bilt’s invocation, “the public be damned,” re peatedly refused the demands of the Knights and the offers of the state board of arbitration, to sub mit the question to the latter body for investiga tion ; and it was only by reason of the tardily ex ercised powers of the board to peremptorily sum mon the disputing parties before it and compel them to testify that any investigation was had at all. The evidence there adduced was such as to prove conclusively what was already clearly evident to an impartial observer from the previous corres pondence between Mr. Powderly and Mr. Webb, viz; that there had been a systematic attempt on the part of the N. Y. Central authorities to crip ple the order of K. of L. by discharging their prominent members. It was clearly shown that in many cases the foremen or agents immediately discharging the men knew of no reason for so do ing, but acted upon the orders of more responsi ble officials who could know still less of the men’s actual qualifications. If anything were needed to fully establish the charge of the Knights I think it could be found in the circular addressed to em ploying agents of the road by Acting Vice Presi dent Webb, after the strike was declared off, in which he informed them that thereafter no active members of the K. of L, should be employed on the road under any conditions. If there was, then, an attempt to gradually dis place Knightsof Labor in the employ of the Cen tral, the very existence of the order among em ployes of that road was threatened and nothing could b: more manly and honorable in the Knights than to make a resolute stand, by strike or otherwise, for their rights, regardless of conse quences,—an effort, at least, to compel a recog niton of the fact that they were free men and had as much right to organize as the corporations and millionaires. The failure of the strike and the triumph of the corporation are no reason that we should deprecate their action as ignorant or sel fish, and in this case we cannot easily establish the charge of undue.haste or rash overconfidence, |or from the premises, the failure only caused THE FREE LANCE. most of the men to lose their places a little soon er, but much more honorably, than they other wise would. C. D. S. again infers the same absurdity that failure makes wrong, and “might makes right," where he “adheres” to the pro found and learned “opinion that any movement to become popular must have the approval of the public,” and then assumes that the central strik ers did not secure the approval of the public, and therefore their effort was useless, ignorantly con ducted, and altogether a thing to be condemned. As well argue that if the American Revolutionists had failed to arouse sufficient public approval to gain independence, therefore the right and wrong of their effort would have been reversed, and highminded patriotism changed to “gross ignor- ance." While showing so little sympathy with the strikers, C. D. S. is quite indignant at the incon venience caused to the shipping and traveling public by strikes on railroads, and protests that these good people should not be made to suffer for wrongs in which they have had no part. Un fortunately it is generally true that efforts in be half of the oppressed have always caused more or less suffering to innocent parties together with the guilty, but to show that such strikes may be set tled without inconvenience to the public, I will instance Gov. Seymour’s method of dealing with one on the same N. Y. Central road in 1862, I believe. As soon as the strike had been ordered and traffic stopped, the Governor summoned the directors and officers of the road and told them that, as the servant of the people of New York State, he had nothing to say about the strike or its settlement, except that the railroads must re sume traffic within forty-eight hours, or he would revoke the charter, take possession of the road, and run it in the interest of the people. To em phasize the fact that he meant what he said, he placed them all under arrest, but said he would not enfore the orc|er fqr twenty-four hours unless he found them trying tp escape from the State. It is needless to say thp stfike \yas quickly
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