| Show i t l THE DENVER STInKERS i I 1 I t The sully foolish conduct of the railroad I rail-road strikers at Denver was described I in our telegrams on Tuesday morning The sympathy of good men and women I J is invariably on the side of the laborer and when strikes occur it they are con I r dncted lawfully the kindly feeling of y the community always runs with the eP strikers but it is rare that the latter iake a course to hold the respect and sympathy aroused in their behalf Inmost In-most cases the men have areal t grievance and also in most cases they i l go about the business of righting their t I wrongs and obtaining the relief to which i to they are entitled in the di 1z xectly opposite way to the F i ii course they should follow We do not doubt that the D it R G strikers strik-ers were oppressed indeed to find workman who have no cause for complaint r IF i com-plaint against their employers is of such m rare occurrence that ordinary people seldom stop to ask whether the men i have been treated rightly or abused but accept the latter as a matter ofF of-F fact Whatever the grievance of the strikers in this instance as in so many others they are doing just what they j should not do to obtain redress and relief The trouble comes trom laborers 9i f labor-ers placing themselves under bad 11 leaders usually men who work only P 11 11 J their jaws and tongues This seems toy J to-y have been the case in Denver where 1 the man who is directing and I misguiding the strikers is a 5 disreputable blatherskite and deadbeat l too lazy to work but not too lazy to get lis living by deluding the simpleminded L simple-minded honest toilers and beating fJ i tradesman By listening to his bad advice t ad-vice the strikers are losing 3000 a day > i and are contributing to his support IT and now he has led them into doing that V t i which has alienated from them the public sympathy which was so essential I y to to them in their distress and so necessary gt t neces-sary to a fair adjustment of the dispute li i between employer and employee Workingmen invariably go wrong n l r when they forget or deny that all other 1 t wortdngmen have rights which must be fT respected and that employers cannot r be denied their rights and privileges = Thus it is the right cf the toiler to cease work whenever he may feel agrieved if the toil is too hard the 1 3 pay too little or there is anything else I = that is displeasing or objectionable he has the right to quit and go where he can do better he can unite with P fraternal organizations and societies r and live up to an agreement which says f v iw that a grievance of one shall be the t giievance of all he can even keep 1 t within his rights if after ceasing to work F be employ argument and persuasion to < prevent the filling of his place But 4 here his rights end and those of the employer and of other laborers begin i By not stopping here is where strikers 1 get themselves into trouble and defeat i their purposes 1 Judge Brewer in Denver last Friday sentenced some of the strikers i to imprisonment not for striking r but for their unlawful intimidation of it others who were willing to work His t j opinion was a clear and able statement tf of the rights of employer employee t He said among other things that > f t Every man has a right to work for 11 j whom he pleases and to go where heFt he-Ft I r 1 pleases and to do what he pleases providing o pro-viding in so doing he does not trespass 1 1 i on the rights of others And every man l who seeks another to work for him has t i r a right to contract with that man to i make such agreement with him as will r tr < i be mutually satisfactory and unless he has made a contract binding him to a r l r stipulated time he may rightfully say i to such employe at any time I have I I no further need of your services I I i This is the entire business in a nut l 1 shell When laborers understand it l l t when they will be governed by it there > 1 2 may bejust as many strikes as now fi 1 1 hut there will be no beating and maltreating I f mal-treating of men who are willing to accept l I a i i the work and pay refused by the strikers f strik-ers there will be no malicious destruction J I f destruc-tion of property of employers and I r strikers will not so often come under the condemnation of the law and public t opinion We always feel sorry for laborers who go out on strike sorry first for their lack of wisdom and good j l i judgment in throwing up one job before II r they secure another and sorry next tt when the strikers are guilty of conduct I II I which is unlawful and instead of making I mak-ing matters better for themselves makes I them eminently worse I |
