The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1891-07-16
APPEARANCE NOTES.
! WoRklNGMEN VINO DRINK.

TEMPERANCE NOTES.
WoRklNGMEN WHO DRINK.
Damas,nx Influence or tho saloon in
.5sa 80 <f5s Labor Strikes. 2 E4a y
I An eastern prohibition paper has
been investigating the effect of the
drinking habit on worlxmen and wages.
1t has pnt the question to number of
firms which are large employers of
labor, an some of the replies arc ex-
tremcly Interesting. Here is one from
the firm OF Samuel c. Tatuma g. Co.,
who have a large foundry and machine
shops in Cincinnati, o., and who are
very widely known all over the state
The reply. in full is as follows: ~.
A drinking man will turn out ten to Twenty
per cent. less work than a non.drinkcr, and in
addition it Is apt. to be defective and require
overhaulinS. This is especially ,truo OF heavy
beer drinkers A nottingham may tamper
with.whtsAy to . very considerable extc:,t and
still be- capable OF a bright idea or suggestion;
but not SO with beer drinkers; they become
heavy, sodden, lack ambition and seldom vary
the mode Of doing their work.
When one workman drinks too much it at
a.'ltttle leaven leavens the whole lump" The
workmen OF shop are parts OF u great ma
chine. and the inabilityof part to perform its
functions will derange the whole. The amount
OF this arrangement via be in exact proper.
ton to the number OF parts affected.
Tho employer pays for what he gets. If drink
decreases mans output ten to twenty pcr
cent. he will receive that much less. or the en-
rloyer will retro from business, unless he can
command sufficient sober help to make up the
shortage Of the drinkers.
Arbitration Of labor difficulties would be m
exceedingly easy matter and long strikes would
be unheard OF, il saloons were closed. All the
trouble we ever had with our hands could bo
traced directly to saloon influence.
The testimony of many others is ex-
actly in line with the above. That the
habit of steady drinking impairs the
quality of workmanship wherever
skilled handiwork is involved is too
patent to question. The trembling
hands of habitual drinker cannot
have that firm, strong, yet light and
sure touch which is a sine qua non for
first-class work. The befuddlcd brain
loses its power of accurate Judgment;
the unsteady eye does not remain the
safe, sure guide it can become by train
ing, When in its normal condition.
Not Gully is the quality of the work
impaired, but its quantity is decreased.
II the worlzingman is paid by the piece,
CT the quantity, this does not directly
set unfavorably on the employers
pocket; but it does Indirectly, by re-
luiring more men to do given amount
Of work within a certain time. If he
works by the day he is an expensive
luxury, and will be certain of discharge
on some pretext
Another point made by Messrs. Tatum
& Co., which is SO true and so impor-
tant that it should meet with attention
from every labor union or other asso-
citation of worlingmen, is that drink
ing man has Il generally bad effect on
the whole establishment in which he is
employed. AS the above letter truly
says, worlkmen are but the parts of one
great machine, and the inability of any
part to discharge its functions accurate
~ and promptly dcranges the whole
The closing point of the letter is an
other that needs the earnest attention
of every worhingman and friend of Ia
OOI. AOAt, SLilhtS "OulC DC uulledru
of if saloons were closed,' say Tatunl
& Co., and ''all the trouble we ever had
with our hands could be traced directly
to saloon influence" This is a matter
that can profitably engage the atten-
ton of every labor organization. Too
often the latter arc mere associations
devoted really to getting as much pay
for as few hours of labor Us possible
We have no fault to find with an hon
est, fair, straightforward effort to get
proper pay and to reduce the hours of
tabor to the eight-hour standard; we
favor both. But has not labor a rccip-
FOCAL duty?
If labor union practically prevents
an employer in one line of industry
from employing single workman who
is not member of that union, is it not
just and right and proper that it should
furnish him frst-class workmcn-not
drunken sots, whose evenings and holi-
days are spent in saloons, guzzling beer
and destroying their ability for work
of the best sort both as to quality and
quantity?
1.-THE professional labor agitators who
talk 1nagniloquently about the rights
of labor and the aggressions of capital
really desire to harmonic the two,
tn ey cannot do better nor more useful
work than, while insisting on labor
having its rights, to also insist that the
employer shall be treated with fair
ness. Let labor unions draw the line
on drinking men, exclude from their
mem bership all such, and they will
have done more by that one act, to dig
nifty and ennoble labor, and to put it in
Its true place, than by a century of en-
deavor in any other line of action which
does not involve this.-Toledo Blade.
STRONG TESTIMONY.
Wrong Impressions Which Lead to Terri