Workmen's advocate., April 25, 1886, Image 1

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

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A GALA LAltOll DAY
TWO MONSTER MEETINGS OF
WORKMEN.
Knisrlitsof Labor a ml Their Friend al
Carll's Opera Home -John Swin
ton Tells I s T hint; or
! Two Labor's Stead)
Advance.
Lust Sunday was truly a gala day
for Now Haven's working people,
and was marked by two large, labor
meetings in (.'aril's Opera House, at
tracted by the announcement that
John Swinton, of New York, the
eteran labor reformer, was to speak.
The Labor Lyceum at Loomis'
Temple of Music was about to open
its session, and listen to a discourse
by Labor Commissioner Arthur T.
Had ley, when a deputation from the
K. of li. meeting at Carll's invited
the Lyceum to adjourn to t hat house,
as John Swinton, who was expected
to be present in the afternoon, had
not arrived. The invitation was ac
cepted by the Lyceum Committee,
and the audience notified of the fact.
Arrived at the Opera House, a great
audience greeted the new comers.
After one or tvo selections by the
Commonweal Glee Club, the Chair
man, explaining the absence of Mr.
Swinton, introduced Mr. HadL-y,
who was well received ami listened
to with close attention. His subject
was, "Tho Stat j and the Labor
Question," and v 13 ably discu-sed
from a standpoint, more liberal, it
was thought by some, than former
speeches were, by the same speaker.
He considered employers liability
for cleanly and well-guarded shops,
the payment of wages, contracts for
work and hours of labor, all lit sub
jects for State action. lie would
not go as far as the Socialists, though
he said that '"for common good the
end can be reached only by common
action." '"What is needed is con
centration on what the State can do
rather than on what people think it
ought to do. Jn old times people
used to propitiate the gods to relieve
them of distress, but that sort of su
perstition has now been abandoned.
Vet we have not abandoned the feel
ing that some evils can in some
measure be wiped out by judicious
legislation." That it was not a
function of the State to make people
happy.
Space forbids a comprehensive
synopsis of the Commissioner's re
marks, and the criticisms that fol
lowed. Several questions by people
in the audience were propounded
and answered, after which the ehuir
man announced that short speeches
would be in order. A citizen of so
cialistic opinions, referring to Mr.
Hadley's remarks regar': ig the
proper functions of the State, said
that Socialists did not expect the
State to make everyone happy, they
aimed to bring into existence a State
that would create conditions making
it possible for citizens to attain hap
piness, which, in too many cases, was
not possible under the present State.
And as to -propitiating the gods,
why that was done to-day, only the
character of the deity was changed.
As to employers' liability, if the State
were the employer it would be re
sponsible in the highest degree.
The speaker thought Mr. Hadley
was progressing lineiy on the path to
socialism.
When the Labor Commissioner
admitted that socialism was "good
in theory" he but echoed the senti
ment of Socialists; and when the
great mass of American workmen
become thoroughly convinced that
the idea of a co-operative common
wealth was good in theory, they
would find a means to make it good
in practice.
Another sjieaker referred to the
Commissioner's report, criticizing it,
and concluded his remarks by a trib
ute to socialism. After Mr. Hadley
had briefly replied, in a witty manner
to some of the criticisms, the chair
man adjourned the meeting, and an
nounced the appearance of John
Swinton in the evening without fail.
.KHIS w i ti.
The great house was again tilled in
the evening to hear the orator from
New York, who. as he appeared upon
the stage was greeted with tremen
dous and hearty applause. After a
few appropriate remarks by the
chairman he was introduced to the
audience, which again evinced iU
pleasure by applauding. For two
hours did Mr. Swinton pour forth a
volume of earnest eloquence, wit, and
startling narrative that charmed,
comulsed with laughter, and edified
the great gathering of New Haven's
pillars of society, the K. of L., and
their friends, as well as a goodly
ni'inberof university men and nior
chants.
Mr. Swinton expressed his pleasure
at "the interest taken by the inhab
itants of this humdrum town in the
overshadowing topic of the times,
and joining hands to take part in the
supreme struggle which looks for
nothing else than fair play to all
mankind. To-night L nu t a man
of elephantine paunch and peanut
head who told me that labor had no
grievances in this university town.
What? Does not the laboring man
of New Haven know that the results j
of his labor go to make the fortunes i
of others than himself, that he is do- J
pendent for all he h i-- on the capita!- i
ist, who raises his head in iuurv i
and sweeps Ids dollars in his eoil.-rs I
all around him? Does be not know '
that factory lords, lain
coupon lords have sfi-.
lords and ;
d the prohts i
f giving the j
of the world, insteai
workman the full results of his in
dustry. Such are the grievances
the working millions all over
the world are grappling with.
I tell you, my friends, it is a most
striking and tremendous transform
ing fact that labor is everywhere or
ganizing. When I was in Ireland
several years ago I found labor or
ganized with far-reaching purposes
that showed their inJluence the l her
day in the Incase of commons when
(iiadstoiie rose to advocate home rule.
I foun
Ireland the inihieiiccof
the land league was infinitely greater
than that of the English govern
ment. Crossing to Kngland 1 found
labor organized there to such an ex
tent that I was astounded, organized
iimoiiii all crafts, all vocations, all
trades and all pursuits. 1 found
them led bv brave, great men, with
my friend 1 lyndman. a Cambridge ,
graduate, friend of IJeacoiislield and !
leader of the "mob" in 1 lyde Park the
other day. 1 found the same things
in France and in ierinany.
"So also in this country you find
labor organizing everywhere. When
1 was a boy in New York the print- j
ers were not organized. To-day '
there are -40,000 of them in the ;
unions. In New York 'u trades of .
day laborers are organized.-'
The speaker then gave a short j
sketch of the Knights of Labor, ,
speaking of them us "a government j
within a government, wheels within '
wheels, a great scries of congresses
built from the town up to the conn- j
ty, the State, the Nation, and legis-
hit ing for those trades belonging 1o j
it." Mr. Swinton described the j
union of glass-workers, which exerts
its influence all over the world and '
which holds the employer in absolute
pow(-r. Its men work eight hours a
day live days out of seven, and re- 1
i-eive the biggest pay of all the trades.
Not only that, but the union regu
lates the output of glass for the whole
planet. I'nder such a despotism one
might think the capitalist would
quake. "On the contrary." contin
ued the speaker, "they like it. Isn't
that funny? This union governs
the markets, enables the capitalist to 1
conduct his business with precision ;
and advantage. So it is with the j
steel workers of Pitsbuigh. These ;
hairy-armed, brawny workmen meet j
the capitalist every week as two em
perors who m t at 'J'iL-i! and divided ;
tli3 world between them. Andrew j
Carnegie told me that th's system '
meansfor him peace, order, satifae-1
Cjtdituied on third i i'j.: I
A liLPLY TO A FOOL.
ZENO" READS BRADSTREET
AND SMILES.
Terrific Economy T inn: lit by Kihvanl
Ukitisiin-Sahation in a 11 no
Nov Tlie " I'lconomUt"
Tills Meat -looked
lor One Cent.
While most thinking labor reform
ers have scorned the assinine pro
ductions of Capital's chief scribe, as
unworthy of notice, and which John
Swinton tossed aside so a ppropriately ,
in his I'uprr. with the slightest
''twist of the wrist" imaginable,
"Zeno," in a piayful mood expresses
himself upon the ''folly of the fool,"
in tin' Djnver ZW Enquirer, as
follows:
T!ie debilitated condition of popular
political economy and the present system,
is occasionally revealed !y the imbecile
initio i oi iiioir suppoi ters. it makes one
ill to hear a large daily designate as "a j
prominent tmnkcrainl writer, the w l iter
of an article in llradstreot's of .March !.?.
iii - name is I'd ward Atkiu-oti. of Huston.
The !e iding proposition in the article is:
"The way for tec working Classes to
improve their condition is to produce
more o;: w a-ae l."-s. When : h one has
found om this .secret for hi' 'U'tlw labor
ice.1 -tion will bv practical!, solved."
I5y working to establish eight hours,
laborers are now trying to produce less.
Perhaps this is because "over-product Am"
has been dinned into their ears so long.
They have learned that the more they
produce in ;i day the less they receive of
it us wages. Supply and IVmand, that
immutable law, is ignored by Mr. Atkin
son, a! least until he finishes ids essay;
for the more men produce, the weaker is
the demand for lhcir services, and they
sinl; info poverty.
As for waste, would it not he better if
everybody wa.sled more, so as to create
a demand '
Mr. Atkinson's aim is to show how
well single men can live on s.'OO per year
or even x ;. of course, w hen single
men are prov ided for, "I he labor question
is pracl ieally solved."
The bill of fare for theit'.'un ,asis seems
to exclude many things that require
thousands of wage earners to produce.
Suppose" all single men adopt this scheme;
those earning li(M) per year can save
ln!l. Now suppose a discharged eigar
maker. livery man or tailor (for there is
no demand for their services! conies along
and offers to do t he young single man's
work for Ainu. Then an ice cream
maker, or an actor, without a situation
appears who will do the work for if'.'uil.
This is supply and demand. 1,'ead the
following -table of the amounts paid in
the United States for various producl ions
(presumably authentic):
Liquor, .-ssiti.nnu.nonu.
Tobacco, .i;tino, nun, oiio.
liread. .'Vi'i.i.iioil.oiiu.
Meat. iSdn.'. (Kill. lino.
Iron and steel. 'JiiO,UUO,oo(i.
Woolen goods, '.':S7.ono,oiiu.
Sawed lumber. .f:!;S,ono,nun.
Cotton goods, a, nno.ouu.
Hoots and shoe-;. lw(i, 000. 1100.
Sugar and molasses. 1.V, (ion, lino.
Public education, .K.-, O00,0uo.
Missions, In line and foreign, .",. "iou.nii'i.
Total. ..'!,i;ii,a,.".uu.uoil.
Of this total production the single
young men would assist in consuming
but lie items; bread, meat, woolen
goods, lxiots and shoes and ugar, these ;
t bey w ill use in a very reduced ratio. I
They now amount to lr.it l,:i!ii.'NMI UOu j
Think how the lirst two ileum, liquoi iind !
tobacco would vjirer; $l,-l-je,,M'0,UnO ef j
trade nearly wiped out ! Everything I
else would sulTer, and millions of laixji ers
be thrown upon the market, and the !
great law of supply and demand would
suiter a severe strain. Thf? wage system i
would probably fall under the load, which I
would vindicate i!r. Atkinson were that '
bis object.
Two single men are to share a room
forsp'0 per enr. This will make a
ight activ ity in s,v. ed bmilT and land
lords. Iron and steel will I dead en
tirely, and pud hers and welders will
compete for the i.'iKl of the single young
men. Missiom w ill be useless for we
cliall soon have barbarism all around
when "the labor question is practically
settled."
1 he cost ot clothing for a single man
is placed at ?. perear. Millions of
men now pay much less than thai sum,
hence need no instruction from Mr. A.
et the labor question is not settled.
The greatest part of Hie Revolution of
labor is in the food, ami will be accom
plished as follows:
"The trimmings of the best joints of
meal are now thrown into a scrap-heap,
uiid sold in every market at from 1-1 cent
lo I cent a pound, to be rendered into
lot . I have myself purchased this good
meat, which is now wasted, at 1 cent a
pound, in parcels of ten pounds. Reject
ing the bone and leaving the slewed
meat in the broth, ten pounds remained
of very nutritious and ap'tizing food,
at a cost not exceeding I',' 'i cents, in
cluding the furl. ( was cooked in an
air tight essel surrounded by hot water.
I in he same vessel a pine box in w hich
this bouillon was prepared there were
cooked at the same t ime seven pounds of
solid href ill another vessel, and two
pints of oat meal in four pints of wafer,
making in all about twenty-live pounds
of food material thoroughly cooked with
1 cent's worth of kerosene oil burned in
a hand lamp. In a smaller vessel of the
same kind three pounds of solid meat can
be thoroughly cooked in its own juice in
one hour a id a quarter, w ith 1-1 cent's
worth of oil burned in a common lamp,
which may also serve the purpose of
lighting the room while the cooking is
going on."
This change-, the f-i'vof the Revolution.
The single young man, instead of attend
ing Si icialistic meetings. discussing st rikes
and dynamite, will remain in ins PHI
pi r year room with his partner reading
by the lamp which is cooking food fur
several days ahead, lie will dip up a
small supply from , time to time, but is
not troubled with getting meals. lie
may be puzzled at lirst in the attempt to
read by a lamp which is placed in a pine
box: or it may burn up the box-. lie
will regard these things as particularly
tough problems in the great labor ques
tion, to be left to wise political econom
ists. He will have much leisure, for it is
well know n that those w hose eating is
the least expensive do the least work.
lie will regard bis pine box us the one
thing sull'ering labor has been so long
crying for. If 'Tank Socialists continue
to bow 1 lie may take his pine box to
their meeting and thus silence all argu
ment, for it practically solves the labor
question if people will only be w ise.
Mr. Atkinson's remedy has been re
printed already more times than any
scheme ever yet proposed. If it be the
real remedy I hope if will be widely cir
culated. This is the age of wonders. A
pine box and oil lamp as forerunners of
the uiillenium need not. surprise us.
DISHONEST EMPLOYERS.
There is a concern in Centerv ille
engaged in the manufacture of sus
penders that has been systematically
robbing its employes for sonic time
past. The last instance that conies
to our knowledge is the discharge of
an employee who had secured a judg
ment in the courts against them, at
the same time deducting the amount
of the judgment from his wages due
him at, the lime of his discharge.
Firms of this kind are just subjects
for boycotting and other extreme
measures.
LYNN K. OF L. FAIR.
The great Fair of the Lynn K. of
L. will take place as per advertise
ment on the fourth page of this pa
per. The arrangements are all com
plete, and there is every prospect of
making the affair u grand success, in
which event the Kni-dits will have
a hali of their own to meet in, and j of unity, of brotherhood being crys
not be compelled to pay rent for the tahzed into an organization which
privilege. , strives to unify, to harmonize the
activities of all nations, kindred and
PROVERBS OF THE ARABS. ; t,,nf '"' l"T" ''
noblest of the noble, false and
.den are four : . (1.imn.t!lit. .titions are brought
lie who knows not. and knows not
he knows not.
II
e is a tool
shun
him.
He who knows not and knows he
knows not. lb- is simple; teach
him.
He who knows, and knows not he
knows. He is asleep ; wake him.
He who knows, and knows he
know s. He is wise ; follow him.
Ahh I'll hi: (TITENS
JAY GOULD AND HIS
TEMPORARIES.
CON-
V Corrupt Tress and Tainted Clergy
Making " Public Opinion" The
Modern Uarralias M itred
of the Nell lo Ho.
Not the Caul.
"I am yet a free American citi
zen," Yes, Jay Could, you have
that noble distinction, and so had
Benedict Arnold.
For thirty years, or more, of a
business career this (loiild has had
other remarkable distinctions. I!y a
double-dealing which would brimr
the blush of shame to the brow of
Satan himself, he has wrecked hap
py homes, made desolate t he heart h
stones of thousands, robbed youth
of its hopes and venerable age of its
solaces; but, he is "a ftee American
citizen." So is the foot-pad, the
burglar or the cut-throat, until out
raged justice s ings them into eter
nity. Muring the time that a patient
Heaven has allowed him to exist the
sum of his villiaiiiis can be likened
to the sands of the seashore ; yet he
is "a free American citizen." Si) is
the pickpocket, the sneak-thief or
the thimble-rigger.
During his infamous career, which
neither Heaven nor man. for some
inscrutable reason, has seen lit to cat
short by pestilence or the halter, the
cry of anguish has been the echo of
his foot-fall. Liken blight, or mur
rain, he has cursed the land which
gave him birth : ruin to all who
stood in his way has been his motto ;
he has won the hatred of the "well-to-do:"
and, if the curses of the
poor go for aught, hell will be his
portion. And yet he may escape,
for is he not "a free American citi
zen?" So is the I'inkerton thug
who murders for hire ; so is he who
robs youth of the lustre of innocence
the purveyor to I he lusl of the
wealthy ami the criminal lackey of
the (trlnuaili righteous.
Those who trusted him repented
in sorrow ; those who believed in
him have gone the way of the sui
cide or with reason unhinged, drisel
and slobber and chatter idiotically
within the confines of some retreat
for imbeciles. Hut why murmur?
Is he not "a free American citizen ?"
So is the brol hel-kocper.
And Ihis is the man pardon us,
you who are not yet lost to all sense
of decency, honor and righteousness
we mean, thing. Yes. Ibis is the
thing which is being lauded by a
corrupt press and tainted clergy as a
prospective martyr in the cause of
freedom.
Long years ago there lived one
with the halo of divinity enciri ling
Him, and He taught the law of hu
man sympathy and the brotherhood
of men. And so they hated Him, -the
high priests and the scribes;
they brought Him, with many false
accusations, before I he tribunal of
justice, but no guile was found in
Hun ; and when tin judge was fain
to set Him free the rilT-ralf of the
moral slums, both high and low,
cried out in the st en loi ian V oice of
"public opinion," "Away with llim,
give us liarrabas !" I'nt liarrabas
was a murderer.
Ami. in these latter davs. thespirit.
! against it. A venal and debauched
press, aided and abetted by hack
politicians and morally and mentally
emasculated clcrirvmeii. is eudcavor-
; ing to claque up a "public opinion."
i So that the cry may again go forth,
i "Awav with Him. give us Kar
! rabas !"
Hut the end is not Vet. No.
The Inn' public opinion will soon
er or later pronounce judgment ;
then will the sneak-thieves and t.h
brothel-keepers, the bunco-steerers
and a mercenary press, and, last and
vilest of all. the great ' cut-purse of
the realm," Could, receive their just
re u a I'd.
THE TRADES COUNCIL.
Cuing- to the mass meeting at
Carll's, last Sunday evening, the
regular meeting of the Trades Coun
cil was ad journed for a week. Hw.
gates will therefore take notice and
attend the adjourned meeting this
cenini5 at i o'clock.
K. OF L. MEETINGS.
Two meetings will be held under
the auspices of the Knights of La
bor to-day. At the !x. of L. Hall,
at '.' o'clock in (he afternoon, mem
bers of the Order only will be ad
dressed by Charles 1L Litchman,
one of the pioneers in Knighthood,
and an orator of remarkable power.
In the evening the same speaker
will address a mass meetitigat Carll's
Opera House, to which the public
are cordially invited.
NEW HAVEN LABOR LYCEUM.
This afternoon, at Loomis' Tem
ple of Music, Superintendent of
Public Schools S. T. Dutton will
speak upon the "Relation of Public
hduealion to Labor." (Questions
and critic-isms t-i follow the address.
HOLYOKE.
The Strike and lloyrott of Skinner,
the Skin.
The strike ordered by the Textile
Workers' Progressive Union of Hol
yoke against Win. Skinner &. Son,
silk manufacturers, is .still in pro
gress, and a boycott endorsed by the
powerful Central Labor Union of
New York, the Textile Workers'
Protective Union of America, and
the 1 lolyoke Trades Assembly is car
ried on against these scab bosses.
Their foreman, Coetz, was recently
tried for kicking a poor orphan girl,
fourteen years of age, in the abdo
men, so that she was confined to her
bed for several days. (ioetz was
placed under .'() bail, and upon the
day fised for trial the poor girl was
not able to leave her bed, necesita
ting a postponement. This suited
Coetz, who came prepared, at the
trial which subsequently took place,
with a number of scab "witnesses,"
by whose suborned testimony, and
the evident rotteness of the jury,
many of the citizens of I lolyoke
say, he was permitted hi go scot free,
orkingnion have learned a lesson
by these proceedings, which could
not but till honest people with a
contempt for the law. The judge,
it seems, admitted the right of fore
men to "use force if necessary."
1 lolyoke workmen will remember
this advice, perhaps, on a future oc
casion, when it will not sound so
well in the ears of tyrants as it did
the other day in court.
The Textile Workers' Union re
quests all fair-minded people to re
frain from buying satin sleeve
linings, mohair braids, pure silk
braids, silk serge, colored and black
machine twist, button-hole twist
and sewing silk manufactured by
Skinner it Sou, who. by their unjust
treatment, forced their help to
strike, and refused to receive any
proposals from them on the ground
that they can get all the scab labor
that they want. And, further, they
demand that all who work for them
renounce the Union. They have
blacklisted their help, thus prevent
ing them from getting work in any
other mill in the citv. a. it. .
ST. ALOYSIUS SOCIETY.
The St. Aloysius T. A. and H.
Society will celebrate itd thirtieth
anniversary at the Atlieneum to
morrow (.Monday) evening. The
''St. Aloysius" counts among its
members many friends of organized
labor, and is doing a noble work. 1
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