{ title: 'The Clarion. volume (Troy, N.Y.) 1886-1887, May 15, 1886, Page 1, Image 1', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-15/ed-1/seq-1/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-15/ed-1/seq-1.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-15/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00170002/1886-05-15/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
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Q . iLE. ^ 5 c . ' 25c. i d s :S! 18 . V ERS,” S 8 S t .. . Y. oods Ts. L m o v . d n have iid their ivement. Men de- y prind* f the ol- ktiaa has n frater- he cause (wopleof otn from at regard r DatioQ- ■ |h they did not » t boya fireside, cel that rbo bore A to as- ind taste i crimes, distinc- ;he crim- being al ly. bings. sixteen.” mothers aoe work »y from trofltably liletin. insUUed e clerks lights of I to the {eneralty bearing a a s who f are all on eend, question it a more t keeping ide with lex o f the the pro- the his* fjr mem- ppy land VOL, I, NUMBER 2, TROT. N. Y.. MAY 15, 1886. PRICE 3 CENTS, ONLV THE WORKING CLASS. BY a eiersv. P o l bclo.g to tad Kolgbts olLibor 7 tp.end, I r id U jou'll b3 advLs.'d b; Ifou U Julu our onlar too. Uurciusi To lcd<p ta e bOuBst worklogmai Froia b .ii s trampKd in tba dust. It is Dot aoy woman's p irt, We otien hear folks say, And It a l l mar our vrotLanhood TocoUglel-itlie fray. I fet r 1 wiu n;y«r -jod: rstmd, Or ret lUe It quite, How a woman a lame can suHt r instnigg log forme rigut. ItaSdlUB' t worklog In a parasa we often me^t^ udlao i ssie e r a ttb o woiklngglrli A sth yp satntm o n the street, Toey stare a t U9 la proud dlsdila, And their 1 pa in acorn sUt curt; jy pass u s b / we h e arth isotly a yorkinggirl. With wtiH-g hi Able to earn my daily bread. A cdl • U iesbiitls take my part. You coaid offer me co tide That I’d b j more pro jd oQwc, As the qu eu apoa her t-. ;ae sigat Ye g-JnU- foils, m o piride Upon yooT wealth an And look witn haughtyaughty SMra upon ,0 p yoirae 'n yooT wealth and blrvb, h TaemanotIioae>t worth; Tour gentle b .rlb 1 liugh to sci For 1 Bold this as my creed, Oh! Woikl gmea and womec, Who toU for dally brwid. Cheer up, dobi diBCoaragtd, TQi r. 'a better times ahead; Only b i Uue unto yourselYts, And traetottoteyott lov, True to yur homes and ar^sldeB, And true to God above. B. fait itnlW our Order, id Keep Its laws, And D> ver tail wnen you’re a chsDcs “Where Knights of Labor are on terms of peace with their employers, their agreements aud contracts must be liyed up to. * • * Where no contract ex ists between employer and employe all diSorehCae arising between them must be settled ibrough arbitration. “This must and shall be the last strike uadettakcB without full authority from the Exteutive Board, after haying made a thorough inveatigatioD, and exhausted erery possible means of effecting a peace able settlement.” “ We will not ask for the retention of ^ any man who has been guilty of aoy act of Ticlence to either person o r properly.\ PownkKLT. 'The syerage weekly wages o f fuiners in Li 'ge, Belgium, is $3,60 per week,i nnd women 63.40; the standard Weekly wages MR, POfEERLYYS.WALlST. labor ' s repbesentativc vigorously CRlTinSES A broker ' s circular . ; THE OBNEBAI. UASXEK WORKMAN’S VIEWS ON ' ICAROINS—-HE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY OP 8PEOULATION AS AN ANNEX TO “ SEGULAB BjtNKIKG\— STOCK BOARDS AND THB GRAIN CHOP—TUB KNIGlfTB OF X.ABOE ABE NOT anarchists —AN INTBKB8T1NG LETTSR. To the Editor of the W orld: Obiy andK< To advocate ourciuM. And SO we 11 sCAiui together, UolUd oe«rt and hand. A'.d make our cause ylctnlous All orer every imd. BtLLlVlLLX, Out. K. OF L. NOTES, HoosiCK P ai . ls . —L A. 6560,of Hoosiok Falls, have purchased tlie roller skating rink. They will n i soon as possible fit it ap for meetiog purp ses, not only for their own use, but for the use also of L. A. l 6043. They will also fit up offices for the \se of secretaries of both locals. “Po itici-ns must be Unshed up driven out.” P owdbblt . Di'ung the ten months of the present fiscal year the national debt lias bren re duced $87.y71,568, a g a io of $:57,886,469 comport'd with the reduction d uring the coreespoudiug peuo'l of last year. At this rate the total reductiOD for the year will be about $106,000,000. “I warn our members against ili-con- sidered aciion.” P o w d e b l i . The Kmghtu of Labor will takh a hand ;n poliiitsat Di m'Lghsm.Ct., uextMon- day, having nominated a candidate f»r warden iu opposition to the choice of the heavy lax-payers of the to^u. The lines •between capital and labor have been cloaeit drawn and an aoi'uated con- iticip-ted “The church will not interfere with us 0 long as We mainUtu the I f of weavers is $2.94. The Amalgamated Association of Glass WOrkeis holds almost absolute sway over the glass work- rs of the worl i, and thrir authority is being couseryatively exerted, though n o t without more o r less protest from employers who have not as yet be. come acoust;med to the dictaticn of The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel 'workers is strong, powerful and silent, nnd is avoiding strikes and citations. Phiiadelphit makes more carpets than ail o f Great BriUdn, with her 80,000 tex tile workers in her mills in and near the Within a week some ten or twelve im port and railway enterprises have been projected in the western states, to be prosecuted immediately. “Yes, ‘an injury to one is the concern of all;’ but it is not wise to injure all for the sake of one!’’ P owdbrit . A monster 8-hour demenstiation was held in Chicago, on Saturday of last week at the Calvary Aimory; there were 20,000 people inside and outside. Several rev erend doctors were cn the platform and spoke. George A. Scbilling was the chairman. A reaolutioa was ptssed de nouncing the peifidy of Jay Gould. If tlie great corporations which have imported ignorant, poverty-stricken labor ers from fiuiope for the purpose of cut ting down the rates of wages were the ouly suffers from the occasional violence of these people there would be no partic ular occaaion for finding fault. Hired < the lowest possible rate, poor, unr j- cated, accustomed to the restraints A a despotic government, it is not to be won dered Bt that Poles, Hungarians and Bo hemians resort to the old country methods A corruption fund of a corporation finds these offidals, without regard to party, almost unanimonsly begging to be seduced fora eontideration. The labor movement is free from the taint. Mistakes of judgement may occur. The vested rights of an oppres.ed estion with some peoj is very simble. To discriminate against every enterprise In which he is engaged would annoy him and curtail his profits and in the end perhaps m in him. But -‘ ow to boycott Jay Gould is a puz zling question with some people, yet it mopoly, and thushus destroyestroy thehe systemsstem that make to retire from every position in the gov ernment, the minions of n t d t sy Gould’s is ihe way to boycott Jay. The New York Suspender Makers, by working from 12 to 16 hours a day earn from $7.50 to $9.00 a week. The women earn from $3.00 to $4.00 in the same The Buffalo plumbers and cigar masers have decided to work only 8 hours after The Enigbis of Industry, the name of a new so-called labor organization, has been started in Boston, which will not be likely to have muchb chancehat oaton, w c c t proposes e who have large class of people who have their sjim- pathies on the wrong side. “ We must not fritter away our strength and miss the opportunity of present suc cess in this struggle, by rusbieg into use less s trikes! ’ P owdbrl Y. been purchased with ‘ ‘boodle” from a cor rupt city government may not command the most profound and humble respect of the labor union, and in this the lalmr may be at fault, but he who studies the philosophy of history will admit that the republic has less to fear from honest im- pnlsive toilers tlian from unscrupulous syndicates and corrupt officials. Let the great “organs” not lose sight of this fact when agitated over the threatening atti tude assumed by an humble but righteous Inffignation. “If the law is wrong, it is our duty to change it.” F owdbrlt . There were bundredsof men applying for work at the Hissonrl Pacific offices and to East St. Looia, Wednesday, in response to the order issued by the Knights of LiDor declaring the big Southwestern strike off. Many were given employment at once. Business men are happy that the affair is settled. Martin Irons who ordered the strike on the Gould system when asked what effect he antiaipated the metood of end ing the tronble would have upon the kuigbts, said : “ We were waiting for recognition and we got it from congress, which represents all citizens of the United States. Is not that complete recognition! Oar order will grow after aftir even more than it has io the past weeks. Onr orders for cnarters have been so numerons tbnt we could soarely find time to consider them.” 'i 1 have before me the “Mouthly Finan cial Circalar of Henry Clews & Co',” bankers and stock brokers of New York. Expressing disappointment that “ the hopeful tone of the lavt diculai has not BO far been realized,” it gives as one of the reasons “ the retention of ogricultuial products at the interior owing to theirun- precemlentedly low prices.” Men not ac customed to the manner in which “agri- cuUnral products” are bronght to market may say that the agriculturalist b respon- able for that, and that be b simply holding bock for a rise in wheat or corn. The reader has only to turn to the fonrth p ^ e of the circular in questson and he will find one of the keys which, when turned in the lock, shuts of the supply of wheat and com as effectually blight had fallen on the ci part of the circular says; “In our regular banking business we a re pre pared to execute orders lor investmentor on margin in stocks, bonds, grain, pro visions, cotioD and petroleum. Grain and provisions are coanted among the things to be put np and kept ontil the gamblers in the necessariee fe have realized a handsome sum on the investment secured for them by tbe firm of Henry Clews & Co. The work' mgmen of the United States have not complained of the unprecedentedly low prices of agricultaral prodnels; they are not to blame for tbe retention at tbe in- terico' of these products. The farmer, whose labor goes to bring forth the grain is, by the aid of labor-saving inventions, prepired and can S‘-U his produce at a profit tor less money than formerly; be may be willing to sell tbe grain that is yet to grow, but that which grew last year b no longer in his possession. Tbe granary of tbe agriculturalbt is n ot now the repository of last year’s grain ! if you visit “ tbe interior” you must gain access to tbe inside of a grain elevator if yon would find the grain. Before the agrionl- Vural oroduct leaves the “interior” it is bought and sold a half dozen times. It! dances to the tune of specobtion through ] the hands of as many buyers, each of i whom must have h b “margin.” Ini Knights of Labor are in no way identi fied with the anarebbt element. The or- gamzatlon has net applied compubion as a means of enforcing “their now en larged demands,\ nor have the demands been enlarged. The strikes now progressing in many places for shorter hours did uot originate with the Kuights o f Labor o f ' t|M<h aoy of the trades unions of the United Slates. Tbe “Federation of Trades ’ at its aannal convention recommended the first o f May as a suitable date on which to begin to put the eight hour plan in operation. That body did ^ t vote to ■ifig it upon hurry the project, nor to spri the country, nor y et to sttike*^for it. It was the intention to begin on the 1 st of May to put tbe eight-hour plan in oper ation, and to continne the work peace ably and lawfully until it became univer sal. Few men object to the reduction of the hours of labor; on the contrary, every thinking mao, every man who has watched the rapid advances made in boor-saviag machinery, will admit that a reduction of working hours is a neces* sity. The employment of muscle in the world’s development is rapidly giving way to the use of machinery with its tenfold powers of produedon. The mental capacity of man b now taxed to tbe utmost. I t Is universally admitted tliat the brain-worKer cannot stand the strain of long hours of toil. Does it n ot seem strange that such men as Herr Most, Jay Gould, August Spies and Henry Clews should nnite in con demning the Knights of Labor! One party denounces the order because its members will not submit qnietly to every injustice or imposition that may be prac- tlcdb on them. The other condemns tbe Knights because they are too conserva tive. Let me qnote the Isngnage of the anarchist who spoke at the meeting in Europe, in olden times, it was a prison offense to buy wheat to sell agaiu, and Ihe man who violated tbe bw was mobbed and imprisoned. Times have changed since ttieo. Ad im Smith i-aid that wheat was least hable of all commodities to be absorbed “ iiy a few great capitab wnich buy it all up,’’/or the rerson that “its owners can never be collected in one place.” But sm-b an institution as the Chicago Board of Trade gathers the grain in from the farms, and ‘ -owner&” give way to the owRtr. It is DO lorger necessary to col lect the owners in one piece; to collect tbe grain is q uite sufficient. The house that “in addition to its regu. lar banking business” buys and sellsgraiQ and provbioDS without handling them should not constitute itself a censor of the action s of others, as is done by the firm of Henry Clews & Co. when they say, “Tue Knights o f Labor h ave under taken to test, up<fii a large scale, tbe ap plication of compulsion as a means o f en forcing their now enlarged demands.” That statement is fabe. Tbe Binighte of Labor have not undertaken any such test, aud it comes with an ill grace from any bnsiness house to make that statement when it is a km >wn fact that over four thousand assemblies of tbe Knights of Labor have voluntarily pledged tbem- selves uot to press their demands at this time in order that business may not fur ther depressed. The circnlsr throughout classes the Knights of Labor with tbe an. ar. bists. If Henry Clews & Co. were firm believers fn the tnito of the asser tions made in their circular, they would not think of inviting Ihe wrath of over 600.000 anarchbband their sympathizers. The statements made in tbe circular do not bear the impress of s.ncerity, and the business men to whom they are sent must uot be mishd hv them. The bicago hstM ondav T “QuittbeKnights of Labor* they will never do you any good. * * * Anarchy is the only way for the workingman to break the chains of slaver-r in which they are bound by the capitalists. * * • With revolvers in one hand, your knife in the other and bombs in your pockets, march on to revolution aud freedom.” That speaker d id not voice the senti ment of tbe Kuights of Labor or of any other labor organizdion in America. He would as readily use his revolvers aud bomba upon the workingmen whom he addressed as Jay Gould would wreck a railroad or swimlle the honest capitalist who might b e deceived b y his recent long talks ep.m public morals. The honest, stalwart American workman, whether n a tive or naturalized, is n o more to be com pared to the Chicago Anarchist than the honest employer of labor is to be com pared to the man «ho made “Black Fri day” memorable in the annols of Ameri can history. That the Kuigbts of Labor hare made mistakes I am willing to ad mit, but they can be rectified. The duty of the hoar is for tbe capitalist and la borer to meet, not as the Anarchist at Chicago recommends, for the purpose of killing each other, but for the purpose of ending strife, tulkiugover the situation and perlecUng plana for tha regblarion in future of a d disputes wbiplkmay arise. As an evidence that this spirit exists among tbe Knights o f Labor, I need but cite the action of the General Exeentive Board of that organization ia declaring the Southwest strike ofi’ iu tbe interest of the peace and prosperity of tbe conn- try. I beUeve I can speak for the trades- unions of America also, when I sav that they to are willing to meet capital half way In arranging plans for the prevention of strikes, lookouts and boycotts in fu ture. These plans, once arranged, will be faitbfnUy lived up to by the laboring people. Who will speak for the other aide! T. V . POWIXBLT. CAN HE DO IT V A writer in John 8wint< is yonng men who i€ militia, which 10 are doing service in theee time and no danger, that a recent cham the president to sent deases, in an emergency, to empowers t where he pi find that ^Blec il duty as soldiers. John SwiutoD and bis writers do IT militia. Tbe presiuent m it there was qmte a differt betweenorderingand sending Company F. might say: “Sorry to disoblige yon, bat oar social engagement will prevent onr going,” and Company G, might reply: “We paid for onr own anitorms, and don’t want to get them spoiled.” THE BALLOT AS IT IS, AND THE BALLOT AS IT OUGHT TO BE. I t is evident that we cannot have “a people’s’ government” unless we can con so l our political parties. That wo never can control them by our present method of voting can be clearly proven. That we do not control them now is already ad mitted. A great party is a dangerous power when some one or a few special interests, or a few bad men, can control it. This they can do, and will centiuue to do so long as parties are organized and main tained in the old war, One boss politi cian has more power to-day than ten thousand honest voters. The policy of government is shaped by patty. But the policy of party is shaped by whatever special interest, or '*ring,” e controlling it. Where then arc People?” They are the slaves of party; they are the slaves of the “great powers” that control and shape tbe pol icy of parties and of government; they are the slaves of party bosses and every species of tricksters who ■work for cliques and rings; they are the slaves also of those who, for coin or favors, sell their votes, and thereby create majorities in favor of the people’s enemies. The people are sold a nd controlleJ, The many are ruled by the few. fact; it ia only in theory. The pec lople di •elled to vote for two, three. This Is not a people's government in ot; it ia only in theory. The p not make the laws. Majorities as minorities are practically dtsfranchisdd. All this, and much more, ia due to two defects in onr method of voting. Jl^One of these defects is the necessity of getting a majority or a plurality in order to elect a candidate. The other is the district lines which separate voters of like ideas and prevent them from co-op erating to use their strength to the best advantage. Thus separated, they are fre quently compelled to vote for two, three, or more candidates, in as many different districts, although they may only have enough votes to elect one. The conse* quence is they elect none at all. Their votes are thereby cinceled, and the strength of their p arty interests are vir tually reduced to that extent. The ma- jonty party in a state ma.v lose enough votes in this way to give the control of the le^lature to the minority party. Thu-i tbe tundamental principle of our govem- meot—which is that tbe majority must rule~is very frequently de' afed at the very outset—that is, at allot box— and that, too, without tt rference of the “boss” or of the proft al political “riug.” But this is not t 'orst of it. The chief evii resulting irom the two defects iu our method of voting is the power which they emble the bosses and all kinds of tricksters to wield. The trouble is uot that tbe minority sametimes defeats the majority at the ballot box, but that the minority and the majority are b<>th defe ited by being ( im pelled to elect candidates put up by the ‘‘ring,’' or else throw thrir votes away on caudldates of their own selection. To run a n “independent” candidates is gen erally very iiazardmis. The piofessional “wire-t-uUers,” therefore, ia all parties, can with safety commite their men— knowing that tbe people will vote tor an uudesirable man of their own party rather than an equally undesirable one of the oppuslie party. The dilemma in which the voters are placed makes the profes- uonal politicians complete masters of the sitoation. ‘Put down the bosses,' ‘smash the ma chine,’ and even then it will be impossible for ihe ‘people,' that is, a majonly of the whole, to rule. A simple luathemstical s point p]ain. is a mine the whole* To itlnstrate, let us suppose two parties only of nearly equal nnm- ^ r s and one of them to elect all the rep resentatives to thelegisla'ure. That body will then represent only ooe-hatf of the voters in the state. A bill wUl be pro posed which is passed by a bare majoritr of one—we will suppose. 'Tuisglves law representing a majuiity of amaji or ouly one half of oue-half of all the voters in tbe state, leaving three-fourths of the whole number unrepresented. I t will make no difference whether the legislature be made np of one party wholly, or from both parties. As a rule both parties are repr,.S'’n ted ; but this only makes our illustration more perfect, in either case the law -will be the result of a majority vote in a bod; tbe reprt stead o f all tbe example will make this point pl A majority of a majoaity is a minority of we will suppose. 'Tuisgivee UB a law representing a majuiity of a majority, iresentatives of only one-balf in- j people. ‘The people, that i«, a majority of them, will fiul to prevent the enactuient of a law they do not J^ant, ioasmueb as tbelaw so enacted will represent only a quarter part of their whole number. In place of a legislatvre—or other de liberative body—representing only oue- ealf of all the voters, suppose we have one \Where two-thirds of them arc repr^ sented. It is true, this is much more than the average. Supwose, also, that a bill jiasses by a two-thirds vote. It is true, a measure of Importance is seldom carried by so large majority; but, never mind, wo are now Irving to make the ballot, as it is, serve the people. We are tryiog to make it possible for the ma jority to rule. The result of our effort.— mathematically stated—is th is; Two- thirds of two-thirds is four-uinfh-^ Therefore, leas than half of the voters will be represented by the law. Really, i ‘- 18 impossible to make our election mill grind even one g iist for the people. Wo are trying to secure the rale of the majority by permitting it to commence its rule at the bailot-box. The result at best—that is, supposing bossism and wire pulling not to exist—is, that the majority of the voters can rule at the ballot-box only; whereas, the important place for them to rule is in Ihe law-making body. Laws are not male at the ballot-box, but io deliberative aisemolies. and there only should Ihe majority prevail. Any system which compels tbe majonty to make the attempt to rule in both plai^ must neoessirily prevent i t from ruling in the only place where it is important to rule—namely, where the laws are made. We may beat the “bosses” now and then by a grand rally, but we can’t run political revivals continually; and, if we could, tbe rule of the majority would not be secured under the preeent system, un less we devise some plan or discover some natural law that will beat mathematics als’x It is not at all probable that any efforts we make to beat it in the future will prove more successful than have our poet struggles in that direction. Mathematics, thus far, proves that we, tbe “ptople,” cannot rule with the ballot as it is. Let us inquiie if it also points the way to tbe ballot as it ought to be. Our next article will answer ibis ques tion.—Simeon Stetson in Ban Fianmsco Star. WHY WE BOYCOTT. •‘If a man -wants to work for pauper wages, whose business is it except bis own,” is a^lincher that has gone by long enough unchallenged. We answer, it is the business’ of everyone whose wages this pauper labor effects. If I am paid $1.50 a day in a certain legitimate industry that should and could pay $2 or $2.60, aud I go out on a strike for my rights with a hundred otiicrs for higher wages, 1 am only d >ing ubat I have a perfect right to do. The $2 a day which I am contending for is my right and anyone who interferes with me In se curing my right is an invader ol i right. Tbe man who steps in and o to work a t the price I could n ot live at, is an invader of my right, and is aoing an ujury to me and all other toilers, as well as to himself and his own fimily. He helps to beat down the wages of labor; this deprives labor ol means to buy a consume, and in the end depresses pro duction and distribution. He is a public enemy when he usee his labor in such manner as to violate the legal rights of all other toilers. The man who refuses reasonable wages and who employs tbe scab IS also an enemy of trade, and is opposing the best interests of n'l. While it may not b e lawful to interfere with this manufacturer or laborer by physical force, is is certainly right to leave him alone. No producer who wants a fair price for labor and its products would act very wisely to enconrage scab' bing. For that reason everything made by s(»b labor ought to be boycotted. ialorgan- In the present stateofindustrialoi ization a life of industry may lei penury, while a life of loafing may le affluence, yet atill the mao who feels ac tuated by a sense of duty would rather suffer the former than enjoy tbe latter. The time will come when the life of a loafer will be a life not worth living for.
