Newspapers / The Harbinger (Raleigh, N.C.) / Nov. 5, 1904, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Harbinger (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
rTTVTr TTTH A m TPVv TT7 T ERo ORGANIZATION. EDUCATION. ELEVATION. Vol. III. Raleigh, North Carolina, Saturday, November 5, 1904. No. 44 VERT STRINGS- The corn has ears and cannot bear, Potatoes, eyes, but cannot see; Which state of things is rather queer, Or that's the way it seems to me. The melon bas a tender heart, ,feut still he does not live, they say; The onion's skin will never smart, Although it has been built that way. The cabbage has a giant head, But still it lacks a bit of brains. And though the squash's neck is red, From wearing collars he refrains. "Jie bamboo always sports a cane; The oak has limbs, but never walks; The willow never weeps; 'tis plain; How strange the tulip never talks! The pickle has no hands, but still Has warts to spare, I understand. The trumpet flower must think it ill It cannot join a circus band ,The barley has a beard, and yet A barber shop he never seeks, And here I say it with regret, No kisses press the apple's cheek. The blades of grass I do not fear; The rubber plant can never see. Which state of things is rather queer, " or that's the way it seems to me. Chicago Chronicle. A DISCREET RETICENCE An old woman, a native of the Emerald Isle, who had met with tnany reverses, was at last obliged to go out washing." She accept ed the first wash in Tioga house a couple of weeks ago, and while leaning over sorting out the cloth es she was heard to remark : y ,:Sure, now, and them's fancy overalls?" Later in the day she approach ed the mistress of the house and said : "And sure, it must be a nice job your husband has. He wears such fancy overalls." And she pointed lo a pair of white Madras pajamas hanging on the line. Philadelphia Press. ; ' HIS TROUBLES MORE RECENT- "I was in Johnstown a couple of months ago," said a drummer v or a Boston house, "and at the hotel I asked the colored porter : "There was a flood here a num ber of years ago, I believe?'" " 'Yes, I reckon so,' he listlessly replied. " 'And were you here at the time?" " 'I believe I was.' "'It must have been a very exciting thing ?" " 'Maybe so.' " 'But you don't seem to be much interested,' I protested. ,'Can't you relate your personal 7 experiences and give me some deas of what happened?' " 'Look here, sah,' he answered in irriated tones, 'does you reck on I'ze got nuffin' to do but re- ? member dat flood time? It was all right, sah heaps o' water and all dat, but since dat date I'ze been married fo' times, put An jail twice and had my Sunday 'clothes sto'e by a cross-eyed nigger, and you can't' ?pect I'ze gwine to let all dat go fur no , flood dat has happened since Noah's time '"-Baltimore Herald. Criminal trusts are the foe of organized labor and should be abolished, and Hon. W. R. Hearst, both in Congress and with his papers and by bringing suits against them, is doing more than any man in America to destroy theni. , Labor Notes. A movement is on foot to or ganize a trade council at Minne aplis, Minn. Philadelphia alone produces 75 per cent of the glazed kid in the United States. The wages of the common laborer in Ireland are now nearly double those of 12 years ago. Employes of the Michigan Central railroad, at St. Thomas, Canada, have decided in favor of a pension fund. The Boston, Mass., Central Labor Union is actively engaged in trying to stamp out the par don system in the Hub. The headquarters of the Feder ated Metal Trades' Association has been removed from Washing ton, D. C, to Pittsburg. The strike of the livery drivers in Chicago, which has been in progress for some time, has at last been settled and the men are back at work. In 1896 Michigan had 2,572 factories, employing 101,653 peo ple at a daily rate of $1.23. In 1903 these figures had increased to 6,996 factories, at a daily rate of 1.75- Exclusive of agricultural work ers, there are over 6,000,000 la boring men in the United States. Nearly 2,000,000 of the number are members of organized labor. Three meals, two pints of por ter and 84 cents a day is the de mand of farm laborers in the midland counties of Ireland, and they have gone on strike to en force the demand. Stationery engineers are said to have declared their intention to withdraw from the American Federation of Labor if the Brew ery Workers' Union is given jurisdiction over engineers in breweries. Peabody, Mass., is the great sheepskin tanning centre of the country. It tans about $ 15,000, 000 skins a year, and it has about $2,000,000 invested in the busi ness and about 2,000 hands em ployed. At Detroit the National Master Horseshoers' Protective Associ ation has decided to meet the journeymen's proposal for arbitra tion committee to act with the journeymen. In retaliation for the lockout of the Olivet (Mich.) business men have decided to observe early closing hours this winter. Every prominent business man has signed an agreement to close his store at 7 o'clock, except Sat urdays, from October 24 to April 1. An organization of manufac tures to oppose the demands of union labor has been effected at Battle Creek, Mich., by a meeting of the largest manufacturers of the city. It now looks as if the latter would not accede to any union demands. CAPITAL, LIBOR AND PARTISAN POLITICS. Somewhere in times past, a writer said that the slaves when freed from the Roman galleys (in some instances) wanted their shackles and chains put back again while others hugged them to their breasts like lifelong friends. He might say the same thing to day, and be truthful, when writ ing or speaking of the average workingman in politics. The one great drawback and the thing that keeps labor in the rut today is "partisan politics," pure and simple Were it possible to reach the great mass of organized labor individually and show them how and where they are being used by politicians as a means to secure office, they would be astounded, as well they ought to be. Let us consider our position. A handful of lawyers and their parasites desiring fat-frying offi ces, swing the brains, intelligence, and brawn of the country to their aid ; and when any matter of legis lation is desired by labor, capital is set by the ears and capital and labor are soon at loggerheads, while the "statesman" watches the scrimmage from a safe dis tance and secures any loose change that may be spilt in the fray. In other words, the mastiff and the bulldog fly at each other's throats, while the small cur sneaks at the bone and gets away. I am re minded of an instance where two small boys walking on a path through the woods espied a wal nut upon the ground directly in front of them. One grabbed it up in a hurry and the other cried, "I saw it first." From words they soon came to blows. While the argument was at its height another boy somewhat larger than the others came upon the scene of hostilities and immediately pro ceeded to "arbitrate" the differ enceSplitting the nut into two parts and carefully securing the meat he handed each a half shell, saying. "Now Jimmy, you saw it first and Johnny picked it up, therefore you have each received equal shares. The meat I will keep for my trouble." So it is with labor and capital, as far as legislation is concerned that is of partictular interest to both, while they are at dagger's point with each other and fighting away bulldog fashion, the oily legisla tor who has used them both to secure office gets the meat out of the nut and they the shell, which leads thinkers to exclaim from the bottom of their hearts, "What fools these mortals be." But long immunity has enboldened these patriots of legislat;on to such an extent that they have become somewhat careless of observation and criticism, and in those in stances of their indiscretion it is just possible the eyes and under standing of both capital and labor may be awakened. As a passing incident, the eight-hour bill and the action of the genial law-givers thereon may serve to show the country at large the fat-frying process. The voters of labor were essenT tial to keep the gentlemen in office, and the money of the man ufacturers to pay for red fire, mu sic and incidental expenses, among which are the sums given to themselves to expand their lung capacity in getting where the "gravy drips." Also furnish ing a' lubricant to the voice of the people, viz, the free and untram meled press of the country. This, therefore, is one very good reason why the eight-hour bill was re ferred to the Department of Com merce and Labor, and we may add for just such emergencies that the Department of Commerce and Labor was created ; also as a clearance house for campaign debts and to meet the exigencies of an occasion when the smother ing process was necessary for leg islation not suiting the particular fancy of Congress. Such, then, is the result of having the trained legal mind in the halls of legis lation. In any event, the action taken on the eight-hour bill will go down in history as one of the most pusilanimous moves ever attempted in the history of labor legislation. As labor has not seen fit to send any number of representa tives to Congress to speak for them they will have to fall back and "grin and bear it." Can any workingman for an instant doubt the effect of labor organized at the polls, as thoroughly as they are at the shops, would have on legis lation for the benefit of labor ? I, for one, refuse to believe that any man competent to demand wages is so dull as not to understand when his natural rights are at tacked. And rights are a mock ery and a laughter if they do not justify resistance whenever and by whoever they are invaded and assailed. Not until labor shall have been educated to that point where they will put aside parti san politics will or can the labor movement be the success every true unionist desires it to be. In the meantime it may accomplish some good if organized labor can persuade those members in Con press, who are false to their con victions and duty, to stay home for a few hours. R G. M. Ross. A COMPARISON. John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers of Amer- i ica, in a recent speech he made, I cited a number of other respecta- ble organizations which have I adopted similar tactics to the much-talked "open shop" of the labor unions. Said Mr. Mitchell, in the course of his speech : "To refuse to work with non-union men is to no greater and to no less extent compulsion than for a life 0 fire insurance company to refuse certain classes of people or for any associations whatsoever to set conditions under which it will have dealings with certain per sons. The New York Stock Ex change does not compel men to join -it in fact, it charges ' $80, 000 for the privilege but it re fuses to allow non-members to deal on the floor and summarily dismisses its members who split commissions with non-union bro kers " FOR WAR Oil BUSINESS- ! Ray Stannard Baker, in McClure's Magazine, divides em- plovers' associations into two classes "for war" or "for busi ness" as factors in the "amazing form of opposition and organi zations against labor unionism." "First," he says, "those organi zations which propose to fight the unions. Their leaders em phasize the fact that industry is war; second, those which seek to deal with the unions. Their leaders emphasize the fact that industry is business The two classes of associations are sin guhrly like the two classes of un ions. The new association, like the new union, springs into exist ence with great enthusiasm, ve hemently airs its grievances, bit terly arraigns the other side, pays itsdu s reluctantly, usually wishes to fight immediately and chafes because results are not more rapidly forthcoming. But gradu ally the association as well as the union begins to overlook the inevitable annoyance; it learns that the strike and the lockout instead of being the prime object of organization are really the re luctant weapon of last resort ; it discovers, finally, that the labor problem cannot be settled over night, nor by sulphurous speech making, nor by violent methods ; that it requires long decency on both sides." In reviewing the methods of these new belligerent organiza tions and comparing their use of the sympathetic lockout with the same use of the sympathetic strike, along with the same use of the boycott and feeling against "scab" both in the ranks of capi tal and labor, Mr. Baker points out the tendency of these new . employers' associations to pass from the excitable, irritable class into the other class which recog nizes the fact that industry is business ; that employers are merely purchasers of labor, and that employers are merely sellers of labor ; that in this relation their interests are not identical, but virtually antagonistic, though not necessarily antagonistic to the po'nt that it would be to the interest of either party to fight the other. As Mr. Baker con cludes : "The condition at present most favorable to industry would seem to be one of strong, well-disciplined, reasonable organization on both sides. A great disparity of strength always means the abuse of power by the more vigorous organization ; but the prime ob ject should be peace. The same qualities of fair dealing, honesty and personal contract required in business generally are equally necessary in buying and selling labor a transaction whichis, after all, neither sentiment nor warfare nor speechifying, but business." Politics in New York ci y and State are getting hot. Money is buyingi votes. There are 60,000 voters for sale in that State, it is said. The party that spends the most "boodle" will get "the persimmon." "THE GLASGOW OF CANADA " There is a little city named Port Arthur, in Ontario, located on the north shore of Lake Superior, which is citizens delight to call "The Glasgow of Canada." Port Arthur has about 6,000 inhabi tants, and is one of the most pro gressive cities on the North American Continent. Public own ership of public utilities has made the town what it is, and, as one of its citizens said recently : "We'll make every town and city follow us when they see just what a bonanza public ownership is."' The street railways, the tele phone and electric lighting systems and an excellent water power plant are owned by the municipality of Port Arthur. The telephone system was owned by a private corporation for seven teen years, at the end of which time there were 98 instruments in use in the town, at $25 for resi dence and $35 for business pur poses as the annual rate. After two years of municipal ownership the subscribers have increased to 400-with half a hundred appli cants waiting for further exten sions and the rate has been re duced to $12 and $24 for residence and business purposes respect ively. The municipally-owned trolley lines carry passengers over seven miles for a " 5 cent fare-between Port Arthur and -Fort W illiam. Over 100,000 passengers were carried in July with a total popu lation of 12,000 to draw upon, and the enterprise makes a neat profit for the city. The water power plant nets the city $2,000 a year, besides saving a civic expenditure of $5, 000 annually for fuel and other incidentals. The city's electric lighting system also makes a profit. The railway and lighting services are managed by three commissioners elected by the citizens ; the telephone system by a municipal committee. Port Arthur will clear $25,000 this year from its municipal enter prise. EVERY UNION HAS A grafter. A bluffer. V A knocker. A schemer. A politician. A smart alec. A know it all. A fore-fl usher. A band of idlers. A "windy ' man. A calamity howler. A weather prophet. A few hard workers. A meddlesome member. A fraction of regular attend ants at meetings. And a large majority of hust ling toilers too busy minding: their own individual business to take up with the general business of their craft. An "Eight-Hour Movement" was recently inaugurated in Aus tralia (Melbourne), incommemor. ation of the eight-hour workday.
The Harbinger (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 5, 1904, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75