The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1913-08-16
ORE DOCK STRIKE
Was SHORT LIVED
Continued From Page 1.
thoroughfare some distan nee from the
property Of the company.
Private Police q Menace.

It can be seen at the outset that
the police employed by the railroad
company would protect only the prop
erty of the company. No others prop
cry or life is concerned with them. If
the strikers had asked to be depu-
TIED as police their request: would
probably not have been granted. Gov
ernments should not delegate their
police authority to private corpora
tions. This should be- reserved as a
function Of government to see that
all property and all lives are, secure.
The United States senate is now con-
sidcring 3 bill to prevent seorpora-
tons doing an Interstate business from
employing and maintaining private
police. The policy is extremely dan
gerous.
The Socialists took consid erable in
terest in the strike; the trade union
lists remaining Indifferent on account
of their Opposition to the 1. w. w.
and the Socialists at a mass meeting
held on Sunday, protested against the
attitude of the. daily papers,. the city
commissioners and the company po-
lice towards the men on strike ir-
respective of their connection with
the I. w. w.
Richard Jones, the we'll known; Du-
luth attorney and Socialist sums up
the strike and incidents connected
with it as follows
Strikers Not Understood.
Seldom has strike been. so great
ly misunderstood by the general pub
lie as this one. The daily press cruel
ly refused to print a word of the
strikers side of the case, although
the mist is being cleared away and.
through the efforts Of the. Socialist
and labor press and local agitators,
the public is being informed.
1.-THE city commission likewise
jumped at conclusions and passed a
drastic resolution condemning the l.
w. W., before it even investigated the
merits Of the controversy. .,
Our commissioner of public safe
ty, w. A. Hicken, is SO bent upon the
enforcement of the liquor laws that
he can see nothing else; he is so
prejudiced against labor unions and
their aims. that he Is become blinded
to the merits of any real economic
controversy.
Ills ignorance Of local conditions
is almost ;child-like, and when visited
by committee of Socialists with a
I request that he afford; police protec-
ton to strikers and corporations alike.
I he flew into rage.
| Two Sides to. Controversy.
despite, the fact that the commit
tee was, appointed at a mass meeting
attended by 1000 citizens, the COM
missioner intimated at the beginning
that he would. not, change his course.
However,, when the unanswerab1>
facts were forced upon him by the
committee-facts which indicated that
there were two sides to the contro-
versy, the commissioner cooled down
a bit. and finally asked the commit
tee what they wished him to do.
When the mission was explained.
the commissioner sought to shift the
responsibility to the department Of
public welfare Of which Mayor ". I.
Prince is the head, ~ Il, ....$* s.
~: Paid Only Measer Wage.
That the dock workers received
|ionly a meagre wage. that there were
conditions which should have been
remed1ed, was never even considered
by the commissioners. When the
matter OF Individual contracts was
mentioned Mr.. Hicken Of course con.
demn !d the 4. men for breaking their
contra ts. Ex-ald erman Phillips
called his attention to the fact that
the Steel Trust had made an asree-
ment sometime ago. to install. bath
rooms ms and "a lunch counters in the Vi
entity MT, Of the docks which agreement
was never carried out, The comr,u1tis-
s So er of public safety, u f. q ,1o thar
splendid exhi bition of fairness 4 III
llaasnta eauil ibri, said siselil.