The year 1894 marks a great historical change in the attitude of
laborers towards government, for it was during that memorable strike
that the now famous injunction was used to cripple the efforts of the
workers to improve their condition by the lawful methods of the general
strike. The late and now great (?) Cleveland, in spite of the
traditional fealty of the Democratic party to state sovereignty, over
the protests of Governor Altgeld of Illinois, who declared that the
state was amply able to protect life and property in its territory, sent
Federal troops into Chicago and disorder followed, and the strike was
lost and, as stated, its leader thrown into prison.
Government by injunction is today the “slogan” of both old parties, and
their hypocritical utterances as to this issue are convincing the
American working people that with the army as a police force government
by corporations has taken the place of government by the people and the
farmers exploited by the packers’ and elevator and railroad interests,
the miner snubbed everywhere by the coal barons and the vast and
increasing army of the unemployed, young and outcast old men are now
thinking in terms of political strike, rather than in terms of boycott
and idle protest.
The hours of work are now short enough to the workers, and far too short
to provide food, shelter and clothing for themselves and families in the
midst of industrial stagnation, caused by exhausting the purchasing
power of the producers of wealth through the blind greed of those who
claim the right to take unto themselves the earth and its exhaustless
resources for abundantly supplying the needs of all.
During the eventful years from 1894 to this epoch-making year 1908, the
two old parties have come into closer resemblance, until now Mr. Bryan
is found claiming that Mr. Roosevelt has adopted his ideas. He is not so
insistent, however, on this point as he was a year ago, when he admitted
that there had been great additions to the gold supply, hence more
money, hence more work, and hence more prosperity. He is now assuming to
be more critical of the present government policies of his Republican
friends and promises to bring the depressed workers back into more
abundant pastures of the clover kind. It is not strange that the dormant
minds of the people are being awakened, for the workers are no longer so
easily bewildered by the strange talk of “full dinner buckets” and
“abundant money.” On all these matters Debs has been heard by hundreds
of thousands and his words of prophecy have been more than fulfilled and
in every argument he based every prediction upon the iron law of
industrial production and distribution of wealth. While he has, during
all these years advocated the ballot, he has never forgotten the
unanswerable reasons for down-trodden workingmen using the outworn
weapons of the strike and all its weapons of boycott and persuasion, but
the attitude had been that of the wise understanding and not of the
blind approval of the blind leading the blind.
When the A. R. U. went to pieces it had legal obligations for more than
$40,000. There was no personal obligation resting upon Mr. Debs in this
matter, and yet, for years he wrote and lectured and helped to pay off
the last penny of the debt, and to this day there is no unpaid
obligation of the defunct A. R. U.