Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1875-02-19

supernumery in Booths Theater, tainted |
ter actress raised her, and carried her TO !
the green room, and when she revived, |
told her story as best she could. She had
not eaten mOrsel Of food for three days,
aud her faintipg was the result Of nothing
but starvation. OF course, food was given
her. and of course n collection was made
for her, and then her ghastly story came
out Her husband was scene-shifter in
the theater. but had been down with Con-
sumption for nearly year. She had a
mother, also an invalid, and four children,
all of whom she had to support, and the
pay on which all this had to be done was
six dollars week. Think of il: rent,
food, fuel, medicines, clothing, for seven
people, two of them invallds, to be provided
out of six dollars week, and that pittauce
to be earned by one little weman-noJ
twenty-one years of age, from one of the
most precariOus of professions. The family
were living in the top of the house, in one
room, the house SO badly built that the
wind whistled through the cracks with
about as much freedom as it would on an
Iowa prarie, and no fire. The poor woman
cou dn't get fuel for heat, and she never
cooking. The sick husband and sick
mother lay on wretched pallets with scarce
ly any covering, and another wretched
pallet sut1iced for the younger mother and
her four children. All the day they lay in
that horrible nest for warmth, and to that
horrible nest the OverwOrked mother came
dt twelve at night, when her exhausting
labors were completed at the theater.
This is one case in twenty thousand, only
this poor woman had the good luck to faint
with her hunger Mt Il time and place where
her distress excited pity and brought her
relief Had she tainted in her garrett, she
would have died as hundreds do every day.
1t is terrible.
THE LABOR QUESTION.
The worst side of the labor troubles is
shown in the present strike Of the hands
in stone cutting yard up town. The men
in the same business in Newark and Phila-
delphia have but g. so for a days work Of
ten hours, and the men employed on the
Capitol at Albany have not more than
$3.50 for the same hours. The Journey
prohibits its members from working for less
than $3.50 days work of eight hours.
The firm in question have large contracts,
and being able to employ more hands than
they have at present, engaged some men
who applied for work at n less rate. These
men became dissatisfied after working with
the othe. hands, and complained to the
Association, who fined the firm S1U0, with
notice that in default of payment the hands
would be ordered on strike. This was paid
under protest as work was pushing; but
it was not long before another fine of 500
was ordered, on complaint of an employee,
belonging to the society, that he had been
detrauded ont of a days wages. The firm
refused TO pay the fine, and their men, rs
ordered by the society, went on strike. The
firm SOON had over twenty outside men at
work at the same hours and wages as be-
fore, but declare that under no circum-
stances will they again employ society men.
In consequence, the strikers have sent
| threats to the firm of burning its property,
and went so far as to assault teamster
drawing stone from the yard, striking him
in the face and knocking him down. The
arbitrary rulings of the Stune-Cutters' AS
sociation will go far toward breaking up
the business, SO important, in this city.
Its terms must seem exhorbitant in these
stimes, and whatever, without just cause,
which these men cannot complain Of,
throws men into idleness, and RIBS their
! families of their full earnings, must be
! looked upon as mischievous. and an evil to
oe sternly resisted and suppressed. Its a
singular thing that men dependent on their
daily wages for their daily bread, should
attempt to control their employers, with
! the thermometer below zero, and with
! thousands upon thousands Ot men out Of
employment and eager for work. But il
| is SO.
EXPRESS VS.. POST.
The Express Companies are very much
stirred up about the new system of Portal
Carriages, by which packages, not over
four pounds weight. can be sent by mail
| at the rate of a cent for each two OUNCES
! 4 new system, | called it, but it has been
on trial for nearly two years, and the public
are just waking 10 sense OF It's benefits, as
the Express monopolies are trying to take