Newspapers / The Harbinger (Raleigh, N.C.) / April 30, 1904, edition 1 / Page 1
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HARBINGER ORGANIZATION. EDUCATION. ELEVATION. 7 Vol. III. Raleigh, North Carolina, April 30. 1904. No. 17 V 1 J. VI Vl f "ONLY A WORKING GIRL-" 1 know I am "only a working girl," Yet I'm not ashamed to say I belong to the ranks of those who toil For a living day by day. With willing feet I piess along In the path it is mine to tread, Glad that I have the strength and skill ' To earn my daily bread. I belong to the "lower classes," That's a phrase we often'meet; There are some who sneer at us working girls As they pass us on the street. We are only the "lower classes," Bot the Sacred Records tell That when the Christ, our Master, Came down on earth to dwell, He was one of the "lower classes," And He had to toil for bread So poor that at times He had no place On which to lay His head. He dwelt not with the rich and mighty Under gilded palace dome, But with the poor and the laboring, He chose to make His home. Ah! wealth and high position Should seem of little worth To us whose fellow-laborer Is the King of Heaven and Earth. So, working girl, when you meet with scorn, Just lift your head in pride; The shield of honest womanhood Can turn such sneers aside; And some day 'twill be understood That the purest, truest pearl Amid the gems of womanhood Is the honest working girl. I. H. Herdman. BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. If you have a gray haired mother In the old home far away. Sit you down and write the letter You put off from day to day. Don't wait until her weary steps Reach Heaven's pearly gate, But show her that you think of her Before it is too late. If you have a tender message Or a loving word to say, Don't wait till you forget it, But whisper it today. Who knows what bitter memories May haunt you if you wait ? ' So make your loved one happy Before it is too late. The tender word unspoken, The letters never sent, The long-forgotten messages. The wealth of love unspent For these some hearts are breaking, For these some loved ones wait. Show them that you care for them Before it is too late. Geo. B. Griffith, in La Porte City Press. UNCLE HIRM AN ON CITY LIFE. Yes, it's lively in the city, where they've got their "lectric lights." And the people soon have wrinkles from their stayin' out o' nighis ; They've got shows and things to keep 'em from a-gittin' lonesome there, And they look all-fired stylish in the costly clo'sthey wear. But I guess they have their troubles just the same as me and you, And I recon that they're often ruther worse'n ours, too. We've got wood piled in the woodshed that'll last a year er so, And there's more out where that come from and more saplin's still to grow ; We ain't worried over coal strikes, let the cold winds blow away ; We can carry in the billets and not have a cent to pay ; While they're shiverin' up yonder where they've got so much to see We can heat up fer the babies that the Lord sent you and me. There is always somethin' doin' to make city people sad ; If it ain't a sausage famine, why you'll hear the water's bad ; When the strikers stop the street cars then the dickens is to pay, And the people have to foot it, gittin' clubbed along the way, And the fever epidemics and the small pox every year Keep the city people stewin', and I'm glad to live out here. Oh it's quiet in the country and there's few uncommon sights. But with Haters in the cellar and with wood piled in the shed, When there's hay stacked in the hay mows for the stock that must be fed, They can have their noisy city, with the sights up there to see, And the kind old quiet country will be good enough for me. S. E. Kiser, in Chicago Record-Herald. Labor Notes. Mr. Andrew Carnegie was elect ed to fill the vacancy in the Na tion Civic Federation, caused by the death of Senator Hanna. At a conference between repre sentatives Quarry Workers' Un ion and employes the present wage scale was agreed to for two more years. The custom tailors of the Bos ton Tailoring Company went on strike because the company de cided to run an open shop. Th; strike was indorsed by the local union. The Legal Aid Society of Phil adelphia is doing a good work. This society furnishes legal aid free to those too poor so hire law yers. The master bakers of Chi cago have reduced the size of five cent loaves of bread two ounces. The smaller loaf they claim is necessary because of the increased cost of flour. The strike of the weavers of the Dartmouth mills in New Bed ford was lost by the strikers, the weavers from the Whitman mills having taken their places. The good offices of the State Board of Arbitration averted what threatened to be a serious strike between the Cincinnati teamsters and their employers. The cooks and waitresses of the Y. W. C. A., of New Haven, Ct, went on a strike after the man agement refused to pay any atten tion to their claim that they were being overworked. The boarders were forced to get their own sup pers and wash the dishes. An association was formed in Chicago, embracing the chairmen of the different committees of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi neers. The object of this associ ation is to bring about uniform conditions for engineers on all the railroad systems of the coun try. At a meeting of the Litho graphers' Subordinate Associa tion No. i, of New York, held March 19, President Wm. F. Long announced that all the Chicago firms had withdrawn from the Employers' Association and made peace with their employes. A combination looking to con solidate all the employes in the different departments of the N. Y. N. and H. railroad system in one union is claimed to be well under way. The union will com prise over 10,000 members. The combination was hastened by the recent wholsale reduction in the number of employes. The disposition of independent unions to affiliate with the A. F. of A. L is growing. March 7th the Building Laborers' Union No. 15 of Boston, with 1900 members, and Plasterers' Tenders' Union with over 300 members joined the Hod Carriers and Building Laborers' Union affiliated with the A. F. of L-, and almost 1,000 members of the Italian Laborers' Union applied for a chatter. TELL US WHICH- Mr. Editor: I noticed a paragraph in your Editorial Notes in which you say that the proper way to get rid of trusts is to vote with the party that is against them. I am persuaded that you are correct in this statement, but you should have gone farther and told your readers what party is against trusts, so as to enable them to vote intelligently I must confess that I am one of your readers that will have to plead ignorance as to which party I will have to vote with to down the trusts. We are told by the Democrats that their party is the trust-burster, and that the Republican party is the trust-builder ami we have heard this so much until like all other things so oft repeated, we have come very near believing it. You know a man can tell a lie until he can be lieve it himself to be a fact. Now, let us look a little along this line at a few facts. The only anti-trust law we have on our statute books was framed by a Republi can, Sherman, it was passed by a Repub lican House and Senate, and signed by a Republican President. Mr. Harrison Immediately following the passage of the Sherman anti-trust law, Mr. Cleve. land was elected to his second term as President on the Democratic ticket as the representative of the party that claimed to be so bitterly opposed to trusts. Did his administration make an effort to en force the Sherman act ? We think not. On the other hand, Mr. Olney, the Attorney-General, said the law was uncon stitutional, and, therefore, he would not try to enforce it. The Chief Executive said the same thing, and so nothing what ever was done to hold the much-dreaded trusts in check. Mr. Cleveland was defeated and another Republican took charge Mr. Knox, the Attorney General under the new administration, instead of saying the law was unconstitutional, and there-j fore he would not try to enforce it, con cluded he would leave that to the Su preme Court of the United States to de cide. Suit was brought against the Northern Securities Company, thereby getting the law before the highest court in the land. And instead of this court being of the same idea as Mr. Olney and Mr. Cleve land, it has decided that the law was con stitutional. Now, let us go a little farther, and look into the political aspect of this decision. Every judge of the Supreme Court of the United States who concurred in this opin ion was a Republican, while, on the other hand, every judge that dissented was a Democrat. Let's go a little farther yet. There will soon be nominated by both parties a can didate for President of this great coun try. Among the aspirants for the nomi nation on the Democratic ticket is a Mr. Hearst, who, according to his own state ments and actions, is an avowed enemy of the trusts. There has sprung up great opposition to him, and the greatest efforts are being made to defeat him for the nom ination, and as you know, and all others who read, and can read between thelines know, the foundation of the opposition to him is because it is not thought he can control enough support from the monied interests of the country to insure his elec tion. We acknowledge, without argument, that the Republican party is a trust-fosterer, and we are inclined to think, from the above facts, that the Democratic party is not inclined to be a trust-burster. So will you please tell us with which party to cast our votes in order to do great damage to the trusts ? The Populist party made a brave effort to down the trusts, and placed at the head of their National ticket a Mr. Bryan, who was also at the head of the Democratic ticket; but instead of accomplishing their purpose, we are told that they have both bursted, and none rejoice more at their downfall than a big element of the Dem ocratic party. It would appear from the above facts that, of the two old parties, the Republican has rather the best of the argument as to the trust business. A Subscriber. Organized labor has cause to rejoice in the decision of the Ore gon Supreme Court declaring the initiative and referendum consti tutional, and the decision of the Kansas Supreme Court declaring the eight-hour law constitutional ROOM AT THE TOP. Every man should have a trade. Every man should be a master of that trade. There are too many masters, though sometimes there seems to be too many men. There is always room for the masters. One of the serious troubles of every enterprise, every mill, every industry, is to obtain competent men to run it. The man who is sober, industrious, competent and a master of his trade, is as sure to be at the head of some enterprise as lie is of life. He is sure to obtain fair, if not high wages, as there is not any surety that in dustries will continue to flourish. Trade unions are not so much needed for the masters as for the followers in a trade. If there were more of the spirft of the mastery of trade, among the men who follow it for a livelihood, there would be fewer strikes and no need for them at all. One of the great necessities for trade un ions is the lack of masterful knowledge of trade, together with the inevitable helplessness and lack of initiative, which makes so many men weak and dependent. Trades unions will always be necessary and always beneficial, but their effectiveness would be greatly enhanced and their bene- fife ry-vii11 Va Vffa- 1C7 "uulu U,J tribu ted if thty had a higher av- erage of competence and a lower average of competence to deal witn. 1 i That is the general reason why 4 1 .1 every man snotiia strive to De a master of his trade. The per sonal and the most powerful rea son is that lie would not only be independent himself, but he would be more effective and benevolent in helping his less fortunate fellow-workman. He would always find room at the top for himself, and would be in a better position to assist his neighbors and to train his sons, as he ought to do, in the same trade. There will be room for them, too, at the top. Nor folk Unionist. MAY I SAY IT AGAIN? William Thompson, the office boy to a large firm of publishers, was a smart lad, and when re cently he was sent to one of the operative departments with a mes sage he noticed at onee that some thing was wrong with the ma chinery. He returned, gave the alarm, and thus prevented much damage. This was reported to the head of the firm, who sent for Willie. "You have done me very great service, my lad," said the chief. "In future your wages will be in creased by 50 cents weekly." 'Thank you, sir," said the bright little fellow "I will do my best to be worth it." The reply struck the chief" al most as much as the lad's pre vious service had done. "That's the right spirit, my lad," he said. "In all the years I have been in business no one has ever thanked me in that way. I will make the increase 75 cents. Now, what do you say to that?" "Well, sir," said Willie, after a moment's hesitation, "would you mind if I said it again ?" ,'- OPEN SHOP VARIATION An edict of the Chicago bank forbidding those of its employes, receiving less than $1,00000 sal ary per year, to marry without first receiving consent of employ ers is only one of the variations of the "Open Shop." It represents just what the "Open Shop" stands for and what the "Open Shop" policy is lead ing to. These employers would become highly indignant if they were accused of attacking the institu tion of marriage. They would reply that they were taking busi ness as they saw fit, or that it was nobody's business, they had a right to introduce such rules as pleased them in their own busi ness. If their was an attempt made to pass a law limiting marriage to the recipients of a yearly in come of $1,000.00 or more, it would be instantly and univer sally condemned. Nevertheless there is nothing to hinder every employer, who would care to, if . 4 ana ior any cause tnat lie may consider sufficient to himself, from forbidding anv of his em ployes, receiving a salary less than $800.00, or $400.00 or $1,50000 a year, to marry. Attempts on the art of em ployers to become marital dicta tors are ridiculous, as is also the contention that the' decree of the Chicago bank is a protective measure. A M. a 1,000.00 yearly salary is not the defining line of honesty As a matter of fact those bank employes married and receiving over one tnousana dollars a year have proved to a larger extent to be unfaithful to their trust than those married and receiving less salary than one thousand dollars a year. Those who are not honest enough to withstand the tempta tion to appropriate bank funds, will not be made more straightfor ward by this absurd bank ruling. A bank needs honest employes ; if it cannot secure them, it needs a system that will protect against those whom temptation makes dishonest, and the bank is pro tected to just the extent that the opportunities for misappropria tion are lessened. The ridiculously low salaries paid to bank employes are a fruit ful source of dishonesty, and not marriage on less than a thousand dollars a year. The banking environment and the measely salaries paid to those holding subordinate position are in themselves restrain ing influences against marriage and far more conducive to dis honesty than anything else, un less, possibly, native thieving instincts of some individual em ployes. Shoeworkers' Journal. Cotton planting is going on all over the State. Some farmers have cotton above the ground. It takes a i2,ooo,ooo-bale crop this year, and the price will not fall lower than 10c. per pound, if that low, but may go to 15c. But make your food first and have cotton as a suplus erop. See ? A SAD CONDITION. Mr. Editor : She was stand ing on the street, and as I was passing by I noticed tears were trickling down her faded cheeks a more pititul-looking human being would be hard to find. On her face was depicted sorrow, de spondency and remorse. Perhaps she was thinking of the past when she was full of the purity of womanly virtue, when life seemed f ull of promise, and all was sunshine and roses. But alas ! her life had been cast upon the unknown sea of human events, and had sunk to its great est depths. She had heard the treacherous praise of the schem ing flatterer, and, listening to his smooth-sounding words, had fell where? To the lowest stage of life -to the life of a prostitute with its brawls and revelry, with its shame and misery. She had just been acquitted by jury of her countrymen of re tailing whiskey without license. Not, perhaps, because she was not guilty, but because the hearts of the jurymen were full of the milk of human kindness. Her story was, indeed, a sad one. An outcast irom nome, ner health shattered and gone, with no one to turn to for aid or ad vice, she was, indeed, to be pitied. She was advised to return again to the home from which she had been so long absent, and appeal and ask once more for the pa rental love which she had so fool ishly trampled under foot. But afraid of being denied en trance into the home circle'which she had so cruelly wronged, and seeing her last faint ray of hope shattered forever, may require more courage than is left in the frail, nervous, wornout body. If she were to apply to that home for readmission and seek a chance to purge herself of sin and satan and were refused. What then? Christian, ask vourself what then ? Societv what then ? But there is a hope, thank God -for we are told : "While the lamp holds out to burn The vilest sinner may return." A Subscriber. 19,001,000 JEWS Prof. Haman, who recently made a rough census of the Jews of the world, concludes that there are now nearly 1 1,000,000 in Europe and 8,000,000 outside of Europe. The United States has 1,000,000. In Europe, Russia has 5,500, 000; Austria-Hungary, 1,860,000; Germany, 568,000; Roumania, 300,000; Great Britain, 200.000; Turkey, 120,000; Holland, 97,000; France, 77,000; Italy, 5c ,000; Bulgaria, 31,000; Switzerland, 12,000; Greece, 6,000; Servia, 5,000; Demark, 4,000; Sweden, 3,500; Belgium, 3,000; Spain, 2,500. Portugal has only 300 Jewish residents. f Piickett's Disinfectant. y Exoells All Odor from Offensive C Feet, Caused by Excessive C Perspiration, Etc. Price 25c, v if not at Drngglsts, write y CURKPDCKETT, Raleigh, HC A"
The Harbinger (Raleigh, N.C.)
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April 30, 1904, edition 1
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