Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1903-03-13
lUMBtRJACk CUTS LOOSE

flays Men Who Write Articles About
OeQeneraCy.
J. E. Colby. a lumberjack OF many
years. standing. and good man at
the rather strenuous labor called
for in the woods, in an interview in
the Minneapolis Tribune, expressed
himself strongly concerning recent
assertions of the lumberjack's de-
generacy.
Colby asserts his belief that the
lumber worker is not a harder drink
er, nor more profigate as q class
than any other human type would
be under such conditions as confront
woodsmen. On the contrary, he be-
lieves that the so-called debauchery
OF the lumberjack is discounted in
Minneapolis every day under circum-
stances OF life that afford far less ex-
ouse for the courting g of oblivion in
the poisoned cup.
with all that mas been said as to
the lumberjack's drunken habit"
said Mr.. Colby, mot a word have l
seen in his defense, and I take it that
there are classes Of people in this
world who have to ke their lash
iDgs from the press much as a work
horse takes a stroke of the whip.
Neither unfortunate is able to voice
his indignation.
81 believe that if the men who are
talking so loudly OF the lum berjack's
degeneracy knew something OF his
surroundings, with the horrible quar-
ters with which he must content him.
self in the woods, their demonstrations
would be less forceful.
"The writer's of these attacks pos
sibly live under decent sanitary con.
ditions. The lumberjack does not.
His home in the woods is primitive
to a degree. There are two log houses
30x60. In one of them the men
spend their evenings and sleep. In
the other they have their meals.
'"There are from Is to $50 men in
the sleeping house during the eve
ming. Every man of the lot has a
pipe in his mouth: After they have
been smoking an hour one could cut
the atmosphere into sections with a
meat axe. Hung up to the beams
of the roof are from 200 to 800 pairs
OF socks and perhaps a hundred
shirts, re king with the sweat Of hon
est toll To say that the socks reef
would be like referring to a tan yard
as the origin of an effuvium.
AFTER the air in the log house has
been properly contaminated the men
turn in and sleep. You will note the
wise dispensation of Providenc in
having given the lumberjack coarse
sensibi1ities. Imagine the delights
of life under such conditions for the
gentlemen who write such articles
anent degeneraey-
"I,have no hesitation in asserting
that if a rancher kept the same num-
Der of cattle in a shed of the same
size as is the average lumberjack' g
sleep house, he would be arrested for
cruelty to animals as soon as the
humane society could connect with
him.
1.-The lumberjack is compelled to
walk several miles to his work be-
fore daylight ia the morning. He
must be on the spot ready to swing
his arms on the first stroke Of the
days work when the sun rises. He
is working for a contractor who
wants every dollar there is in it, and
is seldom loser if he can help it.
The lumbe RACK eats his MONDAY
meal out in the big woods, and every
bite of it is frozen as hard as a ten
penny nail. At night he works till
darkness makes it impossible for
him to see his tools, and then he
starts for camp. blunderipg over the
trail with weary limbs.
II can cite hundreds of instances
where men have been hired at the
prevailing rate uf $26 to $35 a
month and paid off when they want
ed their money at 81 day. In fact, !
after Weighing both sides OF the ar.
gument, it seems impossible to blame
a lumberjack for jumping' one OF
these camps.