Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-04-03
wEALTH-PRODUCI PEOPLE AND
THEIR RIGHTS.


WEALTH-PRODUCI PEOPLE AND
THEIR RIGHTS.
Herbert N. Casson at Worcester Gem
tral Labor Union.
At recent meeting of the Worcester
Central Labor Union, Herbert N. Casson,
Of the Labor Church Of Lynn, Mass. :,
ought to be an eye opener for the Rep. and
Dem. workingmen:
After short preface he said it is long
time since King John was forced to sign
the magma charta. ''That,'' he contin-
ued, was a great step in advance in obtain
ing liberties for workingmen. The English
people gradually advanced and among
them arose prophets. After the black
death there arose peasants revolt, which
shattered feudalism. Workingmen then
had an opportunity to go here and there to
look for work. By and by, there will be
another step in advances, when they will
have the right to find it. Soon came Crom-
well, and under him, when the king wanted
to crowd them down he lost his head.
''Thus it went on until Paris washed out
her kingship in rivers Of blood. There had
been rivers of blood before, but they were
of blood Of workingmen. Then came the
French revolution and the American reyo
luton. That was a step in advance Of the
magma charta, and about thirty years ago
another step was taken, when it was held
wrong to have so many people in bondage
because they had q different skin from
others,
Through the path of history can be
seen the steps of advance. We are NOV
ing on to something farther. Through our
organizations we will still go on. What we
have to-day is bound to pass away. No
system of human society or industry lasts.
We must 60 on and as wise, sensible peo-
pie, we should look around and see to what
we are going. Our work is greater than
that of Washington or of Jefferson. Our
strikes are of more Importance than the
battles of the revolution. More lives were
lost in the Chicago strike than in some of
the battles Of the revolution. Some Of the
battles would be called backwoods scrap
compared with what we are fighting.
"They fought to achieve nominal lib
erty; we to make liberty fact. They
wrote about happiness and we've got
to catch it. You would not compare a
canoe with Cunarder, nor one Of those
log huts with modern 21-story build
ing. There is just as much differ
ence between their problems and ours.
They had to fight one king; we have
to fight many. They fought against
foreign lords we have many lords
around. We have to fight against men
who could buy up the four Georges. They
had no society Their largest cities were
what we would call jay towns. Washing
ton, the largest city, was hamlet in the
bush. The West was as unexplored as the
Atlantic before Columbus. Our problems
are greater than theirs. We have to
deal with complex society; we all depend
one upon the other.
cit is war Just the same with US. But
we don't advertise force. 1t will do for
Cleveland and his small tribe to talk of
war. We have got beyond that. Down in
where the railroads own the
State and Legislature there were l., 500 peo-
pie killed in short time. A paper com
menting on it remarked that happily only
small portion were passengers. The work
ingmen didn't count. They had persisted
in an industrial war. Lives were saved by
the Chicago strike. The trains in Chicago
kill ten people week. The strike lasted
three weeks and thirteen people were lost.
That makes. seventeen were saved because
the trains were not running.
Human lives are very cheap. One OF
those cable cars which run to pay dividends
killed little girl who was walking with
her father. She was only workingman's
child, and her body was thrown into =
wagon to be carried home. The under
taker was pleased because 1t was another
job for him. After long trial the father
was awarded 8 cents damages. He had to
paw the lawyer out of that. Yes, lives are
very cheap All counts for nothing in the
craze, rush and scramble for dividends.
''Glory be to cheap production, cheap
goods, cheap food, cheap politics, cheap
and cheap men! Nothing is
but gold. Everything is adul-
terated. II you buy some Of the Lynn
shoes you will find out. You know what
is cheap in your trade and it is the same
in every other. We ought to make one
fifth the amount of goods we do and
make them fives times as good. 1t is not
good for workingmen that things are cheap.
All the burdens Of cheap products rests
on them
He spoke Of the stores where a man
would think he could buy the whole store
for his little $3.50 week, and asked:
''Why are buttons so cheap?' 1t is be-
cause they are made by children.
''The State Inspector, when he goes
is taken into the Office and into the
flower garden, and he reports everything
as lovely. He looks at things Though
opaque glasses. The cotton you think
is cheap--go TO Lawrence & Adams,
stand at the factory doors and see
the girls as they come out. The
cotton is cheap, because the girls are cheap:
Their cheeks are sunken and sallow and
their faces have that hectic flush which tells
that that dread disease, consumption, is
slowly, brit surely seeking It's victim.
When women and children must die to
make business good, it is time we should