The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-11-14

WHO ARE WORKINGakEF
Perhaps there can be no greater evidence
given of the inferior position which working
ner occupy in the scale Of society than the
reluctance which IL shown by men, who have
precisely The same interest," to cooperate
with them IN bringing about result which
win be equally Edvart. geous to both. There
is a disposition to regard only those as work
ingmen. who are actually employed atmanu-
81 la',or ia the shop. The thousands and
thousands of agents and other employees Of
railroads, banks, telegraph, insurance and
express companies, travelling men, and, in
short, all who are working merely for wages,
but do not consider themselves workiRgmen,
would feel insulted to be placed on the SAINT
level with the hard 6sted laborer at the forge
OF in the corn fisld. Yet in al that pertains
to true manhood, how Ear superior to the
class Of men to whom we have just referred,
are the men whom they affect to despise :
Who has not remarked ths obscquiOusness
of these gentlemen walters on monopolies TO-
wards their masters, and their insoIsnce to-
wards those whodo cot sport the broadcloth
and ihe beaver2 Take, for example, your
dry goods clerk (aDd with rare exception
they are all aIike), be wopld think his char
acter hoPelesslF gone should he be caught in
the company Of lAborIpg man, or be seen
with copy Of the WosEINcMAS's ADVOCATE.
But there is little danger Of his forgetting
his responsible position of measuring nib
bons and doing up sunaa packages for the
ladies, so far as to Lave anything to do with
the brawney armed hero of toll Nothing
would be more inconsistent with his mis-
sion.'' Society mas a work for him TO do
and he glories in performing it. He is ex-
pected to be on hand at balls and parties
eloved and coated as the law directs, for the
purpose Of occupying space. Just on the
same principle an ,gnOramus sends for 50
many feet Of gilt edge books, regardless Of
the conten 5, to set OF his library.
These poor creatures are rather deserving
Of pity than Of contempt. They know not
what they do. As slaves Of capital, or, to
express the same thing in other Language.
working merely for wages without partici-
pating in the profits, their interests are iden-
teal with those Of the sootiest blacksmith
hat ever rung an anvil They viii see this
after while. They havl already found It
out in New York, md th. independent stand
hat some Of them nave taken is . marked
contrast with the spectacle they presented
ten or a dozen years ago. Things move
slowly, but the grand pialsnx Of the galley
slaves o. labor Is everywhere advancing.
Il speaks well Tor those who work with their
hands that they originated the movement
and that they occupy the foremost ranks.
1t shows that whatever 'societys says, there
is something enobiing in labor. The fact
that this class Of men were the first TO feel
and the first to resist the oppression that is
heaped upon them, is a Sufficient proof that
II toll has hardeDed and stiffeneH their mus
cles, It has also rehned thejs hearts and iron
ed them to resistance.
in word; the grand division line which
.sepazs.sHs me two classes Of mankind from
each other is the division line which lie
drawn between the capitalists ard the labor
eT. The capitalist is he who derives his
profits from bis invested money the laborer
IS he who makes his support by making the
apital Of his employer productive and re-
oil Al
TITLES besides this for it is upon this that
life and hope and happiness depends. This
great leading distinction has never vet been
presented with Sufficient force, Dut we are
couirg 20 it BY degrees. The great task of
our day is to bring into one vast organiza-
tion all the departments Of labor, whether
represented at the desk Of the salaried clerk
or agent, or BY the man who drives the pillow
or works at the mechanics bench. The
germ Of this organization already exists, and
shows snfh cient signs of vitality to stArtle
almost out Of their boots the Eve per cent.
II cap stalists and monopolIsts who own one
hat ofaAl the property in The United States,
and who sre trying to beat down the labor
81 ar pre- ucer. that they may clutch the
til srhSiff Bullet them read lesson from
sl,e setQky Of Haaman. This eourtier adj |
yanc ID to the ropmost pinniOle Of royal IA
I, asAtill tortured with the thought that
pccsyew, MeFdecai, would not prOstr.te
~ in she dust before him. But il was
iordecai who daDgled from the xallows
fee. high.