pointing a gun at your head.— A fair specimen of the Socialist who, in the name of Christianity, holds you up for what you possess. In a romance such things are amusing, but when the lone bandit suddenly conjures around him an armed band 100,000 strong, and the romance passes into reality, threatening life and property, and the very existence of society, it is high time for society to wake up and prepare to save itself.
68 The Pinkerton Labor Spy.
"This is the condition we are facing now. The sooner we prepare to meet it the better."
The following is a pungent bit from the reply of the Federation to their saintly antagonist:
"The Catholic Church condemns Socialism. We deny it. Bishop Matz condemns Socialism, because The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib.' "
While the attacks of Bishop Matz on the Federation did not frighten that organization into altering its plans, nevertheless, as the Bishop had designated the Socialist as a highway robber, his remarks and advice, to a certain extent, justified the extreme measures taken shortly after by the Mine Owners' Association, Smelter Trust, Citizens' Alliance, the Governor and Supreme Court, and the Pinkerton Agency.
As an illustration of the attitude of the Citizens' Alliance toward organized labor, we quote below a few remarks by Herbert George, one of the founders of the organization and the editor of its official organ. He said at a mass meeting of the Alliance at the Denver Chamber of Commerce, May nth, 1903:
"Labor unions are a natural result of conditions, and they consist of a lot of people who are not as bright as they might be. These are led by a lot of tricky fellows who break into the legislature instead of the penitentiary."