Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-03
SIGNS OF PROGRESS.
Some Personal Ideas About Monday
Evenings Labor Demonstration.

Evenings Labor Demonstration.
/ [By J. L. JoNEs.l
| want to have something to say about
the great labor demonstration Monday
evening, as that sort of thing is just in
my line. have always been opposed
to labor OH principle as well as consti-
tutionally, and anything in the line of
shortening hours and increasing wages
is in line with my personal feelings, as
we'll as with the tendency of modern
civilization. This was the most gratify-
ing meeting ever had the pleasure OF
attending. The general tenor of the
speakers betokens great advancement
in public opinion on labor problems.
One thing was lacking still. A great
number of labor organizations were not
represented. The doctors, merchants,
druggists, bankers, pawnbrokers, land
lords, saloon keepers, dentists, under
takers, preachers, lawyers and great
many other unions did not put in an
appearance. All these bodies should
have been represented. The labors of
all these bodies are legitimate, more or
less. All branches of legitimate labor
have right to organize and be repre-
sented in convention. In this way we
can determine what is legitimate labor
and what isn't and how much. People
who labor with their jaws have no bust
ness to be left out any more than any
other class of labor when there is any
thing good going on. Even those who
carry on the campaigns with pen and
pencil are entitled to representation,
! though the government makes no pro-
vision to pension the widows oi those
who perish in this kind of war.
One great and wonderful mark of
change is the fact that the clerks un-
blushingly admit that they belong to
the working classes. A few years ago it
was generally supposed that they be-
longed to the nobility, just the same as
railroad officials and certain Office
holders and some other privileged class
es do now. II that socialistic institution,
the public school, backed by portion
of the press, keeps getting in its deadly
work few years longer all the nobility
will be leveled down to the grade of
workers, or the workers leveled
up to the grade OF nobility, or
something to that effect. | cau't
exactly describe it now, my mind being
greatly confused at the prospect of such
congomeration.
But started to write about making
shifts. The difficulty about clerks get
ting shorter hours arises from the de-
sire to keep open the stores for long
hours. 1t might answer the purpose to
have two or three shifts. Stores, res
taurants, hotels, any place of business
kept open sixteen hours should have
two sets of men, if kept open twenty
four hours they should have three.
This would give employment for all
the people and divide up the labor and
the wages more fairly than at present.
1t does not make much difference to
the employers what wages they pay or
what hours they keep 80 long as they
all agree. the employers do not pay
the wages, anyhow. The public pays
all wages. The clerks wages are taxed
on the price of the goods in all cases.
All employees wages are taxed on the
prices of products, freights, fares, or
whatever it may be, and the public
therefore is the proper arbiter of wages
and prices. Because the public pays
all, it should see that justice is done.1o
AS our civilization becomes more
complex new industries are always
springlng up. This furnishes employ
ment to some of those who are dis
| lO0SSo Wy thO lAblOuuCblOn OL HldClllA-
cry. Among the noticeable new indus
| forms, making shifts and cooking crow
60 that it appears to taste first-class.
| Making shifts is an art that seems to be
born with some people. When politi-
clan has no principle and would not
know what principle was if he ever
should discover one, he is necessarily
obliged to make shift TO wiggle around
| in. W
There are certain principles underly-
| ing all progress, and a person who has
insight into the working of these princi-
Piles can tell chow they are coming"
It is extremely amusing to watch the
wriggling of certain classes to whom fix
| ity and matter-of-fact has always been
a law of being when forces they know
nothing about, and are powerless to
hinder, begin to cut away the old tradi-
tions and conditions around them. Then
they have to make shifts as best they
can. The world does move some and
this makes shift-making an important
industry with those who oppose progress
and want to hold everything back to
the models and patterns of long ago.
The meeting was a great success in
that it proved that the employers of Los
Angeles are disposed to be progressive
and liberal. The only thing lacking as
1 said before was full represen tation
of all industries. The great question of
the day is how to reduce the hours of
labor and increase the wages. and some
of the unions not represented yet in the
federated trades have developed an
abilitr in this line that makes the
average trade unionist turn green with
envy. What is needed is organization
and classification of all Industries
legitimate and illegitimate-and adop-
ton of scale of wages and prices. A
fair division of labor and fair division
of wages is the only satisfactory settle
ment of the whole matter. Let us
have it pretty soon, especially the lat
ter.
Not Legal Debt.
The sunrama court of Massachusetts