The times., December 09, 1911, Image 4

THE TIMES
THE TIMES
M cNAMARA SYMPOSIUM
is true, but at the same time a most undesirable element has been
introduced.
,
“ It appears to me,” said this gentleman, “ that if the unions
Published every Saturday by THE TIMES COMPANY, Incorporated
would all adopt this rigorous plan (amending their policy, o f course,
at 212 Firaf Street. Portland. Oregon
o f all other undesirable elements), that they would establish them­
Application made at Portland. Oregon, for traiiamisalon through the mails as second clast mattrr.
selves.
THE TIMES in not rcHponaible for any opinions expressed by correspondents
“ Onee should it be known that in the union could be found only
appearing in its columns.
expert workers, it would not be long before the employers would o f
A FEARLESS EXPONENT OF IND USTRIAL PEACE, THE “ OPEN SH O P’ ’ themselves seek the unions for employees. It seems to me that this
AND THE RIGHTS OF INDEPENDENT LABOR.
plan would bring about harmony in many instances where now only
Below will be found editorial comments and the views of lead­
friction exists.
ing organized labor officials concerning the McNamara brothers,
SUBSCRIPTION RATES— $2.50 per year, in advance.
“
Unionism,
if
it
is
to
advance,
must
keep
strictly
within
the
ADVERTISING RATES made known upon application.
law. It must not be led by extremists— fire-eaters. It must not which show the trend of public opinion:
S A T U R D A Y . D E C E M B E R 8. 1811
The McNamaras.
countenance crimes nor aets o f violence. It must allow the man who
chooses to work independently the privilege of doing so.”
There has been fair play for the McNamaras. They are guilty
Each man should have the right to earn his way,
of murder, and they confess. They would undoubtedly have contin­
And each should have for fair day’s work a fair day’s pay
In another column we reprint an article touching upon the vile ued their career o f violence, intimidation and bloodshed by dynamite
Each man should governed be by Justice’s right
mouthings of an undesirable and shallowed-pated fcrowil that infest if they had not been prsued by the bulldogs of the law, arrested, jailed
And gain his ends by peaceful means—not dynamite.
and block up our streets. We are informed that there is no specific and tried. They manifest no contrition for the many crimes they
city ordinance covering this class of offenders. If there is not, there have committed, no sorrow for the impoverished widows and starving
UNIONISM FACING A CRISIS.
is ample time for the Ctiy Council to enact one. With such a measure
OW THAT the smoke of battle has blown away, now that the first the police could readily and forcibly put a stop to further offenses by orphans they have made, no regrets for the valuable property they
have destroyed. The meshes of the law had slowly and certainly
shock incident to the confession and pleas o f guilty in the Los this class o f malcontents.
entangled them, anil they saw their sure fate. They made a bargain
Angeles Times and Llewellyn Iron Works eases, by the McNamaras
Captain of Police Bailey says:
to save their precious necks. They were cowards to the last.
has become known, public opinion is adjusting itself. From far am
“ Under the city charter the police are powerless to put a stop to
We shall have no more parades of sympathizers of the Mc-Na-
near, in the public press, in the union organs, even, there is praetic these street meetings so long as the crowds do not blockade the
ally hut one note— that of denunciation. It eould not he otherwise streets. There is serious need for an ordinance that will insure one maras. There will be no more resolutions of confidence in their in­
It is safe to assume that the element of criminality in the labc or two things. In the first place these street speakers should be oust­ nocence. The campaign for a vast fund to be used for their defense
unions has had its day, and that, for the good of unionism itself, ed entirely from the congested downtown business district. If that will end. The inspired outcry that good men, because they were
dynamiting tactics will no longer be countenanced. It is reassuring is not done an ordinance should be passed which would deny to these staunch champions of labor, were being railroaded to the gallows by
to know that prominent labor leaders, the country over, repudiate agitators the use of the street for their meetings entirely, with the the unscrupulous servitors of “ capitalism” has been ignominously
dumbed. The motives o f the prosecution, which unflinchingly sought
the McNamaras, and are more severe than anyone else in their bit possible exception o f one month preceding an election.”
to convict the guilty because they \vere guilty, and was not dismayed
ter denunciation. No more shall we hear of this pretty pair of in
by clamor or threats or influence, have been vindicated. The reign
famous villians heralded as labor’s martyrs, for they are already
The merger o f The Pacific Monthly and The Sunset Magazine of terror inaugurated by the McNamaras, false friends and faithless
branded as traitors to all that the unions consider as good.
into one publication, should make a monthly more than twice as good
Cruel and dreadful as have been the crimes of the McNamaras as either were before. Each has always been creditable and each knights of labor, is at an end.
If the labor organizations of the United States shall discover that
the outcome of so much evil may work lasting good. The cause of has done much to advance the interests of the West. United, they
unionism has received a solar plexus blow. Pure as its primal prill should prove invincible. We regret that Portland must lose The Pa- they have been injured by the resvdt of the McNamara trials, they
eiples may have been, distrust has been awakened in the public mini cific Monthly, inasmuch as San Francisco will be the place of publica­ will not have far to go for the reason. They sought to make the
because the crimes of the McNamaras were committed in its name tion. We desire to express our admiration and sincere good will for cause of the McNamaras the cause of labor.— The Oregonian.
Now that the dust has been wiped from its eyes, unionism sees that Lute Pease, who has done so much to advance the standing of The
it has been duped and deceived. Had it not been blind to what was Pacific Monthly. We trust his future may lie in pleasant places.
Good May Come Out of Evil.
apparent all along to others, it might have known that acts of vio­
The end of the McNamara case is the most fortunate of out­
lence would never establish unionism upon a stable foundaiton. THE
Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of comes. It literally clears the whole atmosphere. It makes plain, be­
TIMES lias never believed that the great majority of unionists knew Labor, said, when informed that there would be a Federal investiga­ yond the shadow of doubt, through the confessions of the guilty ones,
that its master minds planned the great number of catastrophes that tion into the dynamiting cases at Indianapolis: “ Let them go ahead; that for six years they have been engaged in a campaign of destruc­
have from time to time shocked the country, taking their frightf^ let them go as far as they like. If there are other men above or below tion necessarily involving murder, and that they have pursued it
toll of human life and destroying millions of dollars in property, in this case the Federal investigation ought to disclose them. Let the relentlessly and with the coolest calculation. Unless it had been pre­
There has been a secret circle in which these sinister and damnable Federal investigation go on. If there is anybody behind these men sented in that wray, if the outcome of a trial had left the shadow of
crimes were carefully planned, into which it never has been admit their identity ought to be known. Personally, I cannot conceive doubt or suspicion, there would have been those who could not bring
ted. It is doubtful if it was even aware of its existence. The entire where they got their money to perpetrate their outrages. I cannot themselves to believe that American citizens could have been guilty
fabric of unionism is permeated with this blighting parasite which dream who was behind them.”
of such crimes.
means total disorganization unless new men, clean men, of high
But now the country is face to face with the naked facts. The
ideals, shall he chosen as leaders. To these unionism must look for
David Starr Jordan asked the Socialists of Milwaukee if they rank and file of the labor unions have found that there are many
a Moses to lead them out of the present Egypt.
really called the Stars and Stripes a 10-cent rag and they said they things done by their leaders which they wot not of, and that their
When unionism shall have expelled all its dangerous leaders
id. Moreover, they said they are proud of what they said.— Los An­ sympathies and prejudices have been aroused when, instead, as in
when it shall have admitted that a non-union man has the right to geles Times.
this case, their indignation should have been excited. There is one
toil wherever he can; when it shall learn that might and crime and
This is the kind of riff-raff that we have in Portland as well. thing certain, and that is that lawlessness hereafter will not be tol­
intimidation do not make right; when it shall learn that it must rc They are not only anarchistic in sentiment, but traitorous in utter­
erated by any shade of public opinion. Strikes and labor troubles
speet the personal rights of all men and the property rights? even ance.
must be fought out on their merits. Indeed, it is possible that the
o f the man who stands hack o f the payroll, then it will re-establish
question of strikes may even be affected and that hereafter there
tor itself confidence in the public mind. Organized labor can never
Attorney Harrow' intimates that labor leaders expected that may be fewer of them. There was never a legitimate reason for a
make permanent progress until it amends its policy in line with tin
much
of the McNamara defense fund would be returned. This he strike, except that one or both sides to the controversy demanded
principles of true American citizenship. Any institution based upon
declared
was impossible, because much of it has already been spent. something it was not entitled to. I f such parties to the controversy
ex parte views, advocating boycotts, denying another the same rights
were fair and asked for nothing but simple justice, each giving the
it claims for itself, insolently and arbitrarily seeking to dictate am Members of organized labor, honest enough in their belief in the de­
other’s point of view a little consideration, we would have fewer
domineer over others, is doomed to ultimate failure. It is baser fendants’ innocence, were thus buncoed out of their hard-earned dol­
upon wrong premises. It is unequitable, for “ Equity delights in lars. Had they not been entangled in the union mesh there would strikes and on the whole more happiness.
have been no call upon them .
As out of evil comes good, so out of this dreadful McNamara case
doing justice, and that not by halves.”
will likewise come good. The great benefit will come from an en­
When organized labor shall have weeded out these fallacies it
The Oregon Journal pertinently inquires: “ Why is it alwa>s lightened public opinion formed by those who are participants upon
will advance. No long as it follows these practices it is hugging to
soap-box,’ never any other kind of a box on which a street orator neither side of a labor controversy, but who are the innocent suffer­
its heart the canker that will one day consume its life and leave be­
mounts?”
ers instead. They will most likely demand their rights in the future
hind it only the ashes o f death. Perhaps the conservative unionists
To which THE TIMES would respond, that “ soap-box” sug­ and through the active public opinion thus created the world will
in attendance upon this Belshazzar least, of lawlessness, this saturna
lia o f crime, see the mystic and portentous handwriting on the wall. gests soap; soap suggests cleanliness, and most street orators belong take another long forward step in the direction of better things for
everybody.— The Evening Telegram.
If they can stem the current, if they can establish reason and com­ to the “ great unwashed,” so the term is quite apropos.
mon sense, unionism along conservative lines may advance. If not.
W ill II. Daly, president of the Oregon State Federation of Labor,
It appears that the women suffragist vote had much to do with and also president of the Central Labor Council of Portland, had this
it will go down into the darkness of utter dissolution, as it deserves
the
defeat
of
Job
Harriman,
the
Socialist
candidate
for
mayor
of
to say— and every word rings true:
to go.
Los Angeles. This will do much to advance the suffragist cause, and
“ Now that the reported confessions of the McNamara brothers
icrhaps by the women’s vote the solution of the defeat of Socialism have been positively confirmed, bona fide members of organized labor
lies.
MEN OF BRAWN AND BRAIN.
have decided to wash their hands of the case of the self-confessed
dynamiters. By their confessions they have stamped themselves as
As if there was not already a sufficient stench arising into the criminals and pronounced enemies of the cause of trades unionists.
The hardened, calloused hands of honest labor, ever deserve tin
highest respect of mankind. In their noble ranks we find the fellers nostrils of an offended public, still more has eome. Charges of brib­ Organized labor tSkes the position that it now remains for them to
of forests; the toilers on desolate seas. From this vast army there ery and attempted jury fixing are among the side issues in the Me- be dealt with as criminals and insists that the law shall take its
comes the men who break through the treasure boxes of nature. Deep Natnara ease. The entire matter reeks with betrayed trust and course.
down in mother earth, at roots of mountains, beneath verdant val­ reaehery, and is rotten throughout.
“ Unless the local organization of structural iron workers takes
leys, they sweat and toil. By (heir sinewy arms are laid bare the
Ihe initiative and goes on record as officially repudiating the two
secrets of the ages. By their toil vast stores of coal and iron, of
Detective Burns promises the arrest of David M. Kaplan and McNamaras, organized labor of Portland, as it is represented by the
copper, gold and silver and many more of this old earth's wealth Milto A. Schmidt, co-conspirators o f the McNamaras. All connected Central Labor Council, will probably not take that action. For the
roHoun es are brought to light, and made to serve the purposes o f hu­ with these dynamite affairs should stretch hemp and be strung up same reason those labor organizations that contributed to the fund
manity. Alllid the glare of great furnaces they fashion the rails of higher than Hainan.
for the defense o f the men who have admitted their guilt in the Los
steel that gridiron continents. Men of brawn are they who throw
Angeles dynamiting cases will not make any demand for an expla­
across wide rivers and mountain gorges the bridges of steel, over
nation of what was done with their subscriptions, neither will they
Something
like
$»00,000
was
subscribed
by
organized
labor
to
which roll the iron horse and the chariots of commerce. Titans and
ask that any unexpended portion of their donations be refunded.
Vidimus, they forge the beams of steel that form the framework of he McNamara defense fund. Portland unions were bilked out of
“ The money was contributed in good faith when we believed
ibout $3000 for this purpose.
cloud-kissing structures.
the men were the victims of a conspiracy and when we had every
In myriads of factories they watch the shooting shuttles that
reason to believe in their professed innocence. Now that they have
McNamara buttons can be purchased now for 4 cents a million, admitted their guilt, we have no desire to have anything further to
weave the garments of mankind
Under blue skies, on Western
plains, calloused hands guide the plow, or reap the golden grain that with no offers.
do with the ease and we shall expect the law to take its course
goes to make the flour that feeds the children of men. All honor,
against them in the same manner as we expect it to in the ease of
A new synonym should be added to the English language f
then, to the men of brawn!
all criminals.”
But what about the men who sit in great factories directing the perfidy— McNamara.
Opinions of other labor leaders follow :
liosls that toil f What of those men. whom nature has not given
“ The McNamaras are traitors to humanity. Beside them Judas
USEFULNESS.
i i i i i s i les of iron, but who toil with tireless brains for the good id' all
SELF INTEREST. HIGH ANI>
Iscariot
and Benedict Arnold shrink into insignificance. I do not
men? Wlial o f thus, whose keeness of vision husbands the wealth What’s the good o ’ let tin’ malice
LOW.
believe in capital punishment, hut if I did I would gladly pull the
id' the nations and keep on pouring out the shower of gold that pur­ Get the better of good cheerf
rope about the McNamaras myself. I hope they get the limit of the
chases life’ s necessities? What o f the great army of workers of What’s the good of sacrificin’
legal penalty.” said Calvin Wyatt, general organizer of the American
Honest
friendship
to
a
sneerF
mind, who seek to alleviate the sufferings of humanity, the noble sur­
Self-interest at its worst is so hi­ Federation of Labor, in New York.
the good of apprehensions,
geons and physicians, the white gowned nurses.’ What of that glor­ What’s
deous that its effects overshadow
Grief arrives when it is duel
“ If the McNamara brothers were sentenced to be strapped to
ious baud of Hod like men. who soothe the aching hearts and the What’s the good of huntin’ trouble
any good that might be credited the muzzles of cannons and blown to pieces, they would not be pay­
troubled souls of humanity, pointing to peace and rest and the glor­
When i t ’s on the hunt for youf
to this natural instinct or impulse. ing too dearly for the atrocious murders which by their own admis­
ious hereafter? What of the horde who teach the young the facts of
There is a great difference between sions have been laid at their doors.” said Edward A. Hirsh, presi­
knowledge? Of those who pen the glowing words that give hope to What’s the good of overturnin’
n self-interest which stimulates a dent of the Federation of Labor and editor of the Labor Leader, of
Some one ’s house of cards so frail f
the hopeless, that shed the sunlight of mind upon the darkened
man to make the most of himself Baltimore.
ou yourself have cherished fancies
thoughts of those who toil with muscle? All honor to these, as well!
That hard luck may soon assail.
and that which fastens itself like
“ The McNamaras took human life and. just as in any other case,
The world needs both the toilers of brawn and the toilers of Why keep addin’ to the sorrows
a leech on society.
the penalty should be life for life.” was the view of Frank Duffy, na­
So
abundantly
arrayedf
brain. Each is a part and parcel of the great machine of civilization
The self-interest o fa few indi­ tional secretary of the Carpenters’ and Joiners’ Union. Indianapolis.
that makes for Imman advancement. Each should appreciate the What’s the use o ’ making trouble
viduals undoubtedly cost a nation
When there’s trouble ready madef
“ They cannot hang too high to suit me.” seid J. W. Dougherty,
other; each should seek to co-operate with the other. The world
a continent.. The old fur compan­ international secretary of the Bookbinders’ Union, Indianapolis.
— Washington Post.
needs men, earnest men. men who labor with hand and brain. One
ies did not want the great west,
“ Hanging is none too good for anarchists such as the McNa­
day they will learn to appreciate each other.
the
home of the beaver, settled, for maras arc. It is a crime against unionism as well as humanity. They
USELESS WAITING.
it would destroy their business. deserve the extreme penalty.” said D. J. Speiers. secretary to James
HOW UNIONISM MAY ADVANCE
The owners of the great cattle M. Lynch, president of the International Typographical Union, Indi­
He has a longing to reaeh success.
O A HIGHLY reputable citizen of Portland, who has made a care­
ranges tried to keep the small anapolis.
He wishes to be supreme;
ful and intelligent study of labor problems for many years. THE He worries because o f his littleness.
farmer out. yet they had in time
“ As trade unionists, we ask only the same justice for the McNa­
But
he
is
inclined
to
dream.
TIMES is indebted for certain practical ideas. In substance, lie
to give way and great territories maras now as wc did when we believed them innocent. If they are
said;
to be “ the talk o f the are now divided into small divi­ guilty, as is evident from their confessions, every laboring man
“ If organized labor desires to become a permanent institution He yearns
sions. supporting millions of men wants the proper punishment meted out to them.” said William H.
town, ’ ’
in human society, it must amend many of its ways. I would suggest,
To loom o 'e r the common crowd;
instead of thousands of cattle. Daly, president of the Federation of Labor. Portland.
for one thing, tlint before it admits any man as a member to a union, He is longing for money atid for re­ Self-interest must finally yield be­
“ The McNamara brothers, if guilty, should be hanged. If they
nown
it shall absolutely insist that he is a master workman; that he thor­
fore the pressure of society and no were here they would he hanged by the labor men.” This was the
And for the right to be proud.
oughly understands Ins trade and is an expert in all matters relating
man’s life is usually so short that declaration of J. L. Sheppard, counsel for the Kansas State Federa­
thereto. At the present time the unions, it appears to me, seek quan­ He wishes to reaeh success, to feci
he does not feel this pressure be­ tion. Fort Scott. Kan.
Serene in a lofty seat—
tity in membership, rather than quality. Any man professing to
fore he dies. Seff-interest of the
“ Though not condoned by the men of organized labor, the of­
know a trade, if he has the price to pay his dues, is readily admit­ But he's waiting to get in an automo­ worst sort is so sure to overreach
fense against society committed by the McNamara brothers will act
bile
ted. No examination is made as to Ins fitness, his character or his
itself that its overthrow cannot be a8 a blighting course on the organized labor movement for many
That will take him up Easy street.
reputation. In this way membership has been largely increased, it
— Chicago Record Herald.
(Continued on Page Three.)
delayed.
Comments by the Press and Prominent
Leaders of Organized Labor
N
T