The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-12-05
! u /.
I. THE FARM.


hang about his shoulders. A quick
pull at the ropes that serve as reins,
now and then a word of encourage
ment to the horses, and an occasional
stumble over the clods, serve to pune
tuate the thoughts surging through his
quick and active brain,
Those thoughts are somewhat retro
spective. The suns shining seems not
more bright than the smile upon the
dear mother face which the magic of
memory has brought back from the
grave. The bursting buds Of spring i'll
yonder forest are not more charged
with the promise of hope than are
words of his dying father. And also
the picture of the seminary home Of a.
childhood that seems long ago. of the
studies there begun under the principal
his father; Of the parting with soldier
brothers at the seminary gate-all was
promise of a happy life, of joy, and
perhaps Of fame; all was hope, all WAS
brightness, until, the home in ashes,
brothers killed, father and mother laid
away broken-hearted, here is little
Tommy Packard making burrows in a
neighbours field, and making them as
board and clothes; and he scarce four
teen years Of age.
He. thinks of the library in his faith
er's school,. He recalls the many books
on those shelves he had not had OPP
portunity to read, the studies only just
begun, the ambitions now never again
to be entertained.
Tommy stamps has foot into a clod.
reaches the END of the furrow, and
turns; and as he turns, rebellion en-
tiers his heart. The whole boyish mind
turns with horses and pillow; turns
away from the present, from the plow-
ing of fields, the caring for horses, the
milking of cows, away from the past,
its brightness, it's sorrows, it's disap-
pontments, towards "a future that will
give boy his rights" The past has
not done it. The present does not do it,
The future shall.
The boy finishes his blowing, care
fully turning every furrow. He stables
his horses, briskly rubbing them down
while they eat. The COWS are MIXED,
cans filled for the nights shipment;
and then Tommy leaves the other
hands at their supper, finds his en-
Dloyer and has long talk about what
lis boyish mind considers as his
rights
1.-THE PAINT-SHOP.
Tommy is "cleaner and sweeper" and
General assistant in the paint-shop of
he car repair shops of the x. & z, rail-
Dad.
he helps to move benches and scat
Odds; he hands brushes and buckets
the men; he mixes plain ore paints
1nder the instructions of the "boss"
He listens while the men in the shop
! discuss the subject of what they call
1.-The laboring mans rights" Their
minds seem to run upon this subject
as earnestly as ever his ran upon the
subject Of his E rights. eYerthsless,
1.-The s'triglt hey! "a lked aboutt seemed
4 to- be- very. III rent things from those
that. caused him to-lie awake nights. d
Just now he longed for and deter
mined to have the right to use a
paint brush.
A little practice at night, little
more practice at noon under the direc-
ton of one of the men and soon
Tommy is seated upon a scaffold, and
another boy has his place as cleaner
and shop boy
But Tommy still sees rights that
he does not yet possess. Gar paint
err is a good trade, but car striper''
is a better. Tommy tells himself that
he must have the fright" to use the
stripping brush. And so night and
noon he practices, Until, at sixteen,
Tommy has the design in his hand,
mixes fine colors, and uses gold bronze.
And now the whir and roar of the
machinery in the adjoining shop dis
turbs him. Tommy-almost Tom
Packard will not have his rights until
he knows the chow and wherefore OF
that planning machinery.
A day comes when "overtime" is
worked in the planning shop. The
machinery runs all night. The first
part of that night Tommy stands
around BY midnight he is assisting
a workman to place boards in position
At 4 a: m. he is in bed. At o'clock
he is on his scaffold, stripping delicately
the interior of a parlor coach as care
/ fully as if the question of his rights
as laboring man. had never disturb
ed his BRAIN;
Two years go by. Tom is nov
eighteen.
4 II1-THE CARPENTER SHOP.
Tom Packard has his rights" HI
has a "machine;;" is one of the "me.
chanics;" Is a master mechanic;" but
still his rights" stretch out before
him unattained. He has his rights
but not all his rights, master
mechanic" is all very we'll, but he
tom Packard: most certainly has the
right" to be a master r-builder'
No one can deny it. That trestle-
board bench along that row OF win.
dows, in a room adjoining the carpen.
ter shop, haunts his dreams; but no,
for long.
The machine work is now automatic
as it always becomes to the master
And so the books he reads at nigh
on "designing,"" the practice. and oh
Eservation of the noon hour and ,tht
evenings, all pass in review, while, a.
a mechanic" Tom mechanically
guides the work Of his machine: :"