The representative., 1894-05-23


NorkfE&Inen.
From the Chicago Herald)
The peculiar sociological features pre-
sented by the recent Randall commonweal
movement in Chicago induced Professor 1.
A. Hourwich of the University Of Chicago
to make a special investigation during the
last days the troops We're in camp. He was
assisted by H. X. White, research student
in statistics, and by a number of students
in sociology. The party visited the bar
racks of the Randall army armed with spe-
cially prepared blanks. Nearly 400 of the
recruits answered the questions thus pro-
pounded
Regarding the results of his investigation
Professor Hourwich said:
I'm Russia it frequently happens that the
peasants of some remote village or group
of villages, finding no relief for their sriev-
ances with the home authorities, send their
delegates to bring petitions in boots to the
seat of the central government. The weary
walkers, as they are called in Russia,
march thousands of miles, very often beg
ginS for Christs sake That men should
come to the adoption of such methods of
petitioning in America is a phenomenon so
extraordinary that it deserves study from
another than a policeman's standpoint.
The material we obtained from Randall's s
army is instructive and reliable. The gen.
eral reader is prone TO be skeptical of sta
tistical information supplied by vagrants,
but his silepticism is not well founded. AS
a matter OF fact, when the statistician oper-
ates with the same figures in scores of diff
ferent combinations, he cannot fail to dis
cover any rnistatement in his data.
although we have found precedent in
far-away Russia, vet it must be admitted
that this commonweal movement bears a
purely American stamp. Out of 200 men who
answered as to their nativity about one
half We're American-born citizens. Among
the other half the British subiects-the
English, the Scotch, the Canadian and
especially the Irsh-were the most con-
spicaous making, in all, two of the English
American-Irish race to one Of the remain
ing world. One fact is thus safely estab-
lished, viz, that that element of the Amer
lean population which generally turns a
deaf ear to the propaganda of the foreign
socialist has largely enlisted in the CoXey
movement.
POLITICS IN THE ARMY.
"Neither can the so-called political
cranks' claim a leading part in the move
ment. 1T is true that the call was made by
populists who in their papers advocated
months ago the march to Washington. But
outside of the few Populists states nobody
ever read the papers. In fact, out Of 19S
men who answered the question, What
Populists. The rest were either Democrats
SS) or Republicans $50, or did not vote at
ali for various reasons (25), and only 2S, or
ii per cent, We're not naturaized.
I'VE must say then, at all events, that
this is citizens movement. Nor has it
altogether affected the loyalty of the voter
to his party. They used to say in France,
before the great revolution, that when q
Frenchman had a headache he would say
1t was the fault of the government. In the
same way many a commonweal voter
would lay the blame for an industrial crisis
at the door of the Democratic admnistra-
tion. Still, you meet once in awhile men
who say they have voted the Democratic
ticket all their lives and always will, as
you meet others who entertain the same
feelings with regard to the Republican
party.
1.-The class of people who were gathered
In the barracks can best be illustrated by
the following figures: Skilled mechanics,
Isl, as against "a common laborers and
small traders and artisans who failed in
business in the hard times. Seventy trades
were represented in this selfmade delega-
tion Machinists, 10; bakers, carpenters,
cooks and miners, Of each trade; fremen
and molders, of each; bookSeepers, clerks,
agents and statesmen, In all; engineers
and tailors, 6 of each; butchers and steam
htters, D; StonecutterS, swtchmen, team
sters and drivers, A; boilermakers brick
layers, ironworkers, painters, polishers
printers, telegraph operators, walters,
Of each; brakemen, cabinet makers
coopers, riveters, shoemakers, tanners 2
and l of each of the remaining two scores
of trades, among them one graduate drug
clerk and one reporter
In every assembly Of men 1t is not only
the majority, but still more, perhaps, the
leading element, that is of Importance the
union men were the aristocracy of the
barracks; in all, over one-fourth of the
commonwealers were union men. In fact
If we take the skilled trades alone we find
even as many as two union men in every
live skilled laborers enlisted in the army.
TRADES AND WAGES.
"The comparative strength of the several
classes of the army We're represented by
the following figures: Small traders and
business men, Z; union labor, 70; non-union
skilled labor, Ill; unskilled labor "a
Each of these groups occupies a differ
ent rung on the social ladder, the test of
which is given by the average wages earn
ed by the members of each group: Union
labor $3.50 day; non-union skilled labor
$1.75; unskilled labor, $3.50.
''As 80 per cent of the men are single 81
a day more makes all the difference in the
world. If we remember that a union man
was hardly to be found on the floor of the
city hall last December, one has to count
with the fact that the union man has taken
active interest in this movement
The average intelligence of the common
wealers is also a fact that must not be
overlooked, if we want to know among
what classes is recruited the army of dis
content. We went to the barracks ex-
pecting to meet none but the representa-
tives of the lowest grades of destituton.
The question of education naturally did
pot enter into the program of our inquiry
But the students who went with me were
astonished on finding in the ranks quite a
number of men who had received good
education. At the suggestion of Mr.. Letter
L went next day to make a special canvass
on the question of education, with the re-
suit that of lis questioned only. two ad-
mitted never having attended school and
could but poorly read and write; 81 had re-
Eeived a common school education: Of
these one-half in primary schools, one-half
in grammar schools; 26 men had attended
high schools, business and professional col
1eges, academies and universities The
average term Of school attendance all
round was seven years to each of the men
questioned.
"One would naturally expect to find the
professional tramp represented in large num-
berS in an army of crusaders like that
We would look for them among the strang-
ers who come to Chicago from all quarters
of the country and focked under the BAN
ners of the commonweal. Indeed we met 81
men out of 262 who gave their last places of
employment in San Francisco, New York,
Texas, North Dakota, Philadelphia, Nevada,
New Jersey and Louisiana.
"Still, closer examination Of the cases
reveals the fact that the strangers were in