Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-09-22


the ST. Louis Republic (which, by the
way. is not a Populist paper contained
the following account of general condi
tons and the number of unemployed in
the city of Washington alone. Suppose
that every city in the United States is
given like proportion, what will we
have? We hope that the Cresset and
every other republican paper that as
serts that the people are living in the
midst OF peace, plenty and prosperity,
will study these figures carefully and,
after such study, repent aud sue for
forgiveness:
Washington, Sept. 6.-The Washing.
ton Times has made an investigation of
the labor situation at the capital and
today states the result of Its findings.
The Times says:
1T is the much better plan to stick
to the truth rather than to suppress it
in the interest of celebration and
boOms. We should like to be able on
Labor day to present picture of our
wage earners waxed fat and kicking
with prosperity and plenty, but our
investigation into the subject during
the past week has only too clearly de-
velOped the fact that the army of unem-
ployed in Washington is much larger
than it is comfortable to contemplate
at this season of the year. According
to the data gathered by our reporters it
seems probable that At least 5000 able
bodied men in the District of Columbia
are out of employment with diminish.
ing chances for securing any as the sea.
son advances. Most of them are the
sole supporters of families.
Under the aegis of Mckinley pros
perity, the prices of everything but la
Dor are rising. Whatever else may be
guessed or promised, there is no doubt
that the people will have to bleed for
every comfort or necessary they may
be forced to buy next winter. AS Mr..
Bryan justly remarks, when circum-
stances send up the price of wheat out
of sight the farmer benefits for the
time, but all those who use flour must
suffer unless the commodities in which
they deal, or their labor have risen in
value and demand CO rrespondlngly. A
high price for one commodity OF uni
versal necessity, like wheat, coincldent-
ly with low prices for all or most other
commodities of prime demand, is to
the advantage of the producer or holder
Of the favored article, and therefore is
detrimental to consumers; except that,
in a case like the present boom in wheat,
some general benefit will inure TO the
community at large because one class
of producers, the farmers, will have
money with which to pay off some of
their debts, interest and mortgages,
and so will be able to help trade to
some yet undemonstrable extent.
1.-The number of mechanics and day
labOrers unemployed this year is larger
by several hundreds than it was last
year at this time; also, than it has ever
been before. This statement IS made
after careful investigation among the
people themselves, among the builders,
the few manufacturing plants and the
stores, and after talks with officers of
organized labor in the city. There are
among the organized labor at least 5000
fully out of work. Among the unor-
gained laborers there are at least 5000
without work. These figures do not
include people who have been employed
as clerks in the departments, IN stores
who have failed, in small business ven.
lures of their own, and larger num-
Der of people, especially, who are sub
sisting from hand to mouth on odd, and
who cannot be counted.
1T may be safely stated that the
whole number of family supporters
now without employment in the city Is
at least 5000. These people have from
$4,000 to 10000 men, women and chill.
dren dependent upon for support. and
hence now in various stages of destitu.
ton from living on savings to very near
starvation.
Fifteen hundred bricklayers, 200
timers, $50 printers. 1000 engineers,
$50 painters, 500 carpenters and 300
plasterers are now out of work, 1900
out of less than 5000 of all the men In
these trades in the city.
This test is perfectly fair one, as it
gives the figures on printers and painters
who are in the best circumstances of all
the trades at present, as well as the
bricklayers and plasterers, who are
worse off than most of the others. AS
thus shown, there are less than half of
these people ut work.
These bare figures are most start
ling in themselves, especially If taken
as representation Of the whole field of
labor.
"l5ut the simple number of the unem-
ployed goes only a little way toward
telling the whole labor day sermon. Te
that must be added the story of the
great accumulation and accumulation
OF hard conditions for these people in
the many months that the country has
been in trouble, the fact that there is
very little promise in any figures that
can be obtained for better times for
most of them this coming season and
the story of the rise in prices"
III Is being intimated by some that