Workmen's advocate., April 04, 1886, Image 1

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

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icu tUujcn, Connecticut, jfrmdajj. JVpvtl 4. 1886.
workmen's
I -V V V IV I
v.
CONVICT LABOR.
A CURSE TO HONEST WORK
INGMEN. Convicts Should lie Mailt' II arm less.
Conincling with Thieves - .V Cap
italistic Scheme Asssisl
ing Thieves to Steal
from Workmen.
One of the problems in the labor
inoveinent is the (juestion of eonviet
labor. It is a question that comes
home to men in various callings, ami
one that Organized Labor must settle
in the interest of the people. Crim
inals, prod nets of a false social
system, should be made harmless,
instead of being pitted against hon
est toilers in disastrous competition.
Take the thief, for instance; while
he is not necessarily dangerous to
poor people, lus victims are' totiiul
among the rich. lie is captured and
imprisoned. It is argued that he
should not be kept in idleness, and
ways and means are devised to make
him "earn his living." The prison
authorities sell his labor to some
i capitalist at a price varying from a
sixth to a half the amount paid to
free men. Then, from being a men
ace to the owners of property the
thief becomes a menace to the work
ers. Willi the assistance of the
.State, he steals from them the
chance of earning living. And
what lias the State accomplished?
It has struck a blow against its very
existence. It has again shown that'
it is the tool of Capital, existing for
the benefit of Capital and to the.
detriment of Labor.
It is said that the New Haven
Folding Chair Co. utilizes convict
labor. This firm is notorious for
paying low wages to its employes.
loes society gain anything by per
mitting a skhi-llint concern to em
ploy convicts in the manufacture of
commodities? No; but the employ
ers of convict labor are actually em
powered to degrade still lower the
stai' rd of living of an already 1111
(h .d class of workmen. And
chose, poor people, should turn
,nieves and go to prison, this firm
Would actually get a benefit from
the degradation of its former em
ployes. If it becomes a question of idle
ness and destitution for honest men
and work and comfortable quarters
for thieves, or work and wages for
honest men and idleness and neglect
for thieves, why. it seems but
natural that the ( iovernmcnt should
favor good citizens. Hut such a
(juestion is not raised; Convicts
could still be made useful ami not
compote with honest labor. There
'might be great public improvements
undertaken; roads and docks could
l)e built that will never be dreamed
of under the present system; and as
some people are set upon building
fortresses along our coasts, the h.hor
of convicts could be used for this pur
pose. Such employments would not
interfere with honest labor, for it is
a question whether the public works
mentioned would ever be undertaken
at all, as long as the present system
of individual competition remains.
The arguments used by capitalists
against the selling of convict labor
by contract are not prompted by
any other feeling than that of
short-sighted selfishness. Of course,
the abolition of convict contract
labor would be but a small gain
compared with other aims of Organ
ized Labor; but as a measure for
present agitation and enactment it is
more important than appears on the
surface; for it is not only the in
dustries actually placed in eomjtoti
tion to prison labor that suffer, but
the standard of living of all workers
is more or less affected by the degra
dation of a single branch. There
fore let us carry on the agitation
against convict labor, while we do
not forget the rest of the programme.
THE LABOR LYCEUM.
A number of gentlemen have
formed a Lyceum Club, and have
decided to give New Haven the bou
elit of a first -class Labor Lyceum.
The first session will lie held at
Loom is' Temple of Music this (Suii
da) afternoon at '.' o'clock, when
Kcv. Newman Smyth will speak
upon "'An Outsider's View of Labor
Organizations." The club has is
sued a card which explains that
"the aim of the Lyceum is to bring
together the representatives of the
various interests of society in a free
and open discussion of the questions
centering about the labor problem,
trusting thereby to promote mutual
toleration and a clearer apprehen
sion of the issues and the true prin
ciples of social reform.''
THE PRINTERS' REPLY.
Space forbids the publication of
the full text of the reply of the Ty
pographical I'nion to the contemp
tible whimperings of the ( 'mirier.
It really deserved no reply. How
ever, as many friends of the union
seemed desirous of" knowing the
printers' position, a truthful state
ment was made and printed in the
Morning Xctrs last Tuesday. The
following is the .lnt and Omnia of
the compositors' letter:
For over a wee I; (lie Typographical
Union lias been attacked by the Journal
mid Com in ami an attempt lias been
made liy that paper to arouse public sen
timent in its favor. II is more than pos
sible that these tactics are resorted to id
order to attract attention to itself at the
expense of The Moeninij Arrrx, for the
( 'onrier has persistent ly refn-cd to pub
lisli the facttliatthe .Vic is a union paper
and entitled to the support of working
men and their friends.
The fact is, there has been "much ado
about nothing."
First, I'lie Courier hits not been at
tacked. Seeoml, The Typographical Union lias
not refused to accept worth) employes
of the Courier into membership.
Third, The proprietor of the Courier
lias not kept his word to the Union.
Fourth, The proprietor of lw Courier
is suffering from a had conscience.
1 fence his bite terror.
Fifth, It is our opinion that the ( 'oiirier
should be boycotted, and eventually will
lie if its proprietor does not redeem his
promises.
( 'oMvniTi.i: Tveo. Union, No. IT.
The opinion of the Committee in
regard to bovcotting the Couriers
shared by all the old straight-out
union men. There are thousands
of hearty sympathizers with the Ty
pographical Union, and if these good
folks with their families allow their
sympathy to extend so far as to re
fuse to purchase their supplies from
those who advertise in the Courier,
it will certainly have its elTcct, for
a business man advertises to get
trade, not to lose it. lie would be
a verv foolish business man who
threw his money away; hut what a
simpleton he would be to spend his
money in a manner that would tend
to destroy his business. "Ihisiness
is business," anyhow.
A FIRE-BUG BOSS.
Wallingford has a sensation in the
shape of a trial for arson, deferring
to his former employer, a witness
deposed, among other things, as fol
lows: "He afterward came down stain and
said that tie wanted to have the thing go
a.-, ipiick as it could. The glassblowers
were hounding him for their money, he
said, anil were on a strike. Some of
them were as niic-h as two mouths be
hind in their pay. lie said it was a good
time to burn the place, as it would surely
lie laid to the men. 1 told him 1 didn't
want to stay, tie said if I would stay
he would give me 100."
Perhaps South Nor walk has some
of the same breed of citizens as Wal
lingford. How well the villainous
employer calculates upon public
opinion ! "It will surely be laid to
the men," said he to this poor man
whom lie was tempting with money.
Such a boss should come under the
perpetual boycott if the law is not
sufficient to give him such punish
ment as he deserves. The striking
glassblowers are to be congratulated
upon the exposition.
FOII HHMIT HOURS.
PLAIN TALK BY AN AMERICAN
SOCIALIST.
If erbei t r.iilon, of New York. Ad
dresses a Meeting el' New Haven
Working People I'mler
the Auspice of llie
Trades Council.
There was a large gathering of
New Haven working people at the
K. of L. Hall last Sunday evening,
pursuant to an invitation issued by
the Trades Council, for agitation of
the eight hour law. 11. II. Lane
acted as chairman, and in a few
appropriate remarks introduced the
principal speaker of the evening.
Herbert Katoii, of New York. In
the course nl' his lecture, which oc
cupied about three-quarters of an
hour, Mr. Halon said:
"While it nr y seem to the super
ficial thinker that the establishment
of the Kighf-hoiir work day would
prove seriously injurious to the
working classes, it would in fact be
a first step toward harmony between
Capital and Labor. We must look
to the future and not to the immedi
ate present in considering the effect
of such a measure. We are aware
that at the present, time the average
laboring man is better versed in true
political economy than the average
capitalist ; for it is a vital question
with him. Otherwise he would re
main , forever in the degrading posi
tion of a slave. It will be unneces
sary for me to go into the well-worn
details of the labor question. We
both understand them. We dilVer
from the capitalists. That which
is, is not necessarily right. Indeed,
it is most likely wrong. We who
sillier under existing conditions, and
not those who prosper, are the ones
who feel that things are wrong. The
capitalist wi n a nourishing moil
opoly on his bands has no time to
study the rights or the needs of
others. If we were all capitalists,
should we be anxious about others?
I fear not. And if the capitalist
could put himself in our place he
would not be content. If we were
all satisfied v, would not be here to
night. Philosophers and poets have
sung of the blessings of content
ment, hut in fact a contented man
is next door to a fool. It is the dis
contented man who invents, who
projects great schemes, who thinks.
Let us thank !od that he has cre
ated some of us with minds in it
state of habitual discontent.
"The cause of our trouble to-day
is the tendency of wealth to accumu
late in the hands of a few. Now. in
all things the majority should rule.
Tin' minority must eventually give
way. As we, the majority, suffer,
so must we act. We know that, the
laborer is paid not according to his
wtnts, nor according to the real
value of his services."
The speaker then noted the de
clineof wages which follows overpro
duction and immigration crowding
skilled labor, with the help of ma
chinery, controlled by large capital
ists. "' Under the present, system,"
he. continued, " there will soon be
only two classes the rabble and the
gentlemen. We shall compose the
rabble; our capitalistic friends the
aristocracy. 1 suppose; that you all
know I am a socialist. We, social
ists, do not invite you to join us.
Put we do invite you to study our
views and our system. We know
that socialism pure and simple is
the only remedy for the evils of to
day. We do, however, ask that sill
unite in this effort to secure an
eight-hour working day. The re
duction of several hours will give
the wage-worker time to live, time
to look into things, time to read,
time for many things that make life
worth living. The eight-hour law
will not curtail the demand for any
goods. It will compel the manu
facturer to produce as much in eight
hours as he does at present in ten or
more,
einplov
I'd do t his he will need to
more help, ami to einplov
labor which can do
given time. It will
ic most in a
advance the
prices in the retail market
It will
place the worker in a position to
i arn a decent living. It will keep
the children out of the factories."
Mr. Kalon then protested against
the argument of the capitalists that
workmen would only spend their ex
tra time in the saloons; he admitted
that much money was wasted for
l-,Uor. "Put," said he, " let the
laborer see a home within his reach
and he will have no incentive to
drink." Mr. Kalon drew a vivid
picture of tenement house misery,
and its effect upon the hard working
people who were compelled to exist
in squalor and want.
Alter Mr. Katoii had spoken, the
chairman called upon Messrs. Baker,
Winston and llunie, who made short
characteristic speeches in favor of
thceight-hourday. The last speaker
cautioned the audience against too
hasty action, and recommended
thorough organization and study mi
flu1 part of the workers.
The secretary announced that a
new lyceum would be opened the
next Sunday at Loomis" Temple of
Music, and requested those whose
friends could not gain admission to
the regular K. of L. lectures to ex
tend them an invitation to attend
the Lyceum.
AT THE K. OF L. HALL.
Peprcsentajivc Krod. II. King, of
Naugatuck, is expected to address
the Knights of Labor at the K. of L.
Hall at ".' o'clock this afternoon.
BRIDGEPORT CARPENTERS.
At the last regular meeting of
Carpenter's and .louiers Union, No.
of Bridgeport, the following
resolutions were adopted, as a basis
of agreement with Contractors and
Builders for the time of one year:
iVfW i v. That if'.'. all bf tbe minimum
price per day on and after March lib.
liesolred, That ( 'ontrai'toi's are to hire
none hut union men.
Jtexolred, That on and after the lirst
day of May, nine hours shall constitute
a day's work, with eight hours on Satur
day.' liemilred. That overtime shall lie paid
for tit the rale of time and one-half.
liexolred, Thtil Union No. 11" will use
its uttinost endeavors to protect its em
ployers and so instruct its delegates to
the ( 'eiitral Labor Union.
'AKI'KYI Kits' and Join kks' Union-,
No. 1U.
K. OF L. STRIKE.
Wii.MiNoTON, li:t.., March "1,
lSSti.- The strike of the Knights of
Labor morocco workers was inaugu
rated to-day. It is almost general,
only one factory, that of Charles
Mullin, having escaped. Mr. Mul
lin is understood to have been gen
tlemanly in his dealings with the
K. of L. Committee.
LABOR'S WAR CRY.
"(Wards to the rear, scabs to the
enemy and men to the front," is the
cry that animated the railroad men
of the Southwest. These men
meant business, and a proper regard
lor their motto would soon make a
lake a
clean line of dcuiarkation between
capitalism ami honest labor.
MURDEROUS SCABS.
One of the Union wire-drawers
was called out of his house at about
half-past ten last Sunday night, and
found five scabs who demanded that
they be admitted into the union or
the Knights of Labor. The union
man told them he would have noth
ing to do with them, when one of
the nuinlKT, supposed to be the no
torious fioxon, drew a revolver and
tired three shots at the sjx'akor who
jumped aside and escaped death. In
court, on Thursday morning, Mr.
C Jiil pin, of the Wire Mill, appeared
fur his pets, and there was sufficient
influence to clear the accused gang
of murderers. When w ill workmen
understand that it costs money to
I obtain justice ?
RED LETTER.
Members of PW1 should pay par
ticular attention to the summons for
a red-letter session next Thursday,
the St h inst. Let all members he
present.
THE RAILROAD STRIKE.
As we go to press there is nothing
in the way of reliable news that
would have a bracing effect on the
workingmcn. (build expresses him
self satisfied. The capitalist press
praises Powderly ami endavors to
create a sentiment against Irons, the
M. W. of D. A. 101. Notwithstand
ing telegraphed assurances of money
from many points in Canada and the
United States, the strike has been
declared ended.
The Western railroad bosses are
jubilant: one of them in a telegram
praised the police of Kansas City,
saying. ''We get everytliiiigwea.sk
from them." While it is stated on
the one hand that the men have re
turned to work "'pending arbitra
tion," it is just as positively stated
on l Ik oilier liaml that there will
not be arbitration, but "adjust
ment" by Hoxie. While wo are de
pending upon capitalistic papers and
dispatches for information we can
not, of course, form a clear idea of
the situation. Still if there had
been a victory for Organized Labor
it is probable that reliable informa
tion to that effect would have boon
received.
BARBEROUS.
In Milwaukee the barbers, both
bosses and journeymen, agreed to
cease working on Sundays. Throe
bosses, however, took exception to
this laudable resolution, and an
uou need their intention of keeping
open house, and scraping anyone
who applied. This incensed the
great majority, and they put their
heads together to find a remedy, and
the result of their deliberations was
that they would hire a band and set
eiiade one of the threo on Sunday.
Meanwhile a committee would gat her
a crowd of hummers and vagabonds
w ho were in direst need of shampoo
and shave, and give them money to
crowd into llie Miiniay harner simp,
ami insist upon thorough work with
well-stropped razors. The expecta
tion is that the boss would change
his mind upon the subject of Sunday
shaves. If the scheme don't work
the first time it will be continued
till the desired effect is secured.
Then the other two bosses will in
turn receive the same attention, if
they do not in the mean time profit
by the experience of their fellow
kicker. The probability is that
there will be a large attendance of
curious people gilt bored around the
Sunday burlier shops to-day in Mil
waukee. OUR WORST ENEMIES.
The greatest enemies of a labor
organization are not the capitalists
or monopolists, but they are found
in the ranks of workmen themselves.
They are those who are headstrong;
who, the more mediocre they are, the
more they crowd themselves into
prominence; those who make it their
constant endeavor to cast suspicion
upon old members and officers who
have sacrificed much for the sake of
the union, and ascribe to them low
and mean motives, filling their lives
with bitterness. An organization
that is incapable of controlling such
miserable characters gives no proof
of its ability to survive, and may
easily Imj destroyed by the scandalous
proceedings of bucIi bushwhackers.
They yiay he compared with a run
ning sore upon the body of a healthy
prson; at lirst one is inclined to be
lieve that a good constitution will
enable the body to withstand the
evil influence of the boil, while very
often it is found, too late, that the
poison has already permeated the
whole system. Jiaetker Zeituiig.
LI K K SLAV BUY.
THE WORKMEN'S ADVOCATE
WAY DOWN SOUTH.
A better From an Ohl Southern Man.
Carrying Children North Fu
rents (.ricving for Their
Children Warning
the Charitable:
The story of Henry Williams pub
lished in the A pvocatk some months
ago still calls forth echoes from in
terested readers. It will he renient- ,
be red that Henry Williams, a colored
boy, was deprived of wages which h
claimed was due him from a Air.
Cooper in Westville, for ten weeks
work as a servant. How he was
brought North by people who prom
ised him an education and a trade,
and how he was exploited, was nil
told. Several letters from the home
of this boy have boon received, which
show that something is wrong, and
that the treatment of colored people
in some instances is very like slavery,
even though in a modi lied way.
We print the following from Mr. J.
W. Wiehardson, an old colored man
who knows the circumstances con
nected with the case of Henry Wil
liams when he was taken from
home.
IUi.dwin's, )
St. Mauy's l'Aiusii, La., f
March 20, ma.
To The U'orhiiirn'x Aihvcute:
Receiving a copy of the Atimute un
der date of .January !tl, 1 was surprised
on weeing a letter published about one oJ
the children that wus taken awayfron
the town of Hald win about four yeaf1
ago Henry Williams, in company wit)
live or six children, by Rev. v. I). an.
Mrs. lodman. Their names are as t'o
lows: Henry Williams and siHter, Mb
BaiiiHter, Uorean AugustH, Amelia Ha'
who died about two years ago in
North, and Tilda Michel; all lictween tl
:ig"sof ten and fourteen years. -Corel
Augusts and Tilda Michel have work
i heir way back; Mary Hamster isinli
(liana. The said parties, W. It. and M
( .'oilman, look these children from the'
parents with a promise to the parents i
send them to school in the North and v
learn that they are hound out for tl
sum of fan. The parents of those chi
dren have lieen after Mr. and Mrs. (toi
man for three years to bring their el'
dren home, and they refuse to do so
don't wonder at their refusal, lieor
they have them bound out to their
tersand mistresses again and reeeivii
compensation of those children w.
their fathers and mothers should rel
If there ever was a woman under he,
who deserved the money of her son, (.
Williams deserves Henry's money
is a hard worker and a woman thut' '
ImmIv respects. X'J
We are about tired of hiicIi friiutt
am going to publish them. Thei
using the Negro as a cats-paw, or
make money. r
There are four children on" '
boy and three girls, whom t'-,,lry'
can't get. and they are grie ember
tbrin. All taken by the said jpl( 0e,
Yours, ". j ,
it did
As will bo seen by th:
are those among the Souton re
groes who are not satisfi ,0 to re
methods adopted to "o. lw.)'y,
young colored folks of thij i,.,,.
We print this letter and c twist
tion to this state of affairtfd by
ample of the inefficiency of i3,ll:st
"charity" in private hands f to
accomplishment of a work
properly belongs to the gv!Jj ,.
As to the binding out of tin j'
it is a new phase entirely of'
of education; and the lx '
Williams, on his part h-',,
he had no schooling 'il'
the Coopers' at Westvi, !
missions among the cole'
are supported by church j-y
one in JJaldwin is an aff; '
Methodist church. Ania"d B.
ment of the children wiirtieth
parents in the manj"'jieurn to
il r. Uichardson's h?'',ir, 'pjie
reprehensible. lflnns iu
a warning 10 P"-'" minized
who donate large sums rj. ,
cation of Southern Neg
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