The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1919-12-05
TO RICH ONLY
Is Law Beneficial AS Miner
Sees 1t.

The following letter by miner APP
peared in the indianapolis Star last
week, and we are requested to repro
duce it.
To the Editor of the Star:
In an article on Strike, a Relic of
Barbarism," Henry Lane Wilson
quotes Lincoln, Labor is prior to cap
ital.' Mr. Wilson says no one denies
it. Then, if every one gives labor the
priority, it also places labor in a seat
of dignity and proves that capital can
not exist without labor. Mr.. Wilson
also states that law is the expression
of divine and human authority. Mr..
Wilson again states that labor is not
prior to society. l wonder Where he
gets it.
Let me say law is the expression of
divine authority in which every civil
lied country of today is supposed to
be governed Yet in its application
wonder where the human part of the
law comes in. l will admit there are
plenty of human laws, but they are
not built on the divine law, or every
man would be working for living.
There would be no parasites clinging
to the workingman's backs like the
limpet on the rock.
Mr.. Wilson says labor is not prior to
society. / wonder what Mr.. Wilson
meant by society Did he mean that
little gathering he was present at, or
other gatherings where nothing but
the rich of the land attend? 1t seems
by the language in Mr.. Wilson's ad-
dress that these comprise society, for
he speaks of the miners and steel
workers as exceeding their right, when
they seek to better their condition.
Miners and steel workers may not be-
long to the class of society Mr.. Will
son describes, but they belong to the
whole family of God, which began
with Adam and Eve.
l would say, let Mr. Wilson take the
beam out of the eye of society before
he begins with organized labor.
Organized labor was 100 per cent
patriotic, at least the miners. Society
(as classified by Mr.. Wilson, was
patriotic to the extent of making mil
lionaires, organized labor to the extent
of attempting to perfecting democracy
and to bring to an approximate real
ization of "Peace on earth, good will
toward men,"
Organized labor's influence is not
negative, but active, but because as
freemen its members claim the right
of free government-to live as free
men-the toilers are taken by the
throat and strangled as if criminals.
Mr.. Wilson, if the Lever act did not
terminate with the signing of the
armistice, why did the law Cor So
ciety) not get hold of the coal opera
tors and cleanse them? 1t is a true
statement of Mr.. Wilson that few are
willing to become poor that the labor
ers should become rich. No wonder
the few are afraid to give up their
riches, because when they are in the
society class they can get riches more
readily, for the poor are glad to get
the crumbs which fall from the rich
mans table and again the poor men
put the society" men into congress
and senate to pass laws to suit them
selves.
Copper was taken from the bowels
of the earth and manufactured. The
government sold it to Ryan Zone of the
"society'') for 16 cents pound. Ryan
sold it back to the government for 28
cents pound. Is this the patriotism
Mr.. Wilson refers to2 MIR. Ryan
made about $8,0OO,o00 in the twinkling