Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1875-06-10
Poor Specimens of Humanity

o stranger could not fail to regard with
curious attention the numerous groupes
and clusters Of men who we're sitting with
their hands mostly 10 their pockets, while
their dress was that of the working elias.
ses. Their attitude, in many instances,
was indicative of dependency while 'he
expression of many Of their faces seemed
iu itself, an inarticulate protest against
their lot in life Those men were not
Arabs, or Cinnamon, or Turks, or Hin.
docs, but, perhaps, lineal descendants Of
the pilgrims Of plymouth, aud the Dutch
Of Manhattan, and the cavaliers of the
Old Dominion. who had walked along the
beaten paths Of apprenticeship and be.
come proficient in some manual cccupa>
ton. only to rclinquish it, some of them
under the impression that they were not
getting "a fair days wages for fair days
work." whila others, rom lack of that
stamina which constitutes a true men,
sat there rs loungers aud lOafers, Sinking
responsibility and blaming the hard fate
which was the natural result of their own
indolcnce and discomfort.
Work, in one form or another, has been
the price of life ever since it was oldain-
ed that man should earn his bread by
the sweat Of bis brow. 1t 10 well to regard
it, not merely as a stern necessity. but also
a. a moral duty, and to take comfort in
remembering that: "Ich dien"-"l
serye"-is the true motto of nobility.
But there are complaints on the part
Of skilled workmen that competition closes
the doors Of success, and if ever the
statistics, which from the history of
~loafers, should be collected, among them
will 10 hone more indicative of how far
a man may degenerate from genuine
principles of selfrespect than that of a
kid. gloved individual who requested a
lady to give him his breakfast, at the
same time assuring her he had no money
to pay for it. The breakfuss was cheer
fully given, and while partaking of it
the young mar communicative, and ac>
knowlsdged that he could get ten dollars
a week in the way of wages he was a ne
cbanic, but he did not intend to strike a
lick until he got twelve. There is a
point where forbearance ceases to he a
virtue, and the lady made some pointed
remarks to the effect that many persons
would consider ten dollars a week a good
deal of money, and that some would even
work for their board in preference to be-
ing objects Of charity. To which the
high.minded tramp replied that people
looked at such things differently.
Now, while to feel kindly and act
chartably to all the sons and daughters
/ of misfortune is the natural impulse of a
good heart, such instances as the above
are not calculated to induce one 70 res
ceive the next applicant for aid with any
great amount of soft hearted consideration
and, considering the increasing number
of those "tramps," who are like the grass
hoppess Of the West, inasmuch as they
devour our substance making 10 return,
those Of them who are young and strong
and ble-bodied ought to be wiling to
work for their meals, and required to do
so that they may be educated into a
knowledge of the important fact that
while gratitude is a good thing, s%elf-re.
spect is a better one. In the matter
''striking for higher wages,"it is.to be re-
GREETED that there are times in which the
workman is SO hardly dealt with that the
feeling of injustice enters like iron into
the soul Of the man, who regards tho with
holding of a triAing amount of his wages
as a palpable injury, and who connects
himself, If possible. with a body of his
fallow.workmen IN a "union'' for mutual
protection, which sometimes waxes strong
enough to abuse its own power, and de-
liberately dooms the fellow-workmen who
refuses to become a member of the order
to frightful penalties, not unfrequently
ending in a violent death,
When the rich undertake to eccnomize
at the expense of the poor, there is apt
to be an "incompatibility'' between em'
ployer AMI employe, which is beneficial to
the pockets of neither party. The self
ish endeavor of a few to "get all they can,
and keep all they get," lies at the bot
tom Of those riots. which sometimes
render it necessary to resort to even the
use Of firearms in order to quell the
lawlessness of the savage mob, who, in
their confusion and destruction, have
matinied against capital, and who, in
their violent rage, would willingly rob