The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-11-03
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE STRIKE.

soidy behind the President and applaud the vigorous
policy of the government preparing to Illustrate the
of the deuded who seek to freeze and starve
the country into surrender to their unreasonable de-
mands If the leaders of the coal miners have any dis
cretion they will avoid going step farther the road
that leads to prison. and if the miners stop and think they
will refuse to be made the tools of agtators who are
seeking only their own individual advantage.
The government is in duty bound to protect the people
If moderate measures do not avail then sterner
will be used There is limit to the power that can be
by the government 1t can crush to powder any
combination that raises its hand against the public well
fare can reach out and take into custody every nd
vidua high low who conspires to interfere with the
output of coal who aids abets in such interference
1t can take charge of the mines, put at work. and
protect them while they work The utter folly of the
United Mine Workers leaders in assuming that they can
with impunity defy the United States will become APP
parent very quickly if they dare to go on with their
criminal work
There are that other labor leaders will endeavor
to bolster up the coal strike by ordering strikes on the
railroads Let hope that these leaders will not make
such mistake which would be so disastrous to them
selves personally and injurious to the cause which or
ganized labor has given into their keeping These leaders
have no right to sacrifice their followers through motives
of malice anger, private advantage. They hold
solemn trust the welfare of hundreds of thousands Of
families They should put aside their personal feelings
and recognize their responsibility to their followers The
same law which forbds conspraces to limit coal produc-
on also forbid conspraces to interfere with transpor
ation The penalty for violation of the law is plainly
stated that need become guilty through gnor-
ance If any draws down upon him the heavy hand
of the and sent to prison it will be his own
fault because he has been duly warned to avoid commit
ting unlawful acts
The bunders made by such men as Foster nthe steel
strike and Lewis in the coal strike are sharp reminder
to union labor that should be extremely careful in
ecting it's leaders, The of violent speech and ex-
IRENE action is not the man who should be clothed with
responsibility for the of union labor This is not
brute force struggle but battle of brains. If the
workers will run over the list of labor leaders during the
last fifty years they will notice that union labor received
most benefit from moderate quiet intelligent men, who
carefully worked forward point by point, and held by
law and logic every inch they gained The least benefit
was derived from the haranguing agators who Dragged
Of their devotion and who advocated extreme methods
The most successful labor unicrS those that are never
engaged in strikes or other Interruptions.
Americans are more than glad defend the rights of
labor All of them who are worth thar salt are them
selves workers at something useful The cou1ry looks
with favor upon unions and recognizes that man has
right to work or quit as he pleases The government
has not the slightest intention to interfere with the right
of the coal miners to quit work Attorney General
Palmer has made this fact very clear This is free
country, and the people will keep it free. Those who
wish quit quit but they cannot make others quit
Those who wish work work, but they cannot make
others work There fore, there is ground whatever
for the fear expressed by certain labor leaders, to the
effect that the government is to be used as an nsru
ment of tyranny in behalf of employers against employees
That suggestion is grattous piece of disloyaty and
the labor leaders in question really patriotic Amer
cans they would not have uttered it. They arouse sus
picon as to the quality of their Amercanism when they
mpute base motives to their government.
This is not proptous time for any labor leader to
mpugn the government but rather time for fearless
opposition TO the bolshevism that anti Americans
trying to inject into organized laborWashington Post
Director General Hines is preparing to give back the
railroads. He was little impressed with Mr.. McAdoos
project of going for five years sin the old WV
When we all have little of that deadly "Att nc
force" in pockets everybody will be as nice as pie
to us and We'll recoprocate That will be the millennium.