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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1900)
* Conservative. WAGE UNION. AMEKICAN EQUAI , . Addrt'H.s of tlio .Supreme Council. KANSAS CITY , Mo. , Nov. 9 , 1899. To THE WAGE-WOHKEHS or THE UNITED STATES : The founders of this republic , in their wisdom nnd unselfish devotion to the principle of human rights , devised a plan of government which should preserve - servo life , defend liberty and secure happiness , through the operation of laws , to which all , alike , should sub scribe. To each individual was guaran teed the right and the opportunity , peaceably , to pursue whatever course of conduct ho would , with the single pro vision that such conduct should not interfere with nor abridge , in any ineabure , the enjoyment of any other individual of the same right and opportunity. Thus at the beginning of our national life was enjoined upon every man the necessity of exercising a careful and considerate regard for his fellowmau. The principle underlying this injunction is the same eternal principle that glorifies the golden rule. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto yon" is the only absolutely just rule of conduct that has come down through the ages , and it is as applicable to the needs of this day as to those of any period since it first illumined the world. It was known to those patriots who founded the American republic that the happiness and prosperity of the people demanded a faithful observance of this simple but all-comprehensive moral law , nnd they made it the fundamental tenet of their immortal declaration. Under its benign sway the highest possibilities of human hope might find realization , but any departure from its impartial demands by the individual or by society invites reverse and ultimate ruin. Never , in the history of the race , lias it been possible for any people to ignore this principle of justice and equality , or to regard it indifferently , or to hold it in contempt without disaster and retri bution. "The sly imps of despotism are ever vigilant ; with sentinels sleeping in the watch-towers , liberty is ever in peril. " Apathy and thoughtless unconcern followed a period of prosperity. A spirit of selfishness and greed supplanted patriotism and mutual interest , and dictated a new order of things. The laws , which originally expressed the will of the whole people , became the weapon of the few , with which the masses were harassed and hedged about. This condition has continued un changed and. its beneficiaries unrebuked for nearly a century. Our omission to practice eternal vigilance has , in a great measure , cost us our liberty ; too much confidence in , and too much dependence on , others and our failure to do our own full share have resulted in abuses which now threaten the very life of the re public. Cajoled by the sophistry of dema gogues and carried away by the delusive hopes and the passing charms of eco nomic theories at war with our best interests , wo have departed from the safe principles of the fathers and the spectacle is now presented of a once prosperous , contented and sovereign people , with their "opportunities re stricted , their rights denied , their property appropriated and their sovereignty eignty ignored. Under prevailing conditions , the worthy poor , the most dependent , the least able to defend themselves , who need and deserve most at the hands of their fellowmeu , are the most neglected and the most abject sufferers. Anxiety and uncertainty add new pangs to their poverty ; hope gives no promise of relief ; each succeeding day intensifies the bitterness of yesterday. How much longer may patience en dure , or reason hold sway ? When the panic comes , who shall attempt , with logic , to satisfy the plead ings of hunger ? This hour presents a duty , incumbent upon every patriot. It is to act ; to pledge himself to the relief of the strug gling millions whose lives are being sacrificed that the few might enjoy , in excessive measure , the privileges and immunities which are the common heritage , and of right should be the equal joy of all. He owes to it himself , to his fellowman - man and to his posterity to devote him self untiringly and unremittingly to the task of getting back to first principles as enunciated in the Declaration of Ameri can Independence. Popular government must perish , or continue only in name , unless the same unselfish patriotism that consumed the founders of the republic shall again take possession of the leaders of the people. The American Equal Wage Union calls upon all wage earners of the United States , without respect to craft or condi tion , to unite in support of its principles , for the purpose of effecting a closer union of the common people , and to the end that the evils now afflicting the masses may be speedily and permanent ly removed. Under the present order of things , wealth receives the quick returns and direct benefits of legislation. The poor are neglected or considered only inci dentally. Here lies a most grievous wrong. The poorest of the laud , the lowest in the wage scale those who re ceive the least for devoted services are the proper and legitimate objects of our first concern. In an industrial nation like this , where a vast majority of the people are wage workers , the value of a day's work bears an intimate relation to tlio prosperity of the country , and , for that reason , becomes a matter of supreme concern to all. "When wages are up , times nro pros perous. It is a common mistake to regard increasing dividends and activity in stocks as reliable indicators of good times. The prosperity that illumines the cottage and the teuameut , and diffuses its blessings among the poor , is the only genuine prosperity. - When wages are low and insufficient , it does not always argue that profits are small , that money is tight , or that "the business will not warrant more , " but it means , almost invariably , that sacred rights are being ignored and that some are enjoying more than their just share. The heartless and unjust discrimi nations practiced by large employers of labor , in almost every department of the industrial world , are prolific sources of discontent among working classes. All manner of iniquitous schemes are deliberately employed to reduce the wage standard , The American laborer is required submit to the unfair com petition Oi Men who hold no hope in life above mere existence , and the enslave ment of women and children is encouraged that thereby the demands of men for fair wages might be ignored. As a consequence , the laborer is paid according to his necessity or his defeuse- lessness , and not according to the work ho performs. The importation of pauper labor , or the pauperization of our own labor , are equally to be condemned. The wages of labor should bear some equitable relation to the amount of brain and muscle expended in its performance , without regard to the age , sex , creed , color or nativity of the laborer. "The laborer is worthy of his hire , " and his hire should be sufficient to main tain him in modest comforts. The current theory of the relations of capital and labor must give place to one that shall secure to the laborer fair , if not full , compensation for his toil. And the methods of labor and capital with regard to the enforcement of their re spective rights and demands must be reformed and made to fit higher ideals and a nobler standard of justice and civilization. This may not be done by physical force it is a matter of moral law , re quiring education and a conscientious discharge of the duties of citizenship by every individual. Under a republican form of govern ment , all problems affecting the people will bo best solved by an intelligent exercise of the ballot. The unnatural and indefensible con flict between labor and capital must cease. Instead of assailing each other , a purer purpose and a better civilization will direct a united attack against the condition which now binds the employer as well as the employed. Labor should know and capital should learn that the
