The labor world., 1899-11-11

BILE to go though just the same. Will
Thorne, fraternal delegate to the A. F.
of l.. last year, is a member Of the
council, and the three socialist fac
tions and the trades unions have uni
ted for the purpose of sending Thorne
to parliament at the next general cleo
ton.
AS a typical Illustration of the rapid
growth Of monopoly and the rapid de-
cline of Individual enterprise,it is stat
ed that Chicago had no more business
firms in 1897 than it had in 1870, al
though in these q years it's population
has been multiplied by eight. But many
of the enterprises are now larger and
more powerful.
Another step in capital amalgama-
ton was taken last week when a Rock
efeller took his seat on the board Of
directors of the New York Central and
the four big New England railways
were drawn into the mammoth; sys-
tenn. Incidentally. it is reported that
the Rockefellers took complete control
Of the leather trust.
Trusts capitalized at upward of 2O0,-
100000 were incorporated in New Jer-
sey during the past month More work
for the trust-smashers, when they get
started. It is reported that all the tel
egraph lines Of the country are to be
graph monopoly. Rockefeller and
Morgan are in the deal. A big stone
ware trust is being formed.
: .
In. the midst of the din occasioned by
the boom Of cannon, the blare of trum-
pets, the shouts and shrieks of war;
fiors in South Africa, the socialists and
trade unionists Of Pretoria have held
public meetings and demanded the
eight-1lour day with the result that the
upper branch Of the volksraad voted,
IA to 5, that the government bring for
ward bill at the next session to intro
duce the eight-hour day throughout
the Transvaal. 'Rah for the Beers!
A big $15,00O,OO0 cigar manufacturers
trust is being organized. 1t will include
II Of the largest factories in. the. coun-
try, among which is the Seidenberg
concern in New York, Vallens of Chi
cago, the big Ybor Manrara Co. of
Tampa, and the equally large Cato Co.
in Key West. The new trust, the COM
panies in which cleared over 5000 900
last: year, expects to save half million
dollars in operating expenses. It will
secure it's raw material first hand and
plan economies on a large scale.
The New York Commercial says there
is one cotton mill in Georgia that clear
ed SO percent dividends during the pres
ent year, which represent hunger, suf-
fering and tears Of hundreds of help
less women and children who have no
votes with which to over throw the
capitalist system. Evidently the cot
ton barons of the South are not satis-
fled with their profits, for Baltimore
dispatch states that all the biz mills
are going into trust to be capital
lied at about $10O,000,00O.
About 500 silk weavers, one-half of
them girls, are on strike in New York
against the intoIerable fine system.
Here is about the way the plutocratic
bosses rob their employees in the mill:
For leaving loom to get a glass of wa
ter the worker is fined 81; for each PIN
hole in finished material, so cents; for
spots on cloth. so cents; for leaving
dust on cloth, so cents, and so on.
Strikers estimate Of fines per day, 60
cents. Average wages per week for so
hours, IS. Beautiful system-bosses
can't get along without it.
McKinley's policy in the Philippines
is being sharply watch ed by Asiatic
nations. The Chinese minister, WI
inc
to the Philadelphia exposition recent
ly and made strong plea about the
injustice" of excluding the Chinese
laborer. 1t is some years since any
body has dared to suggest Chinese i'm
migration, but the Chinese see that
the door is being opened through the
Philippines and Hawaii The admin
istration papers seem to think the Chi
nese minister has made a good sug-
gestion.
According to the Kansas City Times,
Mr.. J. P. Asher, a Kansas farmer, is
good hater of trusts and he proposes
to wade in single-handed and smash
them until they yell for mercy. HE
will hereafter" says the Times, build
his fences Of brush, his shedding and
corn cribs of poles, patch his leaky roof
with wild grass, nail on loose boards
with white thorns, kill ground hogs and
use their hides for shoes, use corn and
rye coffee, sweeten his eatables with
honey, wear coonskin caps, eat corn
bread and hoecale, dig his ground with
spade and harrow it with a brush,
and make his harness out of rope and
grape vines" But even at that rate
Mr.. Asher is humping against trusts.
The American Federation of Labor,
representing nearly two millions OF
skilled wage workers, is making an
emphatic protest against the slave-like
conditions surrounding contract labor
in Hawaii. It will issue a warning to
European laborers that once they are
landed in Hawaii as contract labor
ers, they become practically slaves,
without hope of release. President
McKinley's attention will also be call
ed to the matter. Slavery seems to be
spreading at an alarming rate in our
imperial domain. It is a sad COM
mentary on our free institutions, when
the wage workers of this country feel
compelled to warn their doWntrodden
European brethren to stay at home
and bear the evils which they have,