The representative., 1894-05-23

no respect inferior to our Chicagoans. Pre-
cisely One-half of them were married men.
In fact, with the exception Of eight men,
nearly all the commonwealers have been
compelled to leave their families behind In
search Of work. They have crossed the
country and. disappointed in their effort,
they joined the commonwea1 army. Chica-
goans who live here with their families
would not readily take the chances OF a
risky Journey.
II found among these strangers the same
proportions of skilled and unskilled, union
and non-union labor the same average time
out of employment, neatly the same average
time in last employment, even nearly the
same average age-32 years for residents OF
Chicago, 80 for newcomers. The average
wages of the latter amount to $2.03 a day,
which is as high as the average wages of q
Chicago skilled workman of the Randall
division.
After the most CAREFUL should even
venture to say after the most cavilous-
scrutiny we could not discover more than
five or six questionable characters who were
unable to furnish satisfactory information
as to their means Of subsistence while
they confessed to have had no savings at
the time they lost their jobs and to have
eventually lived on hustler's fare since.
I'm all we did not find as great proper
ton of recipients of charity among the
newcomers as in the Chicago wing of the
army. Moreover. there We're among the
recipients of charity men quite respectable
who had been driven to extremity by ad-
verse circumstances. A thrifty young Ger
man, a jeweler, had worked for two and
one-half years at steady place at So day,
and had $500 saved up when he lost his pO-
sition. In eight months all this money was
gone and a gold watch and chain went to
the pawnshop for $25 until finally the man
was brought to the free lunch counter. A
young Norwegian worked as a cooper at So
a day, lost his job in October, lived most of
the time since on savings; pawned a gold
watch and chain, gold ring, and was fin
ally reduced to begging on the streets A
telegraph operator had some $50 in his pos
session when he lost his position. He could
not live on that for three months, and at
last had to apply to charity for meals.
TRAMPS NOT IN EVIDENCE.
Chicago can thus confide in the loyalty of
her tramps. that he will not forego the at
fractions of her lodging houses for the hard
ship of a march to Washington, and will
keep aloof of CoXeyism
1T is the unemployed workingnen who
have turned into the ranks of the common
wealers Nearly two-thirds Of them had
been in a position to lay by penny for a
rainy day, their average savings amounting
to SIS per man. The remaining one-third
had saved nothing, and the distinction is
satisfactorily accounted for by a difference
OF 81 week in the wages for an averag ge
term of Is months employment. They had
managed to get along by pawning or selling
Their belong ngs, by the assistance of friends
and relatives, by odd jobs and portion on
charity. Those who had provided for ordi-
nary emergencies by means of savings had,
after an average term of five months of
fdleness. run short of funds The average,
of course, implies that there are individuals
below as well as above the average. Those
at the bottom, who had saved less and had
been out of work for longer time were
brought to lean upon charity when the more
fortunate We're still able to stand
Altogether, one-fourth of the 261 men
We're found to have been supported by char
ity. But with the beginning of the spring
season charity was almost entirely discon-
tinued. The Coxey movement came to all
these men as the plank to the drowning
man."