The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-07-31

day with a very Intelligent day laborer
last week. He complained to me that his
hours were so long I'M his work SO hard
that he had neither time nor strength TO
read enough 20 keep his mind growing.
and | submit the complaint was a very
just one. Now, Ia this city we have a
magnificent public library. n OF the
finest i'll the United states, put what
time has the average CLERK Co use
Ever and auon wa have u course OF lee
lures on some useful and important sub
jecr, but they are of no use to the en-
ployss IN our dry goods stores.
IN THE INTEREST OF HOME.
again, early closing is demanded in
the interest OF the domestic and social
nature of the clerks. Fathers and
mothers ought to have a chance to get
acQuaintea with their own families, aud
to do something Tor the culture OF their
owe children. The great need of this
city Is u more complete home life. The
father is gone all day ami comes home at
six o'clock. The boys and girls are clerks
and get in from eight to ten. 1t is a rare
thing Tor the Whole family to be toxethsr
in daylight. There is 40 forming OF home
ties, there is no genuine home
life. Affection is killed. Interests
drift asunder. The restraints of the
home are lost. / plesd for a chance for
the whole family to gather around the
evening lamp. for the Older brothers and
sisters &c get known TO the younger ones,
for the father and mother to have all
their flock together under their influence
once u day, before the children are
sleepy ana go to bed AMI the older mem
beers of the family, exhausted by excess
siye labor. | want the whole family 30
be together in time for a sail down the
Bay; or for a concert or entertainments AS
they cannot be ii part have to work till
eight o'clock.
MORAL AND RELIGIOUS WELFARE.
"As u religious tsacher, | want early
closing for ths sake of the moral and re-
Iigious welfare of the people. In my
church here We hold three meetings on
week nights each week for the moraland
religious advantage of our people. Bat
the felss who work all day and up to
eight III the evening are debarre6 from
all these. We cannot keep the rest OF
the congregation here until nina or ten
o'clock waiting for the clerks. Then
again. very many Of these employees are
kept up on Saturday night till near
or quite midnight. As a con-
sequence they have to sleep Sunday fore
noon. Then because they are tied up so
closely all the week. they feel they must
&C out on Sunday afternoon for u bit of
fresh air and sunshine, and they often
do not get back in time for the evening
service, aud, for the life of us, we minis
tiers cannot be very sharp upou them.
We need more lime, they need more for
their moral aud religious instruction..
EARLY closing relates itself to morality
in other ways. IL Is altogether certain
that a great deal OF intemperance comes
from using alcohol and opi4tes to sus-
tain the burden OF excessive toll. Men
aud women do not get time enough TO
eat and sleep and resi- properly, aud they
resort to stimuiaHss u keep themselves
up. They thus burn the candle of life OF
both ends aud break down in soul and
cody before half their days are gone.
H REMEDY.
After all the bringing about of early
closing. rests very largely with the ont
side laboriHg people of this city. 1t IS
evident from the response of the great
majority OF merchants up to date that
they will bs only too glad TO hail the
Iuel and light. and ct favoring their
clerks. II taere should eventually prove
10 be any exceptional cases, they will
bave to be dealt with on their
own merits. The richer people of
this city do not buy after dark. The
only considerable obstacle there seems to
be is the affirmation that this is q rail
road town, and that the railroad people
must have the stores open in the evening
for their accommodation. But ara there
no women In these rai!road families, that
they can do the buying in daylight? |
believe that The plea for keeping Lhe
stores open is very largely prstext. The
working man il not sucn u slave but that
he can do his buying and selling in the
daylight ii be wants TO. Let the working
people of tubs city take AWAY the plea for
open stores in the evening by staying
away from Lhsln and making their pur-
chases in daylight, when they can
ses the quality OF the goods better
and then. If aay store persists in keeping
oman in the QpQn1nU lat. manila RnAu aWaV
from il in aaylight. 100, aud will soon
come to time. All working people need
to stand together better than they often
do IN such matters. They are often zach
others W worst enemies. Ii they stand
by each other they could get better terms
for themselves than they often do, and
the whole community would b, better off
Ia the tong run. Aud let the working
people stand by the stores that favor the
clerks. and let ths good people in all the
city ~patgon:zs them. anu ny word for il,
We will soon have things on the right
basis.
SHORTER HOURS OF LABOR
FINALLY, | favor early closing because
it seems TO me a step to shortening the
nours of labor of workingmsp in general.
IL always seemed To me- an absurd pro.
position that under any well regulated
condition of things IL shonld be necessary
for any human being TO put in eight, ten
VI AttsSu AOhEo q uat, HUfAluS uuIe-
mtttlnsly for tie very plAiuest food and
clothes. We hear constantly about thu
vast surplus of production. 100 mncu
wheat. wool. corn" all staples of life: 1t
seems to me that In any proper state of
things. it ought to be easier for working
men to get enough of this surplus TO meet
their wants. / will enter into no dis
c~ussionwhy they have TO work so long and
so hard, nor will l go so far
as the bsst political economists
do, who say that in any propsr scheme
OF distribution two or three hours of
manusl LABOR a day would be enough to
provide for the necessariss of life, leav-
ing the rest of the time for the improve
msnt OF the higher nature Of man. ALI
! say is that the hours of manual labor
ought to be q rood deal shorter than they
are now. n this early closing is a step
IN that direction. | trust it may succeed
here n that what has been said hete
tonight NAV helm a LITTLE or Mt lassE ahow