New-York tribune., 1907-06-30
4 RLDLCELOER "STRIKE."

The strike of the city's garbage collectors
is TO be deplored on many grounds. That it
should have been allowed to suspend for sew
eral days the necessary work of cleaning the
streets and safeguarding the public health is
serious reflection on the efficiency of the Street
Cleaning Department But that such a step
should have been taken by the street cleaners
themselves to remedy any grievances which they
think they have argues Iamentable lack of dis
cipline in the municipal service and q gross mis-
understanding of the relations between the city
and its agents To call the refusal of public
employees to go on with their work and their eff
forts to prevent others from taking their places
q strike" is a clear perversiOn of language
There can be no such a thing strike" in
the public service. The man who enters that
service surrenders the right TO use the ordinary
means of coercion employed to raise wages and
readjust differences in the field of private in
duStry. He becomes the agent and trustee of
the state a corporation in which he is Il cit
izen and a partner, and he has no moral or
legal right to disorganize a business in which
not only he but every other citizen is directly
interested. He assumes civic obligations which
are superior TO his own narrow private in
tereas.
1t is hard to get this distinction fixed in the
minds Of many public servants They want TO
treat the higher officials who nominally employ
them as private capitalists and TO fight out diff
ferences as 10 pay and hours as they are fought
out in private employment.
In such employment strikes may be legitimate
enough, for they concern directly only the
ployer conducting an enterprise for profit and
workmen trying TO get as large q share as they
can Of that profit WOrkmen in ordinary indus
tries IN this way demonstrate thai their coop
GRAFTON reasonable terms is essential to the
success Of the business. They can only appeal
10 the good judgment or sense Of fairness Of
the Individual employers. But against the state
itself its employees have always ample re-
course. They are citizens and voters and they
can appeal TO the sympathy of other voters a
majority Of whom repair at the polls any
wrongs which the employees think they suffer.
peaceful and adequate method of redress Is
provided, and those who want to use il are
welcome TO turn it TO their advantage 1t
is folly to imagine that with this political rem
edy always available, government employees
should be permitted TO exercise the sort Of coer-
cion which may be applied within the limits
or the law TO employers not subjected to popular
supervision and popular instruction. If pub
lie employe is dissatisfied he can resign and
take his chances IN the field Of private occupa-
tion. But he is debarred from Striking" in
the sense OF seeking TO exclude another from
taking his place for such action puts private
advantage ahead of public advantage and chal-
lenges the right of the majority 10 conduct
government in its own name and after its own
devices.
The federal government wisely toIerates no
organizations among It's employees for the pur-
pose OF overruling or intimidating the President
and Congress, and no state or city can afford
TO tolerate similar exhibitions Of insubordina
tion. The garbage strikers" are not condnct
ing a private quarrel with the Mayor or the
Street Cleaning Commissioner They are fool
iShly Invading the rights of every citizen Of
New York and impugnlng the fundamental prIn
cples Of popular sovereignty. Let us have an
end to this travesty Of an officeholders' "strke"