The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1916-09-19
THE LESSON OF THE STRIKE.

There is a lesson in the proposed great rail-
road strike which it would be vel Tor ya as a ma
ton to learn, and to pEot.t by.
Probably a very small PEI cent u the member
shin of the brotherhonhs when vney voted on the
proposition to strike. had ever given serious
thought to the far-reachiAg effects OF tnelr actlon
should it cotle to an actual Walkout. Inc same
can be said OF the citizenship of the country at
large. Strikes lad been of so frequent occurrence
duripap the past half century, and the business OF
the country had suffered such small checks there
from. that we had been. lulled into a false sense or
security.
In the great crisis, which has been for a time
ayerted, however, the country has at last been
awakened to the enormous power OF organized Ia
bor. But even now we would not be fully alive to
this great power had it not been threatening the
very life of the nation.
Few of the masses of the people had ever real
lied how fully were the railroads the arteries
through which coursed the commercial life blood
of the nation. Not until we were threatened with
a stoppage of that life-giving stream did we awak-
en- to the dire peril which such action portended.
Only within the past few weeks have we begun to
appreciate the extent of the want, the suffering,
the colossal losses that must have inevitably re-
suited had the strike materialized.
But now that we are at last awake to the real
significance of the situation that c%onfronts us, we
should profit by our knowledge. We should see to
it at once that no similar peril is ever again per-
mitted to threaten US.
We must recognize the fact that the railroads
are an absolute necessity to national life; that 1t
is now a moral and patriotic duty incumbent upon
not only the managers, but upon the employees as
well, to keep the roads in operation.
Yes, we know all about the rights O.. labor, and
of that proud boast that we are tree-born Ameri-
can citizens. But when a small per cent of the
people, either as managers or as operatives, have
reached the point when the life of the nation is
absolutely at their mercy, then that small per cent
ceases to be free in the full sense OF the word.
They are bound to a higher duty than self-inter-
est. They are in bondage to the great cause of
universal humanity. They have made themselves
absolutely necessary to their fellows and are MOI
free to follow their own inclinations. They have
become a part of the machinery that moves a ma
tion, and must bear the responsibilities that &C
company the position.
We must realize that for the railroad man to
quit his post (uness a competent substitute is at
hand to assume his duties) is just as reprehensive
as a violation of train orders and fraught with as
great peril to the public safety. The railroader
must be brought to see that he owes a sacred duty
to his country, not even second to that Of the SOL
der. The soldier guards our very life. He should
not destroy that which he guards.
A united nation should insist that these men
who thus bear the burdens of our comfort, pros
perity and safety shall be fairly dealt with. The
thousands of men who daily and hourly expose
their lives to the perils of the rails that we may
prosper and live in comfort should have a square
deal. The roads should be made to feel that an
injustice to them is an affront to the nation. And,
likewise, the employees should be made to realize
that to throttle the roads is to cruelty the nation
which every honest American loves.
Can this be done without government action?
Possibly not. But if such action should be neces-
sary, then the sooner it comes the better. An
other such period of tension and uncertainty will
work untold harm to our country.
1T MUST NOT COME .