Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1908-01-23
FARMERS ORGANIZATION, LAB0R'S IN
JUSTICE, AND HARDER TIMES
PREDICTED.

Editor News: Today | have seen
the News for the first time this year,
owing to my not being near any who
take it.
Our Friend L" has a very interest
ing letter in the News of the 10Th on
the labor question. Did it ever occur
to Friend L" that there are two sides
to all questions and that those who
employ labor are entitled to some con
sideration, as well as the employer
| belong to the Farmers Union, and
we union people desire better prices
for our cotton, corn, pork, beef and
other farm products, and are holding
for 15-cent cotton. If our cotton reach
es the 15-cent mark corn, 81 per bush
ell; meat, l2c to 15c per pound, ana
other provisions in proportion, coal
diggers ought to get raise IN their
wages SO as to even up The manu-
facturer will be compelled to raise the
price of manufactured articles, which
about keeps labor on the same plane as
if the rise had never been made.
Now, "Friend L." suppose you
owned a coal mine and were paying,
say, 45c per ton for digging coal. You
agree to furnish say 100 tons OF coke
week for twelve months to foundry
men. at price based on what you
pay for digging. You give bond with
good security to double the amount of
your contract to deliver the coke regu-
larly on time. After you make bond,
suppose your employees should strike
for higher wages, sufficient to not on
ly take away all your profit, but per-
haps to cause you to loose on each ton
your bond requires you to dellVerF
Would you think your employees treat
ed you fairH | know of an instance
where, after the coal company had
given bond to deliver coke at certain
price, the miners struck and demanded
a price for digging that would have
bankrupted the company, had not
"scabs," as you call free and indie
pendant laborer, come to the rescue.
Contractors of every kind are depen-
dent upon labor in order to fulfill their
contracts. Builders contract to erect
buildings at the price thev have to pay
for material and labor They invari-
ably have to give heavy bond to com
plete the job by certain fixed date.
AS soon as the bond is. given labor
knows they are compelled to comply OF
forfeit their bond and pay damage fol-
failure. They strike and ''scabs' suffi.
cient are employed to keep the con-
tractors from bankruptcy. Now,
want to say to Friend L, that if
you were the employer instead of the
employe, you would use quite 9
different pair Of spectacles. Joined
the Farmers Union, not to put prices
up or down, but to educate the farm
ers as to the real cause of all our labor
and financial trouble We are now ex
periencing small panic, which will
if am not much mistaken, exceed the
one we had under the Cleveland ad
ministration. 1t will set in in earnes
in 1908 and soup houses, and trampI
will be in greater force than was eve
known in our land before. l hope ant
pray that | may be mistaken in IN,
prognostications and diagnose of tn,
case yet the very same causes are a
work today that brought on every fin
ancial panic we ever had in the United
States since the foundation of our gov
ernment, and Judging the future b,
the past | am led to believe it will pro
duce the panic of 1908, which will ere
ate disaster to capitalists and labo
alike in 1909, the end of which | can
not tell.
| will tell you the only cause of an
of our panics and ask our Friend l.
and all laborers' unions and 'scabs t
study IL remedy that is easy of appli
: cation. The cause is interest that la
Dor pays on the money in circulation
, If thought labor was ready to acceI
and apply the remedy, | would cheer
fully tell them how good times, FIRE
: from the germ that produces the panic
5 can be brought about. Labor is nc
. ready to learn the lesson yet. 1t is nc
because of want of sense. They al
not ready Many laborer has MOI
sense than | and is as capable {
q learning as or any capitalist The
! have been taught wrong In my e1
: perience as teacher, it is harder
I unlearn thing, than to teach or
= who never knew anything to begi
with. | am too poor financially to vi
e it every union lodge in the countr,
a or | would willingly visit them an
: demonstrate the cause on blackboard
making it so plain, that one eve
though a fool could not err therein.
is probable the union and ''scab' Ii
Dor might chip in sufficient to pay fl
my time and expense. If they will
ID let them say SO through the News
S MORE ANON.
{ JaSner, Tenn, Jan. Il. 1908.