The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-12

ingly smart. In his tall silk hat, his ir-
reproachable Prince Albert and top
coat, with his silk umbrella furled to
the superlative degree of genteel slen-
derness and his tan kid gloves he
looked like the typical scion Of English
nobility as he is often represented upon
the stage. The comparison was intense
fled when he opened his mouth, for in
pronunciation and information there
was striking Renaissance of English
usages. His voice Is remarkably reson-
ant rich and full, besides being pecu-
liarly soft and flexible, with the ca
denoes that betoken gentle breeding and
culture, and can never be counterfeited
Yesterday he spoke with the utmost
ease and fiuency. 1t is not often that the
reporter is asked to follow a more rapid
speaker. He uses gestures freely and
with telling effect. Magnetic he is to a
degree, so that although part of his
address dealt with rather abstruse prin-
ciples and was certainly beyond the
grasp of some of those present, there
was no wavering in the audiences at
tention from beginning to end and he
might have talked for 30 minutes longer
to the qualification of his hearers.
Great interest has been felt in the
coming of Mr.. Wyckoff, the more since
he will not appear, as expected, before
the Congregational Club. His address is
by all odds the most important event
thus far in the Woman's Club year, and
will long remain peculiarly rich, vivid
and delightful fact in the memory Of
those who heard it.
Some phases in the history of mod
ern industrialism" was the topic of Mr..
Wyckoff's address. He remarked in
opening that nothing was more futile
than the idea that life has no meaning
that it tends no-whither; If we can
gather up the threads and find the con-
gruity under the seeming congruity we
shall take quite a different view
Turning to the last half of the 18th
century, when modern industrialism
took its rise, we find that by far the
most important and far reaching event
was the great industrial revolution
Modern industrialism dates from the
application Of steam to machinery; this
brought about long period of chaos
before the old feudal system was finally
merged into .he modern system.
In those first days of industrialism
wages were ordered either by tradition
or else by conscience. There was no
unifying of the labor market, such as
now exists between, say, the corn mar
kets of Chicago, Buenos Ayres, and
Chicago. The use of steam necessitat-
ed the employment of larger amounts
of money than the system of individual
labor had, and capital, which had large
ly been acquired in the slave trade, was
employed to back it up, thus identifying
capital with the promotion of indus
tries. The Introduction of steam also
worked to displace skilled labor, being
similar in it's effect to the employment
of machinery now.
This new relation between employer
and employee. being unaccompanied by
any legal restrictions over the former,
gave rise to horribly inhumane condi-
TONS under which women and chill
dren were Obliged to labor whole gem
erations being swept away by the dis
eases which were bred in the factories
and mines. The socialists, who, said
the lecturer, have done remarkably
good work on the critical side, although
they are weak on the construction side,
have made much OF these CHASTITY facts
yet the truth is that the factory sys-
tenn but brought to light horrors which
had existed under feudalism.
Mr.. Wyckoff then briefly traced the
measures for the amelioration of the
conditions of factory hands in England
beginning with 1872, when the first at
tempt was made for the sake of better
health In 1919 the working week of
children under was limited to I2
hours; six years later the half-hoiday
was given to all factory workers; in
1872 the hours of women and children
were limited to 10 day. The ameliora-
ton Of conditions mas continued up to
the present. Our own laws are based on
those Of the English
Continuing, Mr.. Wyckoff spoke next