People's voice., 1895-05-02

Il
the number of men employed and wages
paid; therefore, even those who are for
tunate enough to still retain their situa-
tions have had their wages, or working
| hours reduced in some cases nearly one
! third. l believe this reduction Of en-
ployes amounts in all to at least 80 per
cent, and after taking into consideration
the reduction of time, would amount to
about rs per cent. Taking the past year,
| from January l, 1894, to January l, 1895,
the amount at the disposal of the en-
ployes of this company for distribution
amongst the business men of this city has
shrunk from an annual expenditure Of
over 100000 to about $4,000 or $4,000.
You can imagine the effect Of this on the
general business of the city. l am sorry
to state that none of the railway unions
have seen fit to send in a report.
The Tailors report a membership Of "a,
with all at work. Condition of trade not
any too good, and future prospects not
much better.
Buenos Aires. Argentine.
LABOR'S CONDITIONS.-An English
correspondent writes about the conditions
in the Argentine Republic:
European women servants are induced
to come TO the country by promises of
| high wages and a passage home again if
they are not satisfied with their positions.
| A waitress in a restaurant told me that
she had been induced to come out by the
| promise Of sixty pesetas a month; pes
eta, she was told, being worth three
shillings. The average value of the peseta
is one shilling and two pence. The man
who brought her out had promised
to send her home if she did not like the
work. When she asked to be sent home,
he not only refused TO pay her passage,
| Out ulONc HVl away lIOlu Ills HOuSS' oHC
went to the Consul, but he said he could
do nothing for her.
Unskilled laborers here have no organ
izations. Their education is very limited;
| and this, and their shameless exploitation
by the wealthy, coupled with the corrup-
1 tiop of tho Covarnp,apt apd itc officials
makes them lean more towards Anar
chist doctrines than TO the teachings Of
Socialists. But nevertheless Socialism has
a firm foothold in the country. We have
three weekly Socialist newspapers printed
in German, Italian, and Spanish. We
have also fortnightly magazine. There
are no restrictions whatever upon the
press. Editors are not even hampered by
law of libel.
The system of education is bad. Our
| German comrades are so incensed against
it that they intend to start a school of
their own as soon as our new clubhouse
is finished The last one was burnt down;
and, not being fully insured, ten thou
sand pesetas was lost by the fire. There
are about fifteen thousand Socialists in
| Buenes Ayres. and number in Rosario
There is no outdoor propaganda, owing
to the police regulations, which all par
ties must bow to- This repression Of
democratic feelings and aspirations is re-
sponsible for the frequent revolts. There
| is little difference between the principles
of the political parties. 1t is question of
getting into power, with view to plum
dering the people. The President and
Government overthrown by the last revo-
luton are credited with having swindled
the country of eleven and a half millions
sterling.
Gas, water tramways, docks, and rail-
WAYS are all owned by English capital
lists. who are much disliked by the bulk
of the population. The electorate is a
very restricted one only those who have
been resident in the country six years,
and are owners of either house or land,
being permitted TO vote. Propaganda is
carried on under the veil of entertain
ments and excursions; for where there is
a will, there is always a way.
Brisbane, Australia.
HISTORY OF THE LABOR PARTY
The brisbane Worker says:
The history of the Labor Party in
Queensland is virtually limited to the
last ten years, and is practically concen-
trated within the last five. In the early
days there was no such thing as a union
of laborers for the defense of their rights;
and every man fought for his own right
hand. Eariy conditions, indeed, bore no
resemblance to those now existing. There
was no we'll defined body of laborers or
capitalists; no such thing as inherited
wealth or transferred credit Every man,
with the aid of exploited nature, was the
creator Of his own capital; the trans-
ton from employed to employer was easy
1