Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1890-12-19
and punched out five cents, and If it was
ten, he punched out ten, and when he
had punched out the whole thing, he had

AAANO SeAO ~ - y - - 49,
and underse3ing them in the market.
How do you'suppose, my friends, they
were able to do this Well, now, let me
show you how they were able to do this.
These manufacturers were selling glass
at cost without making. any profit. Now
you will naturally ask me how they were
able to do this? Let me illustrate: There
is a firm employing three hundred hands,
whose wages were 100000 per annum
Under this due bill system. every dollar
had to be taken out in the company store;
which charged them 30 per cent more
than they could have bought the same
amount anywhere for cash, and ten per
cent legitimate profit outside Of that,
making $50, 600 per annum profit on the
store, SO that they did not have to make
anything on glass. We desire law COM
pelling corporations to pay their help
every Saturday, j, in lawful money, SO that
the help can buy the cheapest.
Now in Pittsburg and the west there
was another lot Of glass manufa facturers.
They belonged to the American Glass
Manufacturers association. Their help
belonged to local assembly 300 Of the
knights Of Labor, that composed every
window glass blower in America. All at
once the western manufacturers notified
the members of our organization that one
of two things had to take place: We
either had to come down twenty per cent.
in our wages or that Jersey workmen
come up twenty per cent on his other
wise the western manufactures would
loose the market as the Jerseyman was
underselling them in the market. After
they told us that, what do you suppose
we did? I want to tell your workmen
who do not belong to unions, what we
did. Wewent down into our pockets and
pulled out the half dollars and twenty
five cent pieces and filed up the treasury.
Then we sent lot of Labor agitators
down to Jersey. You have seen what the
great daily papers have been saying to
you about these labor agitators for the
past few aSsrs They have been pictur-
ing him out to you as q man having
horns, with torch in one hand and re-
ceipts for making dynamite in every
pocket that he had. They. have been
telling you that he was a dangerous fell
low. Now am one OF those fellows.
Don't 1 look dangerous? WellI desire to
say right here for the benefit of of editors
and what small ones there may be in this
vicinity, that it is not what we have got
irf our hands and pockets that they are
afraid Of, but it is what we have got in
our heads such things as / am telling
you today.
Well we went down and talked with
those Jersey workmen and told them that
they were being robbed outiof twenty per
cent, of their wages. Why, my friend,
there are lots Of people who are being
robbed today and they don't know it; and
the worst thing about it is, thata major
ity of that class get mad if you tell them
of it. But we finally got them to see it.
When they inquired what they were to dc
about it, we replied: Form an organiza.
tion. just as your employers have done.
Join our orders, we will help you along. Z
Then they all Joined our organization,
and we used to meet with them in halls
! for two or three hours one night in the
week, and they soon saw how badly they
were robbed. And then they got mad, and
said they would not be robbed any more
and they all marched down to the com
pany's Office together one Saturday night
When the book-keeper saw them coming
he made out one of the due bills anc
| handed it to the first fellow that come
along. When the fellow said he did moi
want that, the book-keeper asked
him what he wanted, and he
replied that he wanted his pay
The book-keeper informed him
that they did not pay only once year il
that factory. Then the workman sale
that that was played out. Why" said
the book-keeper, are you not going tx
work on these conditions?" The mar
replied that he was not The book
keeper retorted that he could not work at
that establishment then. ''Well, repli
ed the man, then we won't work.
Then all the capitalistic press of New
York and Philadelphia put it out in big
pc that e All Il those Jersey glass
workers were on a strike" Why, capi-
tai had been striking them out of twenty
Genus on Lne Q0llaE IOr Uen years before
that, and there some papers had never
found it out. Well, do you suppose that
they paid us every Saturday night? Oh
mol They sent over to Belgium and
brought a ship load of Belgian glass
workers to work in our places. What do
you suppose we did? Why, we went
down into our pockets and pulled out the
half dollars and quarters and filled up
the treasury again. Then we sent an
other lot of agitators down to Jersey.
They were not fellows like we, this time.
They were fellows that could talk Dutch.
Those were Dutchman that they had
brought over. Every night these agita-
tors would talk Dutch to a few of them,
have their passage paid back to Germany
out Of those half dollars and twenty-five
cent pieces. Finally we got them all
back to Germany, and the bosses could
not get anyone else to work in their mills
They then put us back and paid us every
Saturday night and now they have got
used to it they do not mind anything
about ito be Continued.