Omaha daily bee., 1894-12-17
THE OMAHA DAILY BFE MONDAY, DECEMBER II, 1894

Smith, Robert Burns and my own hard lot
have built me up a.. 70 what | am
left Africa, which l did rather than be put
over the head Of my senior, who really had
won the post that was offered to me.
DON'T WANT OFFICE.
came back to England. had a little
money on hand, and this | spent In travelling
all over the continent. studying great gal
leries, wandering about the cathedrals,
splendid education for "a man brought up as
had BEEN After while came back to
work in England. Times grew hard; distress
came, then the Trafalgar square riots.
was the man with the red flag then. Then
came my Imprisonment. l hold 1t as a car
dinal principle that every man should go to
prison as part OF his education. / have no
desire for office. | have done my best and
loyalty tried to dignity the art Of the dema-
gogue, but / would sooner be pain John
Burns than the Right Hon. John Burns,
premier of England. Money has not
particle of attraction for me. l have had
temptation enough that way, God knows.
Within the last year or two have returned
to goodhearted men something like $4,000
offered to help me in my fight for the
people.
81 don't want money or office. l am
prouder of my present Office, Judge advocate
general OF the poor. than / should be of the
premiership itself. For many hours daily, as
coming to me in distress for work, advice,
claiming for insurance and half thousand
other things. They trust me- They know l
am working for their good and not for my
own.
1.-THE trades union movement Of today Is
broadly typical Of that new democracy
will be. plus rational education, hitherto the
monopoly of the cultured classes This,
coupled with the workingmen's common
sense, will be. on the Whole, not bad blend
OF this I am quite certain-a corrupt govern
ment will never characterize the English
democracy.
II have helped to organize upward OF 100
trade unions and been connected with forty
strikes.
NOT AN ORDINARY MAN.
81 must tell you something which took
place the other day. | was amused l was
going down the street when / saw man
with bag full of my portraits. So asked
him how he found 1t pay. Find 1t pay,
gov'nor? he cried. Now look ere, l don't
mind telling you straight, John they call
me John) / make more money out of your
photos than you get from Battersea for all
your work. | have sold 10000 of them pic
lures of yours in the last nine months, and
there's scores of others could say the
same "
The virile force and energy which is Mr..
Bu.nI' most striking Characteristic is con-
spicuous in all of his actions. 1t would re-
qure the absolute stranger only few min
utes to decide that he was not an ordinary
man. The indefatigabe application which en-
abled him to do two mems work in the COM
| mon council even while he was still working
as an engineer has also assisted him to COM
| pensate himself for his lack of early educa-
| tion by acquiring an immense fund of in
| formation on all industrial and economic top
| les, and his conversation is in the highest
degree interesting He indulgss in no super
| huous phrases, and even in conversation
| every sentence expresses an idea. His lam
| guage is concise and well chosen and at once
| gives the impression that it is the utterance
! of man who has both thought and felt
| 1t is to be regretted that larger hall could
| not be procured for Mr.. Burns to speak in to-
| morrow night. No man who has even pass
| ing interest in the social problems Of the day
would wish to miss the opportunity to hear a
man whose personality and history invests
| his subject with uncommon interest. The
| meeting at Washington hall will be an event
| of exceptional Importance to labor interests
| in Omaha, and that the speaker will receive
| an enthusiastic welcome goes without saying.
| Mr.. Burns will be accompanied on his visit
| to this city by Mr.. David Holmes of Burnley,
Lancashire, who is also one of the leaders
| of the working classes of Great Britain. Mr..
| Holmes is president of the Cotton Operatives
| association of Burnley and is chairman of the
parliamentary committee which was appointed
| by the labor congress at Norwich last year.
| Like his more famous companion. he has been
| a laborer from his childhood and has acquired
| his interest in the cause through actual con-
| tact with the conditions which surround the
| working classes of Mis- country. He: began
| TO work at the loom when only: 8 years old
| and has all his Life been identified with that
hyanch of labor. He is well known as an
organizer, and while his reputation as a
| speaker may not compare with that of Mr..
| Burns, he is man whom ali classes in
| Omaha may be proud to honor. t.l