The Labor enquirer., 1885-01-24
-
BILL.
He Starts Out IS ! Peddler Or
Clothes Nringers and Ends
asa .Floater.n

The Great Army Of Nom Productive
i. Workers the system Creates, then
J, Starves or Hangs.
For The Enquirer =.
4 Did you ever study the clothea-wringer
manf think the evils of the world
! press harder on him than anyone elss.
Hecan be found in large numbers in any
city. His missionis to trade wringers,
Z but never expects to sell outright. He
A may be seen on street corner with 8
new wringer and pnsxled expression.
wondering which house contains worn
tops vris ynlidy ,iIbls wo.ssu
ready to trsde and give boot
At rare intervals he may be seen with
an old played out wringer, walking
q briskly with a triumphant air. He has
| made trade and ls now looking for q
place to- bury the old one.
4 | am stationed where can watch the
clothes-wringer man as he passes on the
street at short intervals, q sometimes
] think there are more wringers than gar
ments in the country In my opinion,
Judging from his looks, he seldom makes
trade. HIS chief characteristics are
his discouraged, down-cast eye and few
perforated chair-bottoms slung over his
shoulder, which he hopes may eke out
the profits of his invested capital. No
capital ln-(his)yest however. Pardon
me.)
"A clothes-wringer man appears to me
like one who has made failure Of every
other occupation. He seems to lack all
the qualities that insure success. Heis
IS years old, has ugly features and is
awkward and green looking That bold
look was acquired by long practice in
approaching the terrible mistress Of the
laundry on the dominant subject Of
wringers, and his courage has been
strengthened by repeated failures, He
is rather fluent in speech, but originally
was so green that every one of bis state
ments required a diagram. He is of
rustic origin, hence his first lessons in
practical life were learned al elections in
a red school house, and during the
Ithreshing season. All the poetry inhim
developed under the influence of the
melancholy lowing of the guinea
hens, the neighing Of sheep, and the
weird croaking Of the tree. toad. Even
ARE s Hhsa IS afass a tBaaB Aa6 Aa6xh viii ID
press his hot brow on his hands, and
recall bygone scenes of purling brooks
and fourteen hours of work per day
of husking bees and busy bees of the
melons he stole and the melon-cholic se-
auence of the mellow-eyed kline he
raised and the mortgage he could not
raise. Perhaps he sheds tears-un willing
tribute to the mysterious evil which will
scarcely let him live and which he can
not understand.
When was rustic unkempt youth
l had a chum named Bill. Had I then
the knowledge l have since gained /
should have seen that Bill possessed all
the qualities of an unsuccessful clothes
wringer man. He had big feet, an in
quiring mind, progressive tendencies
and an active imagination. He was
homely enough, so ugly that his features
gave him pain. He was 80 awkward that
he positively appeared lame. He was
so diffident that no one but me could un-
derstand him or comprehend the beau
ties Of his sympathetic soul. Il ..
Bills access to literature was limited,
such as it was. it made him discontented.
He read local paper with patent In
side, and there caught glimpses Of the
great world without. He read of prize
fights, base ball. elopfng coachmen, and
fortunes made from September corn.
He learned how bank presidents would,
when they saw youth pick up a pin,
take him into the bank as cashier for
being 30 economical. Ny chum wanted
to go to the city and try the pin scheme
and perhaps marry the bankers daughter,
or failing in that, rescue millionaire's
little girl from drowning. receive the
gratitude of the parents and be offered
the position of coachman where he could
wait untYthe child grew up.
l - @ F
/ BiKfeltthe necessity for making
pew move for the mortgage was getting
ahead and Bill getting behind. Inter
est was always great mystery to Bill.
i He often wondered why bis surplus wool,
hogs and grain were absorbed by a hum
CRY thing called interest, when all the
time his object was to pay the mortgage
and nothing else. ..e
4 One morning when thetmortgage and
a heavy fog hung over the farm, Bill
Thought he would 90 to the city and raise
the money in short order. When he
reached the city he did not know how
to take hold of it. It was several sizes
larger than he expected to find it. He
i wonders how they built houses so high
and was afraid they would fall upon HIM.
i His first object was to find where the
rich people lived and on which wharf
their children played most. He watched
the lake for several days, when finally
he saw ; commotion which he could not
/ mistake. Hearrived on the scene in
time to find that a very small girl had
Ijust been rescued from the water by