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Goodwin's Weekly I Vol. XVI SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, MARCH 12, 1910 No. 21 Unwelcome Premonitions 1f the past three-score years, the hours of lahoring men and women all save farmers have been reduced nearly or quite one half; their wages more than doubled. In the same time a multitude of new machines have been invented, and each new invention has given a multitude more men and women employment. In that time, too, the tendency has been to re duce the efficiency of laborers, for in the unions, the alert and skillful receives no more wages than the slothful and unskilled, and moreover the training of apprentices has greatly fallen off. Meanwhile every year new exactions are be ing made upon employers, and if not granted strikes are ordered, and this rule has crystalized until no employer knows what moment he is to ho bereft of his laborers; not because he has had trouble with them, not because they are at 1 dissatisfied, but because of a sympathetic strike that may be ordered to brace up the cause of other strikers in other places. What is to come of all this? It looks to us that if labor and capital do not get together on some terms and the only enduring terms would be an agreement crystal ized into a code which both would have to sub mit to which both will accept, the disposition of capital will be to try to transfer their plants to foreign countries, and leave labor helpless. For instance the steel trust probably spends $5,000,000 per annum, perhaps twice that amount on the machinery, which is added to their works. Suppose they ceased doing that and put the ma chinery in say China, and followed that rule ten years. The old plant at home would be worn out; a gigantic plant would have grown up in China, which could lay steel down in San Fran cisco for one-tenth what it costs now, or in New York for one-sixth what it costs now. No tariff could protect our workingmen against that. Or suppose the woolen manufacturers of New Eng land should determine to contract their business at home and erect a great plant in China. They could obtain all the coarse wool desired right there; they could obtain the long-staple fine wools of Australia cheaper than here; they could employ laborers who, after three months' train jng, would run their machinery with automatic regularity, for one-fifteenth what is costs them here; how could anything in this country com pete against such an opposition? These are only two illustrations, they could be increased almost indefinitely. The premonitions of what twenty years more may bring to the industrial world of the United States, are filled with omens of evil. Hence to thoughtful people the news of a great strike in any part of this country, is most sorrowful news. Besides the loss it carries with it, there is the ill-feeling, and both are hastening toward the day when it looks to us as though skilled labor on a thousand lines, in this country, will be lost. i . r A Hallowed Day ix t EXT Thursday will be St. Patrick's day. It is saint day in Ireland; it is getting to be one in America. It is going to be duly ' celebrated here, as it should be, because it is an honored day throughout this country. To all ,m the Irish race it brings memories near- and re- I mote, memories of the man who in his humble 'j way redeemed their country, and so impressed himself upon the v; 'lid that the years make no impression, except to give that memory more reverence and respect. There is a double reason for celebrating it here this year, because on that "day special serv icse will be performed in honor of the memory of a son of Ireland who came here a lad, who was an American before ever ship touched the pier, who served through two or three wars and by his sterling merit and patriotism alone, was advanced until the stars of a general glit tered on his shoulders. Special services in his honor will be held and out of them it is hoped that a movement will be started which will se cure to him a monument to mark his grave and to show that he holds an honored place in the thoughts of the men of Utah. The Good Book says he who would save his life must lose it. P. Edward Connor offered his life over and over for his country and died poor, but his memory remains. He is on the immortal roll of heroes who went out to save their native land, and whose devotion and courage and ability, out of the whirlwind and the storm wrought for him a lasting name. He walked these streets many years. He had some trials which were about as hard as ever came to the duty of a soldier to perform. He shrank from none of them, he upheld the flag against all foes, and whenever his voice was heard it was a shout for his adopted country. The nation that does not reverence its sol diers and pay appropriate honors to their mem ories, when by their deeds they have shown their devotion, their patriotism and their willingness to uphold the flag with their lives, is a nation that does not last long on the earth or in the memories of men. The fact that they do not give this reverence is proof that they are of bad stock and are not worth preserving. Every state has its hallowed graves. Over all the eastern states, almost in every town there is perpetuated in stone or in bronze a memorial to some child of that state who, when the call came, turned his back on all that he loved except his flag, to follow that flag. Utah has not many of those reminders, al though some very splendid soldiers sleep here. General Maxwell was one, and he has a little stone in Mt. Olivet. General Kimbell was anoth er. We do not remember whether his grave is appropriately marked or not. Colonel Ferry was another, but his body was removed to his native state. There are some others. We hope the ceremonies next Thursday will be largely at tended and that out of tliem will grow a great movement which will insure a fitting memorial to be raised over the humble grave of General Connor. Thomas C. Piatt IN the past New York state has had many political chieftains who filled the role which later grew to be called "a boss." Alexander Hamilton was about the first one. He worked in accord with Jay, Schuyler and that array of strong men who made New York famous in the years succeeding the close of the Revolutionary war. Hamilton had been a superb soldier, he was an alert and mort distinguished lawyer; ho was about the finest organizer of his day; he was a terse and incisive writer and the most eloquent speaker that, in his day, ever tried to carry the populace on the stump or convince a grave con vention. The men of New York believed him to - - - IH be the very soul of honor and trusted him ac- M cordingly. His rival for years was Aaron Burr, M who, too, was a fine soldier, the most subtle of lawyers, a most winsome speaker and the most M magnetic of men, but Hamilton always held M first place in the affections of the people and this finally culminated in Burr's killing him. Then for a long time, De Will Clinton held first place H and his inaugurating the building of the Erie canal, and making it a tremendous industrial and commercial success, accentuated his popularity M and strengthened his influence. M Succeeding him Martin Van Buren became H the leader and "boss" of his party and William H H. Seward, the leader and most influential mem- H ber of the Whig party. Backing Seward were Horace Greely and that much more sagacious politician Thurlow Weed. When the panic of H 1837 came on then the Whigs came to the front and elected a Whig president, and Van Buren, who was president when the panic was perpetu- H ated, never recovered his prestige, though the H serpent that whispered into the ear of Eve was H an amateur in comparison. When Seward went into Mr. Lincoln's cabinet Conkling and Tilden H became the respective leaders of their parties. H Conkling was very like Alexander Hamilton. Til- H den was much like Martin Van Buren, and David H B. Hill was a student in. their school of politics, H so we think was Thomas C. Piatt. He never neg- H lected a political detail, and while there was H nothing commanding in his ways, ho never left H a fence down; he never missed making a point H for his party, where a point was to be made, H and while he went down to defeat with Conkling, H he quickly gained his old control and for twelve H years thereafter held his party in the Empire H state in the hollow of his hand, and only lost it H when his steady judgment began to fail 'him, H and Avhen his natural sagacity became clouded H by approaching age. Still he was never great in H the sense of being a statesman. He never orig- H inated an important measure, never made an 11- luminating argument or any theme. But he was H great as a political organizer and the way he H swayed and controlled the masses of his party for H years was a wonder. Indeed no one ever called M him a statesman, but no one ever denied that he M was a marvelous politician. He discounted his H own death and lived for years after he had ceased H to be a potent factor in either the politics or ' H business of his age. He was much loved per- sonally and many a kindly all-hail and farewell H will be spoken above his grave. M To Get Together H AN eminent clergyman, speaking at an evan- H gelist meeting three nights ago, declared H that while Christians, for Ave hundred years had been trying to get together and failed, H still his faith was fixed that it would not always H bo so; that a time, now not very remote, would M come when all creeds that believe in the Messiah . would wheel Into line and in solid phalanx, under J one standard, would take up their march of con- - 1H quest, which was to bo the emancipation of all H mankind from the darkness of sin, to lift up be- IH fore them the gates which open into the realms IH of everlasting light. And surely 'to tho simple H reasoning of the ordinary sinner, this would seem ( a reasonable belief. How out of a simple formula, I such as the New Testament outlines, men can H build up a hundred creeds, and each one in his H zeal grow to think ho is right and every one H