The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1894-05-24


several classes of the army was repre-
scented by the following figures: Small
trades and business men, seven; union
lobof, seventy non-union skilled labor,
III unskllled labor, seventy-four.
''Each of these groups occupies a
different rung on the social ladder, the
test of which is given by the average
wages earned by the members of each
group: Union labor, $3.50 a day; non.
union skilled labor, si75i unskilled
llbor,Si so.
GAS eighty per cen-~ OF the men are
single, 81 900 day more makes all the
difference in the world. If we remem-
Der that 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 act
i've interest In the movement.
"The average intelligence Of the com
monwealers is also fact that must not
be overlooked, If we want to know
among what classes is recruited the
army of discomfort. We went TO the
barracks expecting to meet none but
the representatives of the lowest grades
of restitution. The question of educa-
tion naturally did not enter into the
program of cur inquiry But the stu.
dents who went with me were aston
ished on finding in the ranks quite a
number of msn who had received good
education. At the suggestion OF Mr..
Letter | went next day to make a spe-
clal canvass on the question of educa-
toned only two admitted never having
attended school and could but poorly
read and write; eighiy-seven had re-
ceived a common school education, of
these one-half In grammar sch OILS I;
twenty-six had attended high schools,
business and professional colleges,
academies and universities. The aver
age term of school attendance was seven
years to each of the men questioned
zone would naturally expect to End
the professional tramp represented In
large numbers in an army of crusaders
like that. We would look for them
among the strangers who came to Chi
cago from all quarters of the country
and hocked under the banners of the
monweal. Indeed we met eighty
one men out of 262 who gave their last
places of employment in San Fra ncisco,
New York, Texas, North Dakota, Phila-
delphia, Nevada, New Jersey and Louis.
lana.
"Still, closer examination Of the
cases reveals the fact that the strangers
were in no respect Inferior to Chica-
goans. Precisely one-half of them were
married men. In fact, with the excep-
tion of eight men, near,y all the COM
monwealers have been compelled to
leave their families behind In search OF
work. They have crossed the country
and, disappointed in their effort, have
joined the commonweal army. Chica-
goans who live here would not readily
take the ch-nccs of risky journey.
81 found among these strangers the
same proportions Of skilled and I'M
skilled, union and non-unlon labor, the
same average time ont OF employment,
nearly the same average time in last
employment, even nearly the same
average age-thirty-two years for resi-
dents of Chicago, thirty for newcomers
The average wages of the latter amount
to $9 Oh day, which Is as high as the
average wages of a Chicago skilled
workman of The Randall division.
CATER the most CAREFUL should
even venture to say after the most cav
we could not discover
more than FIVE or six questionable char
acters who were unable to furnish sat.
isfactory 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 a pro.
portion of recipients of charity among
the newcomers as in the Chicago wing
of the army. Moreover, there were
among the recipients of charity men
quite respectable who had been driven
to extremity by adverse circumstances
ut Is the unemployed workIngmen
who have turned into the ranks of the
commonwealers. Nearly two thirds of
them had been in position to lay by a
penny for rainy day, their average
savings amounting to SIS per man. The
remaining one-third had saved nothing
and the distinction is satisfactorily &C.
counted for by difference of 81 a week
In the wages for an average term of
fifteen months employment. They had
managed to get along by pawning or
selling their belongings, by the assist
ance of friends and relatives, by odd |
Jobs and portion on charity. Those |
who had provided for ordinary emer- |
gencies by means of saving had, after |
an average term of FIVE months of idle |
ness, run short of funds. The average,
Of course, implies that there are indi-
viduals below as well as above the
average. Those at the bottom, who
had saved less and been out of work for
longer time were brought to lean
upon charity when the more fortunate
we're still able to stand.
stAlfopafhar ma fo,~.l - -