The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-08-13
INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS RESULT
OF PREVAILING SELFISH
NESS.

Without regard for the commercial
interests the convenience or happl-
hess of the public, the welfare of the
press or even the annoyance of the
state and national government, the tel
egraphers deliberately left their keys
and tied up a great per cent of the
business industries of the country
when their demands for recognition,
shorter hours ard better pay were not
Immediately complied with.
1t was useless to attempt to reason
or argue with them or to even appeal
to them on any grounds. They knew
what they wanted and, with the up
to-date spirit of the railroad corpora
tions and Standard Oil trusts, they
pursued the policy of 1.-The public be
hanged" They We're looking for the
time when the iron was hot and when
they did not fihd it hot enough, they
struck and made it hot.
Verify this is a commercial age. The
employer finds that the men work
ing lOl UIll dIt uOlllS 1IlOIc ISul his
than he is and that they can frequent
ly tell him more about his business
than he knows himself The laboring
man is determined to get all there is
out of his production and is fast as
serting the right Which he claims TO
control the means of production.
In these times when the country is
prosperous, labor scarce and men in
demand, the laborer is in readiness to
take advantage of every opportunity
to better his condition, and if the OPP
portunity does not present itself there
is almost cerain to be an opportunity
made
History is repeating itself. When
the wealth of a country becomes con-
served into the hands of what may be
termed a few. the laboring man, or
what is known as the laboring man,
whether he has been thrifty or other
wise, determines that he has been de-
prived of what he thinks rightfully
belonged to him and is ready for a
revolution. Then it is that internal
NNA'NNS d SAiP VII lilS
of the government.
At the present time a strike III al
most any line of labor is hailed by the
members of unionism with delight. A
suggestion of such a procedure is
dangerous. for realizing their strength,
the organized laborers are ready to
throw their hats in the air and enjoy
vacation.
With an eye to the future, while
work has been plentiful. the Unions
have been piling up large neserve
funds by individual assessment, and
season of idleness while conditions
are adjusting themselves, FASTENED by
the necessities of the public, has no
disquieting effect
In the present strike of the tele-
graphers. the officers of the organi-
cation apparently did everything in
their power to avoid the walk-out and
asked the men to wait a short time
and perhaps the issues would be salts
factorily determined. With a flash Of
the keys, the majority responded,
strike" When the time arrived last
evening for the Associated Press ope-
rators to go to work and a strike had
not been called, the men were disap-
pointed. When, a few minutes later,
the word came. "all go out" hats went
into the air and the men gladly left
the keys. Almost at the same mo-
ment the Western Union operators all
over the country quit work and the
instruments were silent save a few
scattering ticks which told the men
that the wires throughout the United
States were tied up.
AS an isolated example the preser t
strike might not present such per-
picking situation. but the frequency
of such events calls for investigation
into the causes and wise and pru-
dent policies TO be followed as rem
edies.