Newspaper Page Text
.1 WOK.KvltoM,vS ADVOCATE. fljCMW8AtV0CAT f ID OFFICIiT., JOUHNAI, (It ;HE SOCIALIST LABOR PARTY rCBl.IHHKD IVKIlT WBEK IT H ATIDNAL IXICETIVS COMMITTKE. ; Outran title '' tt Kt Fourth Stri-it, Nw Vi.rk City. . nterestiiiK''rrt"liiiiiili'iic('fit.li lH'(l fnun rro etanaim In all imrts ot tin- world. Letter- rt giilrlntf Hiifwers clioulil contrtlii return ims-i :ifi- Sl'USCRII'TlON KATKcS I One Year (postage free) Six niotitliH " PAYAKI.K IN ADVANCI.. $1 00 OTI K TO St IINCIUISI ICS. -Til" illilf after your mime upon tin- Ml.iriH-lnlul at .....,..,!., . v..nr i,.n,crU the lUla of cxpliHtloli of KUliHCrliillon- Tims iiicliltl mumis t lint your (,ul.srrlitlon :xiirf with tle cinl in -wen iHyl.-Sencl your huIihitIi'IIoii money early, him notify uk of any fuMt In delivery or error or our pnrt. SOCIALIST LA HO II ' A K T V . NATIONAL KX KITTIVR ( M9 ITTr K, H. J (i HATCH, tfcHTirtwy, i East Fuurth street, N. i. Uoauii or iiHKVAm r.h, Kiinkht V. Si iiindi.kii, beeretary, Vi Dover utm-t, Huston, Mum. Law Nkwo t'o.. I'aiitt J" rniNTnar lib East Koiiiib ft reel. New York. July 1!, 1H90. POLITICAL ACTION. Ah will In- wen by our report, in ano ther column, of the Socialist and Na tionalist Conferences lii'lil liiMt week there in a prospect of united action thin fall by nil thii progressive elements of this city. It may In- milled Unit the sen timent in thin direction iH rapidly grow ing. If the campaign can be opened as early an the middle of August and conducted with vigor from that time to election day, many who are still in doubt will Vie carried by the current. A formidable movement of labor on advanced lines is nt leant and at hint among the possibili tieB. L VICTORY. The cloakmakers have won a complete victory. The most rabid organs of capi talism are hauied of the conduct of the manufacturers in this conflict. The Times, for instance, admits that by now granting the demands of their wage slaves the employers recognize that "these demands w ere just and ought to have been granted in the first place " We trust that the cloakmakers, who can now appreciate the value of economic union in conflicts involving their daily bread, will immediately turn their atten tion to the value of political union in the greater conflict fur total eniancipa tion. UNORGANIZED LABOR. There were in this city, in 1880. 227,:i52 persons tngaged as mechanics and operatives in 11,329 manufacturing es tablishments. Of this total number 140,179 were males alove Hi years of age, 71,71)5 were females above, 15, and 9,378 were children and youths. If we suppose that the number of persons engaged in this class of occupations has increased in the same ratio as popula tion, the Census which has just been taken will show an army of wage workers in the manufacturing and mechanical employments of this city numbering over 200.000 men and 100,000 women. Nor is this all. The aggregate hum ber of persons working for wages in trade and transportation, and in personal or domestic service, is nearly equal to the number of those in manufacturing and mechanical occupations. Now if the question le linked "How l many of those 000,000 jieople are act ually organized?" it is safe to say in reply ' that 100,000 might prove a very large estimate and that 8 in 10 of thm belong to the manufacturing and mechanical group of employments. Of course, the power and influence of organized labor are considerably greater in proportion than its numerical strength, But, for this very reason, any addition to its numbers is a still greater addition to its power, and no ' effort hould be spared to extend or per il ""anizauon. The field, as we know, is so vast that it cannot be cov- red unless every man and woman who appreciate the value ot union exeri themselves constantly and vigorously in its favor among the unorganized. Yet, if a system could be devised by which , , i i such exertions woutu oe ui.iue u- ui - amount duty of every member of organ ized labor, the working class, irrespec tive of employments, would soon be united as it never was before and as it may not be for a long time otherwise. We believe that such a system can be devised. At any rate, the object in view is so important, the possible benefits are so great, the economic conditions are so pressing, that this matter deserves the most earnest consideration. In shr rue fully neglecting it the Central Labor Union under the lead of selfish, narrow minded and corrupt men, more intent upon the betterment of their own insig nificant persons than upon the care of the vast interests which they have per sistently misrepresented or betrayed committed against organized labor the greatest crime of which it could be guilty. I?ut the Central Labor Federa tion is now in existence. It is composed of progressive organizations, who with drew in disgust from C. L. U. not oniy because the latter body had fallen under the rule of political schemers, but chiefly because of its incapacity and inaction; and we may expect that at last steps will be taken to give the economic move ment of labor a greater impetus and higher efliciency. The Federation will probably find it, lulvisable. in the first ldace, to elect a committee from among its most ex perienced members, for the purpose of studying and laying out a plan of action. To Biich a committee the obvious fact will first present itself that there is hardly one block of houses, except in aristocratic quarters, where otic or more memliers of the various organizations represented in the C. L. F. may not be found to reside or to work. It is, there fore quite practicable to appoint com mittees of agitation in every election district of this city, composed of per. sons who reside or work within its boundaries, whoso duty it will be to personally visit every wage-worker in their respective districts. Should one committee fail to impress a non-union worker with the necessity and value of organization, another and still another may be sent to him until his conversion is effected. Evidently few people could resist such a pressure, and the few that would resist it would not at any rate be a desirable acquisition. The local committees could also readi ly enforce the boycotts and other meas ures of the Central Labor Federation within their respective election districts; so that in a short time the power of the Federation and of the unions affiliated with it would be felt in every part of the city. We throw out these suggestions, crude as they are but eminently practicable, we believe, if worked into a comprehensive plan of action by practical men. Thus stated, the problem is reduced to the performance of his plainest and most imperative duty by every member of Organized Laltor a duty that none should be allowed to shirk or neglect at the present time. has proved correct. There are, it is true, some manufacturers who deplore the ten hour law, not because it has in flicted upon them any loss whatever, but liecause it has conferred a benefit upon their operatives and tends to make "their hands" dissatisfied and anxious for a further reduction of the hours of lalx.r. As a rule, however, it is recog- his individual importance and lower his social standing. The point must come, however, where a further increase of the distance between the two extreme clus ses w ill bring about a disruption, and, where the banking plutocrat, unless he succeeds in reestablishing slavery in its most complete form, will entirely disap pear; while the state a regenerated nizi'd that while the operatives get the I state, representing the free will of a same pay now for ten hours as they previously got for eleven hours' labor, their greater efliciency and "faithful ness" make up in the amount of work turned out for the reduction in time. The sjieed of machinery has been in creased, and in a number of instances machines of an improved kind have been added to or substituted for the old ones. Two conclusions may be drawn from these facts: 1. That the shorten ing of the hours of lalor doe not neces sarily Involve a decrease of production, or a reduction of wages, or a loss of profits; 2 that while it benefits the laborer to the extent of the time gained, it does not necessarily, in the end, en large the field of employment, but leaves unsettled the problem of enforced idle ness. Of course, were it only for the moral advantages which must result from a shortening of the work day, we would stand in the front rank of its advocates, hut it is well to liear in mind that the solution of the labor problem will have to be effected by means far more scientific and radical. co-operative commonwealth will take his place for the benefit of all. And thus we see how the plutocrat, with his trusts, combinations and econo mies, is surely preparing the advent of Socialism. It might be done less rudely, less heartlessly, and without imposing so much suffering upon successive gen erations of wage-workers; and the wage workers themselves might, by stronger combination on their side, compel a higher regard for the rights of human ity; but it is done nevertheless, and nothing can prevent the natural outcome of a natural movement. SHORTER HOURS. Previous to the passage of a ten-hour law by the Legislature of New Hamp shire in 1887, the mills of that State were generally running eleven hours per day. The same contradictory arguments were then advanced against a ten-hour work day as are now used in opposition to its further shortening. Some said that the cost of production would le in creased and others contended that the earnings of the operatives would lie de creased; while others still, blind to the fact that either of the two predictions excluded the other, made them both in the same breath. From a v ent inves tigation conducted by BrtuhtrveCt h ap pears, how thj . neither foreboding TWO HUNDRED MILLIONS. We have the authority of Auditor McNair, of the Inter-State Commerce Railway Association, for the extraordi nary but well supported statement, that the railroads of this country, through mismanagement and useless competi tion, are annually wasting a stun of 1200,000,000. Under this competitive system, he says, the train service is conducted with a reckless extravagance, the equipments are superabundant, and as the cost of operating the roads must be considered in establishing the rates' of transportation, the public in the end bear the burden of the waste and rightly complain of high charges. In other words he proves that competition, to which is credited every reduction made in the rates, is actually preventing reduction to the full extent that im provement in machinery and judicious management would otherwise render possible. He argues, furthermore, that by combination ttie roads could entirely do away with such expenses as outside agencies and miscellaneous advertising. It costs the prominent roads in the West over five million dollars yearly for these purposes only. In the way of cotumis-1 sinus, especially, millions of dollars are annually thrown away to useless agents, w ho have no cause of existence as such but the sharp competition between rail roads for passengers and freight. Close upon this statement comes the news of a movement among the bankers and capitalists who control some of the leading Western roads, not only for combination, but for a curtailment of the powers heretofore exercised by the presidents and other railway officials. Their object is evidently to reduce not the rates but the expenditures, and to pocket the savings which Mr. McNair has plainly shown to be practicable. Thus U another step taken and a most importart one it is in the development of capitalism and, therefore, towards the cataclysm out of which will emerge the socialist state. We have repeatedly observed in these columns that the tendency of combina tion and trustification was to place the banker at the head of industry. The manufacturer, the professional man, who heretofore had full control and di rection, will occupy under this new and transitory order a subordinate position, nearer to that of the wage-worker, whose situation w ill remain practically unchanged, except in so far as the con stantly increasing distance between him and the plutocrat may further lessen BAMBOOZLING THE FARMERS. The western farmers asked for silver and a silver bill has been passed by Con gress. But when the Mmmeial Citron- iclf observes that the bill in question "is a far better one than ire (bankers of the East) anticipated," we may safely say that it will not answer the anticipation of the farmers. It provides for the purchase and coinage of 4,500,000 ounces of silver per month, but we fail to see how the coin will get into the farmers' hands, or for that matter get into circu lation at all, unless r.iother bill be passed authorizing the government to loan out on bond and mortgage, or on farm products, or in some other way, the increased volume of currency. This increase, even then, would not lie more than 11,400.000 per month as compared with the monthly increase of lat year, which was disposed of by increasing the expenditures of government, chiefly for pensions and premiums paid to bond holders. Again, the silver to be coined is made a legal tender for all debts "un less otherwise stipulated by contract." This means that the capitalists who may lend silver to the farmers will stipulate that the loan shall be refunded in gold. The bill, as finally amended and passed by both houses of Congress, is essen tially the work of that great financial bamboozler, John Sherman. Its only purpose is to befool the farmers into be lieving that their complaints as to the scarcity of cash in the rural districts have been listened to and their wishes complied with. Of course the Hcmo-j eratic politicians, who have not a ma jority of Congress and therefore are not now responsible for legisl.it ion, falsely claim that they would have been "still more liberal;" but the fact is that the Democratic plutocrat and money lend ers are well pleased with the bill and would siot have permitted their politi cal servants, if they were In power, to enact one nuire favorable to the agri cultural interest, hoth parties are ac tually congratulating themselves and each other, through their capitalistic organs, that a cheap means ha been found to keep the farmers from going to arty extent into an independent po litical movement this fall. On the other hand, however, the orgaus of the farmers repudiate the at tempted deception with characteristic vigor and truly Western eloquence. Says the Farmers' Voice, for instance: HOW IT WORKS. I See capitalism at work on the Harlem River. Vanderbilt on one side opposes the improvement of that waterway, It would compel him to remove his low bridge and build a tunnel. In obedience to the wishes of this railroad magnate the United States Senate has discon tinued the appropriations annually granted for the work in question. Now come the great property owners on both sides of the Harlem Uiver begging the Senate to restore the appropriation; not because of the public advantage of the improvement, but merely liecause it will give their property immense value. Among the beggars is Mr. Astor, whose lands along the river will be benefited to such an extent that he might be taxed for the whole cost of the work and still make a large profit. What will the Senate do? It is plain enough that the only equitable way of settling the difli culty between Astor and Vanderbilt on the one hand, and lietween those two great men and the people of the United States on the other hand, would be to knock down Vanderbilt's bridge and expropriate Astor. But what is so plain is precisely what the Senate won't see. and beauty. I met them at public meet ings, at social gatherings in official life, and never have I seen more delightful people. And these women all vote, go ing with husband, son or brother to the polls at every election, thinking It as natural and proper a duty as to go to the market or to a lecture. No one there ever says "You would not go to the polls, would you ?" for the best women all go to the polls. No one there ever says, "No lady would vote," for those who best deserve the title of lady are those most interest ed in political questions and most intelli gent in voting. Nor need any man be alarmed lest household duties should be neglected. Babies are taken care of and buttons are sewed on just as faithfully as where women do not cast their ballots. And one other most significant fact. In the State of Wyoming alone of all the St'ites in the Union women are eligible to all offices and there are laws in the statute books which secure equal pay to men and women for equal work. Could there be a more absolute proof of the fact that only equality of political rights will secure to women equality of industrial rights? Lilue Uevekeux Blake. COMMUNICATIONS. Republican hud Memory. The idea of the Socialists and Nation alists going into the campaign has cre ated a good deal of comment. But while the Democrats know what that means and are now talking of uniting their various factions in order to make head against the oncoming powerful labor movement this fall, the Republicans affect to be merry and prophesy for the labor ticket a vote smaller than that of the Prohibitionists. The Republican memory seems to be very short. Four years ago they giggled in the same way; they kept on giggling through the whole campaign; and they kept up blowing and promising a great success for their ticket. Nevertheless, the sickest men after election day were juBt these lighthearted Republicans. Nobody, it is true, outside of the La bor party felt happy. The victorious Democrats themselves felt more like trembling when they saw that big labor vUte of 08,110. But the hilarious Repub licans were especially down in the mouth They had come out at the bot tom of the polls. The labor vote licked them. The same disappointment is this year in store for our Republican friends. The soaking they get in 1886 they will get again in 1890. Labor will be united at the polls. It is now better disciplined than before; and it is organised on a higher plane. Whatever there may be in the future for the Republicans, vic tory is not on the list. Nationalist. In Aid of Hie Russian Exiles. Editor Workmen's Advocate: Will you kindly give space to the following: In reply to the cablegram of P. Larutl of Paris, the "Russian American Na tional League'' have sent to day 2o.l francs, and are continuing to circulate their subscription lists for the benefit of the six imprisoned political exiles. The ready response ot the Kussians of New York and of other sympathizers bespeak the success of the effort to rescue the exiles from the impending danger of sycophantic diplomatic con trivances. Further contributions thanfully ac knowledged. Respectfully, A. Nicholski, Fin. Sec'y, It A. H'. L. New York, July 11. If there is one thing drearily nauseous alsive all others in the present political situation, it is to see the greedy haute of the machine politicians of both old par ties to get front seata on the band wagon of the great farmer movement. Their first and last shout is. "Now dearly beloved 'Hayseedcrs', whatever you do, don't think of starting an Inde pendent Party, when we, your long-lost brothers, with strawberry marks on our left arms, are just fairly dying to serve you within the ranks of the two old parties without your putting up a cent for election expenses. "Don't be bashful in making your wants known, the Earth Is youre already, and all tou have to do is to say the word and we will step up aud get the Moon for you. Woman Suffrage. The Fourth of July was celebrated tlii-s year with wilder enthusiasm in Wyoming than in any other portion of I the country. In Wyoming the Mate; no longer Wyoming Territory, for the bill admitting this new Star to our g daxy has passed both houses of Con e,ress and its admission to the Union of Slates is therefore assured. This joyful news was known in all the wide area of Wyoming before the anni versary of Independence and it was celebrated with heartiest fervor. There all the people are indeed free, and women and men together united in enthusiasm over the event which gives them the right to vote for the next President of the United States. For twenty years the women of Wyom ing have enjoyed political equality with men, and that broad State is the only real republic on the face of the earth. Lying high on the great plateau that is crowned by the Rocky Mountains it looks on the east towards the Atlantic, on the west towards the Pacific, and calls to the sister States to rise to the heights of freedom that it enjoys. Nor need any one eay, Oh! well, they can try the experiment of woman suf frage there, among the miners and the cow-boys, what does it matter? Stop friend, you would not say this had you ever been in Wyoming. I have journeyed across its beautiful plains and I know that the people there are a intelligent, as well educated, as refined as any of the people of the East. Cheyenne is a town of twenty-live thousand inhabitants; the houses are all comfortable, many of them elegant, the women bright, alert and charming, well dressed, possessing tvery feminine grace The Prolit-Shuring Fraud. Editor Workmen's Advocate:! en close clipping from to-day's World, which states that President Fish of the Illinois Central Railroad has sent to all the employes of that Railroad a circu lar urging them to invest their savings in the stock of the corporation by pur chasing shares, the value of such shares to be retained from their wages in monthly installments. It is a fact easy of comprehension to every intelligent wage-worker that such a proposition, coming as it does from the highest official of a powerful corpo ration' is intended simply as a bait to the hook with which its employes are to be caught. So that, while being at tracted by the alluring prospect of be coming partners and stock-holders though stili remaining wage slaves of the rcilroad system which employs them, they may swallow the bait with out discovering the hook which it so artfully endeavors to conceal, until the object of the corporation, through its Fish erman President has been accom plished; and that is the more complete subjection now, and absolute wage slavery in the future, of all employe who allow themselves to be deluded by such a cheap and transparent scheme. That such a project, if successfully carried out, must and will vastly in crease the profits of the corporation proposing it, there can be no doubt. In the first place it would eliminate the element of loss occasioned by frequent interruptions to and ofttn the total stoppage of, traffic, caused by strikes in the past. No wage-worker will be in clined to inaugurate or uphold a strike againBt himself through the corporation of which he is a partner, as by so doing1 he would place himself in the position of a man who "cuts off his own noBe to spite his face." Again, it would also benefit the corporation by a great saving in material used in construction, and by a reduction in operating ex penses, as it will be possible for it to re ceive an increase in the amount of labor performed by its employes in the same time as oefore without being obliged to grant a corresponding increase in the amount of wages paid them. That the above proposition will in any degree, however slight, benefit the wage-slaves of the corporation, the most skillful reasoning fails to demonstrate. But it will result in depriving them of independent action as wage-workers, and, therefore, of the only weapons which they possess (political and eco nomical organization), and which can be utilized with any prospect of success in the warfare now continually waged be tween Labor and Capital. A W' AGE-WORKER. Brooklyn, E. D., July 4. The receipt of a sample copy of thia paper is an invitation to subscribe. A-