Connecticut workman., 1901-10-24

cOl:s:derate treatment.
 There would be less ground for com plaint against employers if they kep! III view the golden maxim of the Cos pal: Whatsoever you would that men should do unto you, do ye also tC them"
 SYMPATHY OF EMPLOYER ANI
 EMPLOYED.
 Our sympathies for those in our en- play, whether in the household. the mines or the factory, are wonderfully Qu:ckened by putting ourselves in their place and askinA ourselves how we would wish to be treated under similar circumstances.
 We should remember that they are our fellow beings, that they have feel ings like ourselves, that they arc stung by sense of injustice, repelled by an overbearing spirit and softened by kindness, and that it largely rests with us whether their hearts and homes are to be clouded with sorrow or radiant with joy.
 Surely men do not 2mass wealth for the sole pleasure of counting their bonds and of contemplating their gold in secret. No; they acquire it in the hope that it will contribute to their rational comfort and happiness.
 Now, there is no enjoyment in life so pure and so substantial as that which springs from the reflection thai others are made content and happy by our benevolence.
 And I am speaking here, not of the benevolence of gratuitous bounty, but of fair dealing tempered With benign ity.
 Considerate Kindness is like her sis ter Mercy:
 Tt droppeth as the gentle rain from
 heaven
 Upon the place beneath; it is twice
 blessd;
 It biesseth him that gives and him
 that takes;
 'Tis 1nightiest in the mightiest; it be-
 comes
 The throned monarch better than his
 ~ crown
 I am happy to say that commercial princes answering the description of Ilse- English hard do not wholly be- long to an ideal and imaginary world, but are easily found in our great cen tres Of comme1 ce; and, if the actual condition of the average Wage-worker in this country is safe criterion by WHICH We oIC tO GStlmdIS tuS Cud1 ter and public spirit of American em- pioyers, I believe that ans impartial judgment will concede to the majority of them the honorable title of just, and benevolent men.
 In my visits to England, Scotland, Ireland and the Continent of Europe. I lave studied the condition of the la boring classes, and I am persuaded that the American workman is better paid and fed, better clothed and hous- cd, and usually better instructed, at least in the elements of useful knoWl- edge, than are his brethren across the Atlantic.
 Instances of genuine sympathy and benefcence exercised by business con- cerns toward those in their employ could be easily multiplied. Some time ago the head of Ba1ti- more manufacturing company received T message announcing the total de- .truction by flood of his uninsured III. lls, involving a loss of S365, ,00G.
 On receiving the news his first ex- was: What loss to-so many families! Here are 200 men thu own out of employment" Of the injury he sustained he utter ed not word.
 
 OLIES.
 But while applauding the tender feelings and magGanimity of so many capitalists, I am constrained in the in terests of truth, humanity and religion to protest against the heartless con- duct of others whose number, for the honor of the country, is, I hope, com paratively small.
 When men form themselves into ! business corporation, their personal ty is overshadowed, and their 1nd1- vidual responsibility is lessened.
 And for this reason many will as sent in their corporate capacity to measures from which the dread O. public opinion or the dictates of con- science would prompt them as inGi- giduaIs to shrink. But perhaps the injury is all the more keenly felt by the victims of op- 3ression when inflicted by a corpora ion. as it is easier to obtain redress rom one responsible proprietor than rom a body of men, most of whom nay be unknown or inaccessible to the sufferers. No friend of his race can conten1- plate without painful emotions those 1 1eartless monopolists exhibiting a ]
 
 every sentiment of sympathy, and a ] .c~did selfshness which is deaf to the l .i les Of distress Their sole aim is to realize large dividends without regard to the para mount claims of justice and Christian l ,harity. These trusts and monopolies, like the ! ,ar of Juggernaut, crush every obsta- l ;la that stands in their way. They endeavor, not always, it is al ! eged, without success, to corrupt our and state legislatures and councils.