Show in the guise of humanity the railway brotherhoods brothe and the president ot of the united states have put this thing over on tho the country in he guise ot of establishing an eight hour day this is where choro they get the general human sympathy on their side this la is the supreme deception in the whole performance the issue is not and never was a question ot of shorter hours it is a question ot of higher p apsy y tor for the high ort ert paid labor in the world vie tha deffe cace is as wide as tile hie tea bea the radical says that when the rights of property come into final conflict with the rights of 0 humanity property must give way it Is this appeal that has moved men from rom the days ot of the bil ament of 0 negro slavery down to the days of 0 the abolishment of child labor it Is this appeal that Is moving men now to support the president when lie he declares the establishment of 0 the eight hour day to be in accord with the advancing opinion ot of mankind yet it 11 is not the limitation ot of mens work to eight hours which this rough and ready decision means tile the proof of this alila lies in the tact fact that the brotherhoods brothe themselves have never said so eo and that they would not accept a real rule making them work eight hours per day no more and no less it Is an increase ot of wages that this decision means simply a movement ot of an imaginary line in the revision ot of wages upward raising ot of wages often has it human appeal in industries like that of garment making it often means the difference between a lifting of the worker above the line that divides industrial slavery from self sek respect ing economic independence in the present case the advance does n not t have that significance the 50 0 0 advance or the advance goes to but one fifth of the railroad employed emp loyes that one fifth Is so well paid that even garretson of tile the conductors union said recently that other workingmen would be prejudiced as arbitrators because they would be jealous of the high wages the brotherhoods brothe already were getting many trainmen now are receiving higher pay than professional men or than important executive officers of the road the dents decision then la Is a verdict in favor of 0 property against property of small property against big property to be sure but nevertheless th eless of property against property it is not a verdict of humanity against property as it pretends to be the eight hour day is not put into effect by it a wage advance for the most highly paid class ot of american workingmen the aristocrats of labor bor as they have proudly called themselves is put into effect the increase goes to the class comprising one fifth of the railroad em aloyes which has received 35 to 40 per cent wage advance in the last decade and by so much decreases the possibility of advancing wages tor for the four fifths who have received but 10 per cent advance in the last decade in terms of humanity this decision Is not what it pretends to be public opinion Is fast coming to realize this we do not wonder that the representatives senta tives of the brotherhoods brothe in washington have the cleverness and the impudence to demand that the railroads be given no more time to determine their position every day hurts the strength of the take fake eight hour position because it is a fake the first duty of the railroads is to expose that take fake it they are to yield to the vast power thrown thus she kingly against them they should make the record so clear that the public will be able to estimate the deception tor for itself and do it before election day it if we must limit work to eight hours to protect the family life of overdriven workers why we will do it gladly and accept the cost we will say all right but it if we must under threat of force increase the pay of a highly paid well living minority at the cost ot of an advance of transportation charges for or all business and the simultaneous sacrifice ot of the principle of arbitration why all wrong and just what were doing the rocky mountain |