Workmen's advocate., December 13, 1885, Image 2

About Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891

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TRADES COUNCIL OF NEW HAVEN,
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evil InHiH'iici' of llii' t'Ki't'upt ciipiliili-tli' iI'i -h
by printing Hit; Irulli ami plurinir lufoii- I lie
Worklnit peopli: foi nl for tlmutflil iiml rilli'i'tlon
iini llii'lr imliim lul, ami politli'iU romli
r i his. to t he rial Dial Hay may i -in i 11 -i ;i I
tlicitiwlves from nu"' flavcry anil laMillniili'in
IhliTl'slilll.' colTc'spollili'llr 1 1 i t . - I fn.in i .1
li-tui'iitn In all parts dl 1 1n- woilil. I.rllrr- n
1 1 1 1 i 1 1 tr answers slmiilil contain n-lurn pu-lai-
AililrcsN all r.aniHiMih'atii'h- in
orkinrii' Ad iM-ati1,
1. O. Itriiurr Hill, Sou lliiirn, ( nun.
Si list Itll'l li in I C A I i :-. :
One Year (postage lice), - - $ 1 00
Three Months " - - 'Ja
I'A VAUI.K IN AliVANI K.
"riii- pupi r will It Mu"''I promptly upon
expiration of Miili.rriilon
FVIKKHII AT THK l'oT OK ')( ; A I' Ml HAVKN, ION
NKiTIl I T, A HilllN II I.A-W M A'lTKIl
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RISKS.
(ic (if I he arguments USed I V
Capitalists tu SiTVC US II jllsl ilieal iull
I'm' I lie taking of vin irrnnus prolits is
tlutt they deserve something I'ur tlir
risks they run. Let us look at. I he
matter from I 'mir standpoint. The
great .loseph Major, in whose fac
tories hundreds of wage slaves of
various grades toil frinii itn i n i iiLr till
evening, and, if il su please liis
Majority, from evening I ill morning,
fan prove to tin- sal isfad imi of his
kinil, of rourst', llial he is lining
hiiinanily a service in giving em
ployment" to so nianv people. r
takes all I lie risk. lie invests his
money in machinery ami Itiylilins.
If he could I'u it .-'ell his godx. he
would si.fl'cr. Or, if snirjc other
manufacturer shoiihl place upon tin'
market such omuls as his factory
iroiluci's at a lower rale than he,
why then he would lose, lie must
receive some reward for his services'
us manager, as "business" man.
Then he has to pay taes, which no
to pay I he expenses of government.
Slleh as poliee "protection," pulilie
education and the administration of
"justice." If he should lie so mi
fortunate as to he uuahle to meet
these expenses he Wollld lie the
loser. So he runs certain risks, ami
it is no more than right that he
should receive his reward. Of
course, any system that would de
crease his risk must in jusfice de
crease his perquisites. Now the
wage worker w ho is iu his employ
has no care for t he morrow all he
tloes is to work his dav out and re
ceive his pay he has no responsi
bility, no business cares; hi' does
lint require I he careful business
training of his employer. True,
his pay is sometimes small, erv
small; but, then, im one can expect
the great Major In run a charitable
institution; it is a matter of busi
ness, not chant v.
Ami the Worker, doe.- be I'e.lIU
run no risk'.'' Suppose we look at
the subject from the workers' side
of the question, insurance statistics
goto proVt that the factors slave's
life is shorter than thai of the man
tif ease, or of t lie man of wcali h,
whether he liesa life of pleasant
lays in the pursuit of happiness ,,r
whether lie devotes himself to the
management of great enterprises.
The professional man's life is. on
the average, a long one. He runs
ihe least risk from an actuary's
point of view. So that while we
may admit that the speculator, the
merchant-manufacturer, risks some
thing in the way of speculative gains
or losses, lie still has the advantage
of health and long life. The boss
runs the gambler's risk; his slave
the soldier's; yes, his risk of life
ami limb is greater than that of the
professional soldier. Pick up the
aper almost any day and see the ac
counts of ghastly catastrophes in the
mines, on 'he railroads, in the work
shops. Think of the "accidents"
caused by careless ami avaricious
employers, sin h as lillddelisick, the
scab employer of New York, and
the contractors (lf the new ( 'mtoii
aqueduct. It is not. necessary to
look outside of your ow n tow n i',,r
abundant eV iileliees of the kind of
risks that workers run. The miser
able appearance of those who work
in the poisonous atmospheres of
overcrowded shops where the air is
full of noisome gases, is apparent to
any one that, will see. The dangers
to licall li and t he risks of accident
are not the only risks in the work
ers' world. There are risks which
cv en t he business man can appreci
ate. The folly or misfortune of
some .speculating boss is often visit
ed upon his hirelings in the shape
of cutting of wages or being thrown
out of employment entirely. St ill
worse and more horrible risks there
are for the wage working class, thai
follow In the train of the others.
Families are rent a-siimler In the
struggle for existence. Poverty ami
leiiiplat Ion to ice are in t he aw fill
train, and we see the sons and
daughters of honest working people
degraded info drunkards and prosti
tutes, while the children of the
wealthy bosses may have all the ad
vantages of civilized life, education,
I'elinenieiit, physical and moral train
ing, every! hing that tends to make
life wort h living.
h'isks! whose are the risks that
should receive t he most considcra-
I ion ?
lint all I hese arguments have been
'&''' '"" '"' wt'a'tn
is madder than ever. Heedless of
(lie Weak, the crushed. I dless of
cvcrvthing save tleir own chance of
gain, the disci pies of the comrriCTeiai
god preach and pra.-l ice cotitnitUil
war the war of the strong upon the
weak, while they make for them
selves a code of "morals" lhal is in
tended to justify them, and explains
I I . . i . . i -i .i I,
i lien coin inuen cxisiciiee as I lie will
of an overruling power which de
crees "the SUI'V ivill of tile fittest. "
OFFICIAL ORDERS.
The I'.Xeculivo 'ollilliillec ol (lie
( 'li'velainl lisi ie( Assembly , K. i,f 1,.,
have onlei'eil tilt' sinking stuck cutters,
lint turners anil liuishers hack tu vv urk.
The but turners I'etlll lieil In I heil belli lies.
( 'nni nl l.iilmr Auc,
Occasionally mic sees such little
notices, and wonders what the rea
son is I hat si rikers are "ordered" togo
In work by those who are not of the
strikers. Il jars upon the sensibili
ties of t he ti n,, democrat. There
have bcell several eases of late where
local organ i.al ions have been "ur-
j tien-.i to ito t ins or dial by t he
highnesses. ),e (he reasons be plib
Mished. This delegating of lniln-
.'V power io a few exei lltives is not
jll-t the thing to Win eolilidellee. Of
course, a simple executive might be
retained llldetililtelv oil account of
his abilities without any particular
d.inoei ; lull he should have erv
little il i s i i et ioiiarv povvei. and no
h'Lj'islal i v e iow er.
Let us make a hy pot hi t leal case
one that may lie recognized as a fair
sample of vt'.ii otlicialisiu. A local
oi uatiiat ion of workmen have a dis
agreement with a boss. He has
dealt lllljll-tlv by Its members. Tile
local otrani,'.atinn of other trades ad
mit the cause just, and a Imvcott is
established against the offending
boss. Ii'i'qllcsts are Sent to outside
organizations lii help iu the matter,
and they respond with telling effect.
Then, when the power of the boy
cott is apparent, and not till then,
this bn-s requests an interview
with the wronged union? Oh. tin;
but with some "high" otiiemls of
another union. Thev "investigate"
and decide t hat the boss is all right
that a terrible wrong is intluted
upin him: and the otiicial order"
goes forth to lift the bovectt. And
w hat of the brave hearts that battled
and suffered for the sake of uphold
ing their principles? Why, they
must submit to the dictum of otli
cialism unless, indeed, they are
strong enough to laugh at it.
This sort of thing is becoming
rather monotonous, and the placing
of power in the hands of professional
olliee holders in labor organizations
who hold otlices year after year, is
dangerous to the labor movement.
As in public polities it is a recog
nized fact, that long terms in posi
tion of power are demoralizing to
the exalted incumbents, so also in
labor organizations the same holds
good. Stop it !
GO ON !
From various sections of our city
we hear of successful efforts iu the
organization of worki is. It really
.seems as if New Haven has been at
last thoroughly aroused upon the
necessity of doing something for the
elevation of the laboring people, and
has become convinced that organiza
tion is the tirst step to betaken now.
Of course, there have been reasons
for this awakening reasons that
have existed for years, though, per
haps, not recognized. The workers
have been gradually growing poorer,
their wages have been reduced, and
the rents have been raised. With the
exception of a few eonunoilities they
have been paying more for what they
consumed. They have been victims
of competition as well as the victims
of it false education irpon political
and social economy. This they are
beginning to recognize now.
The agitation thflt has been going
on for years is now also bearing
fruit. The silence of the public
piesd is broken the criminal silence
thatl liasprevailed in'Jllie ttfpiof
smothfcvhig the crn ofth nrirt)i
nat a -wU'm the him uhof vicWri"
oiis Labor. The capitalistic presn
reluctantly publishes matters of in
terest to the workers, and generally
puts the most discouraging news
most prominently, while news thai
would encourage the workers is set
in small type and written in a man
ner that leaves much to be guessed
at, or else it is suppressed altogether,
lint the appearance of labor papers
will presently compel the others to
publish facts.
So, in spite of all these draw backs,
the agitation of Labor's rights has
linally effected a change in the minds
of New Haven's workers, and they
are now (locking together in various
organ iz,;it oiis. w here they will con
tinue to study their interests, and.
becoming strong, demand their
rights. Forward in the good work,
friends! Though you cannot com
pel the robber class to heal the
wounds it has indicted upon those
w ho have su tiered ami passed away :
though perhaps you cannot retrieve
all the losses you have sustained to
add to the wealth of a few individ
uals who chanced to hav e t he upper
hand, you can at least secure to
yourselves in vour declining years
mudi that is now yours, though
wrongfully held by others, and in
sure your children against poverty
for all time to conic. " here there
is a will there is n wax," and the
vvav lies before vou.
LAMAR, THE COMMUNIST.
With the exception of Alaska,
about three-tifths of all government
land has passed into the possession
of private iudiv iduals. The other two
tifthsare most lv desert and moun
tain, and not arable. In his annual
remrt or message. Secretary of the
Interior Lunar says that the I'nion
and Central I'.icilic Kailroads
are indebted to the Tinted States to
the tune of about ?5".iXk',(Nk.
"These roads," continues the Secre
tary, "were subsidized to be useful
to the people of the United States,
but not to enrich a few individuals.
This has been the case, however. and j
to prevent it iu the future laws
should be enacted which will regu
late the fare and freight charges."
(loudness, gracious! old man. hold
on ! This is ( 'ommunism !
NOTES.
"The public be damned," ell ?
(ireat military preparations are
being made, these days, ostensibly
against the Mormons. Organized
Labor had better keep ;ts "weather
eye" open.
Delegates to the Trades ( 'oiuieil
are reminded of the fad that the
regular session of that body takes
place on t he first and third Sunday
afternoons of each month at ".'
o'clock.
Are you a wage worker? If so,
your place is in the run ks of Organ
ized Labor. Information at this
olliee, or on application to I he ( lr
gaiiizing Committee of the Trades
Council, 1". O. Box 7,1.
Any fads that may prove of inter
est to workers should be reported at
the otlii'e of the Wo;K VI I, N s A I V o
i'A'I'i:. Workers, don't sull'er injus
tice at t he hands of your bosses qui
etly, (livens the facts and we will
publish them and Id the light shine
upon them. The wrongdoers don't
like publicity.
The practice of compelling bosses
to pay the expenses of strikes and
boycotts caused by their unmitigated
pig-headediress and crookedness; in
their dealings with workmen, is a
good one, ami should be made (he
universal rule. Mr. Wheeler may
hiuea tine little bill to fool if organ
I'zation continues as lively as il is
tioWttv&lp' Kanahan got oil' very
eaBiWf. HH things considered.
T"1faiy ' have been the favorable
comments passed upon the neat ap
pearance of the oi;kvii:n's Anvo
i v ii:. "The t v pes are set by men
that hold union cards, and the
presswork is done at the Station!
Printing Company's establishment,
whose advertisement graces another
column. The pressman is our old
friend, Ik Hull, than whom the
"City of F.I ins" can boast of no bet
ter.
Professor Sumner tackled a bicy
cle the other day. The bicycle rep
resents an immense amount of accu
mulated labor and invention Ihat
separates it from the original Hint
implement of our honored progeni
tors. The result of the professor's
temerity was an apt illustration of
his pd theory of the survival of the
tittest. The bicycle is all right, but
something is the matter with the
extremely practical professor's arui.
Congressman Martin A. Fnran
spoke at the opening of the fifth an
nual session of "Federation of Or
ganized Trades I'nioiis," in Wash
ingtoii, last Tuesday . A nioui: other
things, he said that "the members
of congress were not Socialist? or
Communists, but law-abiding citi
zens:" and then he added: " A mono
the objects to he gained is the 'ab
olition of vvage-slaverv.'" Co on in
the good work. Ilrothcr Foran. and
intelligent people Won't object tu
any name you max chouse to a-sunie.
In answer to a query reoardino;
the Trades Council we w ish to call
attention to the fad that this body
is not an executive or law-making
one outside of its uw u immediate
sphere. I'.xeiv trades union or ot her
labor organization .mine, ted with
it is entirely seif-govci ion-;. The
Trades Outiiieil is an advisory bod v.
and only exerts its influence in union
matter? at the leqilest of the several
organizations, or by advice ..f the
delegates composing the OoitiH il. It
is simply a central labor union,
and t ike pattern after the Central
Labor I'nion of .New York. iVliev
ing that "an injury to one is the
concern of all." it is ever ready to
assist morally and materially those
who appeal to it for aid.
Tile erudite editor of the 'n'lin r
dipped his pell ill the Ulllcilage bot
tle last Fridav. and pasted the rat
.Y'vr.v as follows :
''t'lie shrieking infant newspaper of
this eit y , vv hieh ba-i no means of show
ing that it is alive except shrieking, had
a bad turn yesterday. 'Hush, little
hahv , ilon't y mi cry, nu ll be an ant'l
by ami by.' "
If the I i i li-r siill'd'ed half as
badly from t he sad atllietioii which is
killing the. A(7''.v, it would probably
do a little shrieking also. The
rir-- has rats in the worst way, and
is taking physic iu the shape of a
dose of boycott every t:t v. And, by
the way, the ( m n', r needn't be too
exultant either, for Labor's forces
are ainaLrauiatiiio'. Mind, now.
WHAT OTHERS SAY.
Two hundred and lifty shoe linns
met, at lioston a few davs ago to or
ganize iu older to "cope with the
Knights of Labor." This is decid
edly cool, altogether too cool for this
frigid season. Will they be able to
compel the Knights of Labor to buy
their shoes and boots? Perhaps
they would like to hav e a law passed,
making it a criminal oll'eiise to re
fuse to deal with the above tirius.
These people are too apt to forget
that it is one tiling to make shoes
and another to sell thein. These
manufacturers will tiud iu due time
thai "coping with the Knights of
Labor" is a larger contract than
they can handle. .Meanwhile the
Knights l',eflse to be frightened in
the least. ,1ci lulliis' Juitnittl.
v s i:w i in: v or i on vn t i a itoit.
It is to remove the penitentiary to
a farm, w Inch should be cultivated
by the prisoners, and which could
thus be made to furnish them w ith
supplieu necessary for their suste
luuii e. I lore also t he (doth could be
woven for their clothing ami their
shoes and hats manufactured, the
whole production being eonlined
strictly to their needs, and (bus
coining in no wise info competition
w ith I he products of honest labor
either in Held or iu factory. If is
true that there would be some arti
cles which this system would not
furnish I'nr the use of the prison.
Hut these could be procured ill the
following manner : A sutlicient
number of the convicts could be
hired to the counties desiring their
labor on the public roads for a price
which would pay for their keeping,
and also supply a f und for t he pa -nieiil
of prison ollieials, and for the
incidental expenses of the prison it
self. The farm, with its buildings,
should be located near enough to
the city to make a dread of neigh
boring strength sutlicient to keep
down cineutes. but at the same time
far enough away not to interfere
with the city's growth. Iiii-lnmnul
( I c.) Shift , '
Ml-. Ms lol.LV.
The I'iiH Mull CuAttf case is at
aif an end at last and Mr. Stead has
got three mouths iinprisoiinii nt.
deserves that for
''din
such a
fool as to believe tile lies which the
wretched creature, .lart'ett. told
him. and for allow ing himself to iet
"sodden with chatupaoiie" when en
gaged in what oiiilit tu have been a
must cold and cautious ennuirv. u
otic, indeed, eollld possibly read the
; tirst article of the disgusting scries
j without seeing that, possibly without
knowing it. the writer himself had
; been dctiled bv t he pitch vv hieh he
had touched. All the good that has
! been done cotild equally have been
; etTected without the mischief that
! Mr. Stead's erotic i ant has inllided
Upon the cause we believe he meant
; to Serve. Now, because it is clear
' that Mis. Armstrong did nut sell
her daughter and .larrett could imt
get a child without gloss King, peo
ple -ay t hat I he infamies smken of
; are rare. This is not so. The
; evidence before the llut?e of Lords
J Committee shuvvs that girls of ten
der years are sxsteinaticallv de
bauched, and that nung wunien are
constantly trepanned. hy does
tint the government prosecute Mrs.
Kllries' i Lents as wc'l as Mr. stead''
' The evidein e in that a-e i? n ady.
lint Mr. Stead and the whole clique
around him have shown from the
tirst that they were no more in
clined to go to the root of the evil
than the government. Instead of
coolly and determinedly attacking
the economical causes ol juvenile
prostitution they have endeavored
to exploit the whole business for the
betieht of professional canters. IU
the way, have Mr. Samuel Morley,
Cardinal Manning, the Archbishop
of Canterbury, the llishop of Lon
don ami Mr." K. T. Keid, Q. C.
nothing to say?'--I.omlnt Jjihr.
I'll, n r inn its.
The federation of Organized
Trades and Labor Fnions meet in
this city on Tuesday next. The
question of a reduction of the hours
of labor to eight per day, which was
tirst made a national question by
this body, will come up for fur! her
action. May 1, lSti, was set as the
day on which the eight-hour resolu
tion should go into cH'ect. if this
one single suggestion can be carried
into effect, it will do more than any
thing else to employ the idle Wol'k
ingmeii who are everywhere in
search of work, but finding it not.
The discussion and agitation which
has already resulted from the action
of that body one year ago. has been
of incalculable good. Many trades
have already put into operation the
eight-hour idea, and some are com
ing to it gradually by adopting nine
hours, while still others have cur
tailed the working time on Sunday,
but nearly all have done something.
In this city the plumbers and plas
terers have each adopted a shorter
working day with no opposition
whatever, ami with no reduction of
pay. With a long pull and a strong
mil and a pull altogether eight
hours will be estuhlishcc as a full
day's work.
Hut while vve are working for the
establishment of the eight-hour
working day, as something, we are in
jilslieeelititled to. we should look to
our own iicmbcrship in unions and
assemblies, that we do not stultify
ourselves iu securing a merely nomi
nal reduction of hours, while men
are allowed to work overtime and
thus defeat the very object vve have
in view securing work for the un
employed and securing time in
which to improve our minds and
rest our bodies. Fight hours then
will be but a mere chimera, and
our efforts will he ill vain. t'lVt'ts-
tllitH.
BOYCOTT.' 'v "
't his little word, so harmless in look
ami sound, lias grown to be, probably,
the most ilreadeil of any iu our language.
It full meaning was lately exemplified in
( ialvestuii, w here the Knights of Labor
boycotted the Mallory Steamship Con,
pany. Such was their power that great
trunk lilies of railroad, controlling their
millions of capital, and tens of thousands
of employes, became humble supplicants
to the men who had imposed this stern
rule. These were no other than the
Kxecutive Committee uf the Knights of
Labor.
All lines of transportation refused to
bring into (ialveston any freight con
signed to tins line, beeaiisetlie Kxecutive
Committee of the Knights of Labor bad
demanded of them that they should not,
under penalty of ordering a strike of their
"iiiployes. Proud monopolists were
brought to terms' by the sons of toil, the
wages demanded were given, but at a
fearful cost of time, and luss of time and
loss of pa. Hut right was triumphant,
la In ii won. Like great wars, immense
sums and many lives sacrificed, but the
end justified the means.
Boycotting has on!) once Iieeu tried ill
Key W est, and that was by the liremios,
labor unionists, against the street car
company, the ow nei of w hich happening
to I' a manufacturer, and one uf the
many against whom the strike vv-.-.vtde
....
in this instance it pleiwaiitlvMaiiled,
though for the time iieing must rigorous
by enforced. There is no combatting
this terrible and elteetual warfare; it
wins.
In one of niir large cities a great news
paper refused to pay the wages demand
ed by the Knights of Labor, ami a strike
was ordered. The ikt liecame defiant
and bitter. They went further, and Ih.v -eotteitit.
The full meaning nf this was
that im one la-lunging to this order
would trade with a man who advertised
in nr sulist-iiU-d for tl,e pajier; would
not rent a house advertised in its col
umns. A short time, and the pi.per
found itself nearly minus Mf subscribers
and advertisers. IVy col ting did the
work, and dues it eiiectually nearly all
the rime. 7V f.'...'(fii'.