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


toward treason.
AS for the "sycophantic bootlickers
Of moneyed men," that the Artisan
alludes to, they are very thin in the
country and the small towns They
may flourish in the cities but it is our
opinion that they exist principally in
the movies and the minds of labor agi-
tators. We are very suspicious of
that line of talk, for the most pro-
fuse use of it we ever heard was
made by an old scamp who led a
printers strike in Atlanta in 1856
ard was the first man to "rat."
We have never opposed good wages
for railroad men, or any other class
of men, but do not think it any more
right that one class of workers should
be given more than they earn, at the
lexpense of all the people, than that
the kaiser's saber rattlers should lord
it over the common people of Europe.
1t is one of the foundation principles
of this government that 'life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness" shall be
free and equal to all. This cannot be
as long as one class obtains its dis
proportionate share of the good
things of this world At present
few preferred callings are skimming
tn cream off life, while the great ma
jority are barely able to obtain the
lnecessaries.
| The Artisan further says: "Organ-
lied labor does not wish to strike. In
every case where strikes have been
called, it is a credit to labor that all
other means were tried first before
this last step was taken"
We are very much afraid that the
average citizen, in view of the hap
penings of the past few years, will be
inclined to regard this statement as
d "roorback" Mr.. Roorback was a
gentleman who lived about forty
years ago and was much given to
making statements that it was COM
monty believed made Ananias turn
over in his grave; consequently a
whopping lie was called "roorback"
for short.
A look thru the files of any daily
paper will show at least fifty strikes
while the war was on-strikes made
by men who were already earning
high wages and took advantage of the
need of their country to extort more.
The strike of the railway shopmen a
few days ago was not only made be-
fore any adequate attempts to come to
an agreement were made, but it was
a breach of faith on the part of the
shopmen.
/ In the old days, organized labor
Igenerally struck because it was over
worked, underpaid or had some other
Ireal grievance. 1t always struck
against capital, and it nearly always
had the sympathy of the people. An
instance of this was the Jacksonville
street car strike of seven years ago,
where the men worked twelve hours a
day and were paid wages too low for
a decent man to live on. 1t was a
righteous strike and the strikers had
the sympathy of the people of Jack
!: sonville and the entire state.
! But in these days organized labor
: strikes against all the people in order
to try and bully the government into
lgranting its unjust demands, and ow-
ing to the cowardice of the men in Of
flee it generally wins. But it is rapid
lily lining up the public against itself,
and one of these days it will find men
in Office who will call it's bluff.
1t orders strikes that throw union
men out of work. 1t orders strikes
that denies milk to the babies of
union men. 1t orders strikes on the
transportation lines, so union men and
women can't reach their work. 1t
orders strikes that would besiege a
city and starve men, women and chill
ldren, union and non-union, to carry
one of its points. 1t is becoming the
Incarnation of everything that is ty-
r&nnical, unreasonable and cruel-the
Hun among the forces of society. 1t
Eorders strikes that would leave Amer
lean soldiers without food or ammu-
milton in the face of the enemy. 1t
Idoesn't want freedom and equality
for all the people. 1t wants special
privilege for itself and a power over
Everybody else that would make the
rule of the Prussian junkers seem
J like benevolent autocracy.
We would like to see it start it's
. nationwide, sympathetic strike tomor-
row.
. The Artisan closes it's article with:
May organized labor realize that it's
greatest weapon is the ballot, and
that the polling booth is the battle
field. Let every man who has a vote
go to the polls and there defeat the
men in Senate and Congress, in city
} council and on county boards, who
have refused to give them their rights
} to which they are entitled as a part
and parcel of this great common
wealth which makes up this country
of ours"
; To this we say, amen. A party is
entitled to everything it can win by
peaceable and legal election methods.
But this paragraph is not in harmony
with the 'Plumb plan" nor the utter
ance of the labor leader who the other
day threatened a congressional COM
} mittee with a social revolution if
thigh prices were not lowered at once.
DR.. P. B. Altendorf, formerly of
1.-THE U. S. military intelligence depart-