Strike Breaking Quotes
The speech was in the midst of a very bitter strike where goons and strikebreakers assaulted miners and a few miners resorted to violence.
There had been a major labor strike in the textile mills of Lawrence. Ettor was one of the major strike leaders and strategists. The city authorities sided totally with the mill owners and used police and militia to try and break the strike. When one of the strikers was shot and killed (historians generally agree that the police had fired the shot), the authorities used the death to incapacitate the leadership of Ettor and two other “socialist” leaders who were professional strike organizers and leaders. The 3 were arrested and charged with murder, firing the shot that killed the striker. Ettor and the others were miles away at the time giving speeches to the strikers at another mill. None-the-less, they were arrested, jailed, and not even tried until after the strike was ended. The three were quickly acquitted. The jailing of the strike leaders backfired and made the strikers even more resolute. The laborers finally won the concessions, not to have their pay cut. The defendants went on to lead other strikes.
While Ray was very sympathetic towards the strike, his father’s attitude was typical of that of business men across the nation. A picket line or demonstration was a “mob” and mobs should be broken up before they do physical damage to people or property. “Grape” and “canister” were types of ammunition for cannon that was used against personnel in war. One shell could kill 20-30 men in a crowd.
There had been a major labor strike in the textile mills of Lawrence. Ettor was one of the major strike leaders and strategists. The city authorities sided totally with the mill owners and used police and militia to try and break the strike. When one of the strikers was shot and killed (historians generally agree that the police had fired the shot), the authorities used the death to incapacitate the leadership of Ettor and two other “socialist” leaders who were professional strike organizers and leaders. The 3 were arrested and charged with murder, firing the shot that killed the striker. Ettor and the others were miles away at the time giving speeches to the strikers at another mill. None-the-less, they were arrested, jailed, and not even tried until after the strike was ended. The three were quickly acquitted. The jailing of the strike leaders backfired and made the strikers even more resolute. The laborers finally won the concessions, not to have their pay cut. The defendants went on to lead other strikes.
The Army actually violated the laws of West Virginia as well as the Constitutional rights of thousands of people. The justification was that there was a labor dispute in the West Virginia mines and there had been some violence. Capt. Morgan was one of three military officers of a military court which actually took over and assumed absolute control of the strike district. They army broke many more laws than they enforced.
The railroad monopolies had been abusing their workers for years and this strike brought most of the railroads to a standstill. Since the public and much economic activity depended on the railroad, the Railroad managers tried to get the government to use the U. S. Army to break the strike rather than negotiate with the union.
At the time, it was relatively easy to find some sympathetic judge who saw labor unions as a menace, to issue an injunction forbidding a strike. It would take weeks, months and often years in those days to get to higher courts for appeals so this was a common strike breaking technique. That was the immediate stimulus for the statement. However it has been true generally. Almost all tyrannies operate under the cloak and authority of a judiciary and legal system which they control or is intimidated. 25 years after this quotation the world would see the worst example when the German judiciary supported and found legal all the Nazi excesses including the holocaust.
President Truman, acting as commander in chief, seized the steel mills to end a labor dispute that was curtailing critical production. The Supreme Court nullified the seizure.
