You Alls Doins. (Lexington, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 1900 Page: 2 of 8
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BRTAfl TO LABOffik
Democratic Nominee Taiks to
the Workingmcn.
THH DO MOT FAVOR LAWLESSNESS
r;anizanon not only enables him to government by injunction End no
ronton.! for his rights upon terms prominent member of any party has
more nearly equal hut it stimulates entered upon a defense of the system;
him to study and understand the con- i md yet corporate influence is so strong
ditlons ivhich surround him. that It has thus far been impossible to
The l..bor organization has been secure any remedial legislation,
foremost in advocating the reforms The fact that 4'nited States senators
which have already been secured. Sev- re elected by legislatures, rather than
tral years ago the secret ballot was bv the people directly, lessens the
in the Contrary Oppo er of Govern-
lucnt by I ti junction Are the Rett
Friend* of I.rnv and Order—Fa*
ro:i 1 abluet Officer.
demanded by the wage-earners for
their own protection. That ballot has
been obtained, and through its opera-
tions those who toil for individuals or
corporations are able to protect their
political rights and to use the ballot
according to their own judgments. This
is a long step in advance.
Mr. Chairman. Indies and Gentle-
men- 1 am greatly obliged to the com-
mittee for the invitation which enables
ma to participate in the celebration of
l,abor day at this place. This day
has been wisely set apart by law to
emphasize the dignity of labor and
for the consideration of those sub-
jects which especial?) affect the in-
terests of the wage-earner. The labor-
ing men constitute so large and so in-
dispensable a portion of the popula-
tion that no social, economic or polit-
ical question can be treated without
an investigation of their connection
therewith. But there are some ques-
tions which touch them immediately,
while others only operate upon them
in a general way
• The first thing to be considered is
the laboring man's ambition; what are
his aims and his purposes; for what
is he striving" The animal needs only-
food and shelter because he has noth-
ing but a body to care for, but man's
wants are more numerous. The ani-
mal complains when it is hungry, aad
l contented when its Hunger is ap-
peased. but man. made In the image
of his Creator, is a three-fold being
and must develop the head and the
heart as well as the aody. lie is not
satisfied with m?re physical existence:
neither will he be content unless all
aienuos of advancement are open to
him His possibilities must be as un-
limited as his aspirations.
In other countries and In other civ-
ilizations. men have been condemned
by birth to a partic,.-ar occupation,
place and caste, in this country each
man. however or wherever born. c\n
strive for the highest rewards in busi-
ness. state or church, and these aven-
ues of advancement must be kept open
No civilization can be considered
perfect which does not plant a hope
In the breast of every ctiiid born into
the world; the nearer we approach to
(his Ideal, the better is our civiliza-
tion Those who complain of exist-
ing conditions cannot be. put aside as
disturbers of the peace. To seek a
rt-medy for every abuse of govern-
ment is more patriotic than to profit
by bad system# and then frown down
ail criticism. There should be no an-
tagonism between those engaged in
the various occupations, and there will
1* none when all recognize the mutual
obligations which are due between
citizens. Our desire should be. not
to separate the people into warring
factions, but to bring them into better
acquaintance and greafr sympathy
with cach other. The enmity whici
the poor sometimes feel toward the
rich and the contempt which the rich
sometimes manifest toward the poor
would be avoided If each kn?w the
other better and both were content to
l>e guided by the strict rules of jus-
tice.
Jhe extremes of society are really
not as far apart as they appear. Those
v.'ho work for wages today may. un-
f.er a good government, be employers
in a few years, and the sons of those
who are employers today may in a
short time be day laborers. Since no
one can save posterity from the evil
ffects of a bad law. all shoild strive
for legislation which will protect each
citizen in his rights and in the en-
joyment of the fruits of his own gen- i
ius. his own industry and his own
integrity.
It is of advantage to the rich as well
ae to the poor that the children of all
have an opportunity to secure an edu-
ation, for education widens the in-
dividual's horizon, increases his ca-
pacity for usefulness, multiplies his
enjoyments and make him in every
way more serviceable to society Vic-
tor Hugo has described the mob as
the human rnce in miser) Those who
are well-to-do have a selfish interest,
and should feel a moral concern, in
removing despair from every human
breast As misery is lessened the se-
curity of property is increased: hu- ;
man life is protected in proportion as
happiness is promoted.
Why should the man who eats at a
well supplied table forget • the man I
whose toil furnishes the food1 \Yh>
should the man who warms himself
by the fire forget the man whose labor
In the forest or in the mine brings
forth the fuel" Why should the roan
clad in the best products of the loom,
forget the man whose calloused hands
make fine clothing possible? Both
tho consumer and the producer are
necessary, but of the two the producer
comes first in point of time and in
point of importance Shall the rose
bud. blooming in beauty and shedding
its fragrance on the air. desp.ie the
roots of the bush because they come
Into actual contact with the soil" De-
stroy the bud and leave the roots and
a second bud will appear, as beautiful
and as fragrant as the first, but de-
stroy the roots and bud and bush will
perish
How can the wage-earner secure
that share of the earth's bounties and
the government's protection which he
deserves' The associations formed by
laboring man's influence in securing
! favorable federal legislation. When
the action of a political convention
| must be submits to the voters for
ratification at the polls, the convention
j is constiained to nominate a candi-
| date acceptable to the people: but
; when a senator is chosen bv a leglsla-
I ture the individual voter is far less
The labor organization has done j considered. Even when direct brlb-
much to lessen th? evils of child labor. ; ery is not employed, the indirect influ-
No one can visit the factories where ence which corporations can exert is
childreu are employed without con- resorted to. and more frequently still
templating the crime which is being
perpetrated upon posterity. If there
is any temporary economic advantage
in the employment of children of ten-
der age. it is insignificant- when meas-
ured against the permanent injury
done to present and future genera-
money is secretly used to aid legisla-
tive candidates in close districts. Such
obligations are usually repaid in the
caucus and, as a rule, the majority
in the caucus controls the party which
has the selection of the senator. If
this question were submitted to the
days is bad enough, but to bend its
back by a load for which only the
adult is fitted is even worse.
The labor organization has also con-
tributed toward the shortening of the
hours of toil, and it should not cease
its efforts until the eight-hour day is
secured. Approximately, one-third of
the twenty-four hours must be given
to sleep: if another third of the day
is devot?d to manual labor, only eight
hours ars left for eating, for going to
and from the place of work, for the
reading of current news, for mental
improvement, recreation, social inter-
course and domestic life. Since the j
hours occupied in eating and travel I
cannot be encroached upon, every hour I
added to the day's labor must be tak- '
en from the time for available intellect-
ual development, recreation and the
family.
Tho labor organization has been a
consistent and persistent advocate of
the doctrine of arbitration, although
it is ciiincult to see wny he burden of
this reform should be thrown upon the
i laboring man. Surely the employer,
if he would take a comprehensive view
of his own interests, would be as much j
benefitted by arbitration as the em- j
ploye. and because every prolonged
contest between labor and capital
brings interruption to business and
pecuniary loss to those who are In no
i way responsible for the disagreement,
society in general is even more inter-
ested than employers or employes. The
desire for justice is so univeisal that
the public can be depended upon to
support the finding of an impartial
board of arbitration as certainly as it
can to support the successful con-
testant in a law-suit. The court of
arbitration is one of the certainties of
the future, and when it is secured and
perfected, we shall wonder why its
coming was delayed so long
The black list, by mears of which
employers combine to deprive the dis-
charged workman of re-employment,
is one of the more recent menaces to
the laboring man. The independence
of the wage-earner decreases as the
difficulty of obtaining employment in-
creases, and the skilled workman,
whose life has been spent in acquiring
efficiency in a certain trade or occu-
pation, becomes practically the chattel
of the employer if every opportunity
to make use of his experience is closed
by agreement between employers.
The laboring man is also interested
in legislation prohibiting oriental im-
migration. It is unfair to the Ameri-
can workman, who is the foundation
of the nation's wealth in time of peace
and its defense in time of war. to sub-
ject him to the danger of having his
occupation given to an oriental la-
borer, often brought in by contract
who has no permanent interest in
our government. If the Asiatics come
here work for a few years live on a
lower scale, and then carry home the
net proceeds of their toil, the drain
upon our money supply will be similar
to that caused by landlordism in other
countries. The political objections to
oriental labor arf scarcely less weighty
than the econo :iic ones. Race preju-
dice cannot be disregarded, and we
have seen how. in every industrial de-
pression. race animosities result in
riot and bloodshed. We cannot afTord
to bring into this country those who
•annot amalgamate with our people.
The attempt to use the injunction of
a court to deprive the laboring man
of trial b> jury should alarm all our
people, for while the wage-earner is
the first to feel Its effects, the prin-
whlch underlies government by
injunction is so far-reaching that no
one can hope to escape ultimately. The
thing forbidden by an Injunction
would, without the Injunction, be eith-
er legal or Illegal. If it would be le-
gal. the judge usurps the function of
the legislature when he forbids it. if
it would be illegal the injunction of
the court is unnecessary, for any one
who violates the law can. upon convic-
tion. be mad? to suffer the penalties
prescribed for such violation The
meanest thief and the most brutal
murderer are entitled to trial by jury;
why should this right be denied the
laboring man Those who oppose gov-
ernment by injunction are not in favor
of lawlessness; they are. on the . on-
trary. the best friends of law aud or-
der They deny the right of any man
to violate the law In an effort to ad-
vance his own interest, but they ir-
slst that it is Inconsistent with our
ideas of government and dangerous to
all classes to Invest any judge with the
three-fold power, first, to make the
laws; second, to bring accusation
aeainst those charged with the viola-
tion of the laws, and, third to sit in
L*>ne
CHINESE BOYS.
School ami S|>«.rM
of
are c-eiteG equal one needs not the
wisdom of a sage or the learning of
the schools. It was declared to be a
self-evident truth: it was evident to
those who pledged their lives to the
maintenance of the Declaration of In-
dependence, and it is evident still to way and his cousin. Ah Hoon. says
those who are not blinded by the glam- the 0g(|f,nsi)Urg Journal. They are
our of wealth and the glittering prom- brlght anl| intelligent, and are inter-
ises of a colonial system. It all men characters. Of their earlier life
are created equal and endowed with lhey givR very ,,,, id accounts.
11 oil r* In
the \ucatioii. •
Among the representatives of the
celestial kingdom in this city are I^ee
tions. To rob a child of its school voters, the majority in favor of the
election of senators by direct vote of |
the people would be overwhelming,
and yet partisanship has delayed the
adoption of this amendment. The
people submit to policies which they
do
inalienable rights, it follows as a
-al and necessary sequence that gov-
ernments were instituted for the wel-
faie of all and derive their just pow-
ers from the consent ot the governed.
Dn the preservation of this doctrine
Dur hop's depend; if it is abandoned
there is no foundation upon which a
government like oi'rs cr.n be con-
structed.
Do not allow yourselves to be de-
ceived by those who question the ca-
pacity of this people or that people
for self-government. Macauley, in his
e jy on John Milton, points out the
folly of attempting to prepare people
for "self-government by denying them
the right to participate in their own
government. He fail:
• Many politicians of our time are
in the habit of laying it down as a
self-evident preposition thct no pet pie
ought to b" free urtil they are fit to
, use their freedom. The maxim is
not like rather than secure im- worthy of the foo! iu the old story who
resolved not to go into the water till
had learned to swim. If men are
change in party af-
worklngmen have been productive of judgment upon the case. Government
much good. injunction is so indefensible that
The labor organizations as we now the anti-injunction bill indorsed by
find it Is the product of industrial con- the Chicago platform, passed the ser.-
dltlons The individual found himself ! ate without a yea and na> vote being
at a disadvantage when dealing with
the corporate emDlover and the nr.
demanded, and since that time no par-
ty platform has specifically Indorsed
provement by
filiations
The laboring man favors direct leg-
islation wherever practicable for the
same reason that he favors the election
of senators by popular vote. Direct
legislation brings the government
j nearer to the voter. There is morn
| virtue in the people than ever finds ex-
I pression through their representatives
I To hold that a representative can act
I for the people better than they can
act for themselves, is to assert that he
is as much interested in the people as
they are In themselves, and that his
wisdom is greater than the combined
wisdom of a majority of the people
Neither proposition is sound. Most, if
not all. of the evils complained of In
government are traceable to the fact
that the representative of the people
has personal interests at variance with
the interests of his constituency. Cor-
ruption in municipal, state and federal
governments is due to the misrepre-
sentation of the people by public ser-
vants, who use their positions for pri-
vate advantage. The people should
have an opportunity to vote on public
questions when those questions can be
submitted without too great inconven-
ience or expense.
But the laboring man is evei more
Interested in the proposition to estab-
lish a labor bureau with a cabinet
officer at its head. Such a bureau
would keep the executive in constant
touch with the wage-earners of the
country, and open the way to the red-
ress of their present and future griev-
ances. If labor is given a place in the
president's official household, the man
self, 'ted will necessarily be a worthy
and trusted representative ot the peo-
ple for whom he speaks, and his pres-
ence at cabinet meetings will give to
those who toil for their daily bread as-
suran e that *b- r :nterrsts will be
properly g-jirdec
Mr GouhIl the chief executive of
the feds ratios of Is.: * has in his cor-
resper. ience * * - the secretary of the
treasury so a-ly pr^-sented the labor-
ing mens reasons r opposing a gold
standard and a nat: ..lal ;i: currency
that it :? not nec-fs^ry to dis-; iss those
questions at th.s tini*
The laboring man has a _ undant rea-
son to fear the trusts. Mr Charles R
Fiint, in a speech delivered in B ;"on
more than a year ago in defense of the
trusts, frankly asserts that one of the
advantages of the3° combinations is
that "in case of local strikes or fir. s
the work goes on elsewhere. thus pro-
venting serious loss.' Is it possible
that any wage-earner can fail to see
how completely the trust places em-
ploye at the mercy of the employer'1
The resolutions adopted by various
labor organizations in condemnation
of militarism and imperialism justify
me in making a brief reference to those
questions No class contributes more
than the labor class in proportion to
its members to the rank and file of
the army, no class contributes more in
proportion to its numbers to the ex-
pense of the army, and no class is
more menaced by the existence of a
large army. Most of the countries in
Europe which maintain large military
establishments collect an income tax
which adjusts the burden of the gov-
ernment to the income of the citizen.
Here our federal taxes are largely col-
lected upon consumption, and while
they are income taxes in the sense that
they must be paid out of the incomes
of the people, yet the exactions are not
proportionate to the incomes. The ■,
taxes upon consumption bear heaviest
upon the poor and lightest upon the |
rich and are. in fact, graded income j
taxes, the per cent collected decreasing
as the income increases.
If this nation adheres to the doctrine j
that governments derive their just
powers from the consent of the gov- <
erned. and the people have an easy
and ready means of correcting all i
abuses, the government will not need |
to be supported by a large permanent
army for every citizcn will be ready ,
to defend such a government from at-
tack The only domestic use for a
large standing army is to suppress by
force that discontent which should be
ured by legislation.
To support a permanent army of
100.000 men requires approximately
one-half as much money as is annually
expended for education in the 1'nited
States. Ho wmuch cheaper it is to
uplift people by the gentle and peace-
ful proccss of intellectual development
1 than to blow them up with powder
I ind dynamite'
Imperialism involves a departure
•rom principles which were unlversal-
; ly accepted in this country until with-
| in two years. To kuow that all men
he
to wait for liberty till they become
wise and good in slavery, they may
indeed wait forever.''
When I say that those who distrust
the capacity of the people tor self-gov-
ernment tend directly toward mon-
archy I am only repeating what lin-
coln deliberately declared in his first
annual message. He said:
Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted
at as a possible refuge from the power
of the people. Iu my present position
1 could scarcely be justified were I
to omit raising a warning voice against
this approach of returning despotism.
It is not needed nor fitting here that
a general argument should be made in
favor of popular institutions; but there
is one point, with its connections not
so hackneyed as most others, to which
I ask brief attention. It is the effort
to place capital on an equal footing
with, if not above, labor, in the struc-
ture of government. *
men living are more worthy to be
trusted than those who toil up from
poverty: none less inclined to take or
touch aught which they have not hon-
estly earned. Let them beware of sur-
rendering a political power which they
already possess, and which, if surren-
dered. will surely be used to < lose the
door of advancement against such as
they, and to fix new disabilities and
burdens upon them till all of liberty
shall be lost."
The warning is even more needed
now than It was forty years ago The
Army and Navy Journal is already j
justifying the olonial Idea and de- j
Martng that fate has decreed for us a
destiny in which an imperial execu-
tive. free from the restraints of a
written constitution, will govern sub-
jects according to his own pleasure.
The Investors' Review, published at
Boston, in its issue of July 28. says:
"Only a blind person can fail to see
that remarkable transformations of
one kind or another are in store for
the race, hence the folly of asserting
that the poilcy of this country, which
is destined to play such a leading part
in human affairs of the future, shall
be governed for the most part by polit-
ical maxims uttered more than a hun-
dred years ago. The greatest evil
which now confronts this republic is
the clamor raised by a certain faction
for a settlement of our problems of
state by just such a method as we have
been deprecating Considerably more
than a century ago a certain notable
declaration was made in this country
to the effect that all men ought to tie
free and independent This is merely
a generalization of the French school
of Voltaire and the encyclopaedists. It
is a dictum absolutely lacking founda-
tion in history and incapable of syllo-
gistic justification. It was. however,
a handy phrase for us to employ when
asserting our right to break away from
! the mother country: it suited the ex-
igencies of our situation in 177ti ad-
mirably, though in itself but a bit of
sublimated demagogism The dei lar-
ation was a serviceable means to the
■ end that was at that time desired To
; bring forward this declaration in this
I year. 1900, In connection with our
treatment of the Filipinos and 'he Cu-
bans. is as gross hu absurdity as ever
was practiced. To do so is to offer an
insult to the intelligence of the people
who first subscribed to the declaration
1 in question."
But why quote from ner&papers as
to what may be done hereafter in the
| presence of a law clrrady enacted
which makes subjects out of Porto
| Ricans, withdraws from them the
guarantees of the constitution, and as-
serts the power of the president and
congress to govern them without their
consent aud tax them without repre-
sentation a power as unlimited and
tyrannical as was ever asserted or ex-
ercised by any ruler in all the history
of the human race. This doctrine has
not yet been approved by the people;
It furnishes the supreme question of
the present campaign. In the pres-
ence of these perils the laboring man
has a responsibility commensurate
with his opportunity Without a large
percentage of the laboring vote no par-
ty can win an election in the I'nltrd
States The men who work for wages
can. by throwing the'r votes on tho
one side or the other, determine the
policy of this country They need not
march in parades they need not
adorn themselves with the Insignia of
any party, but on election day their
, silent ballots can shape the destiny of
' this nation, and either bring the gov
ernment back to its ancient laud
marks or turn it into th- pathway fol
lowed by the amplres of the old world.
I
Lee Way lias been in the United
States about twenty years, first locat-
ing in New \ ork city. In his native
country he has a wife and son, and
he has made frequent visits to them
since he first came to America# Lee
received instruction in Ensli3h before
he crossed the Pacific and he also at-
tended school in New York. Both he
and his cousin receive weekly instruc-
tions at the hands of teachers of thq
Baptist. Sunday school, and U'p espe-
cially has become proficient in his use
of the English language. Ah Foon ha-i
been in America only a few years, and
has resided in Ogdensburi about a
year. He is married, and his wife was
left behind in his native land. Before
coming to America Ah Foon was in
school until he was 16, with English
tutors, but his knowledge of the lan-
guage is meager. I'ntil a few years
ago there were no woman teachers in
all Chir-a. Now there are many, and
students are received until past the
age of 3.7. There are many nat.«e
teachers, as well as the missionaries,
who come from foreign lands. The
scholars sit on hi;'h stools at desks
and study, aloud. At 10 and 12 years
years the Chinese scholars can read
and write very well. Every lesson is
learned by rote. The teacher always
retains possession of a punishing stick,
and occasionally lazy or tardy scholars
receive a few sound raps with it. 1 he
scholars are at school earl;- in the
roorninjr and it is not uncommon for
boys to study ten hours a day. That
would seem a long time for American
boys to devote to study in a single
day, but. according to Ah Foon. the
juvenile Chinaman never grumbles at
the lon^ hours, and he and his com-
panions climb noon their stools anil
sins out their lessons all at the same
time as loudly as they can. Vacation
is always during the rice harvesting
season. Then the boys fiv kites and
enjoy many other pastimes which are
similar to those seen in America, such
as walking on stilts, playing hide and
seek, blind man's bluff and lean frog.
"We have great fun fighting beetles,
too." said Ah Foon. "In China there
are no bad boys like here. All boys
are respet tful to all older than them-
selves. They do not think it fun to
hurt other people's feelings. One thing
I have seen here is a very old trie k ia
China. You see boys place a package
on the sidewalk and when some one
6toops to pick it tin it is gone, for
there is a string tied to it, and a 1 ittla
bov at the other end of the string."
NOTED TRAVELERS.
Two Mfttera Wlio Maile Many Tri|>
to ilif Holy l-aiul.
Living at Cambridge. England, are
two of the most noted women travel-
ers and students of the century. Mrs.
Agnes Smith Lewis and her sister,Mrs.
Margaret Gibson, are twin daughters
of the late John Smith. lawyer, anl
Biblical scholar, and from him they in-
herit their love of research. Mrs.
Lewis and her sister have made many
trips to tlit1 Holy Land and have added
much in the way of priceless manu-
scripts discovered and copied by them,
in the history of the early huivh.
Mrs. Lewis' writings and original re-
searches in ancient Syrian man is ripts
have won a world wide reputation for
her. Her latest discovery is the Sv-
riac Palimpsest, which gives to Bib.ical
literature the Syria- gospels of a !.u
not later than the fifth century Schol-
ars roneetle this to be the most an dent
ct py of the scriptural writings extant.
A famous old German university has
seen lit to honor Mrs. Lewis with the
degree of doctor of philosophy, honors
causa, ami this is something to cause
rematk. for conservative old Halle has
only honored one other woman in its
whole history In onferrini; tho de-
gree it is said, it is in token "of the
high steem in which the authorities
heltl her learning and splendid scien-
tific attainments ' The faculty gives
the following four specific reasons for
honoring Mrs. Lewis first Finding
the Syriat Palimpsest: second, com-
pleting the translation, third, !:.- ev-
ery of the Palestinian S> r.a. Legion-
ary; fourth, editing the Lectionar/
with the iissistau' e of her sister.
Vnlnnblf Tree.
Encomia illinoide.s. found in North
China, is reported b\ Technische Be-
richte as a new rubber tree, the fruit of
which is said lo contain J7 to "14 per
cent of gutta percha of excellent qual-
ity. I'ntil now gntta percha has been
obtained in Dutch India almost exclu-
sively, and experiments in ransplant-
ing the trees Into the French colonies
have proved failures In Java the con-
ditions for the growing of rubber trees
are ltii.li Hint they can mi 1 v be culti-
vated kin ceasfulL In certain localities.
The dlHcovery of a rubber tree that
will hear Iranspl.vtlng without injury
is ooimequenlly of great iniportaivcs.
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Stevens, Oscar M. You Alls Doins. (Lexington, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 1900, newspaper, September 13, 1900; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc168884/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.