Portland labor press., February 21, 1901, Image 1

V
Portland Labor Press
Devoted to the Cause of Organized Labor
P O R T L A N D . O R E G O N . F E B R U A R Y 21. 1901
Vol.
W RAPPER
Ladies Flannelette Wrappers, deep
flounce, full skirt, lined waist,
special to c lo s e ...........................
SALE
Soft Foulard Percale Wrappers,
nicely trimmed, special
75c
50c
Best
Portland
Bargains
Ever
Offered
in
MCALLEN & MCDONNELL
Exclus’ve Dry Goods Im porters
COf,
Third. 311(1 MOD ISOll
B A Z A R G L O V E -F IT T IN G P A T T E R N S
R E D U C E D TO T E N C E N T S
W HAT
Indorsed by the Federated Trades Assembly
PRODUCES
C R IM IN A L S .
S om e o f t h e C a u ses T h a t P i l l O ur
P r is o n s W it h U n fo r t u n a t e
M en a n d W o m en .
M uch in te re s t ju st now in crim in als.
M uch h o rro r aro u sed by dep rav ity .
M any plan s m ore or less a p p ro p ria te
fo r m ak in g th e a ir pure.
M any good people, p o litician s, w o­
m en and clergym en, who sp en t the
sum m er a t th e seaside, w illing now to
spend a fw days w iping “ crim e ” off
th e le a rth .
W h a t is C rim e? W ho a re the c rim ­
in als? W ho m akes th e c rim in a ls?
Do c rim in a ls viciously and v o lu n ­
ta rily a rise am o n g us ea g er to lead
h u n ted lives, to be jaile d a t in te rv als,
to craw l in th e d a rk , dodge policem en,
w ork in s trip e s and die in sham e?
H ard ly , say s th e E x am in er.
W ill you k in d ly and p a tie n tly follow
th e liv e s quickly sketched, of a boy
and a g irl?
T h e G ir l.
B orn poor, b o rn in h a rd luck, her
fa th e r, or m o th er, or b o th, victim s of
long h ours, poor fare, bad a ir and little
leisure.
As a baby sh e stru g g les a g a in st fate
and m an ag es to live w hile th re e or
four little b ro th e rs and s iste rs die and
go back to k in d e a rth .
She craw ls aro u n d th e h a lls of a
ten e m en t, a good deal in th e way. She
is h u n ted h ere and chased there.
She is cold in w in ter, ill fed in su m ­
m er, n ev er w ell cared for.
She g ets a little so-called education.
Ill-dressed and asham ed beside th e
o th e r ch ild ren , she is glad to escape
th e ed u catio n . No one a t hom e can
help h er on. No one aw ay from hom e
c a re s for her.
She grow s up w hite, sickly, lik e a
p o tato sp ro u tin g in a cellar. A t the
co rn e r of a fine s tre e t she sees th e c a r­
ria g e s p a ssin g w ith o th e r g irls in
w arm furs, or in fine cool sum m er
dresses.
W ith a poor shaw l aro u n d h er and
w ith heels ru n dow n sh e peers in a t a
re s ta u ra n t w indow , to see o th e r women
lea d in g lives very d ifferent from hers.
S tead ily sh e h as im pressed upon her
th e fact, a b so lu te ly u n d en iab le, th a t as
th e w orld is org an ized th e re is no
especial place for her—c e rta in ly no
com fort fo r her.
S he finds w ork, p erh ap s. H ours as
long as th e d ay lig h t.
T en m in u tes late — h a lf a d a y ’s fine.
A t th e end of t'he day ac h in g feet,
a c h in g back, system ill fed, not enough
earn ed
to live h o n e stly —and th a t
p rospect s tre tc h in g ahead fa rth e r th a n
h er poor eyes can see.
“ W h a t’s th e charge, officer?”
“ D isorderly conduct, Y our H o n o r.”
T h e re ’s th e c rim in a l, good m en, poli­
tic ia n s, w om en and clerym en. th a t you
are 'h u n tin g so a rd en tly .
The B oy.
Sam e sto ry , p ractically .
H e plays on th e ten e m en t sta irc a se
—cuffed off th e sta irc a se.
H e plays ball in th e s tr e e t—cuffed,
if c a u g h t by th e policem an.
H e sw ings on th e a re a railin g , tr y ­
ing to exercise his stu n te d m uscles
cuffed again.
In b u rn in g Ju ly , w ith s h irt and
tro u se rs on he goes sw im m ing in th e
p a rk fo u n ta in —c a u g h t and cuffed and
h anded over to a C h ild re n ’s Society.
A few m o n th s in a so rt of sem i-
d ecent im p riso n m e n t; tre a te d in a
fash io n ab o u t e q u iv a le n t to th a t en­
dured by th e sea tu rtle tu rn e d over on
its back in th e m a rk e t, he escapes to
begin th e sam e life once m ore.
He trie s to w ork.
“ W h a t do you k n o w ?”
“ I d o n ’t know a n y th in g ; nobody ever
ta u g h t m e.”
He c a n n o t even e n d u re th e discipline
of ten h o u rs ’ d a ily sh o v e lin g —it ta k e s
ed u catio n to in still discipline, if only
th e ed u catio n of th e ea rly pick and
shovel.
H e h a s not been ta u g h t a n y th in g .
H e h a s been tu rn e d loose in a city full
of te m p ta tio n . H e had no real s ta r t to
begin w ith , and no effort w as ever
m ade to re p a ir h is evil beginning.
“ W h a t’s th e ch arg e, officer?”
“ A ttem p ted b u rg la rly ; pleads g uil­
ty .”
“ T h re e y ears in p rison, since it is
h is first offense.”
In p riso n he gets an education. T hey
teach him how to be a good b u rg la r
and n o t get ca u g h t. P a tie n tly t'he sta te
bo ard s him , an d ed u cates h im T o be a
firs t-ra te c rim in a l.
T h e re ’s your first - r a te crim in al,
M essrs, clergym en, good m en, po litic­
ian s and b en ev o len t wom en.
D ear clergym en, noble wom en, good
m en and sch em in g p o litician s, listen
to th is sto ry :
In th e S outh Sea Isla n d s th ey have
for c o n ta g io u s diseases a h o rro r as
g re a t as y our h o rro r of crim e.
A m an or w om an s tric k e n w ith a
lo ath so m e disease, such as sm allpox,
is seized, isolated, and th e individual
sores of th e sm allp o x p a tie n t are e a rn ­
e stly scraped w ith sea sh ells—u n til
the p a tie n t dies. It h u rts th e p a tie n t a
good deal—'W ithout ever curing, of
course— but it relieves the feelings of
th e o u trag ed good one w ho wield th e
sea shells.
You k in d -h e a rte d c re a tu re s, h u n tin g
“ c rim e ” in g re a t cities, are like the
S outh Sea Isla n d e rs in th e ir tre a tm e n t
of sm allpox.
You a rd e n tly w ield your refo rm in g
sea sh ells and you scrape very e a rn e s t­
ly a t th e sores so well developed.
No d esire to decry your e a rn e st ef­
forts.
B ut if you ever tire of scra p in g w ith
sea shells, tr y vaccin atio n , or, b e tte r
still, try to ta k e such c a re of youth,
to give such ch an ces and ed u cation to
th e young, as w ill save them from th e
least pro fitab le of all c a re e rs—Crim e.
Rich good m en, nice clergym en, com ­
fo rtab le benevolent lad ies—every m an
and w om an in th e w orkhouse, every
w retched c re a tu re liv in g n e a r a “ red
lig h t” would gladly change places w ith
any of you.
S crape aw ay w ith your sea shells,
but try a lso to give a few m ore and
few b e tte r chances in y o u th to those
w hom you now h u n t as c rim in a ls in
th e ir m a tu re years.
God c re a te s boys and girls, an xious
to live decently.
Y our social system m akes c rim in a ls
and fills jails.
E N E M IE S I N
CAM P.
How o ften and im p ressiv ely has it
been preached to organized labor, to
exercise, before all, th e n ecessary v ir­
tu e to s u b o rd in a te th e ir own “ I a m ”
to th e in te re s ts of th e e n tir e labor
m ovem ent. We m ay, in fu lm in a to ry
w ords, w ith th e full e n th u sia sm of our
conviction, d eclare w a r a g a 'n s t th e cap­
ita listic system and its excresences, we
m ay use all our pow er on th e econom i­
cal field, to clip th ese excrescences and
to h um anize them in ord er to e sta b lish ,
if n o t a com plete e q u alizatio n of all
w o rkingm en, y et th e consciousness of
th e ir id en tic a l in te re s ts ; b u t all our
pains, o u r en d e av o rs and am bitions
w ill be in v a in as long as th e stro n g e st
shield of cap italism , th e u n so lid a rity
of th e w orkers, th e egotism a n d self-
in te re s t of a few can develop a n d ex­
pand. “ T he foes we hate th e m ost in
h u m an souls, a re w ant of se n se and
ig n o ra n c e.’ T he u n so lid a rity and ego­
tism are only b re th re n of w a n t of
sense and ignorance.
W e can excuse an d forgive u n o r-
g a n iz .d ,
u n lig h te n e d
w orkingm en
w hen th ey , on a c co u n t o f lack of
know ledge and n o t aw are of th e im ­
p o rta n c e and significance of t'he s tru g ­
gles and tn e fights of th e w o rk in g class,
in m any cases n o t conscious of the
w rong th ey a re doing, th ro w stones
and dead w eight a g a in s t th e w heels of
progress, says the B ra u e r Z eitung. B ut
a touch of m o u rn in g and d ish e a rte n in g
g rief—no, of scorn, of in d ig n a tio n and
w ra th affects our m ind w hen we ob­
serve how w o rk in g m en, m em bers of a
tra d e s unio n , w’ho th ro u g h th e sam e
m eans have gained a co n sid erab le b et­
te rm e n t of th e ir liv in g conditions, s c a t­
te r to th e w inds all lessons th a t th e
com m on stru g g le h as forced on us; and
follow th e ir own selfish in te rests, rec k ­
less of o th ers, despite all th e a b h o r­
ren c e th ey c re a te am ong th e ir class-
com rades, reg a rd le ss of w h e th e r th e ir
co-w o rk ers suffer u n d er th e ir folly. W e
fight as tra d e u n io n ists a g a in s t some
ind iv id u al c a p ita lists ; b u t on econom i­
cal a s w ell as on p o litical lin e s we
stru g g le fo r th e e n tire com m onw ealth,
not o n ly to gain som e a d v a n ta g e s for
a few. W e pity and h a te th e scab, a l­
th o u g h he often on account of ig n o r­
ance. m ore often on account of h u n g er,
tu rn s back on th e stru g g lin g com rades
of his class, for th ey know he is in the
m ost in sta n c e s only a p ro d u ct of th e
sy stem ; b u t we m u st and w ill have
c o n te m p t for, a b h o r and condem n
th o se in d iv id u als, who, in sp ite of a
b e tte r know ledge, only in sp ired by
th e ir egotism , w ickedness and ra s c a l­
ity, try to obscure th e ideals of the
la b o r m ovem ent to th e d isa d v a n tag e
and h a rm of th e ir fellow -fighters,
th ro u g h w hose assistan ce, su p p o rt and
com m on cause they first had elevated
th e ir conditions. Such individuals’ a re
excresences, not h e a lth y tw igs, on th e
tre e of th e labor m ovem ent; and ex­
crescences m ust be c u to f f ; th e quicker
th e b e tte r.
Some one says re g a rd in g R oosevelt's
e x trem e a n x ie ty to b u rn gunp o w d er on
any o r all occasions, t h a t he is “ a
bulldog w ith confused ideas.”
. 28
T H E C H A N G E S O F T IM E .
T h e L a b o r e r D u r in g t h e R e ig n o f
E d w a r d T h ir d , a n d t h e L a b o r e r
o f T oday.
“ F ive c e n tu rie s and a half ago th e
black d e a th sta lk e d th ro u g h E urope,
and w hen it rested from sla u g h te r h a lf
of the in h a b ita n ts of E n g la n d had p er­
ished. And th en Labor began to raise
its head. T h e re was as m uch land as
ever, and th e re w ere as m any la n d ­
lords, b u t th e re w ere only h a if a3 m any
w o rk ers to till th e fields. And eo th e
w o rk e rs w ere in dem and, and w hen
em ployers began com peting for th e ir
serv ices th ey found th ey could com ­
m and h ig h e r wages, says th e New
Y ork Jo u rn a l. W h ereupon th e illu s ­
trio u s K in g E d w ard III. w ith his w ise
m en, enacted his gracious’ s ta tu te of la ­
borers.
“ A ny w o rk e r who left h is service
before th e end of the term
agreed,
w ith o u t perm ission, w as to be im ­
prisoned, as w as anybody else w ho p re­
sum ed to em ploy him . A nybody who
paid m ore th a n th e legal w ages w as
to be fined double th e am o u n t, to be
paid to anybody w ho felt h im self a g ­
grieved. A ny c o n tra c t p reviously m ade
for t’he p ay m en t of h ig h e r w ages w as
to be void. All lab o re rs and m echanics
w ere to be co m m itted to th e n e a re s t
ja il if th ey took m ore th a n th e cus­
to m a ry wage.
“ T h a t w as th e leg isla tio n u n d e r good
K in g E d w ard III in th e y e a r cf o.ur
L ord 1349. A nd nearly 300 y ears la te ’/
it w as still a crim e in E n g la n d fo r
w ork in g m en to com bine to raise th e ir
w ages. D u rin g all th a t tim e le g isla ­
tio n w as one long co n sp iracy a g a in st
th e m asses of th e n a tio n fo r th e profit
of a sm all class. T he m em bers of th a t
class m onopolized th e law -m a k in g
pow er, and used it ru th le ssly for th e ir
ow n benefit. T he so-called ‘H ouse of
C om m ons’ w as' an o lig arch y as n a rro w
and selfish as th e G rand C ouncil of
Venice.
“ Now the m asses are courted. In d u s ­
try in E n g lan d is e n tire ly in th e h ands’
of th e tra d e u n io n s; they d ic ta te how
m uch sh all be paid for labor, how long
a m an sh a ll work, and how m uch he
sh all do.
“ All E n g lish sta te sm e n ad m it t h a t
high wages are a good th in g , and if
P a rlia m e n t w ere to touch th e su b ject
a t all it w ould try to raise th e rew a rd s
of la b o r in stead of fo rcin g th em down.
T h is ie E d w ard V II’s a d v a n ta g e in
reig n in g in th e tw e n tie th ce n tu ry in ­
ste a d of in th e fo u rte en th . If he had
been liv in g a t th e tim e of th e black
d e a th , no d o u b t he would have been
shocked a t th e p resu m p tio n of a de­
m and for tw opence a day on th e p a rt of
lab o re rs w ho had been living com-
fo rab ly on a penny. H e would bavp
w ondered w h a t th e w orld was com ing
to, and he would have addressed th e
A rch b ish o p of C an terb u rw in a decree
designed to keep p resu m p tu o u s w o rk ­
m en in th e ir places.
“ B ut th e w orld ‘do m ove,’ and ro y ­
a lty m oves w ith it. T here w ill be no
m ore ‘s ta tu te s of la b o re rs ’ in E n g lan d ,
o r a n y o th e r c o n stitu tio n a l co u n try ,
u n til th e la b o re rs a re ru n n in g the m a­
c h in e ry of p roduction for th e public.
A nd w hen t h a t tim e comes, leg isla to rs
w ill be concerned w ith
m ak in g an
eq u ita b le d istrib u tio n of th e p roducts
of labor, n o t wit'h d e p riv in g the p ro ­
d ucers of w h a t th ey earn . No doubt
an y kings s u rv iv in g in th a t day would
be full of sy m p a th y w ith th e sp irit of
th e age. B ut people who w a n t to see
k in g s th en w ill have to look fo r them
in W e stm in iste r A bbey.”
A tw e n ty -th re e m illion d o llar sy n d i­
c a te will ab so rb D e tro it s tre e t r a i l ­
w ays. Oh, w’e m ust have com petition.