The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-05-02
CREENvILLE, OHIO, THURSDAY, MAY 2. 1907

SICuI uCai VI OpJOolClOil IIOIli iio
own organization at that time in
his attempt to organize labor in
to a political force. And the re-
suits in all the states where lab
or unions have tried to WELD the
balance of power were far from
encouraging. 1t is known that
John Mitchell has little sympa
thy with the western Federation
Headers, and if his influence is
set against them in the east it is
bound to have considerable effect.
At the same time, all the admin
Iistration advisors realize that the
western Federation can WELD an
immense force west of the Mis-
sissippi, whatever may be its po-
wer in Ohio, so it is a force to be
reckoned with in the general
campaign.
1t may be said, too, that while
the rank and file of the western
Federation are hard citizens, still
they may not all deserve to be
classed as undesirable. The
officers of the Federation have
much in the way of agitation to
answer for, but the president,
who knows the west as we'll as
he does the east, realizes that
many of the conditions that the
western miners have been fight
ing against are just about as bad
as the counter conditions that the
miners themselves have created.
The mine owners in the gold and
silver region of the west are
themselves autocrats of the most
pronounced and in some cases the
worst type. They have done as
much as the miners themselves
to bring about the reign of law
lessness that for the past decade
has terrorized the western states
by sections from northern New
Mexico to the Canadian line.
State troops, martial law and a
suspension of the habeas corpus
have all been invoked when there
was and when there was not ne
cessity for them. And the great
mass of the western miners and
laboring men have come to feel
that the government was against
them and that as they had no
standing in court, the only way
to get what they considered their
rights was by bushwhacking and
dynamiting.
This situation needs a different
class of man to deal with it from
any who has appeared so far, and
it is just possible that the presi-
dent himself may go into the far
west before the campaign gets
very far advanced and tell "the
boys" a few homely truths in
language they will understand.
His facility for dealing with and
getting neXt' to any sort of a
mob or more elevated element is
little short of marvellous, and
when he gets through talking to
a western crowd in particular,
the majority is usually willing to
come into camp and do whatever
he wishes. There was just an
incident of this sort in Cheyenne
a little more than a year back
that may be referred to for illus
tration. The COW boys had got
ten up a carnival for his benefit,
and there was riding of bucking
bronchos, roping and tying of
steers and all the other rough
work and play of the round up.
Some of the cow-punchers knew
the president and knew he was
an expert old cattle man himself.
Others suspected that if he haC
ever known the business he haC
been spoiled for it in the east.
When the show was over il
front of his stand, the presiden
made only one comment to tn
D expectant crowd.
Boys" he said, "your ridini
\ was fine, but your tying WASH
~ 3,