The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1911-09-21

tanned an aristocratic class OF society
called government. while those who la
bored, those who toiied. those who cre-
ated. then as now, were the people who
constituted the productivity OF the coun-
try, and without whose toll famine would
have come to al alike.
But people will learn. Thank God
for that. They learn slowly sometimes
and they forget easily sometimes. but as
we look back down the dim vistas Of the
past and read its history. we md that
the face OF mankind has been set TO the
front and up-working up. pulling up. oc-
casionaily they stumble and fall. they get
down. but they always get up. and when
they DO. they get up with their faces
pointing to the front.
First orssnIsstIon.
The people who first learned to throw
on the power Of the military. the abso-
lutte swordsmen OF the centuries back.
were the merchants. Merchants gather
ed in stores and bought ana sold their
wares IL was easier therefore to plumber
then. that Is, IL was more enticing 20
the soldiers TO plumber then, than the
single individuals separated articles out
chants. The merchants then for self pro-
lection. got together. Mark the initial
point. they got together" whether that
Is good grammar or not II Is good sense
They called themselves Merchants
Guild" tor moral dedication. do you
suppose? No; for business protection and
advancement. for safety. How did they
do it7 by lighting? No: there were not
t.A a-Is a..
but that they might make their power
felt In government. and by the multiple
cation Of their forces In unity, they could
impress upon the government arguments
that would appeal TO them. which no one
mans argument would.
The government outiawed them--psss-
ed statutes to punish them. confscated
their property Merchants were the FIRST
organization outlaws. They were not
called might Riders" but Il means the
same thing, because the purpose was to
annihilate and scatter the concentration
Of their power. The merchants did not
quit They continued to contend and to
organise. and 30 history records It that
away back yonder before Edward Nv.
they were powerful enough TO 60 to their
king and say to him. "If you want 10
carry on your wars. we viii contribute a
part Of our stores In the way of taxes.
As gift? No; as payment for corre-
spending benefits to be received from
you" What benefits? The recognition
OF the Merchants Guild. What are you
going to dof We will congregate In
towns and you give us charters under
the royal hand By which we will have the
lawful authority to exercise prerogatives
OF government In this locality The king
struck the bargain. and that Is the foun-
dalton OF the town charter under which
you people Of Hartford live to-day. II
has grown. Il has developed. but Il was
founded upon the experience that recite
to you, and was developed out OF the ne
cessties which have stated. From that
has sprung the whole system Of munich
pal government which we enjoy in Amer
lea.
The merchants were traders. There
were no manufacturers. save those who
worked with their hands. There We're but
few and crude implements by which
things could be made. But these man.
ufacturers In time came to band together.
and the men who employed them. who
furnished the capital. Joined the Mer-
chants Guild. and Joined the class of
governing authority. while the men who
worked. who toiied. who made things,
called the artisans. were stu morgan
ized. with the Guild OF the employers
upon the one hand and the power OF the
government upon the other. until they
had a sorry enough lot indeed.
These laborers were necessarily con-
gregated also about the towns and vii
lagos where the merchants were. that Is.
the manufacturers. and they saw what
their employers had achieved by the for
nation OF these guilds: therefore. they
undertook to and did form the iaborers'
guilds. to-day called Labor Unions They
were formed upon the same principle pre-
eisely. II was In this way that they
wanted to get a better share OF the
fruits OF their labor from their employ
ers. They said, in substance: your
wealth and your wisdom are entitled TO
be paid for. but isn't our toll. our sweat.
the giving Of our lives. also entitled to
be paid for?" The employer said: Don't
we pay you enough for you TO live upon,
to keep your soul and body together
But the artisan answered. II am a man
II Is my duty TO raise man. ! am enti-
tied to the opportunities Of a man. to
grow 10 ekpanu, 10 become DrOduef, more
useful. and to have at least some pleas
ure In this world" So the laborers form
ed their guilds. so that the multiplication
by their numbers OF their Individual
strength would be strong enough to with
stand the oppression OF the conscience
less men who employed them. l do not
mean 10 say that even then. much less
now. all employers were conscienceless,
or hard askmasters. What l do mean
to say Is that some of them were. and
some OF them are to- day. 80 the laborcrs.
that Is. the artisans. followed In the foot
steps OF their employers. First. they got
What they achieved since Is
largely because OF the fact that they did
get together. and were able TO stick to-
gether.
Stumbled at First.
They were an ignorant people. ignorant
SO far as education went. illiterate. I'M
taught. unchristianized. They were
rough people. They were coarse peo-
Pile away back yonder. II was nothiag
but natural that they should resort 20
the implement at their hands 10 get what
they regarded were their rights The
laws gave them none. To whom could