davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The labor world., 1898-03-12

per etchings and other things
of the like.
The directors named in the
incorporation papers are: Ny
ron w. Reed, Edward Bellamy,
w. S. Neal, Eugene Debs, Ed
ward Boyce, Paul Tyner, James
Hogan and H. G.. Childs.
The list is notable one and
shows that the company means
business and that Denver will
be made the headquarters for
propaganda of sociological
ideas held by Bellamy and
Debs, usually spread broad
cast in books. "The New Ma
ton" is a periodical already
widely known, for Mr.. Bel
lamy has published it in Bos-
ton. It is intended to succeed
"The Nation" a weekly liter
ary and economic paper of
New York, with which Mr..
Bellamy Was once associated
as writer, but the views of
which he does not at all nova
days agree with.-Denver Al.
vOcate.
The labor world., 1898-03-12

Congress has disposed of the
Loud bill, measure designed
to correct some of the abuses
of second-class mail and intro
duce new ones. Because one
cent pound results in loss,
the Loud bill proposed to re-
strict the privilege to bona fide
publications and to the list of
bona fide subscribers. For the
rest four cents a pound must
be paid and every piece must
be stamped. That is simply
new discrimination! If four
cents pound is the right rate,
all printed matter should pay
four cents pound whether it
is bona fide or some other
kind. It is none of the depart
ment's business whether the.
printed matter is good or bad,
regular or otherwise. And the
publisher should have the
privilege of pound rates on all
matter he sends out whether
the subscribers are bona fide
or some other kind. That is
business. If printed matter
can be carried for less than
four cents a pound, make it
less. If it costs even more,
charge more. But whatever
rate is adopted, make it ap-
ply to all publishers without
discrimination, and to all
printed matter. The present
law is vicious, gives the de-
partment arbitrary powers,
makes unequal regulations for
different men. The Loud bill,
which has just been shelved,
is no better. It was put aside
because the country publishers
opposed it.
The labor world., 1898-03-12

The better classes are COM
posed of the better citizens.
They include the men who be-
have decently and vote intel
ligently for the good of the
community. That lets out the
buns on one hand and the
public parasites on the other
with their tools. 1T shuts out
nine-tenths of those who harp
on the phrase most.
The labor world., 1898-03-12
THE UNION LABEL.
f.. II. Lounsberry Talks e inter.
tainingly on Union Made
Goods.
The Sweat Shop the Most Sc
.i0us Menace to Union
Labor.


Label League continued the
economic discussions in the
kalamazoo block with an ad-
dress last Friday evening upon
the union label. He told how
the label came to be adopted
and what's being accomplished
by it's means.
One of the most serious him
ORANGES, he said, that confronts
the wage worker is the sweat
shop system. The wagse of
the. sweat shops are lower than
any workers under fair wages
schedule can compete with.
The victims of this system are
too. weak economically to help
themselves. And in their help
lessness they are a menace to
every standard of wages.
Mr.. Lounsberry gave a sketch
of some of the sweat shop con-
ditions, the unsanitary sur
rounding in which often CLOTH
ing and cigars were made, the
crowded garrets and cellars,
the lurking places of disease,
the impossibility of. maintain
ing decent terms of labor un-
der such circumstances:
# Union men would refuse to
buy goods made under such
unfair conditions if they could
help it. They would rather
encourage industrial decency
by giving their patronage to
men who worked in seemly cir
cumstances and to employers
who paid living wages and fur
nished at least light and air.
Many outside of the unions
would rather pay more if nee
essary to know that they were
not buying tenement house
filth with their garments, and
diphtheria or scarlet fever mi
crobes with their cigars.
The label is the simple and
effective meaps that makes the
choice possible. The cigar
makers adopted it first and their
device pasted like a stamp on
the cigar box is the most famil-
lar. The cigar makers blue
label is known everywhere.
Wherever it is seen the buyer
knows he is getting cigars
made by fair labor for which
fair wages were paid and that
the cigars were made in clean
shop and not in foul tenement.
Many others have since adopt
ed one label or another until
there is hardly a craft needing
that protection but that has
obtained it.
The garment workers have a
cloth label sewed in where it
can be easily found without
ever being conspicuous. The
hatters have a device pasted
under the sweat band. The
bakers attach sticker to every
loaf of bread. The printers
have a little imprint that may
be put on any piece of work.
And there are many others.
Perhaps the label is now the
strongest defense of trades
unionism. Nobody can keep
track of the unfair list of all
the allied crafts. But every
body can ask for the label,
which guarantees the purchas-
er against unfair. or prison
made products. It is imposs-
ib]e also to identify every arti-
Gle purchased and trace it to
it's source. The label makes
such an attempt needless. If
it has the label no further ques-
tions, are necessary. :-
The demand for the label is a
The labor world., 1898-03-12
BE SELF-SUPPoRTINC
Why Must We Get Somebody
Down East to Ad.
... vance
Money to Hire Ourselves to
Do Our Own
Work?

"A little book has recently
been published on the Guern-
sey market house method of
financiering. There was moth
ing particularly remarkable
about it though. The Guern-
sey folk did the simplest and
most natural thing they could.
They wanted market house
at St. Peters, the principal
town on the island of Guern-
sey. The ordinary way in such
cases is to issue bonds. It is
SO much the usual way that
we have come to think it is the
only feasible plan of doing any,
thing or getting anything
built. But in the absence of
any money lenders, Guernsey
had to find some other way.
Accordingly the governor of
the island issued scrip in the
form of one-pound notes. The
people who furnished material
and labor accepted the scrip
and the market was built. The
scrip was good to pay stall
rent with at the market and
before long it was all redeemed
that way. The notes were can
celed and the community was
ahead one market house with
out any corresponding debt.
It had cost them nothing for
interest and no special tax had
to be levied, no sinking fund,
no interest charge. 1t paid for
itself almost without anyone's
knowing it. It had cost only
the labor and substance that
was put into it.
THERE'S no reason why any
community may not do the
Same. St. Louis county, for
instance, has outstanding a
large amount of county orders.
Some of them represent work
performed which leaves no
permanent monument, as the
Guernsey job did like clerical
services: some of them repre-
sent no work at all-like orders
on the poor fund, and some of
them represent roads which
the county has to show for the
notes it has given. None of
them, however, stand for a
revenue bearing asset like the
market house. Nevertheless,
though these orders had been
at heavy discount, it was
only necessary for the treas
urer to announce that they
would be accepted for part of
each mans taxes to bring
them to par at once. If they
were as good as money to pay
taxes with, they were worth as
much as money anywhere. 1t
made it easier to pay taxes be-
cause good many people had
county orders who found it
difficult to raise money, and it
was just as good for the
county, reducing the public
debt by just 50 much. One
wonders, in fact, why that
wasn't done before. Except to
pay interest on it's bonds and
meet it's share of the states
taxes, the county can do all it's
business with it's own [. Q. US.
So long as they are good for
taxes and so long as the tax
levy is large enough to take
them up, they will be good.
Remember, however, that
voting to issue scrip does not
in itself pay debt. The scrip
is itself a debt just as bonds
are, and to make the issue sue
cessful some means must be
The labor world., 1898-03-12

provided for redemption. There
have been schemes like that
which failed for one reason or
another. There is big hotel
in Saratoga built by labor scrip.
Those who furnished labor or
materials took stock for their
pay. There was no apparent
reason why the scheme should
not succeed. The hotel is there
yet and is a valuable property
but the stock is worthless.
Somehow or other there were
bonds issued for part of the
cost, because certain materials
had to be bought for which the
purveyors were not willing to
take stock, nor were the men
who furnished the money.
The bonds came due before the
rent had brought in enough to
pay for them, and the bond
holders got the whole prop
erty. The result is that you
couldn't get anybody in Sar-
atoga to 60 into a cooperative
scheme to build a chicken
coop.
Farmer Hines started the
Duluth & North Dakota rail-
road on the same basis. The
farmers worked on the light of
way and. took stock for their
pay. Whether Hines, could
have carried it to a success
that way if he hadn't happened
to go crazy, of course nobody
can tell. His difficulty would
have come when he had to buy
rails and rolling stock. The
steel rail men and the locomo-
tive and car manufacturers
would have wanted money.
To get money he would have
had to issue bonds, put a
mortgage on the road. He
would have to do it at a heavy
discount And when the road
was finished there is no tell
ing who would have owned it.
It is a pity, though, that Hines
didn't keep his wits long
enough to find out. A similar
undertaking is under way in
Texas now, as the Labor World
told last week, and if it turns
out we'll it will make farming
states everywhere independent
of the money markets when
they want to build railroads.
When Duluth was talking of
building waterworks several
years ago, one of the daily
papers proposed that the best
way to build was to build with
out waiting for the money
lender. Why should the people
of Duluth have to- engage
somebody down east to hire
them to make something for
themselves? We furnish the
labor and get a plant for it
why wouldn't that do? But
the motion was never seconded.
The people didn't want the
waterplant bad enough to work
for it. They wouldn't lend
their labor and time; they
must have cash down. So we
got some friends of the Hart
mans to lend the money and
now we have a part of a water
syste m which is mortgaged to
it's full value. We have built
it but it isn't ours. It will
have to be paid for out of the
water rents. The money will
have to come out of the people
by and by, with which to pay
for the work they did and are
to do. #s- r.:
* 4
So there are several con-
ditions upon the success of
such an issue of scrip. y. It must
be acceptable and it must be
The labor world., 1898-03-12

PAID ahd II one eau pay LhC
city or county back in it's own
coin, so to speak, the coin will
do for other uses. In the
market house case the scrip
was good for rents and enough
rents were to be paid in the
course of a few years to take up
the entire issue. In the case of
a water plant the scrip would
be good for water rent and
there would be no question but
the people would owe the city
enough for water service be-
fore long to redeem all the
notes. County orders, issued
right and left for all kinds of
service or in exchange for
nothing at all, would not re-
tain their value unless the
issue was limited to the
amount of the tax levy.
Private corporations or CO.
operative societies issuing such
scrip would have to be still
more careful to maintain the
value of their currency. There
is no inherent impossibility in
the issue of good scrip by any
person or company with some
thing valuable to redeem the
scrip by, or some valid claim to
cover it. but the practical
difficulties in the way of float
ing such an issue are much
greater than appear at sight
and the dangers of getting it
in such shape that it cannot be
redeemed are more numerous
than anyone can guess before
hand.
The peculiar th1 ng is that it
is so easy to issue bonds: and
so hard to float scrip, when the
security behind the one and
the other is the same and the
eventual payment is by the
same means. To be sure the
bonds bear interest and the
time checks or orders do not.
Men who have money to lend are
disposed to discourage the scrip
method and people with time to
loan have no corresponding
interest in urging it. Never
the1ess, it would have been
hard TO build the Duluth water
plant with scrip though it was
not impossible to place the
same scrip with money lenders
and pay the laborers and con-
tractors in cash. The money
lenders were more ready to
trust the city than our own
people and the authorities. did
not have nerve enough to ask
the community to accept the
scrip which was good enough
for the grasping Shylocks of
the far east. Why, every lum-
herman in the northwest pays
his men in scrip good next
spring. If they owe him any
thing for supplies or dunnage,
the scrip is good at par. If they
have to exchange it for moneyit
is done at a discount. The city
ought to be able to use it's credit
as we'll as a lumber contractor.
The only difference is that if
the scrip must 60 to a discount,
the wageworker ought not to
have to stand the 1oss-and that
is true whether the employer is
the municipality or a lumber
man. But that is another
matter. The question before
the house is this-why must we
get somebody down east to
advance the money to hire our
selves to do our. own work?
what's the matter with being
self-supporting?
The better classes are COM
posed of the better citizens.
They include the men who be-
The labor world., 1898-03-12

Remember, however, that
voting to issue scrip does not
in itself pay debt. The scrip
is itself a debt just as bonds
are, and to make the issue sue
cessful some means must be
The labor world., 1898-03-12

So there are several con-
ditions upon the success of
such an issue of scrip. q, It must
be acceptable and it must be
redeemable. 1t it is certainly
redeemable it will usually be
acceptable. People will give
moneys worth for ii they are
sure they can get moneys worth
for it. The surest way to make
it redeemable is to make good
for taxes. Taxes have to be
The record-union., 1898-01-24
ORDER B'NAI BIRTH,
The Grand Lodge is Now in Ses-
sion in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 23-District
Grand Lodge, No. 4, Independent Order
B'nai Birth, comprising within It's
jurisdiction all subordinate lodges, aux
iliary bodies and relief boards located
in the Pacific Coast States and Terri
tories, met in thirty-fifth annual con-
vention in B'nai Birth Hall this
morning. The past year has been one
of great prosperity, the order having
increased in membership and augment
ed the treasury funds of the district for
the first time in four years.
The annual message Of Grand Presi-
dent Martin ?. Stein is a comprehen-
sive document, touching fully upon
every phase of the work of the order
Grand Secretary Ascheim's report
contains thA following information:
Total lodges in the district, SO; gained
during the year 2; auxiliary bodies, );
members 1884; gain, 10; assets, SOL
009 10; gain for the year, $3.50 50
An appropriation of ST. $50 was passed
for the benefit of the library. 1t was
decided that the order should partici-
pate in the Jubilee celebration.
The record-union., 1898-01-24
THE AMERICAN COLONY.
Spanish Circulars Advocating an
Attack Upon It.

JACKSONVILLE Fla.), Jan. "a
special TO the Times Union and Citi-
ZEN from Key West says:
There has been excitement in this
city during the last 2twenty-four hours,
due to an alarming telegram from Iia-
vana stating that the streets had been
flooded with anonymous ultra Spanish
circulars calling upon all anti-Ameri-
cans TO mobilize and raid the American
colony. Captain-G General Blanco, fear
full that the rabid element of the city
might attempt such violence, has placed
an extra military guard around Con-
sul-General Lees office. Many of the
Americans of the city who believe they
are in real danger have prepared their
affairs for any emergency. This news
is what gave rise to the rumor that
General Lee had been assassinated
The feeling of uneasiness felt here
because of the proximity of this city
has been much allayed, especially since
this morning at. 10 o'clock, when Ad
miral Sicards imposing fleet of battle
ships, consisting of the New York, In
diana Massachusetts, Iowa and Texas
arrived off the bar. The Maine, Mont
gomery and Detroit, and torpedo boats
Cushing and Dupont left the harbor
at II o'clock and joined the fleet, ,he
whole making an impressively formid
able appearance and one inspiring con-
fidence in the strong right arm of Uncle
Sam
The Spanish Consul here was uneasy
over the repeated rumors to the effect
that General Lee had fallen a victim to
assassins, and wired to the authorities
Of Havana for the truth.
The record-union., 1898-01-24

PORTLAND, Jan. 23.-The steamer
Oregon sailed for Alaska tonight with
450 passengers and 250 tons of general
merchandise and baggage. Fifty head
of livestock was also part of the car
go. All day long thousands of people
swarmed about the steamers decks.
and so great was the crush tonight
that ten policemen were detailed to
handle the crowd. No less than 300
people who applied for passage were
refused, and many hundred tons CT
freight are lying on the docks awaiting
transportation to the gold fields. The
rush to the Yukon from every port
in the Northwest has begun earlier than
was anticipated by transportation COM
panles, and every steamer that leaves
is compelled to refuse both passengers
and freight. The demand for lumber
in Alaska is enormous, but steamship
companies refuse to carry it, preferring
to the less bulky freight, leaving the
lumber for sailing vessels.
The record-union., 1898-01-24
ANTI-DREYFUS MEETING
Tried to Capture It, but
Were Expelled.

PARIS, Jan. 23-In authorization of
the prohibited anti-Dreyfus demonstra-
taon to-day, under the direction of the
organizing Committee of the antr-
Dreyfus meeting at the Tfyol yaux
Hall last Monday night stringent
measures We're taken by the authori-
ties to preserve order The Place de
la Concorde and the Garden Of the Tuil-
ler1es We're held by detachments of cav
airy and Infantry and large forces o&
police. Nothing happened until 2
O'Clock this afternoon, the time an
nounced for the meeting to protest
against the pro-Dreyfus agitation in
the Sale des Miles section and in the
Mont Parnasse quarter.
The approaches to the hall were oc-
cupied by police and mounted Repub-
hcan Guards, while the precaution was
taken of removing all the chairs in the
interior. The police refused admission
to known anarchists, but many who
We're less prominent evaded police Wig
lance, gained admission and created
disturbances.
NJ. Thiebaud was elected to the chair.
and the noisiest distmbers were expelled
from the hall. M. Thiebaud proposed
that wreath should be laid on the
Strasborough statue, and the proposal
was greeted with cries of "Vive Lar
mie!" and "Vive lie F'rance!"
AS the disturbances continued. NJ.
Thiebaud got motion adopted to close
the meeting. The wreath was then
placed in a carriage, but the police re-
fused to allow the crowd to follow it in
body, and divided it into small groups.
In the meantime the anarchists tried
in vain to organize a fresh meeting.
The wreath was placed upon the statue
at half-past O'Clock this afternoon
amid perfect order. Later in the even
ing the police dispersed the large bodies
OF anti-Jewish demonstrators in the Rue
de Lafayette and al the Office of the
"Aurore." But nothing serious oc-
CURED, and there We're but few arrests
during the day.
1t is agreed on all sides that Satur-
days scene in the Chamber of Deputies
was almost without precedent, except
the recent disturbances in the Austrian
Reichsrath. Curiously enough, Count
Badeni former Austrian PremieT) wit
messed it. He must have felt quite at
home.
After the chamber was cleared 125
toln-of neckties were picked up, to-
gether with many coats that had been
torn by Deputies from each others
shoulders. NJ. Clovis Hughes, one of
the Deputies of the Department of the
Seine, had a door slammed on his
fingers, which were so mutilated that
he is now in the hands OF a surgeon.
The scene CT fighting around the tribune
was unparalleled. Conlte de Bernis is
retired cavalry officer. and has the
rough manners of the bull-fghting
town of Mines, where he will be a can
didate at the next election NJ Jaures
is thick-set, horid and hairy NJ Ce-
rault Richard is wild-l looking The
latter was hustled and Knocked about
like q football in the attempt to deal
Comte de Bernis blow. Some eighty
Deputies were in the fight. During a
lull in the fight. NJ. Gerault Richard
was seen in tatters, his cravat torn off,
The record-union., 1898-01-24
GALE AT PHILADELPHIA.
A Wall of the Historic Old State
House Blown Down.

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 23.-Reports
from various parts of Eastern Pennsyi-
vania and South New Jersey indicate
that windstorm of more than ordinary
velocity passed over those sections to-
day. The principal damage resulting
consisted of the uprooting of trees and
blowing down of telegraph and iele-
phone wires. In a few instances
houses were unroofed. Heavy winds
prevailed along the coast, but up to a
late hour no disasters to shipping We're
reported.
In this city the wind reached max
imum velocity Of forty-one miles an
hour.
With deafening crash that was
heard for squares, a portion of the east
wing of the old State house fell to-
night. No harm was done to the his
toric building, as the arches which col
lapsed were not connected with it, a
section of the wing next to the east
wall of Independence Hall having been
torn out under the restoration plans
now being carried out.
The accident was due to the exposed
state of the building. The two wings
had been torn down, with the exception
of the arches on either side. The east
wall of the east wing and the west wall
of the west wing We're left standing TO
their full hight, about thirty feet. The
whole of the wastern arch, half Of the
middle arch and a small portion of the
eastern arch fell in.
The walls fell toward the west. At
the time of the collapse the wind was
blowing almost a gale across Independ-
ence Square.
The record-union., 1898-01-24

MILWAUKEE,, Jan. 23.-The most
severe blizzard which has visited this
city in years continued in it's fury until
about e o'clock this morning. Snow 10
the depth of eighteen inches has fallen
and with the wind blowing at the rate
of fifty miles per hour, great drifts were
formed in all parts of the city, making
travel almost an impoSSibility.
On several lines of street railways
traffic was at a standstill early in the
night, and only the most important
thoroughfares were kept open, with the
aid of powerful sweepers, until an hour
before midnight, when these two were
stalled, so rapidly did the snow drift.
Railroad trains came in very irregu-
1arly, and only passenger trains, each
with the aid of several locomotives, at
tempted to ge through, those carrying
freight being abandoned. Every tele-
graph wire in the State was crippled,
and news from the outside world was
received over the long distance tele-
phone wire.
None of the boats of the different
lines entering Milwaukee ventured out
last night So far as known no mis-
haps on the lakes are known to have
occurred.
Reports from railway officers are to
the effect that all lines have been clear
ed of the big snow drifts and that
trains of all kinds are running on time.
but the street railways in this city are
still somewhat crippled