The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-08-03
(By Gordon Nye.)
(New York CALI

II there Is one place on God'S earth
where b is held in abject slavery;
where men are robbed of absolutely
all they create; where their families
are forced to live in company shacks
not fit for human beings to inhabit;
where all necessities must be bought
at the company's commissary at dou-
bic their actual value, and where cap
italism is in absolute and undisputed
control-we repea if there is such a
place-it is in the lumber camps of
the Bourbon South.
Go into any of these camps and take
a look at the workers employed there.
Bent and twisted in body and mind,
with meekness and submission written
in every line of their features; clad
in shoddy, and oftentimes little OF
that; underfed and overworked, these
deformities are a b to our mucn
vaunted civilization, and above all,
an impeachment of he mill owners
and their system of individual Free
dom of Contract"
At all hazard industrial develop
ment must go forward in the South.
Everything must be sacrificed so tina
investing capital can have free rein.
All laws passed are in favor of bank
ers, land companies and corporations.
l-abor organizations are not tolerated.
Capital can organize. 1t can Starve
and imprison labor, and there is not
even a newspaper brave enough to
voice a protest in abor's behalf.
In this warfare upon organized
labor the organizations have always
the active support of the political ma
chinery of II South, which machine
cry. OF curse, is in cCntrol of the
Democratic party. This party is in
complete subserviency TO capitalist in
terest. The meaning of the word
democracy is absolutely n to
h big business interests, who are re-
sponsible for keeping it in power.
For some months the Industrial
Workers of the World have had or
ganizers in the timber regions of
Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. with
h result that a number of unions
were organized. This was considered
by the owners an act of treason on
the part of the employees.
Last week the Sawmill Operators
Association, a 500, 900, 900 combina-
ton controlling the lumber industry
of the South. met in New Orleans and
ordered eleven OF its mills closed i'm
mediately. 1t also empowered its exc
w '''| "Ai VI TX cop
mills if it was deemed necessary to
kill the union.
The eleven sawmills shut down are
located in the so-calcd infected dis
trict, and the idea is to keen them in
operative just as long as the organ
izatiCl of laborers exists. This ac-
iton throws out of employment 1000
men. Each mill has a commissary
and a town ccmposed of the mill men
and their families. therefore Indirect
ly. about 1000 men. women and chill
dren are left to face starvation by
orders of the mill owners
John II. Kirby. the millionaire lum-
Der operator of Houston. Texas. made
the following statement regarding the
associations attitude: whenever any
efforts are discovered to organized I'M
ions the mills will be closed and will
remain so until the union is killed"
Concerning the labor organization he
further said:
The uniCn proposed to affiliate with
the Industrial workers of the World
of Chicago. a SocialiStic organization,
composed largely of foreign born citi-
zens and whose teachings reject the
Constitution of this republic and deny
to any citizen the right to own prop
eIlS. Inc lnuuStrlal workers OIL the
World organization seeks to destroy
the American Federation of Labor
and will put the latter out of business
if it a .
The American Federation of Labor
is based on a recognition of the right
of property and respect thereof. The
Industrial Workers of the World de-
clare that all ownership of any char
acter of property is immoral and Grim
inal.
The Industrial Workers of the World
would destroy the Constitution plunge
all the State into anarchy. and bring
disorder and the rule of brute force
into every community in America.
In the State of Texas, Arkansas and
Louisiana, where the Sawmill Oepra-
tors Association is intrenchcd. there
are tens of thousands OF acres of vel
low pine, cypress and hard woods. 1t
might not be amiss to ask if c.. D.
Johnson. the president of the ~aSsocia-
ton. or Mr.. Kirby had anything to do
with the growing of these maenifcen,
forests. SO far as we know they did
not. Yet they have fenced of practic-
ally al of the available timber in
these three States and claim the right
of private ownership to this public
property.
They say to Old Man Pecpul: VIZ
own these necessities, INDISPENSABLE