Workmen's advocate., February 07, 1886, Image 1

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

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INCONSISTENCY OF THE PRO
FESSOR'S "GAGS."
A Horse A Tool The Wicked Social
ists - I'rcscriliiu;; the Conditions-
An Air of Profun
di t.v Can't Scare the
Hoys kind.
It is. all times, ii pleasure, us well
US a prolit, tit listen tit the "Voice of
wisdom, proceeding from age and
experience."
Vcs.
It (lo'S lint, however, follow, tllilt
age and experience of necessity im
ply wisdom.
No.
I f we err not, one who was ac
counted the wisest of men said:
"Though thou shoii lilst bray a fool
in a mortar among wheat with a
pestle, tjrt will not his foolishness
depart from him."
It is at present tl i tli- u 1 1 to distin
guish knowing from folly: extremes
meet. So in the circle of unwisdom
we find knavishness joined to fool
ishness. Strange, hut none the less
true. t
The connection hetween tin fore
going and w hat follows will he ap
parent, we trust, without any special
hints from us.
The cheerful brother of a former
so-called democratic Lieutenant
Governor of this State, made one of
his periodic onslaughts on the trans
piring plane of evolution, as made
manifest in the great labor movement.
The brethren of a former so-called
democratic, etc., is addicted to the
cpigramatic style; it takes with the
groundlings, you see. For instance:
in speaking of the socialist, he says:
"lie sees that his neighbor has a
horse and he wants it."
This was given as a sort of gener
alization of Socialism; no doubt it
tickled the boys, and that was, per
haps, the main tiling after all.
It has been generally accepted by
those who have penetrated to the
very essence of racialism, that it is
a systematic endeavor to curtail the
power of "man's inhumanity to
man" which "makes countless thou
sands mourn:" hut it seems that is
all a mistake it wants a neighbor's
horse; that's all.
1 low wise some people arc!
Again, the brother of a former,
and so forth, tells us: "Socialism
says: 'If all of us are not well oil,
don't let any of us be so. '" This, it
will be noticed, is not quite in keep
ing with the neighbor's horse epi
gram, for in this instance, the so
cialist doesn't want his neighbor's
horse, but rather that his neigbor
should do away with the horse and
go afoot, like the socialist.
As stated, there seems to be a
hitch in the consistency of the two
"gags;" but no matter, the bovs
were, unquestionably, pleased: and
that is always the main considera
tion with the brother of a former,
etc.. when he delivers an address.
Not that we w ish to be understood
as saving that he never puts in a
scientific touch: no; for he says in
another paragraph that. "The So
cialistic State would aim to interfere
in the struggle of life, but our State's
aim is to prescribe the conditions of
the struggle."
There is an air of profundity
about this sentence which staggers
one in the "first round," hut on get
ting one's "second wind." it proves
not to be much of a "slugger" after
all: for if "our State aims to pre
scribe t he conditions of t he st niggle,"
no doubt the result of the struggle
will be all'cctcd. It depends, of
course, a good deal on t he cond it ions
prescribed: and what is more on
who prescribes the conditions.
The socialists will undoubtedly,
be ready to take a hand in prescrib
ing the condition, ami feel secure
that "the result of the st niggle of
life" will be all that can be expected.
It seems to dawn upon us that the
gentleman (we mean, of course, the
brother of. etc.) is better oil "gags"
than in serious business Hut. it
may he. we have not properly
weighed his language, for it is true,
he says: utr State's aim is to pre
scribe the cond it ions of t he struggle."
The gentleman perhaps means t hat
the State belongs to him and a
couple of his friends our State,"
he sas. Well, in that case he may
prescribe conditions which will make
short work with the pestiferous .so
cialists. But then the iiiestion arises, can
he keep his grip on "our State''"
There's the rub.
We incline to the opinion, judg
ing from the general drift of things,
that he "hasn't the sand." No;
w hen we look about us we of the
inner temple-and grasp the real
n,teaning 'of the labor movement, we
have not the slightest fear that the
human cormorants and their learned
toois will' be able1, much longer. to
prate of "our State."
But to resume; in the report of
the lecture which is before us, we
read that, "in conclusion Professor
Sunnier stated that notwithstanding
what he had said, he v;is not an
alarmist."
( If course not.
And if you were, whom, for in
stance, would you alarm'' Would
it be the boys who were convulsed
by your wit (.) ':
Mi, no ! Those bovs are not to
be alarmed by the inevitable, thev
will probably take a hand in it.
Certainly you did not intend to
alarm the vast army of K. of L.
salt of the earth that they are ! No.
that seems too preposterous.
Nor could it have been tin' des
pised and belied Socialists. No.
no.
Ah ! we have it : You had in your
mind the invalid Mnniimi Xrtrs:
t hat im.s kind of you.
We forgive von.
REPRESENTATIVE BARRY.
Thomas B. Harry, of the General
Kxeciitive Hoard of the Knights of
Labor, who has been on trial at Last
Saginaw, Mich,, for the past two
weeks, on a charge of conspiracy
and inciting to riot, in connection
w ith the strike of the lumbermen in
the Saginaw Valley, last spring, has
been acquitted. In the face of the
evidence submitted, we do not see
how the result could li;t e been ot her
wise, although it took the jury
twenty-three hours to do justice to
the defendant. The decision in this
case virtually settles the remaining
indictments against Mr. Harry, the
testimony proving conclusively that,
instead of inciting to riot and de
struction of propertv, he prevented
it.
His must grievous crime appears
to have been that In- met the heart
less cry of the mill-owners. "Twelve
hours, or no flour." with the inspir
ing one to the lumbermen of "Ten
hours, or no sawdust;" and ten hours
it was.
HON EST I'.OVCOTT.
t .
i STILL LETTING ALONE THE
I
RAT PAPER.
And so Hie K. of I,, and Their Mercan
tile Friends are Hummers Im
potent Wrath of Aflluent
Speculators Don')
Waul the News.
The all'air between the Monti ntj
-trs and the organized workmen of
New Haven has become one of gen
eral interest to the public. And the
dear public is holding its own
against the wily attempts of the
.Wf.vpsiper speculators at 'bribery
and corruption in the way of plated
pewter and "cheap" editionif the
" Life of Cranl." Old 1' lysses must
rest uneasy if his honored ghost
knows how his name is coupled
with a rat sheet.
The proprietors of the AV.' no
doubt have a poor opinion of the
Knights of Labor, for when dis
gusted customers call at. the office
of the delectable sheet to "slop fly
paper, " or " take out my 'ad..'
ijiiick !" I hey arc met with the im
pudent ell'riintery of the rat masters'
hirelings who want to know whether
the A firs business is to be run by
hummers. As if the workmen of
New Haven, and their friends, the
merchants, were only mere hummers,
and the aristocratic and highly edu
cated and "polished" proprietors of
the Xrtrs were workers'!
If honest Labor has not a just
!t $nrnmf. tbe pcnplo, iluk)
j had a just cause. Not content with
cutting iiown llic wages ol the jour
neymen who nightly toiled while
wealthy bosses slept, and sleeping,
gathered wealth, these stilted despis
ers of honest labor must add insult
to injur,, and so we, the people,
are bummers!
Hy the way, some may ask who
the Knights of Labor are that take
so much interest in the all'airs of a
few journeymen printers. It may al
most be said that they are t he public,
awakened to the knowledge that
an injury to the most, humble
worker is the concern of all; so that
it is not a Jnr interested persons that
are holding up the proprietors of the
Xrtrs to scorn, but rather (hat sense
of justice, prompted by the public
conscience which demands that
Labor shall not he furl her degraded.
Many of our merchants are already
ill the " Noble Order." and they
know that "good wages for the
workman means prosperity for the
merchant." This labor movement,
if it means anything, means that the
laborer is not only worthy of his
hire, but also that the poor fellow
shall not have to wait till "Kingdom
come" to receive his reward; and
the boss with heavenward rolling
eve who stands up pharisaically "be
fore the Lord" will have to pay as
he goes, or do without the services
of honest men.
There are many interesting inci
dents reported by the walking dele
gate, who speaks very favorably of
the friendly spirit shown by the
merchants generally for the work
men in their contest with the wage
shavers. A Cermaii store keeper
was called upon by an agent of the
tabooed sheet, and requested to slib-
scribe: ami the "Life of Orant was
j ottered as an inducement. "I had
llo objection to the book, bill I
couldn't take the A "..." said the
merchant, sjtcakiiig of the attempt
to bribe him: "and I haven't bought
a A since the strike, over a year
ago. "
In spite of the fad that many ad
vertiser. have peremptorily ordered
their advertisements removed fnun
the rat-set columns, the proprietors
continue to publish them. This, of
course, lias a tendency to injure
t heir business, as every one doesn't
know the circurm-taiici-s, though the
boycott committee do their best to
protect friendly merchants.
The bivc..tt is liecornin'r more and
more systematized, and in a few
weeks, unless the correct thing hap
pens, it will be carried on inasscieti
tilica manner, as the case demands
giving protection and trade to Un
friendly men-hauls, and allowing a
natural and corresponding shrinkage
to manifest itself in the trade of
those who show themselves antag
onistic. The cause is just the result must
res! upon this: Public opinion is 'he
jury; our fellow citizens, acting con
scientiously, will carry out the ver
dict; and though the transgressors
against Organized Labor be clothed
in rich attire and dwell in palaces,
still can t hey not escape the just
condemnat ion of an ludust rioiis and
irtuoiis public ?
NEW BRITAIN.
'1'lie carpenters and joiners of New
Itrilain are thoroughly organized.
Nearly all of the I test men in the city he
loin; to I nion No. of the I '. ol hcrhood
of ( 'arpcutcr and ,!. mers of America.
No show for iioit I 'nion men loget work
here, in r ev er will be.
The 'arpcntcrs and Joiners of I 'nion
No. !IT of this city have requested the
contractors to agree to the following:
That --" he the minimum price for ten
hours' work; that none but I'ltion men
lie employed; thai eigltt hours on Satnr
iluv constitute a dav's work; (hat tinte
ainl a half be allowed for all overtime.
We have no ilouht hut (hat tlieseile
niaiid w ill he . ituiled, as No. i; is one
of the strongest t'nioiis in lite Slate and,
should they he compelled to strike, to
enforce just demands, thcyJvvoiiM liml
allies anions the forces of the Iraiii.eil
Labor.
HYPOCRISY.
'I'veiy once ill a while lite papers teem
with accounts of a reat rev ival that has
taken place in some church a sort of
spasmodic upheaval. The rev ivalist tells
his hearers of the corruption that is
pettet rating our 'whole social system.
How we mo lit to live truer, itobler'aiiil
grander lives. How we oiihl to help
our fellow man along; lo try and become
Christians in the literal sense i of the
vv ord, w 1 1 i ( i i is nothing morethan hu
manitarian. We do not wonder thai the
laboring man is slow ly di itt ing into a sea
of infidelity. When you hear a preacher
say that every one ought to be' sal islied
w ith his station in life, to toil on for
ever without even rai-ang his voice in
opposition, surely no holies man can be
lieve he tells the truth. Take the
churches the world over and how many
of their preachers will preach of the rich
man as he really is'.' I low many of (hem
caii be found working among the poor
trying to raise them to a better station
in life? How many ol them will tell the
employer, if he happens to he among
their congregations, that he is perjuring
his soul for I he sake of ntoiiey ' I to no
all their sermons lav or the rich ''. Iioti'l
thev know that an employer who does
not deal jiisl ly w it It his help t- moral
line!, if not a legal one? Iioii't they
sometimes pay more attention to the
people who wear silks and satins and
ovv ii a quantity ol real est ale. and al
ways have a seal in front, than llie poor
devil w ho takes a hack pew and tin s to
do his duty toliodand his fellow man 't
How many times do we hear words of
eloquence from I he lips i if some preacher
over the remains of a man w ho never in
his life, in his business relations, was
looked upon as all holiest man: whose
w hole life was one long series of de
bauchery; whoal every hance degraded
manhood and wronged womanhood; w ho
was an aristocratic rake; who lielieved
that it was the right of Iho few lo live
otl the labor of the many; who m hie
was known as an oppressor of his fellow
man: who would not turn his hand In
help some unfortunate U-ing alon jn
life ? The preacher would never in life
tell this suite mall over w hose dead hody
lie preaches an oration that he was nol
lit to associate v it It his fellow man; that
lie was not fair I h -cause he denied to
everyone the rights that he himself
claimed. I.el there Ik- more revival- and
a U tt.-r aw akening i'!iritiaii dutv.
Let the rich think of the misery and
sipialor they produce hy not dealing fair
Iv w it h l heir fellow -men. M.
NOTICE.
Address coinuiiihicatioiis in rcfeience
to the organization of new Trade and
Lalnir L'nions to
TKAliKs t ol Mil. ( HciivMZINU 'uMMITTI.K.
1'. O. l Vr.'. New Haven, Conn.
BOYCOTTING DEBATED.
A crowded house and an intelli
gent audience characterised the
meet ing of (he lvpial Lights )eba-
i sing Club last Sunday. "The Hoy-
colt was the subject, and very natur
ally under the circumstances, the
rat Xrny the object, of the debate.
There were but one or (wo outspoken
enemies of organized labor at the
meeting, though a few shamefaced
and silent rats were to be seen
among the more intelligent and hon
orable majority. 'e have not the
space to recount the able remarks of
the defenders of Labors' potent
weapon, nor can we devote many
thoughts lo t he enemy; but it gave
the goodly niiinberof vvorkingiucn
organized and unorganized pleasure
to see how the defenders of proud
capitalism were laid low in argu
ment as well as in fact. The most
elo(uenl speech that has ever been
delivered al the "l-'.ipial Lights" was
thai of Mr. T. W. t'nrtis, who de
fended boycotting and the righteous
ness of its use by Organized Labor.
bile another speaker had llie floor
a Aivr.v reporter attciuped to monop
olize the time in asking questions,
and the club very considerately voted
him the privilege of the Hour'. The
youth evidently believing it his dutv
to stand up for the boss "thai feeds
him," told how willing his boss was
to pay the union price, and how very
unjust it was to boycott the Xrtrs,
and lo demand I he discharge of llie
imported cheap labor to give place to
union men. "There it is in a nut
shell." said the youthful debalcr.
A member of The Typographical
I ti i ill requested permission to pre
sent "the other half of the nutshell,"
and after some ineffectual opposit ion
by two "individualists" the union
man was given the privilege, which
he used lo explain the cause of the
boycott of the Xrtrs, and to answer
a few pert incut quest ions put by mem
bers of the club. There was little
doiibt'as to the opinion of the audi
ence upon the subject, for ihc senti
ments of unionism were applauded
to the echo, and the citizens who at
tended no doubt went home well
sat islied thai Organized Labor had a
good case and would win it.
"THE BIGGEST."
Knights and ladies are on the ttii
rVc for I he biggest all'air that New
Haven has ever seen in the way of
a "(irand Soiree." Not only the
Knights, but all New Haven will be
there, not lo sav anything of the
neighboring davits. Further partic
ulars in our next issue.
HARUGARI.
The llarugari-Licdertafel will lo
tnorrow (Monday) evening, give a
concert and entertainment for the
benclit of the ( 'igarinakcrs' 1 'digres
sive l iiion of New York, many
members of which organization are
involved in the great lockout in that
city. The gentlemen of the llarugari-Licdertafel
have on oilier occa
sions shown their sympathy for Or
ganized Labor, and deserve Un
grateful acknowledgements of all
eood union men.
WIREDRAWERS SOIREE.
Our friends, the wired rawers. had
a very pleasant eveii'iig's entertain
ment at their soiree on the '.'Sth
ult. Mr. Thomas ,1. I'ogartv led
the march with Miss Katie Lagan as
u partner. There were about eighty
couples iii attendance, and thev en
joyed the dance and music till the
early morn. Thomas furnished
music, and .lack I-'o!ey did the
prompting in true professional style.
A little incident occurred at the
door during the evening which
should be mentioned, and which the
union printers w ill appreciate. The
rat X'trs had a reMrter there, hut
he was not admitted on account of
the bad company he is in. The wire
drawers are thorough union men
who hold to the principle that "An
injury to one is the concern of all."
H WIHIADi; CANS.
WARNING TO HOUSEKEEPERS
AND DEALERS.
Why Hie liroceis Should Keep (lcun
and Healthy Canned (ioods - Hon
to IMstiinruish Them A
l iiion Trade .Mark,
Hoycott Others.
The Federation of Labor of Balti
more and vicinity has published a
notice warning the people against
canned goods which are apt to he
poisonous, and recommending goods
which are healthy and clean ; the
former handled by starving children
and inadequate machinery, and the
latter by union men and women.
The use of muriatic acid and zinc
soldering, gasoline, elc, as fixtures,
in machine soldering, in addition to
the frauds practiced in packing and
labeling cans, make nittunl (jmnh un
certain and unsafe to the consumer.
The said machinery also displaces in
this city alone a largo number of
honest woikiognien, hundreds of
whom have spent the best years of
their lives al can making and cap
ping; it having, in the year 1884,
from reliable data obtained, driven '
about :!) men entirely out of work,
and reduced the wages of oyer 500
more to an average of less than ji.liO
per year; and the said machinery is
without any compensating benefit to
the consumer, but really is an injury
to the cunning business, and a fraud
and robbery of honest labor. Nearly
all the machine, cans being made .:;
so irscmftlr the hand work as to he
utterly undistinguishable when la
beled, making the procurement of a
protected mark necessary against
false representation, if for no other
reason.
This cut represents
the bottom of the
cans containing
healthy goods, and is
the registered trade
mark of the Can
Makers' Mutual Pro
tective Association.
In order that the dealers in this city
may procure t he right goods, we re
fer dealers to (he (am Makers M. 1'.
Association, L"? North Front street,
llalliniore, Md., whose secretary will
scud a list of packers using the cor
rect cans. Consumers should also
be particular to see that the packers'
name and address is on the label
don't buy anonymous goods. Berulc'.y
being unhealthy, the niachine-inad "l
cans are t he product of scab labor;j
while the hand-made cans are Ihe's
product of our brothers and sisters "4
of ilie Noble Order of Knights of
Labor. Therefore, let New Haven
put herself on record as favoring
clean, union-canned goods, while at
thi' same time they discourage the
sale of the scab-canned goods, and
incidentally continue to boycott the
Mnniiiit Xrtrs.
SET FREE.
The trial of the fifteen arrested in
Seattle for participation in the anti
Chinese agitation of last fall, came
to an end last Saturday, and the ,
prisoners were discharged. Thcnwl
was great rejoicing throughout the
west and northwest at the verdict of
the twelve men, who refused to be
used as instruments for the suppres
sion of free .speech, and in several
places there were jollification meet
ings. There was a grand meeting in the
principal theater of Seattle in the
evening after the trial was over, and
Haniel C ronin, the "chief conspira
tor," was chosen chairman, amidst
thunders of applause. Speeches A
were made by prominent citizens, J
and also by several of the "consnira f.j
tors," among whom was Mrs. Ken
worthy, who was the only woman,
indicted. There was general rejoic
ing, and the watch-word "The
Chinese Must Co!" was shouted
and re-echoed.
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