They claimed that they should be allowed to hire
whom they pleased and dismiss incompetent men when it was best for their
business, without regard to their membership or non-membership in a union.
"As time went on the trouble increased and society was fast forming itself
into classes with opposing aims and mutual dislike. The time had been when
a workman, by skill and diligence, could rise above his station and become
a large proprietor himself. But with the new order this was hardly
possible, and civilization, in this respect, seemed to be retrogressing.
"You may wonder why the lawmakers did not correct the evil at once, but
the fact was that the legislatures were made up of representatives from
the two classes, and so were undecided as to what remedies to apply. It
was proposed by some to enact a law preventing a man from selling himself
into slavery, or, in other words, from giving up his liberty of action
into the keeping of others, a thing which had caused much suffering. In
every strike a large part of the men, earning small wages and with
families dependent on these wages for their bread from one day to another,
would be obliged to quit work against their will.
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