Workmen's advocate., February 14, 1886, Image 1

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

Image provided by: Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT

                
ADVOCATE,
cvlcs 2, Ua. 20
icw IUuku, (fonacctlcut, jjunclay. i?cbvuavy 14, I88ix
gvke 3 (font
a .niHTV mm.
THE BOYCOTT AND PERSON
AL LIBERTY.
Afraid of Itcinvr Let Alone -HounreoiH
Kill' Kail'-lVrsomil Libert).
"She Must Kuost Lower."
Don't Monkey With
The Uoycott.
Certain persons of delicately bal
anced minds, indeed bo nicely bal
iineed that a feather's weight will
disturb their equilibrium, have of
late been greatly agitated, for fear
that the boycott might endanger the
happy-go-lucky and sheol-takc-the-hindmost
reign of personal liberty.
Wo have observed that, as a rule,
people who were by nature and edu
cation most unfitted to deal with any
given order of facts, were usually the
most diligent in mouthing about it.
This is made painfully evident by
the lamentably puerile efforts of a
particular lecturer on ''Social Sci
ence," and who, just at present, has
the ear of that riif-ralT of Cod's crea
tures, the "bourgeoisie." Such
people are continually prating about
law. Yet, owing to native limita
tions and improper mental training,
have no adequato conception of the
term.
But to return to the matter of the
boycott and its unwholesome effects
on personal liberty. AVe would say
in the first place, that the boycott is
the moral weapon of the many, weak
individually, but strong collectively,
against the brutal tyranny of the
powerful few. If, as a result of this
moral warfare, the personal liberty
of the plutocracy and their lick-spittle
advocates is abridged, and in con
sequence the life of the great mass of
humanity is expanded, what son of
Belial will dare stand up and say:
"this is an evil thing?"
And what, forsooth, is personal
liberty that we should be so careful
of her welfare?
Our anarchist friends assert, that
"liberty is the mother of order. " In
that case we must look for order in
the society which existed (?) when
each and every man was a "law unto
himself, and consequently, a cut
throat, whenever exigencies arose
which threatened his supremacy as
the main factor in the universe.
Heaven help this imbecile philoso
phy. Persons addicted to this intemper
ate, and therefore silly view of things,
whether they be late arrivals from
liberty-crowned Russia, or have for
Rome time nast enmured the ample-
ness, figuratively speaking, of the
chair ot social science m any oi tne
learned institutions known as uni
versities, should be a little more
modest in their assertion, for it is
kirelv nossible that, after all. they
may not be quite right; that is, they
haven t "got down to naru-pan.
It seems to us, that some one may
pertinently object, that we are wan
dering from the subject, namely:
the boycott and its relation to per
sonal liberty. It was stated that
some persons objected to the boycott,
as at present in vogue, because it re
stricted personal liberty.
To do as you please within certain
badly defined limits, is what these
persons joy in.
Exactly.
They are perfectly willing to sup
port a 'boycott so conducted that no
one's feelings will be the least bit
ruffled, for of course, in that case
the personal liberty of some one
would be invaded, even though it
mitrht result in that the cry of the
hungry would be stilled and the bur
dens of the sorely oppresed be light
ened; but surely this is of little mo
ment, when compared to the direful
calamity of some one's feelings being
hurt of infringing on personal lib
erty. Xo, say these lovers of science (?)
and liberty, it is true there is great
suffering owing to the unequal dis
tribution of the "good gifta of God"
made manifest by man's handiwork.
Yes, it is true that the innocent lit
tle ones of the wretchedly poor are
crvmsr lor a morsel oi nreau u is
true that most of the want, the crime
and the woe, might be annihilated by
a proper application of the boycott :
but then, you see, personal liberty
would suffer, and that, you know,
would be more dreadful than the
moan of the hungry and the cry of
the distressed.
Certainly, it is a naughty thing,
this boycott.
"No thief e' re fell the halter draw,
With good opinion of the law."
Personal liberty, indeed !
No, good friends, it pains us to
inform you, one and all, from the
greasy mechanic down to the profes
sor, that the days of the personal
liberty racket as opposed to the
general weal are numbered.
The boycott must and will go on !
And personal liberty, the shib
boleth of horse thieves and bawds,
money-changers and depraved
writers, must come down; in other
words, she must "roost lower." The
material, the intellectual and,
greater than-all, the moral health of
the great human family demand it.
Let our Pecksniflian friends, men
tioned at the outset, subside grace
fully; otherwise they will get hurt.
Be warned -in time, good gentle
men; do not monkey with the boy
cott. Remember Lot's' wife; how
sad her fate!
Be admonished, therefore, and
boycott, if need be, personal liberty.
Remember the Morning Xetc the
pitiable spectacle.
BIRMINGHAM.
Nothing of a positively important
character has occurred in relation
to the strike of the Silvenvorkers.
It is reported that the boycotted
goods are being returned and the
company is nearing its end, as an
important factor in the manufac
turing interests of the town.
One of the scabs of the Silver
Company, named Kilbur, is ex
pected to go to work at the cutlery
shop as time keeper, and the prob
ability is that his presence will be
the signal for a strike among the
union men there, as they are not
in a humor to work with scabs.
The stock clerk and boss burnisher
have left the Derby Silver Co. in
disgust.
CO-OPERATIVE FAIR.
All assemblies and co-operative as
associations are hereby notified that
a fair is to be given by Fannie Allyn
Assembly,4457, K. of L., commenc
ing March ',,d, and ending .March
27, 1880. All co-operative concerns
and assemblies that desire to have
their goods and articles represented
in this fair will please correspond
with the secretary of the fair com
mittee. For further particulars ad
dress, (ii:oniii: C. Ki'kciii.kh,
Secretary Co-op. fair ( onimittcc,
495 Walnut St., Cincinnati, O.
ENGLISH SOCIALISTS AND THE
IRISH.
The Social-Democrats of England
have always been the friends of the
Irish in their struggle for political
freedom, and they have again em
phasized their views upon the Irish
question, as will be seen by the fol
lowing communication:
THE SoCiAI,-DK.MO'KATIC I'KDKKATION, j
Palace Chiiin'x'rs, '
9 Bridge Street, Westminster. S
London, Jan. '.,", lsS.
To the Workmen' Adroeate:
At the meeting of the General Council
of the Social-Democratic Federation,
held on Thursday, January 21st, the fol
lowing resolution was unanimously
passed:
"That this meeting of the General
Council of the Social-Democratic Feder
ation again declares in favor of full leg
islative independence for Ireland, protests
strongly against the renewal of the
Crimes' Act or the suppression of the
National League, ami calls upon all So
cialists and genuine Radicals throughout
the kingdom, to join the Soeial-1 temo
cratic Federation in a vigorous agitation
for the maintenance of freedom.
H. W. Lee, Secretary. ,
OXLY OXi; DOLLAR
FROM NEW YORK TO SAN
FRANCISCO.
Hill It. SmiUnvnrtii On the Kail
road TralMc -Hogs ami Humans.
How Corporation I'oh
the l'eople (iovern
in e nt Control.
Live hogs, before fattening, aro
shipped in lots of from 10(1 to 1110
head per car, and after fattening in
lots of CO to 100 to the car, accord
ing to weight and condition.
If a car load of U10 hogs were
shipped across the Continent, they
would not charge more than $!(()
for the (tar, whtch would amount to
about 4.C:i for each hog. The
companies are charging from 15()
to !()() per car for transcontinental
freight. It costs them no more to
' a carload of hogs than it does to
move a carload of any other kind of
freight. If Lit) hogs were taken for
1.")0, it would cost for each hog
only n1.1i; for the trip. If 1()0 hogs
only are shipped in each car, it
would cost for each hog only $1.50,
and if (iO hogs are shipped to the
car, each hog would cost but ".50.
Hogs have to be loaded and un
loaded ouee every thirty-six hours
or oftener, and cost more to move
than passengers, who load and un
load themselves.
Counting the cost of a passenger
coach at $2,500, and interest on one
of the sixty scats in a coach, for one
day, would amount to about two
thirds of a cent.""
Counting the cost of the coach at
5,000, the interest at fi per cent.,
for one seat, for one day, would
amount to one and one-third cents ;
at a cost of $10,000, the interest
would be two and two-thirds cents:
at $'.!0,000, the interest would be for
one seat, one day, live find one-third
cents, and for seven days, or the
trip across the Continent, thirty
seven and one-third cents. It would
cost as much or more than that to
handle each hog on a seven day trip.
This shows that the passenger can
can be carried in a palace coach for
what it costs to haul and handle
each hog. The hog is only charged
1.1 G for crossing this great Amcr
American Continent, while the pas
senger is charged I 5 1 . 50. From
this it would seem that tint hog i,s a
favored and superior being, and
really controls this country; but
the politicians tell us that t lie pas
sengers can vote and control this
country, and that the hog is only an
animal, and, having no vote, has
no voice in the matter.
How long are the passengers going
to puv LiO times the price of a hou's
passage when they know that two
passengers can be hauled for what it
costs to nam ana iiaiuiie one nog.
If the hogs did the voting in Amer
ica, we would not be surprised at
their taking advantage of their
numerical power; but w hy humans
should continue to pay !0O prices,
and let hogs go for so little, is more
than a stranger can understand.
Counting the cost of moving
trains across the Continent at 1
cents per mile on miles of
Western road, and at six cents per
mile for 1,000 miles of Eastern road,
and :,'0 cars to the train each car,
then, costs to move across the Con
tinent, only '21. Yet the corpora
tions make shippers pay from $150
to &Coo per car for freight, and
make passengers pay $151.5o per
seat, or $9,0!.in per car. Counting
trains of !0 cars, at to cost
$4.'0, and to receive $150 for each
car for freight: the receipts would
amount to S,ooo und the profits to
$".',5So. Counting passenger trains
of 'JO cars, ut $J1 each, to cost $4!0,
and to receive $9.0!'O for each car.
! or 181,800 for each train, or on an
investment of i'.VH); and yet a few
people, claiming to be intelligent,
are still willing to continue to per
mit these corporations to own, con
trol and operate American highways,
when, by their ballots, they can
cause the National ( ioverninent to
own and operate them for the bene
fit of all when all these immense
prolits would go to the people, in
stead of all going to increase the
fortunes of a few millionaires.
When all Western roads are made
as good as Eastern roads, it will cost,
only 180 to nunc a train of twenty
ears across the Continent, or only $!
per car.
When the United States (iovern
inent owns all the railways one will
be made just as good as another.
There is iio earthly reason why the
the roads west of the Misissippi can
not he operated as economically as
those east, and if the present own
ers can not. do it then it is about;
time for them to sell out to those
who can. It is about r',S50 miles
from San Francisco to New York,
and at ti.(r. per 100 miles it would
cost about fcl?l."? to move a train
from San Francisco to New York.
Say it is 15, 000 miles and costs six
cents per mile then it would cost
lst. A coach will scat CO passen
gers," and three such coaches will
carry 180 people, and if each one
pays 1.00 it will pay the expense of
moving the train ;),000 miles. Then
each additional passenger, or dollar
received, will ho a clear profit on
the investment. If t'he people can
travel at cost, at any time in the
future, on, railways, 'the- churches
can hold conferences and quarterly
and other meetings, and tint benev
olent societies can hold encamp
ments where hundreds of thousands
of people can attend, with very little
expense to individuals. The rail
way corporations charge 151.50 for
a ticket across, the Continent at the
present time, and so many people
travel at thoso enormously profitable
rates that railroad owners rapidly
accumulate princely fortunes, while
millions of their fellow citizens suffer
and starve; yet this is a free country
and the working people are in the
majority and can control America
whenever they will unite and vote
for their own interest, and change
the laws so that they will work more
to the interests of the workers and
less for the monopolists.
CAUGHT AGAIN.
Ni:w York, Feb. !). William A.
Shepard, of skin game Bureau fame,
who was so successfully exposed
through the columns of the Work
man's AtivocAii: last summer and
consequently had to leave New
Haven, and who came to New York
and opened ollicen at ?!: Broadway
and in Fulton street, Brooklyn, was
to-day held for examination at the
Tombs, charged with swindling ap
plicants for situations by obtaining a
fee from each. He will will he dis
posed of to-morrow,
MUST SETTLE.
The executive board of District IT,
K. L., is understood to have given
Charles Harrington & Co., tanners
and curriitrs of Salem and I'eabody,
until to-morrow to come to terms.
The strike in this place has been
going on VI months. The tirm is
paying K. of L. prices but will not
discharge their scabs.
RESPECTFULLY PETITION.
Follow ing is the text of a petition in
troduced in the Hartford Common Coun
cil, last Monday evening :
To the II iiioralJe Court of Common
( 'oiincil of the ( 'ity of Hartford :
The Amalgamated Trades and Lalwir
Union, representing several thousand
working peoiile citizens and ta payers,
through its legislative committee, re
sjei tfully putitioii your honorable ImmIv
to adopt such measure !ts will make
eight hours a full and lawful day's work
for all jiersoi employed Iry the city on
puhlic w ork.
In the opinion of oceol the Imnoraliles
then: was a statute law making eight
hours a legal i',ays LiImm-, in which case
an ordinance would stand. On this
motion the petition was referred to the
ordinance coumittee with the instruc
tions to report at the next meeting of
the council.
ATTENTION, KNIGHTS.
Light Hour Agitation -I'dwunl King
Will Come.
Word has been received from Ed
ward King, of New York, assuring
the Knights of this city that he wiil
be here this (Sunday) afternoon.
Let every member of the Order
make it his duty to attend and hear
the eight-hour question discussed.
The Boycott will also come in for a
share of discussion, and the partic
ular boycott against one of our local
rat sheets will bo gently touclicd
upon. Besides Mr. King there will
be speakers for the various local as
semblies who will make short
speeches. Come on time, ? o'clock.
THE GREAT BALL.
It is now decided that the great
Knights of Labor Ball will take
place at the New Union Armory, on
Meadow street, on Monday evening,
March 8th. All New Haven will be
there no doubt, and arrangements
are being made on a large scale to
make this the greatest affair of the
kind ever held in this city. Further
particulars, as time progresses, will
be published in the Alivoc.vi'ic.
NEW YORK CITY.
The (ireut Clgiu'makers' Lockout
Tract ieally Ended.
The great majority of Union Ci
garmakers in New York are happy
over the final settlement of the
lockout by an arrangement that, in
stead of suffering a reduction, will
secure them an average advance up
on the prices paid before January
1st. Though in three shops the
plan of equalization has reduced the
price a trille, the employes in eleven
shops will work at an increase; thus
making an average increase, and
what is of more importance, estab
lishing tin equalization of wages
which has long been desired by old
union men.
The apparently unfortunate, yet
perhaps unavoidable existence of two
national unions in the cigarmaking
trade, has so far precluded an unan
imous acceptance of the arrange
ments made by the Central Labor
Union Committee. However, the
equalization plan was put to a gen
eral vote in true democratic style,
and the majority supported the com
mittee's plan. It is expected that
the details will be settled within a
few days, and thus will end the great
lockout as far as the Cigarmakers'
Progressive Union is concerned.
FOR THE CIGARMAKERS.
The Executive Hoard of the Socialistic
Lai Mir Tarty issued an appeal mid Hiih
scription lists to its members and friends
in U'half of the CigannakerN'TrogresHive
Union of New York, and New Haven
friends have responded. The, following
are the list members, names of the col
lectors and the amounts:
190, R. Kleinkauf, :j.r: HI!, N. HaU-r-siing,'
f 1.IHI; IVii, John Wmitei-H, $1.50;
7'J, Jos. Herrmann, He; 170, .1. Itollcu
sanger, $-J.7."; 191, Kuiil (roris ,$'2.50; MO,
Moulders at SargentV, $!).()0; 95, Mrs.
Knapp; 7.70: 1M, John Me-cr, :U5;
S, Sonneburg, :2.u5; !Mi, i. senthal,
100; 15N, O. Herthel, -fU5; KW,H. Teter
scn, f.'.OO; 91, Ch. Herpich, :l.00; KM),
Sandowski, 1.00; ',), West Haven
Piano Shop $13.40; lH-, M. Tfeiirer,
$1.45; 9'.l, C. Reinhold, $1.5(1; Total
$t;i."5.
The local Union of Progressive Cigar
makers has received the following
amounts upon numlicred lists issued by
it.
List 1, A. Lai ne, $1.55; 51, I. Luine,
$li.N0; a, ('. Model, 75c; 1(1, II. Moses,
5oc; 31, Carriage Makers, $tt.5; 42,
Wood Carvers, $1.50; 5. 1. Zimmerman,
$ 95; 1M. Weber, 50c.; 19, F. lteM,
$3.55; 51, '. Kruse, 75c; 52, Moulders
at S-trgents. ifn.W; 5(, S. Helhnger,
$5.5 ; 59, F. Krahl, $4.95.
Other reports arrived too late for
publication this week.
TRUE DEMOCRACY.
WHAT IS THE IMPERATIVE
MANDATE?
(JiiiirniitiM'iiiir lo Ihe People Their
Right lo (Jovern Themselves.
The Editor of the Denver
Labor Enquirer on
The Subject.
What is the imperative mandate ?"
It is simply this: That the repre
sentative ollicers or servants of the
people should serve so long as they (
conformed to their- instructions, and '
no longer; that such instructions
should be imperative, and the repre
sentatives or agents should be re-
called by the votes of those whom
they were chosen to servo if they de
viated from the path of duty, and
others chosen to till the vacancies;
that those recalled should be imme
diately tried and punished with the
Utmost rigor if found guilty.
Under the present system a rep
resentative in national, Htato and '
municipal legislatures may violate
(tut I, muli. ....i.i.mwl l.it.il.trl.ici nnii .
IHU tl llillO IVpOOLU. Ill 111111 HID Wll- (. .
stituency whenever opportunity is
oilers, and, unless his conduct be so 1
irhmiur nml iliulwimiuf net in Kneiirn
impeachment ho remains in office to
the conclusion of a stipulated term.
For instance, the senators from Col
orado might oppose the silver inter
ests of this State they might hon
estly differ in opinion with their
Constituency, or they might sell out
to the Wall street gang u'u tm r
i., . i.i i., !
poopiu oum ui! iieipieoa uuun it
term of six years. And besides their
helplessness, the government would
have to pay the traitors 148,000 in
salary.
There is not a community ten
years old in the country which has
escaped suffering through this idiot
ic system. It is idiotic; so much ho
that no business man would conduct
his affairs upon such a plan. If a
merchant or manufacturer employs
a man to do a certain thing for him
to look out for his interests and the
employe fails to follow Instructions,
or carry out what he knows to ho
the will of his employer, he is dis-
charged forthwith. If this is a good
rule in individual cases, why is it hot'
a good rule to apply where the inter- jl
ests of thousands aye, millions t.l
!ire ;i t wtiiVe ?
If there are any who will bring the "
objection that the Socialistic plu
the imperative mandate is "im ior,
. . . . 1 .. . - , .luii r.F .
iicaoie, I am prepared to snow
they do not know what th( (;t 111
fail king about. 0''. 01
relieve
TAFTVILLE. .. QUt
The I'onomah Cotton Co. has an
nounced an increase of ten per cent,
in the wages of its 1,500 employes,
to take effect March 1, ond at the
same time also a reduction of the v
hours of labor from Go' to tid V'l" I
wwk- ; irt -
PROVIDENCE, R. I.
Sixty girls went on strike in tin ji
ri ii Irnel- niillo li.w.1 nun th.i n;iiiinini7 i- 1
refused to pay one of their number"8 1
for a piece of cloth woven by her, ' )
alleged to be imperfect by the bos.s it
t j. : . 1 i l" . i . i -
out which ine weavers ueciueu was
.ill riirht
b l
NEW BEDFORD WEAVERS-
Although the weavers in Xew Bed
ford, are very much dissatisfied with
the 10 per cent, advance offered r
thtre seems to be little doubt that a j
strike will be averted. A disagree
ment of the Accushnet mill is in
process of being adjusted.
I .