injury
to the property of the employer means no loss to him whatever. The only
possible loss that he can suffer is through the prolongation and
success of the strike. If the workers can be discredited and the strike
broken through the aid of violence, the ordinary employer is not likely
to make too rigid an investigation into whether or not his "detectives"
had a hand in it.

Curiously enough, the general public never dreams that special officers
are responsible for most of the violence at times of strike, and, while
the men loudly accuse the employers, the employers loudly accuse the
men. The employers are, of course, informed by the detectives that the
outrages have been committed by the strikers, and the detectives have
seen to it that the employers are prepared to believe that the strikers
are capable of anything. On the other hand, the men are convinced that
the employers are personally responsible. They see hundreds and
sometimes thousands of special officers swarming throughout the
district. They know that these men are paid by somebody, and they are
convinced that their bullying, insulting talk and actions represent the
personal wishes of the employers. When they knock down strikers, beat
them up, arrest them, or even shoot them, the men believe that all these
acts are dictated by the employers. It is utterly impossible to describe
the bitterness that is aroused among the men by the presence of these
thugs. And the testimony taken by various commissions regarding strikes
proves clearly enough that strikes are not only embittered but prolonged
by the presence of detectives. Again and again, mediators have declared
that, as soon as thugs are brought into the conflict, the settlement of
a strike is made impossible until either the employers or the men are
exhausted by the struggle. A number of reputable detectives have
testified that the chief object of those who engage in "strike-breaking"
is to prolong strikes in order to keep themselves employed as long as
possible. Thus, the employers as well as the men are the victims of this
commerce in violence.

It will, I am sure, be obvious to the reader that it would require a
very large volume to deal with all the various phases of the work of the
detective in the numerous great strikes that have occurred in recent
years. I have endeavored merely to mention a few instances where their
activities have led to the breaking down of all civil government. It is
important,