Sattjj Nome Jttimatrial Worker.
Published Daily except Sunday
Mi Nome Mine Workers’ Union, No. *40. Western Federation of Miners.
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“To secure to each laborer the whole product of his lkbor, or as
nearly as possible, Is a worthy object of any good government."—
hbran'am Lincoln
Address all Communications to Dally Nome Industrial Worker,
Box 210 Nome,-Alaska. Phone, Black 124.
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! .—— i * ■ ^
Entered as second class matter March 1. 1211, at the post office at
Rome, - Alasxa, under the Act of March 2, 1872.
Nome, Alaska, September 13, 1910.
MENACE TO FREEDOOM.
It is significant that the most im
portant voice to be raised against
the railroad eight hour day should
be that of a preacher. This holy
man in the Pilgrim Congregational
Church in St. Louis discovers in the
eight hour legislation a menace to
free government.
That is a very interesting and
important point of view for a
preacher. It is one that awakens
considerations as to what is really
a free government and why in parti
cular eight hour legislation should
be such a menace to freedom.
Nevertheless, Reverend H. Wood
row is not alone in such an opinion.
Eight hour legislation has been con
demned no less emphatically, poss
ibly not for the same reasoi . by
Samuel Gompers. But surely there
is such an extraordinary coincidence
in the iaet that it is v/el! v.or'.h con
sidering. Be it remarked that Gom
j ers did not condemn the eight hour
law fcr railroaders. On the contrary
lie held that it was a victory for
labor. Yet at the last convention
of the organization over which he
presided he opposed with all his
might any such thing as eight hour
legislation.
The position in whic 1 l.e no * ]
finds himself by giving an approval
to the legislative settlement of the
railroad trouble, is merely another
one of those inconsistencies varying j
circumstances occasion, Just as they
vary.
The eight hour law is not at all
u menace to free government, Rev.
Woodrow to the contrary notwith
standing. On the contrary, it is the
first time that the government has
been directly lined up with those
who have very little pretensions to
political or industrial freedom.
The objection to this eight hour
legislation Is only to be filed when
it hangs in abeyance, ♦he short
coming In the merely legislative
method of settling disputes is found
only when the officials fails toenforce
the law or courts which are not im
partial set such legislation aside.
The eight hour day to be without
Haw as an industrial condition must
have at its back r.uch a strong and
.-determined economic organization
that its enforcement as such will re
quire neither official activity nor be
.affected by any adverse judicial de
cisions.
If the labor organisations are so
strong that by industrial action they
can enforce an eight hour day, they
■will have no need of legislation at
all, and their work day is shortened
without any possibility of such eco
nomic action being thrown out by
the courts.
Gompers position that this was an
economic question, to be settled by
economic action is sound, but he
must have noted that it was the lack
of confidence in his methods that
had driven the socialists and others
to resort to the legislature.
In this Instance before us, Rev.
Woodrow overlooks the real reason
why the law was passed. It was not,
in fact, to surrender the position to
labor and thus deny those who were
not workers any legislative expres
sion to their side.
Whllo without a doubt political
capital will be made out of Wilson’s
action among the laboring world, it
la safe to say that quite other in
terests inspired it. The fact is that
Wilson and Congress feared the
consequence of a railroad strike. It
would create a condition of things
that no one could safely say where
H would end. It would inconven
ience shippers to such an extent
that it would result In a paralysis
ctf industry in many sections. •
Although the railroad presidents
were all of them affecting a confid
ence in their ability to operate their
systems even if the railroaders
•truck, it is quite safe to say that
there was no snch confidence in ex
istence. nnd everyone knew that
with snch solidarity among the
brotherhoods, not a line but would
experience great trouble in even
sending the mail over the road. .
Now Wijson and Congress did not
want any such thing as an industrial
paralysis. They certainly did not
want to see mines and mills and
factories and industrial plants close
because of inadequate transporta
tion facilities, and that is what
would have unquestionably follow
ed in case of the railroad strike be
ing materialized. And it was for
this reason that the eight hour day
became a law upon the railroads.
If merely eight hour reform was all
that was concerned, the law would
have been made to include shopmen
and trackmen and many others
whose day’s work is at present too
long. But no such thing was done.
The idea was to avert a strike which
would cause the business interests
considerable inconvenience, consid
erable loss of profits and end in the
bankruptcy court for not a few of
them.
It is because no such condition
was desired by Wilson or any of the
democrats, for political reasons or
otherwise, that a settlement was
forced upon the government.
Now, there is as little justifica
tion for claiming this as a great
labor victory as there is for declar
ing it to be a menace to free govern
ment, although it is a truth that le
gislative action is seldom free, being
always more or less dependent upon
some economic force, and this legis
lation would have never been
brought about had it not been that
the brotherhood men were strong
enough to cause the industrial inter
ests very serious inconvenience, even
if at length they would have been
defeated themselves.
That a great number of railroad
officials would have desired to
humble the brotherhood men by
forcing a strike may be true. But
it is doubtful if there are many
really believed that such a thing
could have been easily accomplished.
Where the big mistake was made
was in antagonizing the brother
hoods, and as an exchange declares,
the relations between the brother
hoods and the companies will never
again be the same. The action ot
the brotherhood men in preparing
for an open break, and the delibe
rate defiance with which the com
pany officials met the challenge,
will have lasting results. The broth
erhood men are not likely to be
much longer isolated from the rest
of the workers.
Returning to Rev. Woodrow his
sermon is more an example of the
new uses to which -the church is
put than anything else. We can
easily place aside his ridiculous re
marks concerning thd eight hour
law being menace to free govern
ment. That is neither here nor there.
He simply made use of this rhetori
cal extravagance to satisfy those ot
his Congregation whose interests
with the companies were indentlcal.
So the pulpit, we she, is subject
also to that economic determinism
which affects more or less all our
actions. And because he is the
right man in the right place, like all
right men in the right places, he ad
justs himself to the plutocratic
views which sustain generously
enough churches, and provide ample
reward for their servants. The ox
knoweth Its owner and the ass its
master’s crib. And Rev. Woodrow,
rightly enough justifies the service
to which he is put by those who af
ford him a recompense for his
service.
There is a whole lot of that sort
of thing manifest even in clerical
quarters. The ability to serve God
and Mammon Is no longer so rare,
and riches have lost their evangeli
cal taint. Today men wisely con
form to the idea that wealth provi
des the good tilings of life and there
is no reason why they should be de
spised even by a preachtr. The
odor of sanctity is a powerful disin
fectant of tainted wealth, as all
those generous donators towards
the churches have long since real
ized, and politics and religion is
often more closely allied than peo
ple suspect.
RELIABLE TAILOR SHOP. *
Front St. 3 doors west of Alaska
Bank.
We do the best
CLEANING *
PRESSING
ALTERING &
REPAIRING
Ladles and Gentlemens Clothes.
Wait for new Goods on Victoria,
for they will be at Crooks, next Fire
Department.
FIGHTS CONTINUE.
NEW YORK, Sept. 8.—Fights in
the street car strike in this city con
tinue. The police are making many
arrests.
Anything in the line of Job work
For Correctly
Fitting
EYE
GRASSES
Go to
Segerstrom & Hagen
Jewel em and Opticians.
Scientifically Blended
from the finest Coffees
grown in the World—
Most Economical.
• grocer will retund the lull price you m
. for M-J-B- Coffee, if it does not B
ase your taste, no matter how much m
you have used out of the can. M
You can’t buy better coffee
. no matter what price Jr
you pay Airtight
V acuum
Cached
Milo’s
Cafe
OPEN DAY AND NIGHT
Next door to Pacific Cold
Storage.
Occident Flour
»
Buy a Sack of Occident Flour and make as many bakings
as you wish. If you are not satisfied that it is better than any
other Flour you ever used return the unused Flour and get
Your Money Back
MOLLERS GROCERY
211 FRONT STREET PHONE, MAIN fid
Steamer Arctic
will sail for St. Michaels and ail way points including Solomon,
Bluff and Chinlk, August 24.
For information call up Al-aska fclgbterage A Com. Co. or
U. S. Mercantile Co.
For Seattle Direct
SAILING FROM
NOME
OCTOBER 3
SCHEDULES SUBJECT TO ORANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
F. J. O’CONNOR, ALASKA LAO. CO.
Commercial Agent, AGENTS
Front St. and Steadman Ave. At Dock.
MBiaaaaaaaMHBra^^
ALASKA STEAMSHIP GO.
S.S. VICTORIA
LEAVE SEATTLE:
LEAVE NOME.
I .
j I SEPTEMBER 11.
j!
•fi SEPTEMBER 18. ... OCTOBER 1.
OCTOBER 15.
OCTOBER 29.
R. A. Carroll, Agent, Nome
FcTODUKIllriFi?
ilgraBgfiBiggiggBfiaaaEKggfafliaBfaaaft %ttiNfr^mm™,™min^U!u:'r,nnrunniam
We have
Umatilla a
SUCKER
buying see
Cheap
ONE PRICE
Kent Transfer Oo.
General Transfer & Freighting
C2Ml& OU=
Phone Main 139.
■■ i> II ——i^—
MR. MINER
I HAVE PURCHASED WHILE OUTSIDE THE BEST LINE
OF FURNISHINGS AND WINTER SUPPLIES TO BE HAD, AND
AM DETERMINED TO MARE THIS STORE THE BEST PLACE
IN ALASKA TO TRADE.
PHIL MURPHY
MURPHY HAS THE MODS
.._
GET THE NEWS RIGHT. READ Anything In the line of job week
THE WORKER. Satisfaction assured.
4* 41 4* af + ij> 4* 4* 4* 4* 4* 4*
♦ MIKIFCQ +
4*
4
RESTAURANT
4
4
4*
T Opposite Industrial Worker.
4> FIRST class meals. ***
4* Served la 4*
4* FIRST CLASS STYLE. 4>
4* Fader New Management 4*
* OPEN ALL NIGHT. v *
JS. H. SWI*3™*
♦+*♦+**♦♦
:'N ■ - ;,'i
>+ + + + + + + + + + + + *++
U. S. MAIL BOAT t
((
Silver Wave”+
iV
Making scheduled tripe be-*,
tween St. Michaels and *11J
way points, - in eluding Bluff,
Solomon, Nome, Teller, fork,*
Tin City, Deering, Candle and *
Kotaebne. +
W++++++++++***