The Monroe journal., 1919-06-03
The Labor Trouble III Charlotte

For many weeks there have been
labor troubles IN the cotton mill sec
ton OF Charlotte and Concord. Work
ers IN several mills formed a laoo'
Inipu and the mill managers closed
duwn the mills rather than permi'
p,rmhers of labor Union TO work
Matters went from bad 10 worse ana
the slight troubles that might nave
heen removed at The beginning wid-
ened and widened until the mill man
ayers began 10 ask the Governor OIL
the State TO be IN readiness 10 send
troops to keep order,
Governor Beckett saw very clearly
the issues involved and notihed the
owners that If il became necessary
to send troops TO protect life and
property he would at the time oil
sending them issue statement point
ing out the fact that the mill owners
could not Justify their position IN
discharging men for belonging to a
union any more than the employees
could Justify a demand that none but
union people be employed. He a'so
advised the owners TO open the mllls
and invite all the workers back with
out regard TO whether they belonged
to a union or not. They seem to have
taken his advice. Commenting on this
action the Raleigh News d Observer
Of Saturday said:
THE Governors statement ad-
dressed to the principals in the cotton
mill strike trouble in Charlotte is
calculated to have wholesome effect.
1t contains a significant reminder
that the State is greater than
either or both sides of the
quarrel and that the law and
order will be maintained at any cost.
But the Governors comment does not
stop with a warning. Ii points the
way to a solution of the difficulty.
The solution, as the Governor shows.
is in both sides approaching the mat
tiers at issue in spirit of coneiliation.
Both the mill operatives and the mill
owners are losing money now. They
might as we'll be making money in
stead The whole situation between
the two interests was admirably stat
ed. although without specific refer
ence to the News and Observer last
Sunday by K. F. Beasley, State Com
missioner of Public Welfare. when he
said:
There are no such impersonal
things as labor and capital. There are
human beings-all fundamentally
and irrevocably alike at bottom
and there are things and represent
ations of things, which We call capi-
tai. Except the primary elements of
the physical universe which God
made, all things are made by men,
When there becomes sufficient store
of these things they are used to aid
in making other things, Money has
nothing to do with 1t except as a rep
resentatye of these things. What rea-
son is there to suppose that il should
be Just or wise TO give all the control
of these things TO one set of men and
call them capitalists and call another
set of men equally important and use
full and indispensable in making these
things labor? There is no real ques-
tion of labor and capital as thus con-
ceived. II is a question of men and
human relationships, and We will
never get anywhere towards peace
and comfort as question of cooper
alton between men on the one hand
and the Joint production. use and dis
tribution of things on the other
hand
Both the mill people and the mill
workers must make some concessions.
Neither can afford to undertake an
arbitrary use of power necessary to
enforce their contention.
"The Governors declaration is a
wise and unbiased analysis of the
situation and his appeal for a restor-
alton of friendly relations ought to
be needed "