Show THE HOMESTEAD AFFAIR the affair at the homestead works ic in pennsylvania last wednesday waa was con from any standpoint terrible ic in the extreme various causes will be assigned by different people for the outbreak and the horrible carnage which ensued and the enemies of the protective tariff will charge the responsibility upon the operations of the mckinley bill oar candid opinion ia is that the outbreak wan in no sense political but was the direct and matual result of the unwise and in one sense criminal employment of thugs and bullies by the owners of the works for the purpose of and if deemed necessary murdering inoffensive offe nive american cithens cit zens we are told that the carnegie corn com piny employ employing log a large number of men had reda reduced cod their scale of wages shut down the works locked out the men and declared their intention of allowing the works to remain closed until the men man accepted the reduced ecale scale of wages this was the legal right of the company and it was alao also the right of the workmen to refuse to go to work on the terms offered them the company had a perfect right to be the of its ability to run the works profitably by continuing to pay the old ecale scale of wages with them it was merely a business 1 proposition it was also optional with the owners whether they should attempt to rua run their works with man of their own choice who were capable and willing willingto to accept the terms of offered fared and the former workmen bad had no legal right to interfere but it does not appear that the company mada any such attempt or that the strikers riotous was based upon any such ground they did not x destroy any of the companas comp anys property or make any attempt to do so oa on the contrary coat they off to mika mike oath that they would defend the property if sworn in as officers cars of the law what the companas comp anys ultimate intentions were we do not know that they were taking to their works a body of armed man who had bid not nil been sworn into the service of tho county or state ia is true that these men were professional bullies recruited from a dangerous clasa class who have no legitimate occa is true altho although uh some of them may have entered upon this particular service under a mistaken idaa of what duties they were to be called upon to perform that trouble was expected by the company campany was evidenced by the preparations that bad had been made to meet it but in the arming of the men and the strengthening of tha 1 beats for tha protection of the mea against possible assault by the atri kare they committed no overt of hostility toward their former employees the overt act was committed by thosa who fired the ficat shot but the moral responsibility is clearly chargeable to the carnecie Oa Ca rnezie company while the company had a legal right to land the pinkerton men and placa them in the enclosure which had been built aronal arcond their own works it ia Is clear that they must have known that each such an attempt would be certain cartain to lead to serious trouble when onca the idea possesses the minds of men who earn their bread broad by the sweat of their brow that a rich corporation por po ration atlon contemplates doing them an injury by taking from them the means of providing for the sustenance and comfort of their wives and children they do not usually stop to listen to th thi 9 dictates of reason they act upon impulse taking no thought of self or the ultimate consequence of their indiscretion indes cration their sole desire is ti 0 checkmate the scheme to injure them and with a courage born of desperation they became reckless aa beyond human cb atrol this appears to have baen the case at homestead men and women bacare bacame bloodthirsty and acted like wild beasts we have no words of censure for those who engaged in thie this moat most unfortunate and awful affair they will have to answer to their oven consciences and to the offard ed law bat but the lessia to bs drawn from it ie is tint that the employment employ meat of hired hi red as lassins for the purpose of intimidating free fres americana americans is contrary to the spirit of the age and will not bo tolerated in this country the lawi laws are ample for the protection ot of all classes ol 01 people and their every interest and any cor horation po ration or individual that employs 11 II legal methods like he the employment of pinkerton thugs for any purpose what ever evar should be made to suffer for it it libor riota riots are not bo bonaver how syer waver can confined fined to the united states S ates the homestead altair aff tir was not a labor riot riol but a riot of laborers the trouble was not precipitated on account of the proposed redaction reduction of wages bat was solely v owing to the ill advised and unnecessary action of the carnegie company we believe that investigation will show that the equities of the coos are not all on one bide side and the attempt to make political capital out of the unfortunate fortunate nn at fair will prove a flit failure because the american workmen under normal circumstances cum stances Is too sensible and patriotic and loyal to bo be misled by the claptrap clap trap of political demagogues |