some time engaged as
state organizer for a local branch Of ssth,
socialist party. In order that the mem
bers of labor unions generally ma,
know the exact nature Of the 3resolu
tions, they are reproduced in full, a
follows:
4 Whereas, There is every evidence O
a conspiracy to railroad the officials o
4 the Western Federation of Miners t
the gallows on forged and periured ties
q timony, with the evident object Q
3 breaking the resistance of organize
s. labor to capitalist tyranny and
, Whereas, This conspiracy can be PIT