CONCLUSION.
The condition of the Pullman strikers elicited by the commission
appointed by President Cleveland for that purpose as shown by the
preceding extracts from the investigation, was known to the delegates to
the convention of the American Railway Union held in Chicago in June. In
turn they made known to the various local unions these deplorable
conditions. Hence the boycott, or as it has been designated by the
general managers, a sympathetic strike.
They have been charged with striking without a cause other than a
fanciful grievance of the Pullman employe, and roundly censured for
their actions. That too by men of kind hearts and liberal views who were
not aware of the true situation. Had this commission been appointed
previous to the boycott, it is my honest conviction, there would have
been no trouble. The broad inherent spirit of humanity in American
hearts would assert itself and the powerful voice of public sentiment
would terrorize this inhuman corporation into doing justice to their
employes.
The defeat of the strikers was attributed to a great many causes, but
the real cause can be laid to the federal government or the
administration thereof.
President Cleveland, it is said, was and is a partner in a law firm who
are employed by four of the largest railroad systems in the United
States. The cabinet, with a few exceptions, are also connected with
railroad corporations either directly or indirectly.
The federal courts are absolutely owned by the railroads, and
consequently the whole federal government was arrayed against the
strikers.
The federal judges prostituted the courts to the use of the railroads in
granting injunctions to restrain the officers of the American Railway
Union from acting in any form for or with that organization. From the
time that Mr. Debs was successfully shackled by the courts, the strikers
were like some great beheaded mastodon, staggering about, vainly
endeavoring to retain the dying spark of life.
In order to be more explicit, just as soon as the officers of the
American Railway Union were incarcerated, reports were circulated by the
general managers at one point, that men at some distant point had
returned to work. The men, where these reports would be received, would
at once wire to the officers at Chicago, asking if it be true. The
officers of the union were prohibited from sending telegrams, and on
receiving no reply they would take it for granted that these reports
were authentic, and apply for work. In short, when they lost the
guidance of Debs, their ranks became demoralized. This was the real
cause of the defeat of the American Railway Union. Its first defeat
after twelve decisive victories, eleven of which were accomplished
without a strike.
The prostitution of the government--founded on the blood of our
forefathers--by the organized capital of this country, of which the
greater part is foreign gold, is something of the most vital importance
to every workingman in America to-day. This is a matter that demands the
gravest thought of every American citizen who is loyal to himself, to
his family and to his country.
The flagrant abuse of the constitution by the plutocratic money power,
if not checked by the people, will reduce them to a condition beneath
that of any nation in the known world.
This strike has clearly demonstrated the truth of this assertion. In not
one instance during the whole course of the trouble, have the
representatives of the corporations and the representatives of the
government failed to unite in destroying the constitutional rights of
the American workingman.
The devilish ingenuity of this corporate power goes still further to
retain the power they hold over the government. They have conceived a
plan to disfranchise in a manner all members of the American Railway
Union and deprive them of the right to vote. In this they have actually
accomplished their purpose by forcing its members out of employment, and
driving them from their homes to seek employment in foreign parts of the
country on the eve of election, where they would not be eligible to
vote.
The inherent cunning of this blood sucking money power would pale to
insignificance the most diabolical deeds of the prince of darkness.
Blinded by their victory over the American Railway Union--through the
assistance of the federal courts--they will stop at nothing to complete
the work of subjugation and annihilation. They have tested their power
over the courts and find them so completely subservient to their will
that they know they would be secure in carrying out any high-handed
proceeding which they may deem necessary to complete their work of
demoralization and hounding to death, if need be, the members of this
order.
This was the very condition of affairs that President Debs anticipated,
and tried to guard against. This was the impending danger against which
he warned the men, and for this he filled a felon's cell in Cook county
jail.
Against these conditions the people must unite and co-operate. We must
no longer close our eyes to the glaring fact that we are being made
parties to our own destruction by the corporations and trusts of this
country, and their allies the Democratic and Republican parties.
These two great political parties are so completely controlled by the
corporations, that anything asked of them is immediately granted, the
only difference between the two being their views as to the best method
by which they can serve these corporations.
The railroads combine and trusts of all kinds furnish the funds for
campaign purposes, and also incidentally furnish the votes to elect
their friends. They have in every precinct, ward, town, city, county and
state, their hirelings who beguile the people into voting as they
dictate.
The child like confidence of the people could not be shaken in the old
parties. They were ever ready to place implicit faith in these designing
politicians, believing that the laws made by them were just what was
wanted for the people's salvation.
This delusion cannot last, the time is now ripe for action. The masses
must protect their interests if they would be free to enjoy the rights
awarded them by the constitution.
The American Railway Union has proven the greatest blessing to the
working people of this country. It has torn the mask of hypocrisy from
these plutocratic professional politicians and revealed them in their
true character.
The working people can no longer afford to be deluded by these old
parties. They must unite and arise in one grand body and assert their
independence as freemen and intelligent American citizens, and by their
ballot take possession of this government of the capitalist, by the
capitalist, and for the capitalist, and again make it a government of
the people, by the people and for the people.
President Debs struck the keynote when he said that it was better for
the government to own the railroads than for the railroads to own the
government. Our only chance to succeed in obtaining our constitutional
rights is by legislation and this we must create ourselves. We never can
obtain it through either of the old parties and therefore must ally
ourselves to a new party.
It is time that every intelligent workingman would think and act for
himself. All semblance to aristocracy in labor must be eliminated, the
skillful artisan has no more guarantee of just treatment than has the
common laborer.
Every workingman should endorse the Peoples party. They must unite as
one, in one common cause and strike for their rights with the only
effective weapon left to them, "the ballot."
This strike has proven beyond doubt that the protective features in
railroad organizations, and other organizations as well, is a dead
letter as long as the federal courts are controlled by capital. Unless
this is remedied, all labor organizations might just as well send in
their charters and cease to exist.
I cannot believe that the American people will allow this state of
affairs to continue. There are many men in public life to-day whose
motives are pure and unselfish. Such men as Governors Altgeld, Waite,
Penoyer; Congressmen Kyle, Pfeffer, McGann, Pence, Goldgier; Mayor
Hopkins of Chicago, Sydney M. Owens, Clarence S. Darrow, Judge Tully,
Gen. Weaver, W. W. Erwin and hosts of others, who publicly espoused the
cause of the strikers.
The subsidized press, the most dangerous enemy of labor, and next to the
courts, the most effective weapon in the hands of the railroad
corporations in destroying the rights of labor and defeating the
strikers, has again fallen in line as the champions of the laboring
classes. With hypocritical pretensions to sympathy for the workingman,
the organs of the two great political parties have begun to knife each
other, and unite in denouncing the People's party, all for the benefit
of the poor farmer, railroader, mechanic and laborer. They are loud in
their denunciation of trusts, combines and corporations of all kinds
that have a tendency to crush the poor working people. Their great and
generous hearts are overflowing with sympathy for the poor oppressed
toiler.
The question is, can the American workingman be again deluded by these
organs of organized capital?
The laboring people do not want sympathy, neither do they want charity,
all they want is simple justice, and this they must and will have.
There are exceptions among the press and these should be remembered by
the people. Papers that were champions of right and justice and whom the
general managers could not buy.
And now, kind reader, in conclusion I will quote the words of him, whose
noble life is devoted to the cause of humanity:
"The strike was not a failure. It will pass into history as a noble
struggle for a righteous cause, and those who participated in it,
whatever their immediate sacrifices may be, will in the end feel amply
compensated for all their losses."
THE END.
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| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the |
| original document have been preserved. |
| |
| Typographical errors corrected in the text: |
| |
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| Page 8 Pometheus changed to Prometheus |
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| Page 14 Kelleher changed to Kelliher |
| Page 16 resistence changed to resistance |
| Page 18 grestest changed to greatest |
| Page 18 120 changed to 20 |
| Page 19 averice changed to avarice |
| Page 20 accomodations changed to accommodations |
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| Page 28 authoritively changed to authoritatively |
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