The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-09-21
4 ROY LABOR LEADER
FOURTEEN YEARS oLo AND A
WALKING DELICATE

New YORK fr"'s'
.,oe nv a strike of cloakmakers-Hs
Earnestly on Labor Topics - In
.d. 70 BE Lawyer.
uo,ors O Braff, Jr., of New York Is
-. hoy. but he does a man S work.
III Ho j. lust "A years old and hasn't yet
oraduated from the juvenile shirt waist
,bat makes him boy
uo Is the walking delegate of the
..r;kina cloakmakers, whose headquar'
su aro in Rivington street He Is lead
W. w., crown men and women on 70 VIC
.nS He is the youngest walking dele
~ 80 in a big, troublous world peppered
with walking delegates-that makes
IN Many of the strikers believe Marcus
- Neon nrovidentially sent 70 them as
loader They bow to his opinion
They call what he says wisdom.
II is a strange spectacle 20 behold this
hov IN lnickerbockers seated on high
s,ool in his grimy little office, giving
odvice 10 bent. wrinkled men and wom'
~ and Receiving their initiation fees
nd dnes for Marcus is also assistant
Socretory of the union He rose 70 this
,osition among the strikers just as an
able man does in the big world
His father Is a striker and was for.
rorlv secretary The boy helped his IA.
ther in the routine office work. In that
way he first attracted attention
Then it was discovered that this boy
was the man for the place.
A reporter went TO see Marcus the
other dav The youthful delegate was
seated on his high stool, whistling He
has a wise look about his eyes-sad
black ewes He has well built head,
massive. out of proportion to his slen
der neck and his undeveloped body of a
child of 10
He knits his brows VIXEN he thinks
like the grown man whose part he is
! playing
The authority vested In him has re-
vealed no weakness of conceit or vanity.
He is as yet unspoiled--a boy one
minute. whistling, the next man in
deep thought, revolving the problems of
the strike He showed no false pride
nor did he hesitate about being inter
viewed
He talked readily about the strike as
another boy of his age would have done
about tops
"What do You think about the strug.
gle between capital and labor i'll this
striker" he was asked.
"The capitalists will have to give
in, ;" he said, clasping his small hands
|, over one knee 1T is only question Of
time The cloakmakers' strike Is virtu.
ally won The busy season is coming
on and the contractors can't hold out
much longer 1t has been a glorious
victory for the woriiingmen because
they have Won all the Issues they strove
for
Eight hours are enough for any
workinman. he continued wisely
"HeneedS rest and recreation. He can't
get it Gv tOiling away into the night foi
Almighty small wage Next year we shall
see the clCaiilugkers III moro indie.
pendent position than they have even
been IN before -
What about the coal striker
Il can express any opinion about
the coal strike or the engineers strike
in London. as they are rather deep for
me, he said ingenuously II have nc
one here to converse with who keeps
abreast of topics of general interest.
!. The men around here. " sweeping
his hand over the room, "have so many
troubles of their own that they take but
little interest in matters that do not
directly concern them "
The sad look about his big, wistful
eyes deepened
Il hope that when their Temporal.
condition is improved they will become
more enlightened and take more inter.
est In their brother workingmen &
aHalrs and lend their aid to improving
the condition of workers in other trades,
out Tor the present that is out of the
question. "
DO You hope to be labor leader
some day."
:. NO. have no aspirations III that
direction, he answered frankly my
ieahlngs are all toward the law, and
nave set my heart on becoming a mem
oer OF the lar have no doubt that az
an attorney ! could do no end of good
In helping the workers
always had love for things of q
,egal nature, and the cases in the courts,
poIh legal and civil as reported i'll the
papers, deeply interest me- New
York Jcurna