Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1898 — LABOR UNIONS [ARTICLE]

LABOR UNIONS

Through Legislation the Democracy Lifts Many Burdens From Labor Organizations. I* Was Through Democratic LeglslatnrM That Coercion and Intimidation by Unscrupulous Employees Was Prohibited— Republicans Responsible for the Infamous Law to Intimidate Railroad Employes—Bringing of Pinkerton’s Into the State to Shoot Down the Strikers Prohibited by Democratic Enactments. It is well known to every union workingman in Indiana, because it is a part and an important part of labor’s history, that the time is not remote, even if it has passed, when employers were virulently hostile to labor organ!- - zation and in numerous ways sought to impose penalties upon workingmen.who became members of such organizations.

This hostility was exhibited in various forms, each and all of which was inimical to the liberty and independence of the union workingman. This opposition took the form of coercion, intimidation, threats of discharge, and of discharging men from their employment and of blacklisting them. It was in the most odious form wage slavery. And to make matters still worse, the opposition of employers to labor organizations was often, and generally, secret. The employers had their hired spies and the penalties imposed came without premonition. This shameful antagonism of employ, ers became so pronounced that union workingmen appealed to the Democratic legislature of 1893 for redress and the response was the enactment of a law, approved Feb. 25th, 1893, which provided:

“That it ehall be unlawful for any individual, Or member of any firm, agent, officer or employer of any company or corporation, to prevent employes'frem forming, joining and belonging/to any lawful labor organization, and any such individual member, agent, officer or employer that coerces or attempts to coerce employes, by discharging or threatening to discharge from their •employ or the employ of any firm, company or corporation, beoause of their connection with such labor orga/nization, and any officer or employer, to exact a pledge from workingmen that they will not become members of a labor organization as a consideration of employment, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined in any sum not exceeding SIOO, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.”

In these provisions of a wise and just law it is seen that labor did not appeal to the Democratic legislature in vain. Workingmen were at once emancipated from a most debasing thraldom. The odious schemes and machinations of employers were overthrown and union workingmen could exercise their rights and discretion unintimidated.

When the great number of union workingmen in Indiana is considered and the benefits that have accrued to them by virtue of the law under consideration, the Democratic party of Indiana has a right to felicitate itself upon the wisdom and justice of the statute which secures rights to workingmen which they appreciate, and prize above measure.

INTIMIDATION Infamous Legislation Euaoted by the Republicans Against Workingmen Repealed by the Democracy. The Republican legislature of 1881 enacted one of the most infamous laws that ever blotched the pages of the statute books of Indiana. The law, which was approved April 14, 1881, was designed especially to intimidate railroad employes and prevent them from striking against oppression, intimidation and coercion, and compel them from fear of fine and imprisonment to do the bidding of their task masters unresistingly. It is a matter of history that the demands of corporation magnates, when they have required laws promotive of their schemes, however nefarious the object in view, have sought the aid of Republican legislation, and there is not an instance on reeord in which a Republican legislature or a Republican congress has failed to respond satisfactorily, The Republican law of 1881 was in the interest of railroad corporations, the penalty being fine and imprisonment for any and every attempt to resist tho outrages inflicted upon them by men in control of the railroads of the state, among whom, more or less conspicuous was, 0. W. Fairbanks, uow United States senator. No one knew better than Fairbanks the purpose of the despotic law, but it was reserved for the Democratic legislation of 1880 to give railroad employees the relief they sought by repealing the Russianizing Republican intimidation law, for which thousands of railroad men in Indiana were profoundly gratefuk The splendid record made by the Democratic legislatures to improve the standing and broaden the influence of worktaigmen in Indiana has made the Republican party cautious, though still ready, as is shown by the infamous and unconstitutional garnishee law to aim a blow at poor men when ever an opportunity offers, if it can be done in a way to obscure th# real intent of the measure. When, u the records show, that ftve Democratic legislatures in succession responded to th# requests of the 'vork-

ingmea eMhdtana to rford them from oppressive conditions, all double regarding the fealty of the Demooratio party to labor at once disappears, and the fact that the party is the friend of the workingmen of the state stands confessed and irrefutable. PINKERTONS »he Great Frtead* of C*raag««, Frlok anS Other Uneorapalotu Employer* Ben led Admission to Indiana by * Demoent io Legislature. It wiH be remembered by every oiti* ■en of Indiana, who has ever given labos troubles and interests a thought, that s' few years ago serious labor difficultiel occurred at Homestead, whereabout 10,000 workingmen were employed in building up the colossal fortune of An< drew Carnegie, one of the multimil lionaires of the country. This man negie is now known in Europe an# America as “Blowhole” Carnegie, a sobriquet applied to Mm because of his attempt to rob the government in the manufacture at armorplate for battleships, which was found to be worthless! on account of “blowholes.”

But before Carnegie attempted to des fraud the government, he, in assooia* tion with another rascal by the name of Prick, who had won a large measure of infamy in the coke regions of Pennsylvania by defrauding workingmen, began the same system of robbery at Homestead. Carnegie and Frick tried several methods for killing their employes who struck against the reduotioa of their wages and by being watchful* had escaped being scalded to death by hot water or killed by electricity, and finally to subdue men who were contending for fair wages and against robbery, Carnegie and Frick imported into Homestead a small army of thugs known as “Pinkertons,” who were armsd to the teeth with the most deadly weapons. These mercenary murderers# hired to kill for so much a day and rations, were attacked by the Homestead workingmen and compelled to ingloribusly retire from the battlefield. But the incident aroused universal indignation and became a world-wide infamy. It disclosed the fact that a concern in Chicago kept constantly on hand or* within call an army of unhung mereenariea, who could be hired as the British hired Hessians, bo kill workingmen with ae little oompuaation as if they were so many vagabond dogs, and it was seen that there were men in the United States at the head of great industrial enterprises who were willing to hke these outcasts to murder their employes, and fearing that Indiana might be within the “Pinkerton” zone, the Democratic legislature of 1888 enacted a law which forbade the employment of such vagabonds. This law enacted to protect workingmen from wounds and death inflicted uy men as heartless as Apache savages, pro vided,

“That it shall be unlawful for any person, company, association er corporation to bring or import into this state any person or persons or associations of persons for the purpose of discharging the duties devolving upon »heriffs, deputy sheriffs, marshals, policemen, constables or peace officers in the protection or preservation of public or private property or in the punishment of any person violating the criminal laws of thin state.’’ And the penalty imposed for violating the law is imprisonment in lhe penitentiary for one year and a fine of SIOO. , This wise and humane Demooratio measure received the emphatic indorsement of every workingman in the state and was convincing evidence of the promptness of the Democratic party to shield workingmen from the assaults of corporations, and from assaults of thugs, the product of the slums of great cities, and in tho employment of men who were willing to resort to such means to conquer their employes.

Governor Mount’s friends, regardless of party, are still deploring the injuries he received la Ms nniUoton Showalter. The Governor had sidetracked his train, which was hauling the constitution, the legislature, the supreme court, the 3-cent streetcar fare law and the attorney general when Showalter’s injunction locomotive struck him, head-on with terrific force, since when the governor, the constitution, the legislature, the 3 cent fare law and the attorney general have been so intermixed and intertwisted that all who have viewed the wreckage have declared the collision was altogether the most disastrous that ever occurred, since such judicial mosquitoes as Showalter wore boots.

Before the war with Spain we* were getting on nicely with a standing army of 25,000 men, and now we are to have a standing army of 100,000 men. It costs money to keep up such an establishment, but to raise it all that is required is to lick and stick revenue stamps. Major McKiuley hints that Whitelaw Reed will be made secretary of state, because he married a fortune big enough to enable him to get up swell entertainments in Washington, and make a superb ass of himself, as ho did in Paris. Senator Fairbanks, who goes to Canada on some sort of a government picnic, could, if required, tell the Oana< ans the profitable limit of wind at water to be injected into their railroad stocks and bonds. Having acquired the Hawaiian islands, 2,000 miles west of our Pacific coast, what becomes of the “Moiir..e doctrine?” The administration ought to inform the people, approximately, how much leprosy haabben annexed to the United Rates by th# Hawaiian treaty. And now Secretary ok War Alger seeks to shove the blame for the sufferings of the soldier bovs on the shoulders of Ex-ncongressmin Bi'.ly Owen, in the interest of the repub ican party, is stinging mud at chaplain Cars engen. The chaplain can stand it.