The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-04-09
WALTER {. WEYL
TELLS OF STRIKE
At Lawrence
Declares Action on Mill Workers
is Warning to The
Country
BY Walter E. Weyl.

Stpp, ioOh anu llSlSH, was tue
warming of the Lawrence strike to
the conscience and intelligence OF
the American people. returned
from Lawrence with many questions
which | cannot answer. | have ask
ed these questions of other men and
they have no answer In the first
place why was the moving spirit Of
the leaders one of revolution, In
stead of the cautious, bargaining
spirit of the ordinary trade union
What caused the desperation of some
Of these strikers, and tn haunting
fear of some of these mill-owners?e
The men behind the Lawrence
strike had no faith In public opinion.
"lf your little Johnny or your little
sennie," acclaimed one of the lead
ers, comes to you and asks for
shoes or bread, will yQll be content
to say L have no money for shoes Of
bread but public opinion is with
us?" For the sovereign state Of
Massachusetts the strike leaders
had as little respect. Why was this?
Strikers Ask Question.
| witnessed a conference between
the strike leaders and volunteer
investigating committee of the state
legislature. IF you find one party
wrong can your state force 1t to do
right" asked the strike leaders,
Would you arbitrate a question OF
life and death and are the worst
wages paid here anything short OF
death? Do you investigate because
conditions are bad or because thu
workers broke loose and struck
1t is easy to answer that these
strike leaders are incendiaries, an
archists and reyolutionists Bun
why do the mass of peaceful work
men and workwomen follow such a
leader? What conditions have we
allowed to grow up in Massachu
sctts and in other states to render
such an allegiance possible or con
ceivable?
After attending the strike meet
ings at Lawrence, you gain some in
sight into the reason for this lead
ership. | was at one meeting of the
strikers at which | saw in the plain
of $1,000 upturned white faces. 4
new obscure enthusiasm, a new halt
ing self-confdence, breaking through
the mists of apathy, The minds be-
hind these white faces. eloquent OF
infinite patient resignation, which Is
80 tragic a mark of the peasant face
in eastern and southern Europe
were beginning to think. They were
asking, Why"
Who Shall We Follow
Had these men asked Whom
shall we follow If not these revolu-
tionary leaders," we should have
been hard put to it to answer. We
might have replied THE United
Textile Workers" but they have
been crushed by the manufactures of
Lawrence and almost destroyed IN
the crash of industrial battle We
might have advised them to apply
to the state governor but the gov
ernor has no power. We might have
advised them to appeal to public
opinion. But public opinion has
been deaf and blind these many
years to conditions at Lawrence and
elsewhere because II is uniformed.
A few months ago we knew moth
ing about conditions at Lawrence.
We did not know the wages of the
mill hands. Wander through the
alleys and by-ways of Lawrence and
you understand why the peaceful
mill-workers were content with
leadership more profoundly revolu-
tionary than any in the history OF
American labor. The environment
Of these immigrants, lured to Law