Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-05-22

leave the rougher life Of my daily toll
behind me, and for the short time al
| lowed to me. place myself under it's
benign influences. / like to have s
carpet on my floor, pictures Oh my
walls, a comforta bic dwelling for my
| family, sufficient food and clothing.
aud papers to read now and then. All
these things cost money. The only
| thing | have II exchange for them is
my labor. And that faithful perform
ed, ought to enable me TO procure them.
| But how am To stand against the
| men in there? They do not speak our
| language; they have no conception OF
our manner of living. They have been
so thoroughly brutaliZed in their own
| country that their wants are little
| above those of the animal. You saw
how they lived. Virtually, it is said
| to me. you and yours must come down
| to the standard Of these people, or be
suppIanted by them. How can home
| life exist under sucl surroundings?
The family must give way to the herd.
II this goes on, those who came after
me will become drift wood, blown
hither and thither. without settled
place of habitation, without love of
country or fear Of God "a danger to
tie island and curse to mankind!"
Farmer Jack again made DO reply;
but, as he silently followed his son, his
very step showed that new purpose
and new determination we've being
born within him.
They went to many houses, and saw
many people, in different conditions;
but degeneration and misery were
written in broad characters over the
whole place, except where the Giant's
poverty about them.
Then they went to the store of the
Giant, and saw goods issued to the
men who worked for hirr, at price
third higher than to others over whom
he had no control. He saw part of the
wages of his mep held back, upon one
pretext or another. He saw the
amount Of their product dOcked, for no
other reason ;han that they were max
ing too much money. He saw his own
children and grand children remors-
lessly turned away, to give place 10 the
stranger, who had 30 part or lot with
him or his. He saw money extorted
from the seIfs of the giant, under ev-
cry possible pretext, and with no pre-
text. Men were compelled to pay for
ty aud fifty dollars a month for the
privilege of living in houses reeking
with vermiD, not worth forty or fifty
cents. He saw families turned out
upon the roadside, 10 the tender mer-
cies Of the elements. He saw evictious
as cruel us any in the most OF pressed
regions on the other side of the river.
He saw wrong-doing, and robbery. and
oppression, fra I'd, and hypocrisy until
every drop of blood in his body tngl-
ed and burned in his veins. Last of
all they came to a cottage little
apart from the others. 1t was no
ordinary brown plank shanty, but
something about it gave the impress
sion that it was not occupied by an or
dinary miner. There had been some
attempt to protect the yard. The gate
was latched; the fence had been re-
paired. Where the glass was out, pa
per had been neatly pasted in its place,
and the litter had been removed from
about the door. They entered. The
room was not large, but was very
clean; the rough boards of the floor
had been scrubbed white, the slips on
the pillows Of the bed in the corner
were old, but white as snow; there |
were no stains on the coverlet. Some |
half dozen men, who evidently had |
made some effort to make themselves |
presenta ble-for thev were washed and |
com bed were sitting about the /
room, talking in subdued voice. |
SObs now and then came from the lit
tie room in the rear Of the building.
Two backless chairs, little way apart,
bearing a rigid object covered with
sheet or what had been sheet, told |
the whole story. Death had come to
that household, as it had come to many
another, as it will come to many more.
The formers son went up to the
chairs, and, with a gentleness one
would scarce expect to find in one of
his class, laid the covering back from
the face Of the dead, and removed the
cloth from the forehead. A large b ole
appeared in the side Of it through
W hich blood and brains oozed, The
man had died by violence. The face
of the dead was pinched and drawn,
hut still ii was a noble face. The face
Of born leader OF men. Replacing
the cloth, and reverently covering the
face again, they left the room without
speaking.
Shot in row. said the farmer, as
they regained the street.
No, not shot in row." said the son;
"executed.'
Executed! what do you mean:''
Il mean this: that this man was
honored as no other man was ever
honored in these mines. He consented
to help Us organize, and if posi- BILE, get
rid of these people from the other side
of the rlver. He was so universally
believed in and respected that the boys
f uIIowpd him almost tn a man. The