Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1899-10-18
BOYCOTT SWEAT SHOPS
Consumers League Movement
Reaches Wisconsin.
SOME MEMORIEs0F GEORGE SMITH.

'5
Men in Wisconsin Curfew in Racine
400 Carloads OF Cheese from Monroe
County.
Madison, Wis, Oct. 17.-There is one
boycott that finds a good many worthy
1pholders. 1t is the Lolicy of the
Consumers league, which is to patron
ize merchants who are good to their
employees, and to shun others. 1t is
to buy goods made under sanitary con
ditions and TO decline to purchase
sweat-shop products. Milwaukee is to
initiate Chicago and eastern cities by
forming Il league, the Social Econom-
les club and the Milwaukee branch Of
the Collegiate Alumnae having taken
up the matter.
The ladies interested report that al
though the condition of the shop girl
i'll Milwaukee, is. not SO d~eplorable as
it is elsewhere still she suffers from
many an injustice which the white
list would remedy.
The white list" consists of a direc-
tory of those stores and shops at
which the girls and women employed
receive fair treatment as regards the
length of their working days, half holt
days and vacations, pay for overtime
and the doing away with fines. 1t also
insists upon shop girls being provided
with seats and being allowed to use
them when not engaged in waiting
upon a customer. Through the Ma.
tional league, clothing that is not
sweat shop made Is marked with a
label and members of the branch
leagues everywhere pledge themselves
to purchase and wear only such gar
ments. The women's clubs take up
the matter. at Eau Claire, Oct. 1926.
Mrs. Florence Kelley, former factory
inspector of Illinois and now general
secretary of the National Consumers
league, is to speak at Eau Claire.
Brains in Raiiroading.
High railroad officials are among the
most interesting men to thoughtful
people. They lack the grand-stand ele-
ment and cannot make speeches. and
are not much in the public view. But
they are almost invariably strong,
forceful personalities, who have won
their way by force of merit.
| never see the engineer of a fast
express, leaning from his cab window,
throttle in hand. aud with a keen.
Watchful eye on the track, regardless
of the crowds at the station. without
feeling like taking my hat off, There
- something in working about metals
that brings out manhood.
A Railway Presidents Sense.
These higher officials arc men of
power in every sense / remember d
New Haven citizen meeting called to
arrange the details of reception of
Blaine's pan-American visitors. The
city hall council room was crowded
with politicians, lawyers, business men
"a hundred leading citizens. They
succeeded IN so e%ntangling things with
their multiplicity of suggestions, plans
mo parliamentary bubbles that no
u knew whether the swarthy sons of
thesoutl would firstb be shown a slaugh-
ter house or taken to Savin rock for n
swim. 1t is strange how sensible men
will tie themselves up in a public
meeting of that sort.
AT the moment of despair Charles p.
Clark, president of the New York and
New Haven road, was sighted in the
rear of the hall, having just come in
and modestly keeping in the back
ground. lie was called to the front
II Ill n few words to the point laid
out a full programme, so that every
committee knew Just what to Go. Ii
w R"H thAht : pay W ulIu. accustomed 10
Keep 200 trains on the tracks every
Gay and to oversee the work of per-
haps 10000 men.
Will Get the " II. & o." Right.
Ali this is suggested by the leaving
of the Milwaukee road by ]. N. Barr.
superintendent of motive power. to go
to the Baltimore and Ohio system.
That road has been so poor since It's
financial breakdown that at one time
its equipment got bid, accidents were
frequent and people were afraid to
ride on the rains MI. Barr has bet
ter conditions now to work under.
In the year 1888, Mr.. Barr was
called from the Pennsylvania shops at
Altoona, Pa, to this city by S%herburne
5. Merrill, then general manager of
the Milwaukee road. A graduate Of
Iehigh university, Pennsylvania, he
entered the shops of the Pennsylvania
road at Altoona and began at the very
lowest notch III mechanical construc-
ton.
Sometime H.go some of us applied to
get a young mar into the West Mil
waukee Shops. We were told that it
would be necessary for Mr.. Barr to
meet, talk with and approve the appli
cant.
But you employ 5000 men about
this big plant. Surely Mr.. Barr doesn't
care to see them all?"
This young man wants to become
an apprentice, he hopes some day to
hold Il position of responsibility. The
st. Paul o starts no young men up
that ladder unless the superintendent
of motive power approves him"
The boy is now busy at ~railroading.
But how different %railroading from
the public service!
The Curfew In Racine.
One of the Racine papers having
cast some reflections on the working
of the "curfew ordinance in that city,
Rev. o. G. Grier of that city in re-
Spouse to an inquiry, says:
"A year or SO ago this city passed
what is known as the curfew law and
for some time ii was enforced and
everyone was pleased with the results
as far as | know. Even the chief Of
police spoke of his pleasure at the re-
suits. But a few months later the
bell got out of order and so the law
fell into allegiance, and through care
lessness has not been resumed. But
Mt last we have become stirred up
on the matter aud this very day
6 NOhAhtitttt G NdlliilS Oh lnH
mayor to request him to have the law
enforced. The Law does not contem-
plate the arrest Of children, simply es-
corting them home. The action is
against parents. as it should be. The
mayor has already Signifed his inten-
ton of ordering the law enforced. The
law is already in operation In some
400 cities, and where it has peer CIV
en- a fair trial has never been repealed.
The curfew law is simply the pooling
of the interests of parents. Instead
of n thousand bells, one s~ufiiees.
The curfew bell now sounds at 7:4J.
each evening, instead of S:45, as is
the rule in summer. Chief Johnson
says that there is no doubt about the
good which the law has done. There.
are fewer mischievous boys running
around making trouble.
The Development In Country Normals.
The two county normals''-at Wau-
sau and MSnomonie-are now at work.
At the latter place tSehator Stout's
city, of the about forty young people
studying to be teachers, all but twelve
are from the country school districts.
These are the teachers who would go
on In their work without this extra
-