{ title: 'The Clarion. volume (Troy, N.Y.) 1886-1887, May 29, 1886, Page 1, Image 1', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-29/ed-1/seq-1/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-29/ed-1/seq-1.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-29/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-29/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
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iVE 'HI M l oar totlowit^ JW, lornier ss. ERS,” AT.T, appoiut- irotdway to which few York , Jaebns, I about a teir votes id Take ito their :-8soator steal, and lowed h j led from <p«d Ibis I arrived ' loaoed, are ask. % which 1 do jus- and ran low per- ititm for Ont. g,W.Va iiion at hio. lived to , Wil- npany, VOL, I, NTJMBEE 4, PRICE 3 CENTS, WOULD WE STRIKE ? Would weHtnice7 Noi aotinanger, BortownacdouTtotiie oauM, But to rr^ la te and rteDien All uiyoBl, tnttuniiii im a ; Strike not a t tne Clirlituui motto, “Do as toon wouidst b? done b /,'’ But to laetor and to cutrlsb All tblB precept would implr. Wonldwestnke? no : not in vengeance. Vengeance, as some demos. Send, But witn logic, pen and pencil, Scboo iigeecb to be our friend; BendlngtortHtliegiadiKHne tidings, TQat our rights must equal b*, w ttn rna loriir corparatlone, Tnai the colter mar go tree, would we Kti Ike T No: n e tw ltti digger. For to Kill and croBb our toes, But with reaaoB. aaklng onlr Xautl ligate and wnolesoma laws; WLoieeame tor the tolhog mUUons, Thoie. wno, b j the sweat of brow, Bsro tuelrllviigln tie tactoriee, WoricBbop, mine, or with the plow. WonldwesCTiSeT Nol not with laicn, But with educatlun’s wand, Teaching everr Knight of LabO', I d oar ranks, throngaout'the land, What Is Jostlce to hlS brother, JUS loe is to aU.on e arth; NothUg matter what their cilUng, Nur the land that gives them birth. Would we strike 7 Noi notwlthwetpocs, save the one of wisdom's mould; Teaching those, who would go with ue, Right and insticr, in our told; Show them truths that ther see them, As ttaer teel them now, so sore, HowtorighttbeaewroE^, and core them. That the; m a j be lUvei no more. Slavee no more to cruel trranis, Cojust laws and corporate greed, Learning how to heel toe aners ot the nauon where they bleed; Bleedligtbrough the pores ot labor, UKe the Christ when crucllled; LeamlngprKdeEC*, With true patience, In the ballot let's confide. W ill H. Moixici, L. A. 1408. Oekalocsa, Iowa LABOR NOTES. The Cumberland coal miners’ strike has ended b ; the men returoiog to work. Tho true motto of goveinment. The greatest good of all. It is stated that the boycott on convict made goods in Oregon will bankrupt the contractors unlees the state releases them from their contract. Daring the last nine years, the govern ment has paid shylocte $45,000,000, for the use of gold to redeem $6,000,000 of legal tenders. The steady and profitable employment of all the productive forces of the nation should be the highest aim of the govero- The Boston master builders stiU refnse to arbitrate with the Carpenters' Union. Norcross Bros, are making hoar prices with their men who will generally work nine honra per day. Grinding and monopolisho employers should be taught if they will not willingly admit the fact that it is the natural right of every man to p r o c l ^ his belief on labor questions without being excom municated for i t by his employer. The people should bear in mind that the fall of a government is generally pre* ceded by deception, frand and class legis lation, ss well as slavish action at the polla Let these things be stamped down by honest, patriotic and courageous There are four words that most be wiped ont, kicked out and expunged from our political dictionary, viz., “class legislation, unequal taxation.’’ Bach exiatings are not favorable to tme manhood, and the practices which they imply must be annihilated. Nothing ever was accomplished with- j oat tbongbt, and if ever on earth there , was a time for good, solid thinking that.: time is now here for the workingmen of i the world. They must do their own thinking. The monopolistic millidnairea will never do i t for them. Dolph oI Oregon has introduced a bill in the United States Senate providing punishment not exceeding imprUonment for one y ear' and $600 fine for anyone in- terfeiing with the bnsiness of “common carriers,\ wuich means railroads whose tool this fellow is. The Boston superintendent of police uaa Issued orders that the law requiring barber shops to close on Sunday shall hereafter b e enforced. This is the result of a petition of 1,000 barbers of Boston. No Sunday work, early closing and shorter hours will soon prevail the coun try over. Workingmen never were conmdered a factor ID American politics until agita tion, education and organization de veloped their strength. If the people will elect thirty in dependent members to the next Con gress, who will faithfolly represent the labor and industrial interests, they can hold the balance of power and command the sitnation. It is conceded by all unbiased minds that T. V. Powderly is one of tne brain iest, as well as most upright, men in this country. He stands as far above the mkjority of men in office as does the majestic oak tower above the blackberry bush. He thoroughly understands the needs o f the people, and is fearless in ex pressing his views. The noble order of the Knights of Labor is making greater progress in this country than any other labor organiza tion that was ever projected and institu ted. Let the good work go speedily on. In organization there is hope. To go backward is to lose all that haa been ac complished thus far. The Bigelow carpet, mills at Clinton, Mass., have reenmed liork after a four weeks’ shut down. There was no dis turbance after the strike, though egent Bigelow tried hard to get the hands to make some breach of the peace. The re quests of the help have not yet been complied with and only a portion have returned to work. While strikes are an evil and theoreti cally censurable, the truth is that they are often the only means through which redress of wrongs can be secured by those who earn their daily bread by daily toil and have nothing beyona that upon which to rely. The organized bodies of workingmen in this country are like a solid wait of masonry against which the waves bleak in a’vain attempt to over come and heat down, “Thus fax ahalt thou go and no further,’’ is the proclama tion which humble toilers, bended to* gether and acting as a unit make to im perious capital. Bthiud these burly men are tneir wives and little children. Be hind capital is insatiable greed, crying give!—New York Day Star. It is only where the law falls short of supplying an adequate remedy for the wrongs alleged, or where oppression takes some subtle form which the law cannot reach, that combination can with any propriety be resorted to, and then al ways within such limits as the law pro scribes, avoiding all forms of violence and seeking only peaceful means of ad justment, for it is as old as Magna Chsrta an organic law with ns that “no person shall be deprived o f life, liberty or prop erty without due process of law.’’ P r o foundty serious, therefore, is the responsi bility which rests upon both capital and labor in emergencies such as this. —[Bal timore, Md,] Sun. Whem the know-nothing party, some thirty and odd y ear ago, sprang its nar row doctrines upon the people of a great country whose prondest boast was its be ing the asylum of the oppressed and poor, of every land under the sun, the great heart of the nation was filled with indig nant wrath and a decisive protest went ont from almost the whole population. Since then tunes have chacged vastly. The gates of the republic have been closed against the Chinese, and it will next be in order to take some measures to prevent the European countries from dumping their criminals and political madmen npOD these shores. The iriuption of the anarchists in the northwest is calcuisted to make people think,—New Orleans Picayune. Most of the men who were involved in the Wyoming Chinese msisaore were foreigners who had not been naturalized. The mobs which recently quit work at the Cleveland iron mills, and threatened to born and kill, were largely composed of aliens, recruited in Central Europe, and broi%bt here expressly to glut the labor m a rtei The turbulent elements in Chicago are made up principally of P o U b and Bohemians of the more de graded types, the majority of whom never reached this country without assistance. For ten years there has been an active and systematic movement on the part of great employers to import cheap labor, We are seeing the results now in large centres of popntation. GEN. WEAVER ON LAND GRABS. HOW THB PUBLIC POKAlN IS GIVEN AWAX —POINTS POR WOBKINOMEN. Congressman James B. Weaver, of Iowa, who is a member of the labor com mittee of the bouse of representatives, lectured at the Grand Opera Honae, Brooklyn, Monday evening, May 3d, on the labor question. Mr. Weaver eald it was with pleasure that he appeared, to see if he oouhl add anything to the cur rent of healthful thought that is now en gaging the attention of the American people. Notwithstanding the natural and inexhaustible wealth of the nation there seemed to be distrust aod trooble on every band. It was impossible to tell what was the remedy till we first knew what was the matter. We are a young nation—scarcely 100 years old—while Uermaoy and France are 1,100 years old. Yet as a nation we have known, he said, fat more, in our existence, of riches on one hand and of poverty on the other than any other nation had known in one thousand years. The facilities existing here were five hnndredtimes greater than those of any other nation. One fundameutal error that crept into the foundation of the government was that our fore&thers forgot their trustee ship to posterity. Calling a government a republic does not moke it a repnblie. It may be a republic in name but mon archical and aristocratio in experience- In a republic the tendency of popnlation should be from the city to the country— ,to small farms and high cultivation. Bnt the tendency is from the country to the CUT and for large farms and poor cultiva- IHZ LAND GBABBXRS. Mr, Weaver proceeded to dej;>recate the holding of targe estates by non-resident agents and by absentees, i.e wanted buainesa men and labor unions, he said, to take up for (heir battle cry the hymn, “Home, Sweet Home.’’ If we would maintain a republic a home must be guaranteed from which no man may be ejected. The right of every man to a portion of the soil was sacred. Small farmers in Iowa and in other Northwest ern states were sold out, the speaker said, and the land was going into the hands of large land owners. In Iowa one hundred thousand acres are bdd by the British nobility. There was only one way to correct the evil and that was by the law, and the only way to make the law is bv the ballot box. Something is wanted in this country to make it pos sible for a poor man to get a home. “Think of 47,000,000 acres being given to one corporation,\ said Mr. Weaver, “given to the Northern Padfle railroad- The evils of accumulations of la^e for- tonee led to the destruction ot the Ro man Empire, Look about you for a remedy, you patriotic and intelligent workingmen. It is America that baa the leprosy of labor now, which has afflicted Rome, Spain, Germany, England and Ireland.\ THE SIZE OPTBl FRAUD. A lew days ago, tbespeakercontinued, the land commiseioner told him the rec ords of the general land office showed that 400,000,000 acres of land—equal to an area four times as large as the state of Indiana—was owned by railroad cor porations by wTongfol certifications. The usurers, he said, were taking pos session of the country. Whst more sacred thing than the rights of the race could be talked of on the Sabbath day 7 Within the next twenty years, at the present rate of inorease, the popnlation of this ccnntiy •will be 100,000,000. What preparation is being made for these people? A fitful, momentary sgitation will not be snccesefnl. The enemies of Ubor know that, and they based their hopes that organized labor will commit crime. For then they knew that the strong arm of the law and pnblic senti ment wonld be against labor organiza tions a nd would crush them. He ad vised workingmen to organize, bnt to be temperate and law-abiding, regardful of the rights of property and of person. Their remedy is the ballot-box. They should als<b he said, cultivate the busi ness men, the sbopmeu. Take them by the hand and reason with them, as their business interests were mutual, and, se curing such oo-operation, success would be more readily accomplished. The overcharging for transportation was also denounced as a griexous sort of robbery to which labor is subjected. Mr. Weaver was frequently interrupted by applause during the delivery of bis disconrse. TRUE CO-OPERATION To establish and maiDtain justice is to secure lo everyone his rights. The only legitimate purpose of government is to promote justice. Savsgism, in the ab sence of government, either perfects gov ernment or perfects savagism, is impossi ble of realization. The social instincts of humanity in its most primitive condi tion tends to establish some measure of conventional law by which certain iniB- vidual actions are oondemned and others approved. The highest forms of c-onsti- tutional government attainable will al ways be more or leas imperfect in detail. Sovereignty is the right to define and inforec the decision. Ckmstitutional and statutory laws are legalized definitions of right. Government is the soveteign agent by or through which such laws are made and enforced. The sovereignty must necessarily reside in the one, the few, the many or the all. The sover eignty of the one is monarchy; or the few is oligarchy ; of the many is Demo cratic aristocracy, and of the all is pure democracy or pure republicanism. This country is thecreticaliy a democratic aris tocracy. that IB, a government in which the many, the majority, is supposed to rule. In reality, we are governed by a minority, by the few, by an oligarchy, consisting of anscrnpulous rich men and venial politiciaua. It was the intention o f the founders of this government to provide for the de velopment of a true republic, but the ex- ing adopted. Tho secret ballot periodical elections are suitable.only for the purposes of exactly such an oligarchy as now has full sway in this country. To eslalilish a true republic the will of the people must be ascertained and announced with a promptness and must have the necessary facilities having bis w ll or vote recorded, and changing his vote whenever be changes bis mind. The vote must be counted as often as may be requited to ascertain and announce t h e a u ~ Having thus estab lished the sovereignty of the people, it becomes pi»aible to enact and enforce laws in the interests of the people, to es tablish justice, and promote the general welfare. The sovereignty of the whole is limited by the righte of individuals. The indi vidual does not live for the state. The state exists solel.y and exclusively for the benefit of individnais; to assist and pro tect individual rights; to wrong nobody; to right everybody is the duty of the government A tru e republic is a grand oo - opebative institution in which individuals, th e e q u al tate, in enacting laws and in appoiniing agents to look after afiairs in details, in that the commoummou propertyroperty be dis trib u ted the b. co p tong individuals who will use to (he best advantages, who, while guar anteed the right to consume as much as they produce will be most likely to con sume teas, and thus add to the value of the property they hold. A true repubho is a joint stock conoem in which every inuividnal hold one share of the capital stock and omlt one sba e e . The property of the coucern, the assets of the country, except such as are re quired tor government use, are dis tributed among individuals as private properly, and are held by such individu als as are so industrious, enterprising and abstimions as to produce more than they conanme, in sneh manner that every piece of property held by an individuM is a certificate in his hands that the peo ple, the republic, is indebled to him for services rendered in producing wealth in exact proportion to the value In money of the property he holds. The dividend of this joint stock concern will be col lected or received into the public treas ury iu the form of an advolorem tax on assets, at a rate per cent, p er annum equal to the death rat^ per cent.; that is 10 say, the dividends will be jest equal in value to the assets that individuals leave uncoDsnmed when they die; that is to say, the dividends will be equal to what individuals produce over and above wl they consume. The proceeds of the t will be distributed ot paid out in an manner as will most increase the dema; for aod productiveness of labor and ; dividual “ workingmen'’ willyeceive thi dividends in the form of increased oppor- tnnities for profitable employment and the higher wages resulting from the increased demand for their services, nnllonm and trne Republi- -op tion -e identlcs member must hi ital stock and ohi lave one share any definite penod of time, all must serve the concern subject to removal at the will and pleasure of the members. The managers must be simply executive officers, acting under rules and regula tions must be subject to alleratiims and amendments at any lime by the vote*. The voting must be perpetual; that is the vote of each memt«r must ^ recorded, and the will of the whole as expressed by the votes must be announced, as fre quently as may be necessary to cause all things te move in accordance with the collective will. The price cost of each share of stock; that is the piice of mem- berebip, should boas much, and no mobb , than each one of the members can pay, either on becoming a member or in some manner that may be adopted by all, the same for all. That is to say each member should contribute as much as any othi member to ' utes it should be p aid for the use of it. At whatever price (interest) is agreed The essentials then of true co-opera tion in ordinary bu-siness are: First—All members to have an equal voice in the management of the afiairs of the concern. Second—Perpetual voting and continu ous elections, Tnird—All members to contribute equally to the capital stock. Fourth—When mo it must be paid for and mi Yours very trul; >italis 1equireci :ry truly, D avid R xeves S u i t e . LABOR AND CAPITAL. UOHOEOLl. Abraham Lincoln was the ablest expo nent of the principles that made the re publican patty great in its purer oud earlier days. Wehave before us a speech of Mr. Linooln to a committee of the workingmen’s association of New York upon his accepting honorary membership >n their association. It sounds very dif ferent from ttie stuff now published in the leading repoblicau journals ss sound economic principles. The cxtiact from Lincoln’s address, compared with the stuff published in the party monopoly press, indicates bow far that great party has drifted from its early principles. “The honorary membrship in your as sociation BO generously tendered is grate fully accepted. There is one point to which I ask brief attention. I t is the effort to place capital on an equal footing if not above labor, in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor is available only in connection with capi tal ; that nobody labors unless somebody else owning capital somehow by the nse of it induoee him to labor. This as- snmed, it is next conaidered whether it is best that capital shall hire laborers and thus induce them to work by their own consent or bny them and drive them to do it withoot their consent. Having proceeded so I m it ia naturally ccnaclnded that all laborers are either hired laborers or what we call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life. Now there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired labor er. Both these assumptions are false and all inferences from them are groundless. Labor is prior to, and independent of capitaL Capital is only the fruit of la bor and oould never have existed if labor had not first exLted. Labor is the supe rior of capital and deserves mnch the higher consideration. Capital has its rights which are as worthy of protection as any other nghts. Nor is it denied that there is and probably always will be a relation between capital and tabor pro ducing mutual benefits. There is n ot of necessity such a thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that condition for Many independent men everywhere in these states, a few years back in their lives, were hired laborers. The prudent pennilees begmner in the world labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to bny tools or land for hunself, then labwa on his own account awhile, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This is the just, and gencr- rouB and prospetons system Which opens the way to all, gives hope to all, and oonsequent energy, and progress, and improvement of condition to all, No men hving ate more worthy to b e trusted than those who toil np from poverty- inclined to touch or take aught which ley have not honestly earned. Let them beware of surrendering a political power they already possess, and which, if surrendered, will surely be need to close the door of aJvaucement againtst such as they, and fix new disabilities and bur dens upon tbem till all of liberty shall be None are so deeply interested to resist the present rebellion as the working peo ple. Let them beware of prejudices, working division and hostility among themselves. The strongest bond of hu man sympathy, outside of. the family re lation, should be one uniting working praple of all nations, and tongues and kindreds. Nor should this lead to a war upon property or the owners of properly. Property » the fruit of labor ; properlv is desirable is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become neb, and hence is just encouragement to tndostiy and enterprise. Let not him who is house less pull down the house of another, but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by examph ......... ihall be i ' ' safe from assuring violence To THE E d ito s o f t h e C laeion : Will you please insert thefollowingand ' Another case of poor pay and long hours is called to you notice. That of which we wish to remind your readers is the condition of the employes of the Troy and Boston R. R. company. The men working on that road and in the shops are getting less wages than that paid on other roads for the same work. The head of this compsuy will n ot allow truing to run Sundays, which is very cnreditaole of course, but be more than offaets this by not paying the men their wages when it is due. The SOth of each month is the regular pay day, bnt not one man gets his pay on that day. For this reason they cannot keep the good men when they get them. When ’he men go to the of fice for money they . re told that they cannot pay them, they' ask when they can get it, the answer iaj: “Don’t know, will try next week.\ ‘Of a. irse the men get mad, and no dou'bt say things that would be better not said. They are then told to go and get their discharge and they w!.’ll inen get their pay. Now i f they have the money to pay them when they present a discharge they could certainly pay tbem without one. ' T b e ir~ ^ ^ o y M find it al most impossible to get credit a t the stores uwing to the uncertainty of the com- panv’s pay system, which causes a great amount of suffering. If the managers of this road wonld attend less R. B. Young Men’s Ohristiap Association meetings—so called—and attend to the busineBS of the road mor^ or attend more Y. M. C. A. meetings and learn the rudiments o^ Christianity, and then practice it, there would be no more complaint about the DEAD LETTER pay d aj. Yours truly, E k p l o t e . T hermometsb of CimizATioir D ailt W age T hermometer . ,, .. - _____ barlMi, m ^lear. Taxes several papers land monuiij magAanee. Has Islwner nouK ana uika about blUilVUitobaBliieesIw tumseU. I— laicdepsa arltti Amtrlci I ^ U U b rarr, __ __________ IcUldieo 10 have goon eUacatloa. iTAKes bis newspaper regolar, anUabetleves in tiyicg to get a lasmeot uis own. 13.00— |— ^oor bnt honest sail jflgat (or his tanllv. si 6S— — A bite and a sup ana piaoe tolarthehead. oeneraur lota jot c&udm. SI o a - I— Contractors’ wages. U t U ie !•«, gangs. Nobomeo. —^Freetlog point. chteesM fj AstnehourotisDoroomesdownthe tbenum - eter goes ip.—Besten OHM.
