Evening journal., 1920-11-06
THE HIGH COST or STRIKES
Striking at the Roots of Americanism

labor is unanimous with the rest Of
the country that such man ought
TO go TO jail
A strike does not merely consist Of
q maa's working or not working when
he wants TO. il is in its essence a
conspiracy among many men to stop
work, and often TO force o;ner men TO
stop work, always in order to injure
and cOerce some one else.
History tells us that the robber
barons "bleated like lambs" about the
fundamental right OF self-proteciion
when they were forced TO put their
private soldiers with which they had
fought their private wars .under COM
mand OF a central government which
represented, at least in some degree,
all the people.
We all OF US remember how this his
tory repeated Itself - how, when the
| question came up OF the right OF all
Americans not TO have the price OF
] their necessaries of life artlncially
! manipulated merely for the benellt of
selfish groups, our own ind elrial rob
! Der barons cried 10 heaven about the
! fundamental right OF any American TO
| do what he pleased with what was his
own.
The bleating Of the robber barons
about the fundamental right OF self
|
lNale wars-the cry Of The trust mag
nate about the fundamental right OF
any man to do what he wanted with
what was his to Justify or cloak his
own conspiracies for price manlpula-
ton-the wall Of a labor leader about
the fundamental right TO work or not
10 work TO Justify or CLOAK a system
under which he himself commands
men to work or not TO work in order
to promote his own or h. S class inter
ests-all are in exactly the same cate
CORY.
TO the rest OF us, as outsiders, such
invOcations and magnifying and twist
ing Of smaller. less important rights
OF individuals to try TO Justify the at
tacks upon the bigger, broader r ghts
OF all the people, merely Indicate TO
what lengths OF blindness or hypoc-
risy the sel6shness of group or class
interest always, in every age, ineVi-
tably leads.
It is one OF the unfortunate weak
nesses OF democracy that small mi
nority, efficiently organized. can often
through plausible sonhisiries and
clever misrepresentation widely and
boldly proclaimed. dominate for a
time the opinion Of all the people as
regard principles and rights about
which the rest Of the people have no
active interest or opinion.
Il is also a weakness OF human ma
ture, which is very fortunate for dem,
ocracy, that whereas an individual
who rises to illogical or illegitimate
power may have the seh-cOntrol and
the discretion not 10 become arrogant
and faunt that power, the group or
| class that achieves Illogical or illeglt-
mate power has invariably throughout
history, sooner or later, become so
over-confldent that it has recklessly
overplayed It's hand.
Our great early industrial leaders
and railroad organizers were referred
Ia as "emplre builders" and were al
most universally looked up to as great
public benefactors. Yet it Is now well
known that they frequently achieved
their power by methods far more
questionable than those used by their
successors, the trust magnates, VINO
achieved an equally extreme obluquy,
; chiefly because They made The .psycilo-
! Logical mistake OF not only thinking
/ but on openly acting and talking in
terms OF "the divine right of capltar
and "the public be damned.
{ American public sympathy has al
( ways been, naturally and openly. on
: the side OF labor, because its struggles
were so frequently against The same
bip Industrial "rohber harons' which
, ihe publlc Itself was lighting and be
cause In general in its Tight with cap
! ital labor seemed 10 be The under dog
r But labor's OvercOntldenb often a.
> most mad, inslstence in Haunting JUS
\ fundamental doctrine OF class rights
= lts increasingly ruthless and open IN
Z frinpement Of the most basic and i'm
\ portant rights OF all the people to b'
fed and warmed and clothed, in order
o. that some small group Of the labor
Y class may be able TO draw full paN
Y for working three days a week or IT
I order 10 put on one group OF men IN
- stead OF another group into unioi
k power, i an open challenge as q
: whether America is to go back TO N
e class and group government or tn
o middle ages for the beneht or SOM
/ OF the people or is to stay American
for the beneflt OF all Americans.
> A trust magnate's remark that TN
q public he damned" has changed an
i made American history. Louis Fridi
10 gers remark TO the B. n. T. striker
in that they should not listen TO cit
Is officials. because their frst duty
5. 60 the public expresses exactly IN
re same ntl-Americanism.
,d The open preaching Of such ant
4 Ameriranism as this the millions an
ne billions. Of dollars which all the Amel
re lean people have lost and suffered h'
H. cause OF strikes for Russia and stirk,
IN for Ireland. strikes TO get power Il
10 some special group OF union leader
NJ and strikes for hundred and on
w other publicly unimportant cause
o. have had, however, one tremendol
he advantage.
rk hey have brought the whole lsbt
A question directly and forcibly befo
&c. the whole American people. The
ho have shown that . Is a national pro
ri lem. They have shown that for q
nuhlic's sake. a. we'll as for the /
ii- horer's sake, a solution must he soug
m that is more fair and just TO botl
or Bui they also have shown that u
n solution which labor offleially pr
m poses and Is trying 10 force into e
nv fect means obviously and basical
he class and group control Of the nece
an stiles Of all the people-that as su
or IL is utterly reactionary and an
IN American and that some other 70
lse 10 a solution must be found which
nd progressive and is American.