The Advocate and news., 1898-01-05
WRITERS AND READERS.
TWO BOOKS ON THE LIVING OF LIFE

Mr.. Walter A. Wyckoff, lecturer on
sociology at Princeton, Is young man
barely past thirty who Is accomplish
ing great things 1t Is seldom that the
ability, training and inclination to make
literature are combined with the In
sight and discernment in the living Of
life by the proletaTiat which Mr.. Wyckod
has put into "The Workers" In the first
section of this book he has given a
truly remarkable experiment in real
ity" The completion Of his collegiate
education found him equipped with
thorough knowledge Of social problems
from book-learned standpoint and an
eager desire to make this knowledge
yield something vital. This Mr.. Wyckof
did by living two years as common la
borer, leaving luxurious home with
out a cent of capital to make his own
way by the.l Of his hands. He re-
corded his experiences as he went along,
and his observations Of life as a day la
borer, a hotel porter, hired man at
an asylum, farm hand and an employe
In a logging camp formed an invalu-
able feature Of Scribner's Magazine dur
ing last year They detail his expert
ment in the East; and the narrative has
been issued in book form by the Scrib-
ners.
Mr.. Wyckoffs narrative is simple, d.
rect, forceful He has chosen the style
best adapted for telling his story, and
he tells 1t 80 we'll that one can readily
catch the situation at any point. 1t is
a serious story-even the touches Of
humor have a grave tinge-but 80 SYM
palmetto that nc throws great light
upon the field in which the author
worked "The Workers" Is not a col
lection Of sociological theories 1t deals
in facts, collected by discriminating
observer, who, to borrow his own ex-
preston, has voluntarily transferred
himself from the ranks Of the intellect
ual proletarians to classification as a
manual proletaire The adjustment to
this change is an interesting intToduc-
tion to a story which does not contain
q dull word.
The value of Mr.. Wyckoff's narrative
lies in his treatment of the unskilled
worker as a human being and not as an
economic question. He tells his story
as a workingman, looking at the con-
dition of an unskilled laborer out of
work as the laborer himself would view
It. He wastes no time with theories,
and the absorbing interest Of the story
causes one to forget the sudden step
from the comfortable and luxurious
country seat on Long Island Sound to
the insecurity Of the penniless wayside
wanderer. The reader follows the work
ingman and not the litterateur.
Mr.. Wyckoff starts with pack and
a bundle of magazines for soliciting pur-
poses, and works his way by odd jobs
to West Point, where he secures his first
permanent work as day laborer. His
story comprises his trip as far west as
Pennsylvania between July and Novem-
ber, 1891, with dts various successes and
repulses. It was only on the farm that
he found work waiting for the man at all
times, and his record Of the farmers
views Of the matter are of especial in
terest.
One view he quotes as follows: "In
the last hundred and fifty years there
have been great changes in the world in
the way Of producing things-improved
methods OF production the books call
it,. And among civilized people
there's been this increase Of producing
power in about all the forms of pro-
duction. In some forms it's been very
great, and in others not so great; but
/ guess there ain't any kinds of business
that haven't been changed by it. Now,
| think that the farming business has
Jagged behind the rest. Not that there
aln't been improvement, for there's been
great improvement. -. Now, here's my
farm; it's part Of tract that my great
grandfather settled on and cleared. Well,
know this country pretty well, and /
find that farmer now don't work any
bigger farm than my grandfather did,
nor the work isn't much lighter, nor
he doesn't get much more for it. There's
been a good many changes, but as the
farming business goes, there amt any