The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-08-26
THE LABOR PAPER

The average labor paper lives on
prejudice 1t is seldom moderate in
its statements; it almost always
caters to the ideas of the most radi
cal among its readers. The conse-
quence is that it is generally of small
size and seldom of more than medium
circulation; also that the average la
boring man depends for his news on
the capitalistic sheets that the labor
paper denounces.
We have always had higher opin-
ion of the Jacksonville Artisan than
Of the average labor paper. 1t has
told a good deal of what seemed to
US to be the truth and expressed
good many ideas with which we are
in sympathy. Consequently, we were
sorry to see in it the other day an
article that read like one of Gov.
Cats speeches. In it was para
graph which referred to the article
"Tired of Being Wagged by the Tail"
which appeared in the Star two weeks
ago. The paragraph was as follows:
1--WE do not believe one word of what
the Ocala Star says. We do not be-
lieve that punches of citizens said
that they wished some of the officials
had backbone enough to refuse the de-
mands of the railroad brotherhoods. 1t
may be that some sycophantic boot
| Iickers of moneyed men made such re-
marks, but not solid, thinking citi
zens."
T Now, the editor of the Artisan was
not in Ocala at the time. He has not
consulted anybody who was here at
the time. He knows, we suppose, that
what he or any other man believes or
dlsbelieves is not evidence. So he an
nounces that he doesn't believe a GER
tain thing-because he doesn't want
to believe it. Does he expect such
statement to be accepted by "solid,
thinking citizens" If he will come to
Ocala we can introduce him to quite
number of men who highly approved
CT the article in question, and he
won't tell them that they are -"syco-
phantic bootlickers of moneyed men,"
either-at least not loud enough for
them to hear.
The editor of the Star has about as
much right to speak for union labor
a. anybody. He served his appren-
ticeship-something few printers do
these days-and joined typograph-
ical union in his twentieth year. He
carried an union card and worked il.
union Offices all over the South. He
came to Ocala with an union card in
his pocket, and the only reason he let
| it lapse was there was not enough
journeymen printers in Ocala to form
an union. AS foreman of the Star,
he conducted the office as closely to
union rules as conditions would per-
nit. He reduced the working hours of
the men and succeeded in procuring
| for them a time and half instead of
straight time for extra work. And in
all the years he has been in Ocala, no
union printer in need has ever passed
him without receiving a helping hand.
We recognize the worth and have
written in defense of union labor. We
realize that but for the labor unions
our workingmen today would be little
better than slaves. We know that
labor has had to fight its way up. We
have always sympathized with it and
helped it so far as we could in it's
struggle for better conditions. We
believe it would be a very bad thing
for this country and the whole world
if the labor unions were broken up.
This thing that we are fighting is
not union labor. 1t is organized op-
ipression-a systematic attempt on the
part of labor autocracy to drive the
hog over the American people, union
workmen and all 1t is a concerted
effort of the minority to take the
rights from the majority; to seize the