, 1878-09-14
The Labor Question.


Enron DISPATCH: knowing the de-
pendence of your ably edited sheet, We
undertake to write you few items in
regard to the Swinomish country, and
to ENTER protest against the action ofa
number of harvest hands, who this
wear. have done more to lower the con>
dition of the laboring man than has
been done in any other ten years previo
Gus. In the first years of agriculture
upon these flats, which embrace about
a township and half in area, the Gus
tom was to work from seven A. NJ. to 3
P. NJ, with an hours intermission for
dinner; the wages ruled at from two or
three dollars per day. This years wa
ges. except in rare instances have been
but one dollar and half, Gust half OF
Eastern rates), and gradually but sure-
" the days work has heightened in the
neichborhood of the Skagit river and is
extending, from sunrise to past suns
set. An attempt of some men, for men
they were. to better their condition by
an advance in wages to two dollars per
day, was met by telegraphing up to
Seattle for more men, aud the next
nights steamer brought more than
double the men needed, sad commen-
tary upon the pluck Of the incoming
flood of laboring men that are now
being drained out of California into the
basin of Puget Sound. This is intend
ed in no wise, to reflect upon the gen.
tleman who would not stand the strike,
but is written to chide the men, who
when their fellow laborers make an
effort to raise the price of harvest labor
to . price corresponding to ruling rates
for such services in other parts OF the
United States. that they will not here
after persist in running the labor market
TO such an extent as to compel the
s'swine" to 60 on the clam beach in
winter; Ia order to exist. The London
Times pronounces the farm hand OF En-"
gland the most down-trodden workman
in existence. not half as we'll off as were
the slaves of the south; how long will
it take the American farm hand to
reach q similar condition. unless he
moro energetically exercises his in
dividual sovereignty as q man. and
insist upon continuance of the former
healthy precedences that here obtained
instead of gradually but surely being
reduced to system of absolute serf>
down, in fact if not in name. A working
man ourself, we have no hesitation in
declaring that if our class had more de-
termination in persisting in not work
ing over hours. thereby shortening the
number of each job. and not acting
foolishly stubborn, would demand an
exact quid pro quo instead of bowling
for government pap. silver dollars OF
our daddies and so forth, we would stand
firmly in our boots and feel ourselves
as the American citizen should feel. an
independent work of God, and in fact
remove pretense and actually in fact as
well as name, be as good as any other
man. These bowling demogogues who
CRY hemp. hemp; are but hypocrites
taking the attention of the laboring
man from study of his own right &C.
ton, to something extraneous In the
shape of bunting up other mems faults
instead of their own. An etiquette OF
labor can exist, just as immutable as
are the laws of polite society. and mo-
ments reflection will convince any man
thst rigid adherence to such laws
would make the field more pleasant and
the BODY feel less exhausted when It
lies down in blanket under the lee OF
q hay stack at night. We have quoted
EQe Term SWIuo lu Ills ASesSAs w
it edvisedly, set Of men that will allow
such custom to survive from old NIL
ming days to this late date. the custom
of packing ones own blankets and huLts
ing q place to sleep either in the stack,
the barn or under a tree, is thing We
fancy, that can l,=tt WI decisive
effect by the foreigner, when one of US
stumps ourself upon our free born
rights and freedom as American citizens
and pirate about the "broad pinnions OF
the American eagle, by jingo." Ifswe,
as class would speak oat, and tell
each rancher that We are not cattle,
they would do as they do in the East,
give US a bed; when the time comes to
quit, say SO, TN ersally say so, dis
dainine to do other than fair days
work for our employers, also speak
right out when he is inclined to take an
inch, for he surely will not be satisfied
until he gets an ell We would dc the
same thing ourselves were we in his
place; the chances are ten to one SO we
needn't felicitate ourselves upon that