The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-08-28
For the Intelliseneof:
How WOrkIngmen Can Better
Their Condition,

How WOrkIngmen Can Better
Their Condition
From one oi their Number.
The Grange was organized among far.
mers to help them socially. We all know
there was need Of this-isolAted as they
are from one another and from City Life.
Once organized they discovered their
strength, and set about TO redress real and
may be imagined wrongs. Among their
efforts in the West they began to move
against the railroads. Their attempts
may have been crude, but they have the
merit Of producing important results,
and their acts have been sustained by the
courts, Notwithstanding the tremendous
efforts made by metropolitan and other
influential papers to sneer the "Gran.
gers" down under the subsidizing in.
luence Of the railroad monopolists.
Now the whole country has been and
still is agitated by the grasping proclivi.
ties OF these monopolies. The Grangers
accomplished their object without blood.
shed and revolution, and have retired
upon their laurels. Now let US remedy
some OF the other wrongs in the same
manner.
One thing il noticeable. Those rail-
roads effected by the so.Called Grange
legislation have since been on their good
behavior, and the recent troubles have
been on roads not effected by this legisla.
tion, although some Of these subsidized
papers have had the assurance to blame
the Grange for all the trouble, while they
have had nothing more to do with it,
either directly or indirectly, than our
Presbyterian brethren, who place it as
judgement of God for running on Sunday.
But the Grangers, Presbyterians and
Coda judgements may in some way be
distantiy connected.
Another effort the grange has been
making is to attend to their own business.
They discovered that many articles which
they consume, as we'll as much that they
produce, in passing from the producer to
the consumer often doubled in price, and
this seemed to be getting worse and worse
every year.. And in attending to busi.
mesa which they might attend to, others
were getting rich while their own condi.
ton was growing worse. They came to
the conclusion to "attend to their own
business" and as consequence, "Co.
operative stores" Supply houses" and
"business agencies" were started up all
over the country, and in one OF them, in
Ohio, there has been saving the frat
year, to customers OF $500, 900. This may
have hurt somebody, but they certainly
had moral, legal and business right 10
make this saving il they could. "Work-
ingmen" are advised great deal now.a-
days, and some of these subsidized Jour.
mails advise the starting Of the co.opera.
tive store or societies in business way
to reduce the cost Of living. And such
conservative journals US the Scientific
American have taken it up, and il would
be we'll for workingmen to look at-Some
Of the facts presented.
Building associations have in some
cases helped men 10 get homes; in others
they have feeced them. But the first
thing before getting home is bread to
eat, and II it can be shown that a days
living can be obtained for rs cents which
otherwise cost 81 90, it Is certainly worth
while to look around. This saving has
been attained in some cases, and IL COM
menced ten years ago by our working
men their condition might have been
different.
There are various classes OF working.
men. The farmers and mechanics are
workiugmen, and the common day labor.
ers are such. It is from the latter class
that troubles come, simply because there
is the least reading and thinking among
them and the most ignorance and shift.
leSsness. 1t seems impossible for them,
to use a common expression, to lay up
anything for rainy day; and they,
II not sooner affected by hard
times, feel 1t then the most se.
verely. II they get good wages for a
week 1t is spent In week; II for a year
1t ia all gone at the end Of year. Then
they begin 10 complain and curse the
hand that employed them, and strike to
paralizs II, and render it incapable OF
giving further employment, when, prob.
ably, the employer Is one Of their mum.
ber, who has saved a portion Of his
week = work, in times past has laid up
for the "rainy day" which II seems now
has come 10 many.
Now is the time to impress II upon the
minds Of laboring men that it Is shiftless.
ness, lack Of saving, that brings them
individually to hard times. They are sav.
ing now. partially, we all admit, and let
this be lesson learned upon what to
build q future education; and let those
who will not learn 10 save fall back to
fill our poor houses and work houses;
and when good times come again let US
as laboring men assert our individual in.
dependence, not our political indepen.
dence, with no politician and temagoeues
to lead us. Doing this good times are
indeed already here.
My stroke may be small, bnt it is BY
many small strokes that great works
are accomplished. ] am truly,
DAVID DASH.