The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-05-05
THE STORY OF AN AID.

TTIss the true story q, an lad" that was placed In the ST. LOUIS Post.
1 Dispatch. Itisa story that partly gives ana answer to the question,
What has become OF the hundreds Of thousands Of mn who have been
turned out Of employment by The use made of newly invented machines? 1t
sa story that should make the heart of Americans quail for the future, 1t
Is a story that should make every true man determine that the conditions
which can produce such phenomenon %. this shall not continue.
In the ST. Louis paper 10 question was recently placed the following
advertisement:
NIGHT WArCHMAN WANTED-Must be fairly wen educated, neat of
but those who can show absolute proofs Of honesty and sobrety in all
senses Uftbe word need appyt hours to O. Monday to Friday OF Satur-
day nights ] p 70. Sunday to Ga m. Monday salary, s5 per week;
state whether married or single and iuc1se references, which win be re-
patch. ' "' '"' "'s' =" w" ""'""''"s' " '' O'''D'S
Within t]wentyfour hours Of the insertion of this advertisement SEVEN
HUNDRED AvD TWENTY-FIVE ANSWERS were received.
Think of it-soyen hundred and twenty men, with the quaifca-
lions needed to an this position, were waiting for this chance tn make a
bare living. Seven hundred and twenty men waiting for one poor JOB
Seven hundred aud twenty eager to SID up all night and risk their lives for
$50 a week,
The qualifications were such that the uuoducatcd Iaborcr was excluded
from the competition. Most Of the answers received were from men who
could write WELL who could punctuate spell and construct a grammatical
sentence Every man who replied was ready to prove his so5rety and hon
csy without question
1t was no army Of obumso or men "born tired that answered this
cad" II was an army Of men who are good, decent citizens, who would be
competent to hold their own in any well regulated society, but who are re-
to mad scramble for bread under the present vile system.
How many Of these men voted for mckinley and Prosperity" How
Of them would do o again2
thas been stated more than once that fifty thousand men could be
found 70 swim the Mississippi for The chance to earn ten dollars a week
Who says that this Is an eEaggcrauon intho light of tbts'ad' and It's out
Gomez
The stack Of answers to this advertisement weighs about ten pounds
The promise to return references entaled an exonce of about IS to the adj
ycrtsar M3nyo the letters were pittuI appeals for work. They contained
stories Of the misfortuucs OF the writer's and their families
As trusts grow and increase competition among the workers will fn.I
crease This lad" pmycsit Nothing Of the kind could have occurred
Ten OF fifteen years ago, As industrial combination among employers bel
closer and competition is eliminated from business and production
only the most skilled, the most industrious, the most highly educated and
the most seryng will be able TO hold employment continuously
In another five years it win be a thousand applicants for one lob. In
ten years five thousand win apply for every piece Of work,
The systom Of production and distribution by masters and men has
failed. The appeal for horizontal combination" has not been heeded. |
of capitalists exists side by side with the heartles competition
among workers. The nut look is ominous The trust must give way to the
as an employer or the nation is doomed-The Arena.