Evening journal., 1920-01-22
The RIGHT TO STRIKE

Editor Of the Washington Post: The
labor unions have taken the position
that the so-called right to strike must
be maintained at all hazards without
qualification or restriction, and they are
here with a more numerous insistenl
and aggressive lobby than all the corp
orate interests combined ever put In the
field. They base their claim upon the
unquestloned liberty Of an Individual
10 quit work when he chooses. Any
man or men, however, who prefer TO
exercise their right not TO belong to a
union and seek positions which have
been vacated they call scabs and In
very many Instances have malireated,
terr0rlzed and even killed them What
becomes Of the ind vldual liberty they
are so solicltous aboutg
They also deny liberty 70 The en-
plOyer. The late futile coal ami steel
strikes were fOmented and engineered
by radicals. with the purpose now fully
disclosed of expanding them into revo-
lutlonary violence, preliminary TO which
the closed shop was 10 be established.
under the rules Of wh ch only union
men can bo permitted to earn liy-
ms; another Illustration Of liberty. If
every citizen canrOt be protected IN his
right to work when and where he
plesses and for what he pleases. there
Is no such thing as liberty and there
Is no government worth maintaining.
The Senate has wisely ard courage
ously put into the Cummins railroad
bin provision intended to protect tn
people Of the country against the ca
lamlty Of n general strike The unions
claim The risht whenever they make a
demand on the management TO decide
first without any arbitration that 1t Is
a Just demand and then to carry their
decision into execution by tyirg up the
transportation Of the entire country,
bringing business. to "a standstill, and
starvation. sickness and death 30 mil
lions. They disregard wholly the fact
that they are charged with a public
duty. and assert their rlght and their
power from the nature Of their Oecupa-
ton. though a small minority. to force
tie rest Of the country TO bow to Their
WILL whenever. end for whatever pur-
pose they choose to declare it No
free people will ever submit to such
domination and no ty"ant or autocral
ever attempted to exercise anything TO
compare with it.
OF course. II this unrestricted right
10 strike under any aud all oircum-
stances exists it Is not confined to any
one class; 1t belongs 20 everybody
Would it not be well for the people
composing the unions TO consider how
It might work out as affecting them
II applied in some directions Let us
suppose that the doctors and nurses
form a countrywide union as the rail-
road employees have. After years of
hard and expensive study and training
they take up the most dialcult. most
cXactng work Of any class Of tOilers
M eight-hour day for them; day and
night with a heavy burden Of anxiety
rand respons b lity. often without COM
pensatlon they care for the sick and
unfortunate. The average doctor the
county over Is poorly paid. and a rich
doctor is rarity anywhere Mos
country doctors earn less than many
railroad engineers and mechanics. Now
suppose that the Medical and Nurses
Union. taking advantage Of an epidem'
announce that after a certaii date the,
will charge four times the amount they
have been receiving. that no matter
rhat the eXigency they viii not worl
but eight hours q day unless palC
doutlC that amount for overtime, in
cluding holidays and Sundays and ina