THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1922.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18612, 21 July 1922, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY , JULY 21, 1922.

LABOUR WAR IN AMERICA. In the month of July, twenty-eight years ago, a great Labour struggle reached its climax in America. The forces of order subdued the forces of disorder after a clash of arms. In that memorable and almost forgotten struggle many lives were lost and property valued at millions of dollars was destroyed. On the night of July 6 incendiaries set fire in three places to the famous buildings of the World's Fair, and in two hours one of the most splendid creations of man was reduced to eighty acres of ashes and unsightly ruin. The Court of Honour, a fairy dream of architectural beauty, with its palaces and great fountain, its columns, and the golden dome of the Administration Building vanished in flame and smoke. Man had not builded the like on such a scale before, but the barbarism of those fatal days triumphed for the moment over civilisation, and the glorious edifice was destroyed. On the night of July 6 the mob took charge of the southern suburbs .of Chicago, and besides doing other damage it burned over 1000 cars, including many Pullmans, as well as barns, signaltowers, and storehouses. Dynamite and other weapons were used, but in the end the troops quelled the disturbance and the Labour revolt was defeated. History has a way of repeating itself. In many respects the present conflict, which appears to be rapidly approaching I a climax, bears a close resemblance to the deplorable events of 1894. The miners and the railwaymen were then, as now, the chief bodies of workers directly affected. There existed then, as now, a large army of unemployed, and Mr Eugene Debs was then, as now, one of the chief strike leaders. Despite his experience Mr Debs believes in the persecution of "scabs" just as his organisation did in the dark days of the previous great struggle. In the hours when viqtory seemed possible one of the "big chiefs" of, Mr Debs's union declared that every "scab" must be made to walk the plank. "I want," said he, "to .sound a note of warning to every 'scab' right now,, no matter what the colour of his hair, that we have got a combination that will drive them into the depths of the sea. When this fight is over they cannot stay on this continent." The present conflict is reproducing the incidents of the past. President Harding has made it plain that the strength of the nation will be used to preserve order, and that industry must not be strangled. As will be seen by our cable messages this morning, he has called upon the State Governments to co-operate with the Federal authorities to afford lawful protection to those who wish to work and to maintain order. No effort will be spared to quell the lawlessness of the past few days, and the States are at one with the President. The strikers have refused arbitration. They seek to paralyse trade. Success in their aims would mean that they and not the Government would rule the country. Civil war would assuredly result, and, though the theory of violence for the overthrow of the present system has appeared in attractive garb since the last big Labour war, the fact remains that society cannot afford to allow any one section to assume dictatorship. The general revolutionary strike is designed to wrest power from the Government and transfer it to the strikers. Such an event must be frustrated. However reasonable the original claims of the strikers may have been, lawlessness has temporarily robbed them of any advantage which they enjoyed. If there is no individual or body which can judicially adjust the disputed points fairly between the parties, then America is in a bad way. But the chief value of the backward glance which we have taken to-day consists in the hope which its gives for the future.. Lawlessness will surely not prevail. Moreover, it invariably defeats those who practise it. If the right to strike is sacred and necessary for the preservation of liberty it surely carries with it the right of other men to work if they so desire. Anything short of that principle gives to any section of workers a pow«r of monopoly which is destructive and anti-social. In modern society no section of the community has a tangible right to declare that the needs of civilisation shall be denied unless the entire community obeys the dictates of that section. The next few days,—perhaps, indeed the next few hours—are /full of anxie'ty for the people of i;ho United States, but the final triumph of the forces of order is as certain as in days of old.