The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-09-18
STRONG THOUGHTS WELL PUT
THE WHITE SLAVES. THEY
ARE SLAVES AND DON'T
KNOW 1T.

Nowadays we have good men, we'll
meaning men land men supposed to be
we'll informed, who tell us that people
in this country are perfectly free, and
that he who says they are not must
have taken leave of his senses.
In my youth, in the South, l knew
plenty of negroes in the towns whb
were permitted to hire themselves
out, paying their masters a certain
agreed sum each month for the privi-
lege: what they were able to earn
above this sum was their own. These
"niggers" knew they were slaves and
made no pretence to the contrary.
Now, whether we hire ourselves out or
not we pay our masters regularly GER
tain sums whenever we buy or sell a,
dollars worth in any market, and in
addition, the dollar itself is made to,
pay them tribute, and yet we imagine
ourselves free.
That's where the niger was bright
sight. So is ours. His rode on horse
back. Ours, in a "palace car" His
could hit him whack with "black-
snake" If he was disrespectful. Ours
can beat that. If we are suspected of
being "disloyal," by a word he can
cause us to lose our job, our business
or our credit, and thus take the bread
very seldom that negro was placed
on bread and water and he never con-
trolled in that cruelest of all ways
through fear Of his children's lack
Plenty Of white men today that are,
though, and they don't all live in
towns either. The negro's master was
obliged to support him. Ours, don't
care On, and some Of them say SO.
His master was always anxious to
have his slave appear sin good case"
1T told of his treatment and dis
closed his character. Ours is bettre
pleased to have our skins stretched
tightly over our bones with hunger.
We are then more ''reSpectfur and
great deal easier managed. His used
to put on great deal of style, butit
was nothing to the ''dog" our masters
put on. The negro gloried in the
style of "de white folkses' at the big
house, although he knew it was the
product of his toll. SO do we. We
read columns Of slush in the 'sas-
siety" papers, detailing the doings of
our masters and their mis- treSses, with
great gusGO; but not all of US know
that, sit is of us they hold their
state" The niger was a little ahead
on that count; he knew it. you
couldn't fool him. But today when
Gods sun goes down, not a man of US
but what is doomed and punished
with darkness unless he pays the GER
tain agreed sum to the standard oil
mas ter-unless it be to the gas trust
or the electric light pool. But it is
such little sum, so small that it
doesn't matter. It's like the baby the
girl had, it was such little one that
it didn't count. But by the time the
girl has had as many babies-nO mat
ter how small they areas we have
masters, to whom we are holden and
from whom we cannot escape, the
thing would get kind Of old with her.
But it doesn't seem to matter with US.
We don't appear to care. Most OF us
don't see our masters very often and
there are SO tarnal many Of him that
we begin to believe what the newspa-
perS tell us every day in the year-and
tainted" wind on the 4th of July
that we have none at all, although no
dollar ever went into any mans
pocket in the United States for 10
these many years, or went out it in
exchange for anything else, without
the watered stock and other railroad
thieves got some portion Of that dol
lar.
Half the men in these states would
need to be jerked face down over a
barrel, hands and feet strapped to the
ring bolts in the floor, brooches Shuck-
ed niger fashion, and the short whip
we'll laid on, sole leather strap for
lash two inches wide dipped in a
bucket of salt water ever lick. with a
master they could see, and look at,and
respect" standing by, before they
would take in the idea that they were
not free. But even then, under the
Niger regime, the mas ter did not get
as much profit out OF slave as he
does under present conditions.
The U. S. census shows this: II the
total value produced be divided by the
number of days work done for each
days work there has been produced
about $1,000 in value; but for this aver
age days work the average worker
has received about one dollar! One
dollar the slave gets; nine goes to the
master for the use of capital" And
what is capital? ''Stored labor" the
result of previous labor.
How did the master get it if he did
not produce it?
For the most part he gets it where
Cuffee got the ham. He stole it. But
he beats Cuff out Of sight in the ele-
gance of his theft, for he does it by
law in so slick way and so hidden a
manner that the aforesaid average
white man can't get onto the deal.
And even che ringers" seem to have
lost sense since they got free"
That nine dollars to the master and
one to the man ought to burn itself
into the consciousness of the average
toiler; but it don't seem to. All the
average negro wanted was a good kind
master who was rich and powerful, to
look up to and respect" All the
average white slaves desire is good
job. in a good town, and to be sur
rounded by the costly buildings and
other evidences of his masters power
He reads in the daily paper-whose
principal business is to keep him in
Ms.. = : : $3.50 81