Evening journal., 1916-09-09

murdered by starving them as by
shooting or bayoneting them?
Let us not deceive ourselves as To
what occurred. II was an insurrec-
ton of 100000 men who threatened to
ruin and starve the nation unless the
nations Congress, within week
passed a law to promote the selfish
interest OF the insurrectionists at the
expense Of the rest Of the people, It
was a revolution: for II was success
full. and successful instruction is
revolution.
That Congress understood the true
Of the situation is shown
by it's own conduct. While the terror
lists, like those Of the French revolu-
ton, led by reincarnation of Robe
sphere in the person Of the arid.
loquacious, lean and fearful Garrett
son, and a reincarnation OF Marat in
the person Of the strike-thirsty Car
ter stood oyer Congress with a stop
watch in one hand and a threat Of
national ruin, starvation and anarchy
in the other, that august deliberative
body dashed itself into breathlessness
and lather by feverish and desperate
efforts TO pass the 'eight-hOur' day
law Sefore the time-limit fixed should
exprel
But nNthing was done TO prevent
strikes on railways. IL passed the
legislation demanded by and for the
benefit of those who were threatening
to wreck the nations industry and
starve its people, while it gave scant
consideration to the bills intended to
prevent such crises from recurring
And why did Congress do this? Be
cause our Robespierre, our Marat and
their fellow terrorists objected They
said that to provide that cOntrover-
sizes must be investigated on behalf
of the public before strikes we're
called, with the resulting wreckage
of the nations industry and murder
Of its women and little children,
would be TO reduce to involuntary
servitude those who prefer to strike
first and investigate afterward One
million people must be left
forever at the mercy Of 100000. rather
than that when the 100000 happen to
feel like striking they shall be re-
quired TO postpone doing so until
some Gover2S9ental body shall ascer-
tain what they feel like striking
about This is fit logic to be used in
a home for the predetermined; and
yet 1t might be thought, from the de-
in Washington, that it
Congress.
with a pistol at its head and a
bayonet between its coat tails, Con-
gress, with an unprecedented celebrity
hour day bill. The defects Of this
measure are so palpable and vital
hat it is inconceivable it can ever go
INTO effect First, it was passed under
iuress. Everybody in the United
States knows that Congress never
seriously considered enacting such a
law until President Wilson demanded
hat this price be paid instantly to buy
off those who were threatening strike.
Second. the law does not provide for
an eight-hour day II merely pro-
rides that the railways shall pay en-
)loyes in their train service a days
pay for eight hours work. II does
not provide that train employees shall
give the railways eight hours work
'or a days pay. It does not provide
hat any train employee shall quit
work at the end of eight hours. but
by requiring them to be paid over
line after eight hours it clearly con-
that they shall work any
number Of hours up to the 16-hOur
INIT fixed by the hours service act.
Third, it attempts to provide that the