The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-05-19
A PICTURE OF TODAY.
PAINFUL READJUsTMENTs IN
SOCIETY BEING FORCED.
a Realistic Description of the Ordeal
That All Employees Are in Danger of
Times.

"Ao "oAuAdCluTeTS FOr nearly thirty
years prices have been falling, con-
stantly squeezing out Of business the
weak men and weak firms. The bust
ness once done by the bankrupt small
Try naturally goes to the surviving
strong concerns, and hui the genesis
OF the trust evil is falling prices. And
generally falling prices, as the most
subservient gold standard economists
will certify, is due to the increase of
production ard exchange faster than.
the volume of money.
If, during the last thirty years, the
minis had remained open to all of he
silver offered for coinage, and in case
the free coinage of silver as we'll as
gold did not give us a currency vol
ume large enough to maintain stable,
prices, legal tender paper money had
been issued in sufficient quantity to
prevent the fall of the general aver
g of prices, there would not have
been as many small concerns driven
out Of business, nor so many huge
trusts and combines formed. The trust
movement, the natural product Of the
gold standard policy, has now acquired
a tremendous magnitude, acC the re-
suit is that thousands Of men who
have heretofore commanded high sala-
ries-such as travelling statesmen, nan
ayers and head bookkeepers-are being
thrown out of employment and find it
r to obtain any kind OF work. This
is the serious problem of today and the
more serious problem of tomorrow,
and the waving of prosperity" ban
ners by a mammon-controlled daily
press cannot hide the facts.
First the general fall Of prices, from
1871 until today, forced out of business
the smaller business men, who OBJ
tanned employment with the large con-
Germs. Now the large concerns are
forming into trusts, closing down all
unnecessary factories, dispensing with
numerous travelling statesmen, man
ayers and b~ookkeepers, as we'll as me-
chanics and laborers. And where are
these displaced men to fin employ
ment? This is a question that will
soon seriously disturb this nation.
They cannot get jobs as skilled labor
ers because they have not the skill.
They stand no chance of obtaining
common laborers' jobs, because there
are already more common laborers
than jobs and men with soft. white
hands are not wanted for rough work.
The army of well-paid employees is be-
ing reduced every day in this trust era.
What are we to do about it? Present
political policies may suit you we'll
enough while you are drawing a good
weekly salary, but how will you feel
when you cannot get a job of any
kind? The following story from a
New York paper Is a picture of a man
in that p~redicament, and illustrates
what the country is coming to:
Two years ago I lost a good, we'll
paying position. Ny employers were
cutting down expenses and had to be
cut down with the rest of the extrava-
gances. My wife and I were not at all
worried. l had a little money laid by,
l knew I was competent had good
letters from my old irm-and I
thought I could walk right out almost
any day and get a good position. We
had comfortable rooms, plenty to eat,
good clothes and we knew some very
nice people who seemed to like us. l
rather enjoyed my idleness for a week
or so. l had worked hard for a long
time, and my wife and I took a kind
of holiday together. We went out to
the parks and went sightseeing in a
small way all over the town.
Then l started out to look for work.
I went to see people I knew. They
were all very glad to see me. They all
said nice things about my abilities, but
they were all cutting down." l ad-
vertised. No answers came. 1 read
every paper in New York-but the
Journal-and 1 answered every ad that
seemed at all promising. Our money
began to dwindle. We took one room
instead Of two. We laughed and said
it was easier that way. My wife said
she thought it would be fun to do a
little housekeeping, instead Of board
ing, and we cooked and ate our meals
in that n room. We said it was fun
like a picnic all the time.
I went out every day and spent every
evening writing letters in answer to
the different advertisements. When l
went out in the morning 1 always
brushed up and looked the best I
could, and my wife always told me !
looked too prosperous for a man hunt
ing for work.
She kept my clothes furnished up,
and when l met people I knew I talked
with them just as if everything was
all right. None of our friends dreamed
that we were really in danger of being
hard up. We had always been
fcal and thrifty, and my wife has such
a way of putting the best foot fore
most that every n thought we were
very well to do. I got to haunting en-
ployment agencies, l talked with men
there and at the parks. When / had
walked till l was tired out l always
went to n of the little parks and
sat down to get time to brace up a
little before / went home. The parks
are full of men who are trying to
'brace up"
Ny wife began to look anxious. One
day she was sitting by the window
sewing and the light shone on her
head. I saw something shining. I
bent cfoser and saw a gray hair. I
noticed that she had been wearing her
hair differently for a while. I pushed
1t back on her forehead, and there on
the temples, under the front locks, it
was all shining like silver.
She began to laugh. and then she
threw back her head and burst out
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