The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1916-09-20
EVERY WEDNESDAY
THE LESSON OF The STRIKE.

eyer given serious thought tc
the far reaching effects Of then
action should itcome to an actua!
Waikout. The same can De said
uf the citizenship Of the country
at large. Strikes had been sc
frequent occurance during the
past half century, and the buSl
ness of the country and suffered
much small checks therefrom,
that we had baen lulled into a
false sense OF security.
In the great crisis, which has
been for time averted, how
ever, the country has at last
been awakened to the enormous
power of organized labor. 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 peo-
pie had ever realized how fully
were the railroads the arteries
through which coursed the com
mercial life blood of the nation.
Not until we were threatened
with a stoppage of that life CIV
ing stream did we awaken to the
dire peril which such action por'
tended. 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
resulted had the srlke material
lied.
But now that we are at last
awake to the real significance
of the situation that confronts
US, we should profit by our
knowledge. We should see to
it at once that no similar peril is
ever again permitted to threaten
US.
We must recognize the fact
that the railroads are an abso-
Lutte necessity to national life;
that tits now a moral and patriotic
duty incumbent upon not only
the managers, but upon the en-
ployes as we'll, to keep the roads
in operation.
Yes, we know all the rights Of
labor, and of that proud boast
that we are all free born Ameri-
cen citizens. But when 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 interest. They are in bond
age to the great cause ofuuiver-
sal humanity. They have made
themselves absolutely necessary
to their fellows and are not free
to follow their own inclinations.
They have become a part of the
machinery that moves a. nation.
and must bear the responsible
ties that accompany the position.
We must realize that for the
railroad man to quit his post,
unless a competent substitute is
at hand to assume his duties, is
as reprehensible as a violation
of train orders and fraught with
as great peril to the public safety
The railroader must oe brought
to see that he owes a sacred
duty to his country, not even
second to that of the soldier.
The soldier guards our homes
and our honor; the rallroader
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.
prosperity and safety shall be
fairly dealt with. The thousands
OF men VINO daily ana nOufly eA-
pose their lives to the perils OF
the rails that we may prosper
and live in comfort should hav e
the full weight Of our influence
and sympathy toward securing
square deal. The roads should
be made to feel that an injustice
to them is an affront to the ma
ton. And likewise, the employees
should be made to realize that to
throttle the roads is to cruelty
the nation which every honest
American loves.
-.Il,~,,&