The Tyranny of the "Brotherhood"

This article from the July 25, 1877 edition of the Toledo Blade states the newspaper's strong oppositon to the "tyranny" of the railroad union, whose "managers care nothing for the welfare of the community at large, nor the best good of its members."

The Tyranny of the "Brotherhood"

Never has the tyranny of a Union been more plainly manifested than in the present strike. On every hand the men say, "We would not have struck, but we had to." This is the apology of the Wabash men. Getting better wages than laboring men generally, satisfied with them as they said they were and anxious as Manager Hopkins was to arrange with them on a basis which should prevent a strike, yet at the command of some restless spirits, who are only happy when they can make their influence felt in a tumult and a riot, they deserted the man who had been their real friend and struck. An organization of this kind is more despotic than the government of the Czar or the Sultan. A member has no right to earn bread for his family except by its consent, even though his children are starving. Its managers care nothing for the welfare of the community at large, nor the best good of its members. To make themselves felt is their principal aim.

The first duty of all lovers of good order among railway men is to abandon the "Brotherhood" and side with good order. In a contest with Capital, Labor will fall, for Capital can afford to lie idle but Labor cannot. Both should work together and it will always be the interest of Capital to remunerate Labor well, for then it is best served by Labor.