Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-06-26

WHO might strike ana proclaim TO MIN
that nobody else should work his croE
/ for him; that if he hired any Other
employees they would burn his dwell
ing and barns. and, if need be, kill
him and his new employees to establish
their supremacy over him and his
! property.
And if the state says to owners OF
railroads, factories, etc, You shall
| pay tax on this property which you
have created or bought, but another
class shall control it; | hold you re-.
sponsible for keeping it in condition
for safely serving the public, but !
| allow them the privilege of wrecking
it or depriving the public of the use
of it" then how can she protect a.
farmer or any other citizen in the
right to control his property?
The same courts established by the
| constitution and composed of judges
i elected by the people, and jurors
chosen from the people, are open to-
the members of labor unions on the
| same guarantee of equality as they are
/ to farmers and all other classes III the
state, and no method of settlement OF
quarrels by labor unions which results
in inconyen ence and damage to the
public should be tolerated
Or if the strikers are not thus sup.
ported by their brother members, they
could assess themselves a sum insig-
nificant beside the gross amount OF
wages lost during the period of the
strike and could have their case ad.
| Indicated in the courts without in
fiicting damage upon the unoffending
public.
Summing up the status of strike
by employees on public service cor.
poration, we cannot fail to know that
there are more than two parties to
such strikes. There is third party
the publc-which is subjected to I'M
merited and unnecessary incon.
venience and loss. And, above all
there is fourth party, viz: The state,
+, whose constitution the strikers have
| ignored and whose laws they have
trampled under foot Concerning this
fourth and greatest party | will add:
The crisis which a strike on pub.
lie service corporation brings upon
the masses of the people is not only a
menace to their power to procure the
necessities of life, but is also a chal-
lenge to the very sovereignty of the
state, in that it arrogates to itself the
power to prevent the railroads from
performing the special functions for
which the state granted their char
tiers, viz: Those of being common car
! riers of persons and property.
The object lessons given by the
striking employees of the street car
company in Augusta and of the Geor-
gia railroad have been practical
service of notice by the labor union
to the state of Georgia that its law
within her borders is greater than
her law; that the allegiance of It's
| members to it is more binding than
the allegiance they owe to her.
The executive office has not made
this issue; the state of Georgia has
not made it. The labor union has
openly and recklessly thrown down
the gauntlet. The state, therefore
cannot shrink from her duty to heI
constitution and her people.
1t is a matter of current note that
the power of the labor union to hurt
the general public and to terrorize pub
| lie men anxious to retain offices OF
honor and trust has been found in the
! fact that in several communities 1t
votes solidly in blocks of scores OF
/ hundreds for those who cater to il
and against those who refuse to bow
to it's demands; but | call your atten
! ton to the fact that, besides multi
! tudes in the cities and towns whose
| interests are jeopardized by its ex-
actions, there are upwards of 100000
voters in the rural portions of this
! state whose welfare can only be pro-
| tected by holding the members of the
! labor union to the same non-interfer
! ence with the rights of others and
the same accountability to law which
they admit as governing themselves.
They will certainly claim that the la
Dor union men, individually and col
lectively, are not better and have no
greater rights than they.
He, therefore, who would remain in
public life would do well to merit the
approval of those myriads of law
abiding and peace-loving citizens be-
side whose numbers the labor unions
is trife.
The labor unions have but small
minority of the people of Georgia, yet,
by combinations which work through
strikes and kindred methods, they are
aggressively levying toll upon all
the other elements of our citizenship.
In other words, they have organized
a trust and demand that all other peo-
pie buy labor at whatever price they
choose to put upon it--and that price
is higher than other workmen in like
occupations receive and higher by far
than the people have ever pad be-
! fore. And contemporaneously, they
. 900 onJoouoripO IN forca from ON