Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-27
CAPITAL AND TOLL
Moneyed Men of Pittsburg Have
Never Feared Manual Labor.
AN AUTHORS VISIT YEARS AGO.
Wealth With Refinement Contrasted With
Wealth Without It.
A SINGERS IMPRESSION OF THE CITY
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH,

town" for the Atlantic Monthly, and with
out delay he sought the newspaper offices as
being the most copious sources of such in
formation as he desired.
More than one newspaper man went with
him on his various expeditions, acting as
guides to the most striking and represents
tive. points of interest I believe, by the
way, his very first request was that he be
directed to a tack factory. He thought the
machinery for putting the heads and points
on little one ounce tacks must be
the epitome of all the most wonderful
manufacturing machinery to be found any
where. He found what he came'to find, and
an exceedingly interesting descriptive article
was the result. 1t described, and described
well, the phases OF Pittsburg life and activity
that would most strongly impress stranger;
aud the method of making tacks was dealt
Within an interesting manner. But the
Pittsburg he described was necessarily the
external Pittsburg, with only here and there
an imperfect glance into the inner character
OF things No doubt it was more interesting
SO to the general reader; for strangers are
desirous of knowing the things that would
impress them on a similar visit. They
might not value the deeper insight of the
more intimate and leisurely observer.
CAPITALISTS WORKED TOO.
But the observation which was really the
most significant OF all made by the distin-
guished visitor I don't think got into his
article at all. I heard him talking about
his visit to one of the great iron mills, and
he mentioned thing that had surprised and
interested him very greatly. He and his
guide had encountered in the mill a man
who seemed to be in authority, but whose
face and hands were grimy with work. Some
emergency had arisen, it seemed, and this
man, not content with giving orders how to
meet it, had turned in and helped as actively
and effectively as any mill hand OF them
all. He left his work and devoted himself
with cordial courtesy to the visitor, giving
clear and masterlys and very practical in
formation so long as the visit lasted. And
the surprise in the visitors mind was occa-
stoned by learning that this most interest
ing entertainer was not a very exception
ally admirable foreman, but one of the pro-
prietors OF the mammoth establishment, and
one of the wealthiest men in the city.
That was a fact which a stranger within
the gates might veil ponder and digest at
his leisure. remember once hearing Hon.
James Lowry, when he was Mayor of Pitts
burg, say with great pride to party of Wis
itors, 1.-THE richest men We have are work.
ers; and the best workers are likely to be-
come the richest men,"
WORTHY OF GENERALIZATION.
And that is the factor was then; for
all this, be it observed, refers to
time more than score of years back in the
past. Things may be different now, in this
rs in most other particulars. But at that
time, think, shrewd comparison of Pitts
burg with other cities would have brought
out this fact as the characteristic which
IL ,.ks la1 Ha1I
from her contemporaries. Labor and capi-
tai were not divorced. They had quarrels
sometimes; but capital remembered its work
ing days, and labor hoped for its days of
moneyed independence, and so they were not
at hopeless odds.
But Mr.. Parton, or any other observer,
would have noted only half the fact if he
had stopped with the grimy proprietor help
ing his hands in the mill. There was more
to it than that, and the rest was quite as sig
nifcani and quite as interesting. Ii the
visitor could have gone home with the rich
mill worker, he would have had another i'm
pressive revelation. He would have seen
this man surrounded by all the best results
And he would have seen further that the
man fitted these other surroundings OF de-
lightiul home and social life as perfectly as
he was fitted TO the requirements of mill
emergencies. This was another phase of
Pittsburg's distinguishing characteristic.
Not only did work win money, but it knew
how to use it and how to enjoy it. The
shrewd wit and the broad intelligence that
knew how to plan success wrought also in
other directions. 1t did not expend itself
wholly in accumulation. 1t had plenty of
force left to bring its possessor we'll to the
front in matters of general
ENLIGHTENMENT AND CULTIVATION.
The rich worker cou Id talk about and en-
Joy plenty OF other things beside his ma
chinery and his contracts. or course all
this refers to the best representatives of the
order described. Other sorts there were, .
undoubtedly; for money-grubbing and
shoddy are everywhere. But the men 1
have spoken OF were numerous enough and
strong enough to constitute definite local
class; while the others belonged to class as
old as civilization and unhappily peculiar
to NO one community on the face of the
earth.
I am tempted to emphasize this repre-
sentative Pittsburger of the past (and also
OF the presently by contrasting him with
another moneyed worker whom
came in contact with very recently.
Far enough away from Pittsburg this last
specimen dwells, but he is, and always has
could easily be in constant contact with the
best which to-day's civilization affords. He,
too, represents class, but it is not local
or restricted class. He is simply a rather
pronounced type of those people whom
Charles Lamb must have had in mind when
he said, "the Lord showed what He thought
of money by the sort of folks He gave it
to-" To begin with, he owns a large and
valuable farm, which is no small wealth in
itself. Beside the farm he has at least
100000 securely and very proftably in
vested in mortgages.
HIS HOME LIFE.
He is well enough along in years; and he
and his poor old wife live all alone, their
children having all married and struck out
independent paths. 1t is worth noting that
the children married and got away from
home as early as was at all practicable. |
One by one they discovered that they had
had enough OF the old homestead. There
was no poetical or romantic glamour about |
it for them. The homestead is compare |
lively new house, built under protest to re-
place the cabin in which the children grew |
up. 1t has a good many rooms, but only |
two oil them, 7 believe, are furnished; these |
are the kitchen and one bedroom. The |
"parlor" no person ever looked into except |
the members of the family. The old man
had q row with the builder about this
front part of the house. He did not want |
the expense of having front chimney put
up, because there would never be any use
for it. But the builder declared he had
never put up house without front
chimney, and he never would; and he had
his way, to his patrons great distress of
mind.
Guests, when they come, are entertained
in the kitchen. This is a small enough
space to begin with, and it is reduced
good deal by q wainscotting of crates and