*
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
