Workmen's advocate., January 31, 1886, Image 2

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

Image provided by: Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT

                
r O K IvM EN 'S AD.V OCATE,
She 3SotUmcn's .Atluoatc,
THE npricUL JiU'llNAi. (IK TIIK lildiANlZHI
WOHkMKN lr NKW IIAVK.N AMI VI
I ,' I'INITV HKI'HKKKNTKII IN TIIK
' TRADES COUNCIL OF NEW HAVEN,
INM'KD BV TIIK
TKADK8 t'OtN('l, lTllt.lslllNti roMMITI i:K
KVKHV HINIIAV MilllMMI.
Ofth-e, TrailttHCiiiincU Hull, TiilM Impel St.
I'ulillslieil fur I lie inii i"""' "f count rrurl Ink I lie
v II Influence of llie i-umtit ni.itnll.-tli- iri-
liy irlutliiK llie truth himI plie-liitr lnfi.ii' tin
wurKliiK peuple food fur tlioiiylit uiul n lli ilcm
it tii their luiliistrttil, s x-litl iiml pointi-ul cuiiill
Huns, tu the end tliul tin y tniiy tiii!Ui-liiiti-tliriiiKe.lven
frnm ai;r nluvery itml hiinlloi'ill-iii
IntiTestliic riirrcioiiilrlii'i' sulli-Heil 1'nnii pm
It-turliiim In till purls of Hie world. I rvrs re
ijiilrliiK unswcrH hIiihiIiI contain return i ( i i tr
Altlll'CIN Ull I'llMllllllllll'lltl'lllH III
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I'AVAIII.K IN AOVAM K.
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tNIKHKII AT TIIK IDNT ItrPII K AT NKW HAVKN, CIIN
NK.TK I T. AH HKI'CIN II I I. ASH HATTKIl
iNk'.v Havkn, .Iasi win :si, 18H.
EDUCATION AND ORGANIZA
TION. While organization is progressing
at an astounding rat t anions the
workers, tlifir education is a matter
uf slower growth, and needs inure
fostering care. Simply to organize,
to liiiinl together, is not enough, nor
is it enough tliat we (lock in great
niimliers for the vague object of bet
tering mir condition. A knowledge
of tin- reason why. in I In lirst place,
there is a lalior question at all is
needed ly thousands of the work
men who are proud of the far I that
they are organized; and the absence
of that knowledge is apparent when
wit consider that the tact ies observed
in many of our organizations are
patterned as near as may be after
those of the ruling class. Too much
weight is placed upon personality,
while principle is thereby forced in
the background. The mention of a
mmo in much of our labor litera
ture of the periodical sort is made to
carry with it certain ideas, precisely
as in our capitalistic press the politi
cal news of the day is a coiigloinera-
tioii of names with a filament of 1111-p-caning
words to connect them. It
is the very essence of individualism
and competition that is still pre
dominant in the minds of our peo
ple. Till1 opposite et rone of mak
ing individuals mere nullities could
hardly be worse. In our societies
there is a desire for otlici.il dignil v
manifested that is often disgusting.
Let us lie holiest with ourselves
and submit to just criticism within
our ranks, thereby arriving at a rea
son for what may become a fatal
Weakness.
f s it Hot possible that the systems
work under may be such as pro
nite this individualistic mania
which stands in the way of progress?
The homage paid to t he indiv idual
who has power creates a ttsiir for
power in the indiv idual, and as a
consetjiii'iico there is a competition
among the ambit ions to eert power
over ot hers. This is destructive of
that feeling of interdependence and
solidarity w hich is the very founda
tion of good organization. Therefore
we must devise a system by which
the jHnrcr to iliint lies with the or
ganization as a whole, and the nu n
,ViVA i'M''iite tlie will oi llie many
, jjl be subject to constant supcru-
by the organization, 1'requcnt
its of their acts should be had
an ittft'rrst in their proceedings
ifested by the members. To this
the members of the organiza
tion must attend their meetings reg
ularly and exert eternal vigilance.
Another item: While it is desira
ble to have large number interested
I lie work of labor reform, it is a
1 question as to tin- desir.ibilii
.i Tiav ing i-tiorinous memberships i
an
one assembly. A large tttiiuU r of
small and well discipline! organiza
tions, agreeing upon general prim i-
pics, can also arrive at an agreement :
on tactics where they are all eon-
ceriied, hy joint commit let's; and j
questions can be more t horoiighly i
discussed in smaller bodies where all I
can take part in the debates. This j
is the educational department of our i
movement the discussion of the va
rious phases of the labor question.
Anything that stands in the way of
the educational li i t 1 1 1-1 1 1 of the
people is a serious bar to progress. !
and in our opinion a large ami un-
w ieldy membership in one Immv docs ;
prevent the development of sound I
and lieall by ideas upon I he lalioi'
iplcst ion ; alol without advocating
unlimited prodigality in the use of
our limited funds, we t hink that the
increased cost, of maintaining a. large
number of proportionately small
bodies Would be more 1 1 1 -) ) coin peli
satcd for in t lie improvement of the
organization.-, and the individuals
composing them.
lift it be ever home in nninl that
the educational idea must under no
circumstances be neglected in the
workmen organizations, for orirani-
zation without education is labor j
t brow n aw
"RESPECTABLE" FRAUDS.
It seems that some of the verv de
vout jteojile who are supposed to
work for the "elevation of the
"freedinen" down South are not
models of uprightness. For in
stance, one of t he ''teachers" prom
ises a Noi l hern friend I hat for t he
small sum of I hirty dollars she will
furnish a colored servant and bind
I he poor serv ior for a year to work
for the new "master" or "mistress"
as a house servant. Certainly a
cheap way of gelling servants, ami
profitable for the rrrttlor of the
frcedmen, and. as in t he case of
I le'.ry W illianis, published in the
ii(IVii;n's AiiVih' Vti-: some time
ago. the boy received no pay for his
services, so in many other cases the
poor young colored servants are not
in a posit ion to enforce a demand,
even if they knew enough to make
one. It would be well if the wealthy
dupes of designing missionaries
an long t he Sunt I inn freedinen looked
into the matter more closely before
they donated large sums of money
for the purpose, as they suppose, of
elev at lli' I he colored race, And il
Would also be well if ill their investi
gations they looked for other tesli
iiioiiy than that furnished bv the
missionaries.
The case of the colored bov.lleln v
Williams, is not settled yet bv anv
means, and will not lie till all the
pari ies t hereto hav e glV ell test lliiollV .
for later developments lead us tu be- j name or where its servants reside.
lieve that the Coopers are Hot the!
only actors in t he drama, lie that) AN ANSONIA CRANK,
as it may. justice must be done.,, ,,,, ,lf UU, evening coiite.upo
this case, and II... guilty part.es cv- panes published a Ion-letter from a
posed regardless of their reputed j ,,,,,,, , All.(,Ilia wneh would
"liiuh rcspeeialulilv" and devoiMin i h,(,iv ,, W(1.(I ,Mt fm. (ju,
'" ,h'' l'"IS1, "'' lllr I ' " evident altempt at honesty, and the
i boldness of I he W l iter. It is rcfl'e.sh
A BOSS'S OPINIONS. tug to have a capitalist speak right
Possibly we inav be "outiiii:.: oin jout and show his color or rather,
foot in it," and ought to consider
the language attributed to Mr. Sar
gent by a local newspaper reporter
as a mere matter of rumor, so t hat
tlie caption ought to be "A Pioss's Al-
leged Opinions.' According to t he
reporter, then, Mr. Sargent acted as
intermediary between the striking
win-drawers and Mr. Wheeler a
soil of bumper to prevent the two
oppo-mg paiti'-s from crushing ea.-h
oilier by a loo sudden impact.
1 hiring the negotiations Mr. Sarg. in
is said to have advised tin- men to
leave the Amalgamated A--ociatioii
of Iron and Steel W ..rkei and j..;n
the Knight of Labor. I'rom tbe
standpoint of Oiganied Labor this
j advice is certainly more cmpi,-
ineiitarv to the Amalgamated s-o-!
ciatioii than to the Knights. Itch
! jected to an association "controlled
I from Pennsylvania." Now. a a
mutter of fact, if the 'head" otlicers
are supposed to control things, the
K. of I,, are also controlled from
Pennsylvania, for Powdeiiy und
Turner, the chief and secretary of
tic Knights, as well as Wcihc and
Martin, president and secretary of
the Amalgamated Association, are
iH'sidctils of that corporation and
capitalist-ridden State. Then, again,
Mr. Sargent is reported to have said
that the Knights were organized for
a good purpose- intimating thereby
thai, the Iron and Steel Workers
were organized for a bad
purpose. I low
'bad" these
fellows are may be gathered from
the fact that they stood out like
brave ami honest men against the
inducements olTercd by Sargent's
brother capitalist, to forsake their
noble union, of course they are
"bad" from a capitalistic stand point.
Too "bad" altogether in their well
regulated union for their protection
against, just such men as call them
"bad." '
lint, what crime against Organized
Labor have the Knights of Labor
coinniilteil thai M r. Sargent shoiili
consider them good by comparison
A h, Joseph, vou are a born states
man a man of strategical ability.
W hat weak point do you see in the
K. of L. organization 'i
lirother Pitmani of the AW'.s saw
a little straw Moating down the Hoy
colt river a little yellow straw that
seemed to him like a big life pre
server with the name "Arbitration"
painted upon il, but. alas, it proved
but a straw, and it acted as a straw
would w hen grasped by a drowning
man.
Has Mr. Sargent taken comfort
from the arbitration idea'' We
know il looks rather shaky, but, ap
pearances deceive, sometimes. Or
has our wealthy fellow citizen
dreamed of harmony- sweet har
mony bet ween Capital and Labor,
and seen what he imagined re
I lee ted his ideas of harmony in the
"plal form ?" Perhaps so; but it's
the harmony nr mean that is re
ferred to, ami t hat in the end will
be con formed to, even if ignorance
Upon the subject must be wiped out
by hard experience.
Then t here ma v I I her appar-
eiitly weak points in the K. uf L.
organization which move the astute
! manufacturer to render it praise; but
I here is one t Illlig he IliUV be tolerably
sure of, and t hat is. that the working
people are getting their eves opened,
and the organization that aims to
secure to them I he fruits of t heir
labor will be likely to light their
battles for them, u matter what its
choler. The Knights of Labor, the
pivss. the Mate Labor Coiiitn isMoner.
the eight-hour idea, the weekly
wage scheme, and boycotting, all
come in for a share of this individu-
1 ill's w rathy invective,
; Speaking of the Knights of Labor,
! in whose ranks he thinks ''there are
j many honest but misguided men."
he savs they know nothing of the
: -itiiatioii or the market, and that
, the average manufacturer has made
: no inoiiev for several wars, and will
, not for a year to come; so the idea
their demanding increased wages
is follv. Iladlev. the Labor Com-
tuissioiier. he says, know-iiothingof
the subject: and he lay.- nun h of all
the tloiible that besets the m,,i-. d
traded capitalists at the door of the
"cringing sp'rit of the press." Ki
deutU the Ansonia man doesn't read
' the okk min's Ai'ovir in the
proper spirit, or he would at least j
have made one exception. Astotlie
eight-hour and weekly wages j
schemes, he thinks they are not j
proper 'matters for legislation, and
says th.'i we might us well pass a
lilW to the elTect that three pecks an
il biisln-l and twelve ounces a pound.
The irate crank doesn't seem to
know that t welvv ounces are a pound
according to law. and that if the law
said so, three pecks ininli make a
bushel; and when he says that the
Legislature might as well attempt to
lix the price of a barrel of Hour or a
pair of boots, he doesn't seem to
comprehend that such things may
really be done before his gray hairs
entirely desert him. And as to boy-
coiiing. inai isaiioiiier piece oi lolly,
he thinks; the idea of poor working
men refusing to borrow luoliev of t he
liiriiiinghain bank, or refusing to
board at. t In- Lift h A v emu- Hotel !
1'idiculous., of course. This glorious
statesman signs his sweeping piece of
w ritten w rat h ( 'harles I hirand.
NOTES.
Publishing ( 'iiiniiiilt.ee meeting at
t his ollicc t his (Sunday ) morning at
I 1 o'clock.
Row friendly the politicians un
becoming ! Lveii t bat great and im
maculately virtuous being who "pre
sides" over this patriotic nation sas
he is in favor of the eight hour law.
And so a "prominent" member of
the Knights of Labor asked Sargent
to become a member of that organi
zation. Hut his modesty prevented
him accepting t he kind invitation.
Modesty, thy name is Sargent.
Cm- of our big manufacturers
hopes that the Knights of Labor
will not be misused "by designing
persons" for political or other pur
poses. He can wager his last dollar
that it won't and live. "The wages
of sin is death."
Perhaps, in order to gain the
good opinion of the bosses, the
Amalgamated Association of Iron
and Steel Workers will reipiesl a
committee of manufacturers to re
vise their constitution. Yes, per
haps they will.
It is iii ev ery way better to have a sin
le Local ol .VM I or I .into members than a
hull' dozen feeble local- of diil'ereiii trades.
,oki Siriiitmi.
Itiit mi t he ot her hand, isn't it
better to have a half dozen healthy,
well-disciplined locals of different
trades than a feeble local with a
very large membership? ,lohn ought
to be covered wit II 1 lie shield.
The office of the WoltKMKN's Ap-
i'( vii is invaded seini monthly by
t he Siiiitlimi Wtntitiii, from Hender
son. N. C. Among Northern folks
the prevailing opinion has been that
the Southern woman was atierv.
radical sort of being. We Iiml the
Snutlivrn Wmiiiiii all gentleness, and
very conservative, with a touch of
the mournful voiing-widow style
about it, that is in strange contrast
with the ideal.
ho and what is the "Amalga
mated Trades and Labor Assembly
of the State of Coiineet-icut" that
asks questions of the politicians?
Members of the legislature don't
know what it is, and though the
1 iress il isl i.-l t ebt'S s-lv t lei t it r. .i-..w,. 1 1 -
i
, , - , , . . , . I 1 1 i I I ."II- , ' I l-' ,i'l Iv' I I 1 1 I i oti i O
the organized woikinemcn ol this1 , i , ., ,,111 i , , .,
I employ !nellt could lie beiiehtted .
State. New Haven, the largi st city, j Why should not the government,
as well as other labor centers, know 1 for example, utilize unfilled laud lv
nothing of it. Was the publish;, i-- ' I'fibg families upon e.-t.-h ::-.'o acres',
of the questions attributed to th,s!as 'M'-p-cd to do with Indians
, . w it li an oiilbi ami H oy :.-,oiis eiioich
mystic organization and the an-w, is ,,,.., f..ir, Ar M
of the politicians a in w dodge of ' fully- Us ,!es.-n ing as poor Indians,
these gentlemen ? j am! have they not U-eii robbed as
out rageou-lv a- any Indians have
Oh. ye moulder-, b,- , .ndii' ' A.- t-v cr b, .-n ?
folding to the reports in the unit--i I he e famd;, thu- put in a posi-
liable daily press. .,u are n-uiie-ting
,1 l.o.-c ill ,,iiii I i.i,. i, lie SUM.
1
To lie sure.
your ropiest is modest ad couched
in gentle language, lint oii-iiould
consider, before you ask for more
pay, how successfully other niolders
manage to exist on small wages. Let
t he modesty of other poor devils be
your guide, otherwise you may be
led to revel iii hurtful extravagance,
and you know t hat "A j 1 1 . . saved
is a penny earned." Therefore,
save 1 1 1 1 r pennies, and don't join in
with these greedy w ol'k i 1 1 g ii nil who
Want to compel the bosses who feed
you to pay vou more wages I Imn
lliev can atl'onl. lie very careful.
The president of the Morning
News t'o. pretends hi be amazed at
I he cry modest terms, all t hiugs
considered, of the organized work
men of New Haven, upon which
I hat com pan v would be permitted to
settle the "little II 1 1 pleasl II 1 1 less"
existing between It and the Workers.
Prof, Henry Laruaiu very naively
savs to the committee that the
News Co. has never opposed the
Tv pographical I n ion and does not
now. I e is perfectly w illing that
his little lies! of rats should become
I ' li loii men ! So t hat if tin- I nion
Wel'e grccll enough to see il ill I he
same light asoiir opt imistic professor,
all tin- work of the Lnioii and K. of
L. would have been done for the
sake of raising the rats' pav. improv
ing I he business of Larnain's news
paper speculation, and virtually
placing a preini u in mi cult ing dow u
wages. And as to the reipic.-t that
the News Co. help to foot the bill,
we are informed that the small
amount asked is only about a third
of t he expense of I he campaign. If
Mr. l-arnam shoilld ask us to advise
llilll. we should decidedly counsel all
immediate settlement on the terms
offered.
WHAT OTHERS SAY.
The fal-paiiiiehed monopolists am
the slab-sided, feat ller-edgcd usurers
are alarmed at, the 'progress of tin
labor tress. How would it do. gen
tlemen, to secure the passage of a
law suppressing the labor tress'' Hi
you think your imperial ideas and
purses arc strong enough to attempt.
it. eh .' I nil it "trui Afrx.
The Lotos Club, of which Whit
law "Hat" h'eid is president, gave a
reception the other evening to Lieu
tenant ( i reely , of A rd ic fame. Tin
vice-president of the club presided.
As I his was he lirst I inn- ( hal 1 Ik
L'odclll of the Towel' has ever failed
to exhibit himself in public w hen
any sort of an opporl unity oll'ered,
-, ii i
n naiiiraiiy occasioned some com
ment. Pint it did not surprise thosi
W ho are accpiaililed w ith the brief
history ol his ill.nnoi'-- career. The
very name of Creelev makes tin
Indent tremble like all aspen leaf
Whenever lie bear.- it Uttered, and tile
miserable poltroon didn't have the
moral courage to introduce that
name to tin- assemblage. That is
the secret of the circumstance of his
not being present on thai interesting
occasion. The treacherous buzzard
that craw led into the eagle's nest and
defiled it, after hav ing driven poor
(ireeley to the grave, is even fright
ened at the shadow of his own at
tenuated frame. Put id the rodent
shake in (ireelev's boots, while we
ruinously boycott the Triln n X.
) . Itini iitrr.
I A II Ms lull W 111 I I, VII, s.
bile (he Indians arc treated as
; wards of the State and can-fully pn
I'
v ided for to an extent unknown to
the average wage worker. Would it
not be well for the government to
Consider Sollle plan whereby the two
' ,;ii;.w ..t- . ,... i ..... ..... .... e
'".'l1 l" -"PI""5 Uu'insdves. w d
add to the wealth of the country in-
, 1 , , ,
sti-:li ill ii-llnr -1 .Iii,-,,... il....,, xi
, wu;,. ,l.uib?fnl if' the Indians
' wiil ever be !f-sup,rtnig.
The policy of the government
seems to he to take can of the In
dians because they make trouble. It
will be a cold day for any government
when the out-of-work w hite popula
tion comprehend this policy, and
t hey will not be slow to ad upon it.
Liilnir I. ml.
A STATE OF EQUALITY.
t 'lass rule is always del linietital to the
welfare ol the w hole social organism, be
cause classes, Wliell III power, cannot
help considering themselves pre-einilielit-Iv
the Stale They, furthermore, cannot
heli beiu biased ill favor of their special
interest and therefore are necessarily hos
tile to the rest of the nation, and as w e
daily see iii i ill r J'ree-traders and protec
tionists hostile to each other. Matthew
Arnold speaks truly w hen he says that
State action by a hostile class miht to
be deprecated.
Our Republic, therefore, just its all
other lein Stales, may properly be
compared to -ohm- imaginable animal or
gaiiisiii, where the blood, proceeding
from llie collective digestion, is princi
pally diverted to the stomach or the
brain, w Idle the aruisalid le-are stinted
as much a- possible.
This f Vkss Slate w ill develop into a
Commonwealth bless the Puritans for
I h:il splendid Knglish w oi-d ! It will de
velop into a State that will know of no
ela-ses" either in tl ryot- practice; in
other v ords iutoaState vv here the w hoi;'
population is incorporated into Society.
In the place of the present partially
evolved organism in w hich the arms and
le-s. and toil great extent the brain, are
stinted in blood as much as possible, we
shall have an organism -'w hose every or
j;an shall receive blood ill proportion to
the work it does" in the language of
Spencer.
That is to say, the ( 'oniinoiivvealth will
he a Slate of Wimf.v.
tt is said that "we already have
equality, " and when we ask tlie meaning
of the phrase we are told that all are
"equal before the law." If that vyere
really the ease - w hich it is not it vv ould
be but a pour kind of equality. The cells
of the toot and of the llower in a plant
are -'equal;" the cells of the foot ami of
the heart in an animal tire "equal," for
they are all properly cared for; the or
ganism knows of no "higher" and
"lower" organs or cell. And so it w ill
be in the future Commonwealth; there
"Kqiialily" w ill mean that every unit of
society can truly say to any other unit:
'1 am not less than a man. and thou ait
not more llian a man."
Again, contra-t our famous I leclaration
of (dependence with the new Iteclara
tioii of iirnlepelldeiice. The former
claims for every citizen the "right" to
life, liberty and the pur-uit of "happi
ness." This declaration was evidently
adopted by "Individualists," as the
I'rench I'evolutioii was a revolution of
"Indiv idiiali-in," for of what Use is it
to po...,e:is I he "l ight" to do something',
w In n y oil hav e not t he power, t he means,
the opportunity to do it . Is this"iighl
to ihe pursuit of happiness" not a
mocking irony to the masses w ho cannot
pin in-- happiness'.'" We saw how the
millionaire and beggar would lie equally
miserable outside of the State, and be
hold, how much this 1 leclaration of "In
dependence" has done for the former and
how v ery little for the hitter !
The future Commonwealth will hrlj)
every individual to attain tlie highest de
velopment he or she has capacity for. It
will lay a cover for everyone at Nature's
table. "State" and "State iWj)" w ill be
as inseparable as a piano and music.
I o not object, as jninitj Spencer did in
"Social Statics," that this means 'trans
forming every citizen into a grown-up
J baby:" for llie object ion is not to the
point at all.
State help is not to do away with a
man's own efforts. I do not do away
5 with a mans own etforts, when I hand
him a ladder. I do not set aside his own
exertions in cultivating a tield, because I
give him a plow. Our State does not
fender useless the powers of a boy, w hen
it furnishes him schools, teachers and
libraries.. Our Commonwealth will re
lieve none of self-help, but make self-help
, possible to all. It u ill ht lp t rnuhxly tit
h'lj h imsi If. t lit ml it ml in Cii-iijh ruticf
I 'imiiitiiittrritltli.
" 'ue of the brethren who "had a
habit of moaning out " O-h, v-e-s,"
at regular intervals during the ser
vice, was rather broken up on
Sunday night. He had just wakened
up when the preacher asked the
solemn question. l'mther. do you
intend to speiid eternity in hell?"
" "-Is y-e-s !'" sang out the devoted
brother. I fit unit r W.
s
'1
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