The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1901-09-14

Time was when hoboes and labor saw
ing machines were unknown: when
railroads and nervous prostration had
not come in style: when capital and la
Dor got along in harmony because it
never entered the head of labor to pro-
test against the exactions of the master.
Pessimists refer to that period as the
good old days" and yearn for rever-
sion to more primitive ways of living,
embarrassed by labor agitations, un-
troubled by the fear that some inven-
ton which would take the bread out
Of their mouths to fill the storehouse
OF the plutocrats. The poor, they say,
are growing poorer, an the rich richer.
Railroads and manufacturers are. COM
bining to extort the last dollar from the
producer, lawmakers are subsidized in
the interest of capital, and justice is
moribund, If not already dead. :.
Then our poor pessimist winds up by
predicting a bloody revolution in which
the masses will rise against the classes
and dispossess them of their ILL gotten
wealth. He stops there. The prophecy
does not state whether in the general
oVerturn the masses are to become the
classes and lord it over their ,erstwhile
masters or whether an equal division
of the spoils is to be made. In the lat
ter case our shortsighted pessimist
overlooks the fact that the same as
tuteness which now enables one man to
accumulate millions while another runs
into debt would soon restore the old
order of things.
On the other hand, the optimist SCOTS
at the idea Of the good old days being
| any better than the present. He des-
| cribes the ceaseless labor of the work
ingman of that time, leaving him no
| leisure, for recreation or mental i'm
provement. In those bad old days says
our smiling optimist, the laboring man
was too stupid to rebel. He was 49,
| a dull OK yoked to the plow, ambition
less. knowing nothing, caring nothing,
save to rise in the morning, go through
his round Of drudgery and eat and sleep
enough to enable him to pursue the
| same course on the following day.:
Where were the public schools, hos
pitfalls, asylums, public libraries, free
collegiate scholarships and other de-
| vices tor the amelioration of social con-
ditions? he triumphantly asks. Has not
the poor man of today the chance of be-
coming the rich man Of tomorrow
Have not the labor saving inventions,
even though they do temporarily en-
barrass the men whom they have su-
perseded, proved a blessing in the end,
creating a greater demand by the
cheapening of commodities? Have they
| not shortened the. hours Of labor? and
SO on indefinitely. H. !! g.
AS usual, the truth lies between the
two extremes, with a leaning. toward
the optimistic end. The laboring man
has had troubles in all ages, varied in
nature by different conditions. A revo-
luton is not only imminent, but is
| actually In progress. It is not q bloody
affair and Is not likely to become such.
Nevertheless, two armies are mar
| shaled, represented on the one hand
by organized labor and on the other
by organized capital, backed by organ
| lied labor, the latter composed largely
Of men and women lacking either in
ability or courage to make them willing
to run this risk of antagonizing their
employers. It is true there are many
whose family ties seem to make it i'm
perative that they accept half a loaf
rather than take the chance Of having
none, or, being in destitute circumstan-
| ces, they are in a way forced into TAX
ing positions at a lower wage than that
| demanded by organized workers.
The fact that mechanical devices have
thrown the labor market out Of bal
ance, making it impossible under pres
ent conditions for every worker to hold
| a situation causes the unemployed to
become the chief obstacle in the way of
bringing about a more equitable state
Of affairs. =.
All the finesse Of the financier could
| not avail against solid union Of the
| laboring men and women of the world.
When this union is accomplished, which
will not be long hence. the golden era
of human equality will be us cred in,
when the worker will share In the ad-
vantages Of labor saving appliances,
and what seems now like curse will
prove a. blessing. The hours Of labor
will be shortened to such an extent
az NAV he necessary tn give evarv ma