Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-09-22


ways on the verge of pauperism, and were
consequently nearly always receiving char
liable relief"
This case, 1t will be seen, throws a lit
tie light upon the much parsded low rent
theory; for what does it signify how
cheap shelter may be If 1t shall turn out.
as In this instance, that to secure 1t q
man must plank down one-half or a
third of his pitiful esrnipgsi Most peo-
pie would be shocked at recital like
the foregoing, but they are used to such
things over here. The secretary of war
did not seem to take the matter to heart
in the least. According to the reports
in various papers tall sgreeipg), what he
said, in reply to this deputation, uas-m
that he could not recognize the right of
any one TO come between himself and the
men; (2) that If wages went up rents would
go up in proportion; 90 that plenty of men
could be got to do the work at the present
wages; and a. that he had to consider the
public purse, and not to lay a greater bur-
den than was necessary upon the rates
In regard to woman labor in England,
and the absolute necessity in SO many
thousands of cases that the husbands
earnings shall be pieced out by what the
wife can earn, We have alluded to this in
former letters, and perhaps the comment
from the hopelessly blind, that the situs-
tion has been painted in colors too dark
that, perchsnce, your correspondent was
drawing general conclusions from INSULT
cient data. Well, let an English newspa-
per come into tine witness box. The clip
pling before us is an editorial paragraph
of recent date. Having failed to mark it,
We cannot say now whether it Is from the
Chronicle, Star or Echo, but it treats of
the connection between woman labor in
factories and infant mortality. The COM
mittee appointed to consider this subject
will not want for msterisl, IL ssys, and
then 1t proceeds as follows:
"If they will turn to the evidence given
before the labor commission by the medi-
cal officers of some of our northern towns,
they will find facts as startling as any they
ara likely to discover. In Preston, for in
stance, the infant mortality is over two
hundred pei one thousand, and the evil
dence goes to prove that in the main this
wholesale destruction of children Is due TO
the work of married women in the facto-
ries. When a whole community of vo-
men are living under conditions that keep
them hard at work right up to the eve of
confinement, and send them back TO the
factory within a week or two of the birth
of their little ones, it Is very little wonder
that so large a proportion of the children
are too weakly to live over the first year of
existence. The hideous evil of this sys-
tenn shows at its worst in Lancashire. 1t
is on eyidence-and, If We remember
rightly, an attempt of several of the labor
commissioners to shake a number of wit
nesses upon this point utterly fsiled-thst
1t Ia impossible TO keep family in the cot
ton districts upon the average earning of
the husband. The mother must 60 to the
mill; aud the figures clearly prove that che
does so at the expense of the vitality of
her children"
How they treat the underpaid workers
of this country when poverty and its at
tendant temptations get them into trouble
two instances will show, both reported in
the papers the day We write, and both, we
are glad to say, calliog forth editorial CEN
sure. One is headed, "Stone Breaking, or
Prison for the Delicate Poor" This item
informs us that one of the six hundred
and fifty Thousand of England's unem-
ployed, "a delicate looking young man,
described as a servant without a home"
was charged with neglecting to perform
his allotted task of work while a casual at
the Croydon workhouse. Having nowhere
else to lay his head, he had gone there for
a nights lodging He was taken in and
the next morning was given hslf a ton of
stones to break at the end of the day he
had made small progress with his hard
task, and the morning after he found him
self before the magistrates for summary
punishment. His plea was lack of
strength, and his appearance gave color TO
this plea. But no, medical examination
was had and he got the usual dose-four-
teen days hard labor, aud the usual re-
mark of the magistrates in such cases
about being compelled to work in prison
The other nnFnrfnna#a fsallnr~ Cy0r
fourteen days hard labor for stealing
loaf of bread valued At twoPence three
farthings-sbOut Ave cents. This would
be a grave offence anywhere. but, of
course, in country like THE, where living
is go cheap, such thing becomes q ns-
tional scandal. To be sure the poor fel-
low belonged to the great army OF the un-
employed, and perhaps he was not to
blame for this 1t might have been quite
true, also. as he assured the magistrate,
that he had been ont all day hunting
work, and had not broken his fas: during
that time. But property, you know, Is
very sacred in this country-more so than
life, we have heard Eagiishmen ssy before
now-snd the mills of British Justice
well, everybody is aware that these grind
hard enough. And inst at this point,
while the old saying sbout the mills of the
gods is clamoring for use in some form, we
close up our snap shots at English life by
venturing the remark that If Great Brit
ain would make her labor mills grind out
surer employment and bstter wages, she
could safely run her mills of justice at
slower rate, in which case she would un-
donbtedly make better appearance than
she now does when held up, as in this let
ter, for others to see her she sees her
self. 81. T.