Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 1.-JSTO. 30.
Kor The Latior Herald.
CALMING THE "LABOR TROUBLES."
Once on a time a lawyer said
They'd Ileal the woes of labor.
Said they : "Nowlet us two decide
Twixt 1 nves and hi> poor neighbor."
Then lawyer A began to spout,
And said that Dives should threaten;
Hut lawyer B got up to shout
That neither should beaten.
What mildest measures were the beat
And surest of prevailing;
But lawyer A cried "'Give us a rest !
Through storm there'*DO mil.l sailing.
Then B got wroth and arid of A
>..nie things not complimentary ;
And A uprose audJiud his say
<>r B not \M ati.\. -
Then A"s legal mind.
With trouble great did labor;
He swore B's treatment was unkind,
And drew his legal sabre.
And cut and slashed poor B so ha.i
His best friends did not know him.
Which made bold B so boiling mad.
He vowed he would "go for" him.
And so he did.—Thus these good men.
* Who'd calm the " labor trouble,"
Found out that all the fuss iu> when
Themselves were making double.
Moral.
Since time begun, a good old rule
Has been, and it just this is ;
None of himself can make a fool
Who tends to his own business.
, On-Looker.
THE WEDDING^RESENT
•
BY AMY BANDOI.PH.
" So,'' said Aunt Deborah, severely
eying her nephew, " you are going to
marry a sewing girl! "
Felix Rockingham smiled.
" I am going to marry a young lady,
Aunt Debby," said he, " who has been
sensible enough occasionally to eke out
the insufficient means of her family by
a little honest and honorable work."
■Aunt Deborah shrugged her shoul
ders. She was a tall, high featured old
woman, with Scotch-red hair, promi
nent cheek bones, and eyes tint glit
tered like cells of jetty light in their
cavernons sockets. And as she sat
_M beside her big work basket, with
a piece of uncompromising knitting-!
work in her hands, Felix felt the old ,
sensation which had so often come over
him as a child of being summoned be- ;
fore some Stern" 'tribunal.
Aunt Deborah was the moneyed
member of the family. It was Aunt
Deborah whose tastes were courted ;
Aunt Deborah whose advice was so
licited in every important crisis in the
Rockingham family, and the old lady ■
could hardly believe her own senses
when she heard that "her nephew, Felix,
had actually dared to select a wife ac
cording to his own taste and fancy.
" Humph ! " commented Aunt De- ■
.borah. " And I suppose you will ex-'
pect me to give you a wedding pres- :
entf"
" That is just as your own judgment
and liberality may dictate," said Felix,
with a hidden sparkle of mischief under
his eyelashes.
" Humph ! " again n( tered Aunt De
limit. " Bring her to see me to-
Dight."
Amy Falkland was half frightened
out of her pretty little wits when her .
lover told her that Aunt Deborah had
desired her presence.
" Oh, Felix," said she, coloring pink
and white, " I'm afraid !''
'' When the queen issues her com
mands," said Felix, laughing, " all the
liege subjects must obey. And Aunt
Debby is queen in our family.''
"Is she very terrible 7" said Amy.
" As hard as a rock and as cold as
an icicle," replied Felix, gravely.
" Does she hate me! "
"By no means," laughed Felix. "She
only called you a sewing girl! "
" Well, but that is exactly what I
am," said Amy, lifting her pretty eye
brows. "If that is the worst she has
to say about me, I think I can endure
it"
So the bride r , *#tja_eserited herself
to Aunt Deborah, blushing, pretty, and
confused, that selfsame evening.
"So you're going to marry my
nephew 7 " said Aunt Deborah, almost
in the words wherewith she had cate
chised Felix in the morning.
" Yes," confessed the pretty little
culprit, scarcely daring to lift her eyes
from the ground.
"And I suppose you expect to be
very happy ?"
"Yes."
" What fools people are ! " said Aunt
Deborah, in a general way. " Well,
my dear, I've no pearls and diamonds
to give away, and if I had you wouldn't
know what to do with them. Here's
an old sealskin jacket that I've worn a
few times. Take that. You're handy
with the needle, and yon can easily fit
it up to do a great many winters' ser
vice."
"Thank you, Aunt Deborah," said
Amy, with a pretty little courtesy.
"You may kiss me, my dear," said
the old lady, relenting a little under
the sunshine of the soft blue eyes and
timid voice.
And Amy put up her cherry lips to
the old spinster's thin and wrinkle
seamed face.
THE LABOR HERALD
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF DISTRICT ASSEMBLY, No. 84, KNIGHTS OF LABOR
i i
"I've given your brother Halbert'f
bride elect just such another sacque,"
said Miss Deborah to her nephew. " 1
dare say she expects a set of jewels, oi
a thousand dollar necklace, or som<
such frivolity and nonsense—but she'l
find herself mistaken. I intend tc
show no partiality to my nephews."
Amy Falkland took home the vener
able old fur garment, which gave signs
of long and hard service, and" viewed il
with earnest eyes.
"It is old," said she, " but there if
a deal of wear in it yet.''
" I should say," hazarded Felix,
" that it was only fit for the rag bag."
"But yon are not-ft-judge of fur,'
said Amy. " Now. sh t n iVied
it uj>, otucL* it ovoi alia "i t'liijeO
it, you will see what a pretty and sub
stantial winter garment I will have.''
Felix looked admiringly at her.
"I haven't the least doubt," said he.
M that you will look pretty in anything
you choose to wear."
" Don't be a goose," said Amy. And
she sat down at once, with her scissors
and work-basket, for Miss Falkland's
fnuisseitii was by no means so exten
sive but that,she had time enough to
attend to these little details herself.
But Miss Hortensia Waldron, the
bride elect of Mr. Halbert Rocking
ham, Felix's elder brother, viewed the
wedding gift of her husband's aunt
with considerably less favor. Miss
Waldron was a beauty and a belle, with
an uncle in the United States Navy, a
father who dealt extensively in mining
stocks and bonds, and a French maid.
And the Rockinghams were all de
lighted, and said, " what a great thing
it was for Halbert to marry into such
a family.''
" Good gracious me! " said Miss
Waldron, eying the ancient sealskin
wrap through a gold eye-glass, " what
does the old eccentricity mean by send
ing me such a rag as that! "
And the mamma, the sister, aud the
French maid didn't find themselves
prepared with an answer.
"Therese," said Miss Hortensia,
" take that old thing to Mrs. Levi's, on
Seventh Avenue. She will give you
something for it, I dare say, and I can
lay it out in six-button gloves."
" I do hate such stinginess,'' said the
sister.
" So do I," said Hortensia, with em
phasis. ,
And Ma'ainsiHe Tht&sse, whose
mother had been Aunt Ddporah's hum
ble friend and seamstress, and who was
in that lady's secret service, carried off
the jacket, not to Mrs. Levi's, on
Seventh Avenue, but back to its origi
nal donor.
" She don't want it, eh ? " said Aunt
Deborah. Ma'amselle Therese shrug
ged her shoulders. " Oh, well, said the
old lady, indifferently, "just as she
pleases."
Early the next morning, while Aunt
Deborah was yet drinking her coffee, in
matutinal curl papers, there came a
knock at the door. It was .tmy Falk
land, flushed and lovely.
" Eh!" said Aunt Deborah. " What's
wanting now ? "
" It's the sealskin jacket, please,
Miss Rockingham," said Amy breath
lessly. " I was ripping it up to put in
a new lining, and there, quilted into a
square panel at the very back of the
old brown silk facing, I found—a thou
sand-dollar treasury bond!"
" Nonsense! " said Aunt Deborah.
" Such things only happen in old le
gends."
" Bnt indeed it has happened to me,'
said Amy. "And Felix and I agreed
that the money didn't belong to us, and
so I have brought?it back. Look !'
" Kiss me, my dear,' said Aunt De
borah, setting down her coffee cup.
" You are wrong—the money does be
long to you. I put it there myself with
the express intention and desire that
you should find it. I put another one
into the jacket that I gave the girl whe
is going to marry Halbert. But she'll
never get it now." And Aunt Deborah
chuckled. ' —
"Oh ! "' cried -*-«—rij
mean to give us—Felix and me—ah
this money ! A—thou—sand dollars!'
and she opened her blue eyes verj
wide.
" I do really mean it." said Aunt De
borah, smiling down upon the fresh
primrose-like face.
Miss Hortensia Waldron was uiucl
chagrined with the rumor of the thou
sant-dollar treasury bonds that wen
hidden away in the two old sealskii
jackets reached her ears. She sent a
once to Mrs. Levi, but the jacket, a:
might have been expected, was neve:
recovered.
" And I do believe," said Mrs. Hal
bert Rockingham, " that that is tb
reason Aunt Deborah makes such an ah
surd pet of Felix's china-doll of a wife
I wish I hadn't been in such a hurr;
about the sealskin jacket."
Chew O. H. C. Tobacco.
Mothers Remember.
Boys' and Childrens' Suits a specialt;
at the 10 per cent. Clothing House.
Owen, Seiberlixg & Co.,
313 Broad street.
Smoke Sunbeam Cigars.
THAT IS THE MOS^* PERFECT GOVERNMENT IN WHICH AN INJURY TO ONE IS THE CONCERN OF ALL."
For The Lanor Herald.
THE LEGISLATURE.
Under this caption in your isste of
March 13, there is a communicttion
which is the strongest combinatioi of
truth and error that could be imagiied.
It also presents the anomaly of b«ing
non-partisan partisan. The disappoint
ment felt at the failure of our l»w
makers to give us enactments in otbar
directions which would directly enun
to the benefit of the working classes
has doubtless induced this correspon
dent to look with jaundiced eye ur&!i
all that was done. mWrnm
W hlle^ll^fytss-Yegrettecr~fha ; jJP
Legislature, did not pi&ss several
before them for the benefit of the,
workingman, because they would have .
been of great benefit to the State, ajnd ;
would have entitled their supporter's to <
the claim of statesmanship rather than
the stigma of pot-house politicians l '
yet is it necessary to believe that all
they did was with an eye to injure the
workingman? We think not! And
with your permission, Mr. Editor, we
will endeavor kindly and candid'y to
point out to your correspondent where
he has erred in bis statements, and be
come strongly partisan in his argu
ments.
For one, this writer would deplore
the act by the Knights of Labor which
would divide their councils or disturb
their harmony in working for the gen
eral welfare of the laboring classes.
Technically not a Knight of Labor,
yet in spirit as true a Knight as Pow
deriy, we would sorrow as much as he
over the downfall of the Order. W T e
therefore write not for the passion or
prejudice, but for the calm, dispassion
ate judgment of the reader, giving the
workingmen credit for what is vulgarly
styled good horse sense.
Your correspondent styles the local
option, bill passed by the Legislature
as a " Trojan horse," and says it in
tended as an "entering wedge" to the
dissolution of the Order cf the Knights
of Labor. Desiring not to use a word
that can be construed offensively,
nothing could be further from the
truth, both in principle and in fact
•Having written two articles for your
columns on the effects of drink on the
working classes, and intending to write
more with a desire to awaken them to
a sense of the danger
we would never have
your columns to the advocacy of local
option as a measure, lest in the future
it should become by the action of the
liquor interest a political question, and
your journal in some sort committed.
B The Labor Herald commits itself
to local option when that issue is before I
the people, let it be by the carefully;
considered and matured judgment of
the editor, and then his correspondents
may come fto his aid with whatever of
argument they may be able. But hav
ing admitted an article containing other \
and legitimate questions of discussion
in a workingman's journal, in which |
the writer goes out of the way to attack ;
with vigor a moral question which had
no more to do with the Order of the
Knights of Labor than with the deep
ening of the channel of James river,
will allow another correspondent to
endeavor to put that correspondent
right.
The local option measure antedates
the rise and progress of the Knights
of Labor in this State, from the fact
that several years ago, when the Knights
as an Order were little and unknown,
it was brought to the attention of the
Legislature by petition and otherwise,
and an effort made to pass such a law.
This single fact ought to be sufficient
to refute all argument intending to an
tagonize local option by the Knights
of Labor. But there are many facts
combining to do so. principal of which
may be regarded a statement of how it
became engrafted into the platform of
principles adopted by the conventions
of both parties to the late political
contest.
The following is a true history:
Order of Good Templars, in Grand
Session, appointed a committee to at
tend the conventions of both parties
and secure, if possible, a local option
plank in the platform of each. The
committee was faithful to its trust, and
how well it succeeded in its mission the
privilege now granted us to vote that
a man or woman prompted alone by
the greed of gain shall not be permitted
to destroy the State, ruin our neighbors
and debauch our children, very well
proves.
The stale and oft-refuted assertion
that prohibition does not prohibit will
be left to tell us why the whiskey ring
is so zealous in its opposition before
giving it further consideration, and a
proposition with more truth noticed.
It is argued that the workingaen of
the State (not of the city as he las it)
will be compelled to pay the £4*0,000
tax now collected by license »f the
whiskey traffic. If it is meant that a
very large portion of this tax s thus
to be paid it is a mistake. It will be
saved by the reduced expenses of
criminal prosecutions and support of
paupers made by this traffic But
suppose the assertion to be trie, it is
still demonstrable that by its payment
feic_E_:_vioiNrx), ya, 27, 1886.
there will be a very large saving to the
workingmen. Who pays the whole
tax now now J The workingman pays
ninety cents in the dollar of the tax
and more than a million of dollars for
the privilege. We will not discuss the
question as to whether the rich man
and capitalist is to be benefited. We
have naught to do with this important
personage just now. This quotation
tells the whole story of our advocacy
of local option as it applies to tie
workingmen: "But laboring men can,
after the heat and burden of the day,
go into a saloon and get a glass of
beer." True, oh! King. And it is
tßacwhich by
DiV'ine. belongs to his wiriWll^
| children, we would curtail or abrogate.
I' This is the leak that sinks the ship of
nuptual bliss. This is the right that
springs from a depraved appetite and
bankrupts the State, demoralizes so
; ciety, and destroys men, both soul and
body, which we would deny.
Sumptuary law, indeed! If it be
sumptuary to legislate for the good of
mankind, for the well-being of society,
for the weal of the Commonwealth,
then this has been the tendency of en
, lightenment and civilization as we have
progressed in morality towards & re
publican and christian people.
Every restraining law is based on the
same principle. Every enactment in
time of danger for public good rests on
this foundation. The advance frum
christian persecution to christian pro
tection is along this trick. A few years
; ago, in the city of Richmond, when the
cholera wrs epidemic, the city fathers
passed an ordinance prohibiting the in
troduction and sale of many vegetables
in the markets of the city. This was :
certainly legislating as to what, they
should eat, but who thought of crying j
out sumptuary I When man's home is
I being desolated, 'his wife and children !
beggared, and he, body and soul, de- l
stroyed —and christian philanthropists
unite to save him—because it opposes
■ beastly appetite for drink they are to
be deterred by the cry of sumptuary I;
Away with such nonsense!
Louisa.
For The Labor Herald.
OUR SOAP FACTORY.
A few days ago we paid a visit to the
: V-. of _. Soßp rnrluij 0:1 V'l.
! street, Richmond, and were much sur- j
prised to find such a nice, spacious I
building, fitted with every appliance for j
the extensive manufacture of this all !
important article.
Upon inquiring for the President, we j
were handed over to a very courteous j
young gentleman, who conducted us i
\ through the building and explained to |
'us the various operations of the ehtab
; lishment
It seems this co-operative company j
suffered a serious drawback at the com- i
! mencement from having an inefficient
soap maker. However, a few days pre-!
j vious to our visit a gentleman had been i
; secured who had been in the celebrated i
, Colgate factory of New York. We had
the opportunity of examining some of
the soap made under the supervision,
of the new manager, aud we are quite
MM no better article can be found in
the market anywhere. We saw a large
quantity of the Company's twelve-ounce •
cakes of laundry soap packed for ship [
ping North. We understood that one
commission merchant in Rhode Island
was anxious to control the entire pro- j
duct of the Company. However, we j
hope that home consumers will be al
lowed to have the benefit of what seems
to us to be the best soap we have ever
handled.
The Company also manufactures a
very nice article in toilet soap j we pur
chased a few sample cakes and had
them distributed in a large establish
ment where several hundred young la
dies are employed ; they were mach
pleased with it and we hope that for
the future they will purchase K. of L.
Toilet Soap, and take no other.
aM__ •sst_«cv» _■ us while going thro.v M
the factory that there is ample
for the manufacture of brooms, a
branch of business that would barmo
nize well with that already established,
and would require very little extra cap I
ital.
We wish the enterprise abundant
success, and hope the shareholders will
all co operate to place it upon a very
firm foundation. W. G.
THE TRUE GENTLEMAN.
When you have found a man, yiu
have not far to go to find a gentlemen.
You cannot make a gold ring out of
brass. You cannot change a Cape Miy
crystal to a diamond. You canrot
make a gentleman until you first fin< a
man.
To be a gentleman it is not sufneimt
to have had a grandfather. To b> a
gentleman does not depend on the taior
or the toilet. Blood will degenente.
; Good clothes are not good habits.
A gentleman is a man that is genie.
' Titles, graceful accomplishments, m
' perior culture, princely wealth, gEat
, talents, genius, do not constitute a tan
i with all the attributes needed to rake
him a gentleman. He may be avk
ward, angular, homely, or poor, and yet
belong to the uncrowned aristocracy.
His face may be bronzed at the forge
or bleached in the mill, his hand huge
and hard, his patched vest, like Joseph's
coat of many colors, and he may still
be a true gentleman. The dandy is a
dry goods sign and not a gentleman,
for he depends upon dress and not upon
his honor and virtue, for his passport to
the best circles of society.
" The man who has no money is poor,
he who has nothing but money is poorer
than he, and isnot a gentleman. Some
of the most distinguished men in the
world of letters, in the world of art,]
Ihavebeenunamible, gross, vulgar, un-
consequently no gentlemer/
—' The uuionof gentleness of maiHieia
with tirmness of mind are noticable in
the true gentleman. When in authority,
and having a right to command, his
commands are delivered with mildness
and gentleness, and willingly obeyed.
Good breeding is the great object of
his thoughts and actions, aud he ob
serves carefully the behavior and man
ners of those who are thus distin
guished.
It is a wrong notion which many have,
that nothing more is due from them to
their neighbors than what results from
a principle of honesty, which commands
us to pay our debts, and forbids us to
do injuries : whereas a gentleman gains
the esteem of all by a thousand little
civilities, complacencies, and endeavors
to give others pleasure.
He is careful to have thought and
sentiments worthy of him, as virtue
raises the dignity, while vice degrades
him.
True greatness lies in the heart: it
must be elevated by aspiring to great
things; and by daring to think himself
worthy of them. Others may attract
us through the splendor of some spicial
faculty, or the eminency of some special
virtue, but in his case it is the whole
individual we admire and love, and the
faculty takes its peculiar character, the
virtue acquires its subtile charm, because
considered as an outgrowth of the
beautiful, beneficent, and bounteous
nature in which it had its root. He
insults not the poor with condescension,
nor courts the rich with servility, but
takes his place on an easy equality and
fraternity with all, without the pretense
of being the inferior of any.
Thtje is true dignity in labor, and
*(*.» erW "jTnij .ittiuut iv rru a*_
ooks on labor is like
the "man wu<_- had a mouth and no
hands, and yet made faces at those who
fed him—mocking the fingers that
brought bread to his lips. He who
writes a book, or builds a house, or
tills a farm, or follows any useful em
ployment, lives to some purpose, and
contributes something to the fund of
human happiness.
Garibaldi, the greatest hero of the
age, was a working man. Daniel
Webster knit his iron frame into
strength by working on his father's
farm when young.
A gentleman is a human being, com
bining a woman's tenderness with a
man's courage. He is just a gentleman;
no more, no less; a diamond pohshed
, that was just a diamond in the rough.
' A gentleman is gentle, a gentleman is
modest, a gentleman is courteous, a
; gentleman is slow to take offense, as
1 being one who never gives it. A gentle
' man is slow to surmise evil, as being
one who never thinks it. A gentleman
i subjects his appetites. A gentleman
j refines his taste. A gentleman subdues
his feelings. A gentleman controls his
\ speech. A gentleman deems every
other better than himself.
Sir Philip Sidney was never so much
of a gentleman—mirror though he was
of English knighthood—as when, upon
the field of Zutphen, as he lay in his
own blood, he waived the draught of
cool spring water that was to quench
his dying thirst, in favor of a dying
soldier.
St Paul describes -a gentleman when
he exhorted the Philippian Christians:
" Whatsoever things are true, whatso-
BPr things are pure, whatsoever
are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report, if there be any virtue, and
;if there be any praise, think of these
things." And Dr. Isaac Bariow, in his
' admirable sermon on the callings of a
gentleman, pointedly says : " He should
labor and study to be a leader unto
virtue, and a notable promoter thereof;
directing and exciting men thereto by
his exemplary conversation ; encoura
ging them by his countenance and
authority: rewarding the goodness of
meaner people by his bounty and favor;
he should be such a gentleman as Noah,
who preached righteousness by his
words and works before a profane
world."
One very frequently hears the re
mark made, that such and such a man,
" can be a gentleman when he pleases."
Now, when our reader next hears this'
expression made use of, let him call to
mind the following: He who " can be
a gentleman when he pleases," never
pleases to be anything else.
A gentleman, like porcelain ware,
must be painted before he is glazed.
There can be no change after the burn
ing in.
The sword of the best tempered
metal is the most flexible. So the truly
generous are the most pliant and
courteous in their behavior to their
] inferiors.
The true gentleman is one whose
nature has been fashioned after the
highest models. His qualities depend
, not upon fashion or manners, but upon
j moral worth—not on personal posses
sions, but on ptrsonal qualities. The
Psalmist briefly describes him as one
'• that walketh uprightly, and worketh
righteousness, and speaketh the truth I
in his heart"
The gentleman is eminently distin
: guished by his self-respect. He values
]'■ his character—not so much of it only
' as can be seen by others, but as he sees >
:';.t himself, having „regard for the ajPll
I proval of his inward monitor And as
.; he respects himself, so, by the same
law, does he respect others. Humanity
ii is sacred in his eyes, and thence pro
; ceed politeness and forbearance, kind
ness and charity.
The true gentleman has a keen sense
of honor—scrupulously avoiding mean
actions. His standard of probity in
word and action is high. He does not
shuffle nor prevaricate, dodge nor shulk;
but is honest, upright, and straight
forward. His law is rectitude—action
in right lines. When l.c says yes, it is
a law : and he dares to say the valient
no at the fitting season. The gentleman
will not be bribed ; only the low minded
and unprincipled will sell themselves
to those who are interested in buying
them.
Riches and rank have no necessary
connection with genuine gentlemanly
qualities. The poor man may be a true
gentleman—in spirit and in daily life.
He may be honest, truthful, upright,
' polite, temperate, courageous, self re
specting and self-helping—that is, be a
1 true gentleman. The poor man with
a rich spirit is in all ways superior to
! the rich man with a poor spirit. To
1 i borrow St. Paul's words, the former is
1 , as " having nothing, yet possessing all
1 things," while the other, though pos-.
1 sessing all things, has nothing. The j
1 first hopes everything and fears noth
- 1! ing; the last hopes nothing and fears
1 everything. Only the poor in spirit are
really poor. He who has lost all. but
1 retains his courage, cheerfulness, hope,
I virtue and self-respect, is a true gentle-
I I man.— Royal Path of Life.
rt Forbidden Ground.
■j* — ■ — -
,; | A proposition is under discussion in
, various quarters to establish by law ju
, \ dicial boards of arbitration for the set
l; tlement of disputes between employers
, and employees. Such a system, it is '
. ! claimed, would prevent strikes and set
, tie all labor troubles in a peaceful and
I' business-like manner. The scheme has
r much of Utopianism in it, and it is
hardly worthy of serious consideration.
, As well propose by legal enactment
[ to keep people from quarreling or dif
i fering in opirion as to propose by legal
11 enactment to prevent or settle differ
ences between disagreeing workmen
. and theif employers. A board or court
! of arbitration created by law could no
. more compel strikers to desist from
I striking, or force an employer to break
a lockout, than it could compel a man
, having chronic dyspepsia to eat that
. which he does not relish, or force a
. man who is in good health to take
medicine that he doesn't want. There
. is such a thing as freedom of mdi.
. vidual action in this country, of which
■ neither congress nor the legislatures
, can deprive a citizen. And there are
j ' some things that cannot be accom
. i plished by law, and one of those things
is the compelling of one free citizen to
, work for another when he doesn't want
,; to, and another is the compelling of
. one free citizen to hire another citizen
in connection with his private business
i when he doesn't wish to. The organic
law of the nation sacredly guards " the
.' privileges or immunities of citizens"
against abridgement.
! A legally created board of arbitration
. for the settlement of labor disputes
could, as a matter of fact, have no
t greater powers than those possessed
j by a company of arbitrators appointed I
I or agreed upon without any authority
, of law. It could not enforce its decis
. ions, and its findings would have no
( more binding force than if it had no
I law under, back of or over it. The only
, effect of a law authorizing such a board
. would be the creation of an additional
r batch of salaried public offices for the
. politicians to quarrel over, and we have
I a great deal too many of such supei
f fluous offices already. •
Voluntary arbitration is a national
and business-like method of settling
, disputes. Both sides agreeing in ad
, vance to abide by the decision of the
i
arbitrators, the result would be mutual
. ly and amicably acquiesced in much
more readily than would the decision
• of any public judicial board created by
f law, having no pefwer to enforce its
, findings. Private individual rights and
, interests can be and are protected by
. i law, but when the law attempts to step
in for the usurpation or the arbitrary
regulation of private individual rights
and interests, it ventures upon forbid
. den ground.— Neirs-Letter.
I Ask your Grocer for Larrabees
I snow flake Wafers.
For The Labor ■_•_,
THE WOBmGMAN.
HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
Mr. Editor: As before stated, the
various means' of oppressing the wage
worker resorted to by capitalists all
need remedying; and it is conceded
that the workingman should share in a
greater measure than he has heretofore
done the wealth which he created.
But how is this to be done 7 is a ques
tion more easily asked than answered.
To combine in a strike against re
or unjust oppression
"TIFTl "jßas rieeM ot>« «r-Aw
the yeapons in the hands of the work
ingman, and has sometimes been used
effectively, but in much the larger num
ber of instances its trial has proven
disastrous to the interest of the wage
worker. Capital can do without its
interest linger than the workman can
do without his wages, and therefore all
the advaitage in a strike is on the side
of capital. It is only when bound in a
coutractto furnish certain productions
in a givn time that there is anything
like equdity*. Hence strikes are the
enemies! of the workingman. They
might be made his friends but for a
greater Jnemy.
Now, it is not supposed that the
Assemblies of the Knights of Libor
are so nany temperance or total absti
nence societies, nor are they willing to
become such. It is not the wish in
what may be here written to change in
any particular the principles or prac
tices of tie Assemblies in their working,
but simply to use the columns of their
organ in calling attention, individually,
to the presence of the greatest enemy
the workingman has in all his Unions,
Co operations, and Assemblies.
In a former communication it was
asserted that rum was the working
man's greatest enemy. It will not
remain a simple assertion, but we pro
pose to submit some facts gathered
from a long experience in proof of our
assertion.
The workingmen congregate in towns
and cities, and it is there that the rum
business flourishes. Those engaged in
it seek admittance into all the moral
and religious associations for the double
purpose ( of making their trade more
lucrative and themselves respectable:
aiiu.-.F" • 'jvc, ofeis witter rejoi<?ffiTnat
the honorable head of the organization
of the Knights of Labor has deter
mined that these leeches shall not
obtain admitance into the Assembly.
By all means keep him out. There is
a short paragraph in an article entitled
" Whose Fault Is It !" publised in your
issue of February 20, which better de
scribes this class as they stand related
to their fellow-men than anything oc
curring to my mind, and as it suits
better here than there, it is adopted as
a part of this article: " The one seeking
by every dishonorable means to degrade
their fellow-men down to, and even far
below, the very beasts of the field, and
like the sucking leach, they fasten
themselves upon the shoulders of the
helpless. * * * and grow sleek
and fat on the very life blood of their
1 despairing victims." "While this and
more is true, with reference to the
rumseller as he stands related to his
fellows, it is remarkable that he should
be so much courted by those whom he
destroys.
As far as the experience of this
writer goes, the average saloon in city
•or town is supported by the working
classes ; and it is safe to say that there
are not more than two drinking saloons
\ in Richmond that are patronized to any
considerable extent by the rich. What
is true of Richmond is true of every
other city proportionately.
It has also been our observation'that
about four in every five of the working
class indulge in drink. Of course, it
is not contended that they are an army
of drunkards, but while many drink
temperatively, a large number indulge
freely, so that the aggregate is to a
thifljdpg perfectly appalling, and
positive facts stagger faith.
We write without statistics before
us, but will endeavor to keep below the
mark in the estimated figures employed.
There is paid to all clast es of workers
in this country in round numbers about
$1,000,000,000. There is wasted in
drink over $600,000,000, as shown by
recent statistics. This is in the retail
business, and not less that $500,000,000
of this sum comes out of the pocket of
' the working class. Here then is a
drain on their resources which impov
erishes a great number, renders the
remainder helpless to give aid in any
contest between labor and capital.
In almost every ease of a strike
within many years past if the men en
gaging in it had only possessed the
amount of money they had spent in
drink in the year preceding, they conld
have held out until just demands were
acceded to by the employers.
If the above estimate seems too
large for acceptance, let us bring it
down to a low basis and we will still
discover that drink is the greatest
enemy to the workingman. There are
about 3,000,000 hands employed in this
country in the vaaious branches of in
dustry. Supposing, as we do, that
_?_3,ICIE 5 CENTS
four in five drink, and that they average
only two drinks per 30(1 days, and
these of the lowest class—five cents—
we have the sum of $72,000,000 drawn
from the pocket of the workingmen.
This amount, for below the real, would
aid in bringing about the eight-hour
law, and every other law of advantage
to the wage worker.
Having read the above, do you won
der, fellow-worker, that we rejoice in
the abstinence principles of the Knights
of Labor, and desire to see Mr. Rum
boycotted.' Loom*.
Strikes.
That tro little at,
tentiou to theHj Bests is a fact trtii<
cannot be disputecrriud many of the
troubles that arise and the destitution
occasioned by strikes are caused by this
lack of attention.
Men never think or organizing for
their protection until a reduction after
reduction in wages, and the impossi
sibility of supplying their daily neces
sities, force them to organize, and then
without any provision whatever made
to provide for their families they veu
ture into a strike. Were it not for the
assistance afforded by the associations
that were organized and had accurau
lated some little money in their treas
uries, or through the assistance of their
brother craftsmen who had saved a part
of their earnings', many of those
on a lockout would have to succumb
and return to a condition worse than
before. Imagine an army undisciplined
and commanded by a general knowing
nothing of warfare, with no ammuni
tion whatever, venturing into a battle,
and you have the exact position of men
who organize for a strike before they
are prepared or know what they are
doing. *
Strikes may very often be averted if
the men would lay their grievances be
fore their employers. You are not sat
isfied with your wages, an unjust re
duction has been made. You make no
protest at the time it is made, but sub
missively work on. Nothing is done.
No conference is asked of your em
ployer. You have not even considered
the question of organizing to prevent
another unjust reduction, but work on
until your employer has reduced you
to that notch where a rat will turn and
tight, then for the first time you ac
i-qajiiat- _yoGntei t >loy9? Qi'-tke-retetiojjs
between himself and IdOse employed
under him. All this time you have paid
no attention to your brothers that have
been organizing for months past; you
have even ridiculed them and their
purposes when asked to join their cause.
Some indiscreet act causes you to lose
the sympathy of the public and you are
classed as offenders. Then you appeal
to the council of organized workiDgmen
to take up your cause and arbitrate for
you: and after days of hardship, and
after causing any amount of trouble,
you find that you can accomplish noth
ing, and had you organized properly
and in time, you might not have lost
an hour.
The members of the Trades Assem
! bly know this to be a fact, for many of
the strikes in which that body inter
ested itself were strikes made by unor
ganized workmen, who only asked ad
mittance when they had a grievance.
The committee on organization, when
investigating an application to form a
union, should be particular as to the
intentions of that union, for experience
has taught us that men organized for
the express purpose of striking, with
no other aim, ignorant of the true priii
ciples of organized labor, never made
good members. Their difficulty settled,
they feel that they have no other inter
est to look after, and organized labor,
its objects and principles, is no concern
of theirs, and on the first opportunity
they find fault and withdraw. Organi
zations of this kind do more injury
"than good and should be kept at a dis
tance, and men that join your ranks to
use you, and then withdraw when the
same assistance- is wsked of them should
be taughAa V-sKMajnt-s'oon forgotten.
To all workingmen we urge organiza
tion, that you may intelligently and
properly present your demands. Re
member that war is the last resort of
nations and that strikes are the last re
sort of thorough organization. First
wait on your employer, and if he will
not listen to you, lay your grievances
before your assemblies, and avert as
far as possible—strikes.-— SemAorn In
dustry
Larrabees snow flake Wafers, are
the best.
The Detroit Evening Journal says:
"There is a growing inclination among
a certain class of Americans to culti
vate the sodden, brutal vices of the
so-called better class of Englishmen.
This might have been said much
earlier, but it is information to
many even yet for the " inclina
tion," though not confined to the
east, has its older and stouter growth
in the section of the Goulds, Vander
bilts, Bennetts and Belmonts. The
west hopes to weed it out from here,
and not allow the " sodden vices " to
take root. We know the Journal, too.
will help us. We think we know it
will.— E.i-.
