The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-12-30

TILE soAB CIGAR.
"a Christmas Reverie.)


I had gone all the way through
from soup to nuts" as. the boys
say. and the rum-and-brandy sauce
Of the plum pudding had brought to
me a delightful lethargy that be-
spoke the rest and smoke that I
was promising myself as a finale to
the feast. Lying back easily in my
armchair in front of the blazing yule
log, I lighted the cigar which a
friend from Chicago had handed me.
I perceived that it was a non-union
brand; but nevertheless as there was
no other at hand I lit 1t and pro-
ceeded to poison the atmosphere
with its fumes. Whether the fatigue
of the day, or whether it was the
bad fairy Of the scab cigar do not
know. Anyhow, the wheels of my
brain machinery got into motion as
soon as the smoke filled the air, and
the visions saw and conjectured in
the smoke Of that cigar made Dante's
Inferno appear veritable paradise
in comparison with the peoples of
the scab cigar.
In my mental wanderings I fan
cied that I saw that death-dealing
cigar sold over the counter of a re-
taller by sickly, hard-worked clerk.
who trembled every time a shadow
Of his boss crossed his line of vision,
and he pushed this particular line of
scab goods in order to maintain his
1u-paid and overworked position.
was interested in it's history, al
though the fumes were beginning to
now choke my throat. Still I want
cd to trace further back, and the
factory from where the scab brand
was first shipped was the next point
upon which my mental vision rested.
There were shaving men and women
of all NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., paupers,
all unkempt, the lowest dregs Of So
ciety, the denizens Of the slums.
Poor, miserable, untutored fiotsam
upon the sea Of life, At persons to
first handle the product of their still
miserable fellows. At last the vision
brought me to tho source from which
the cigar first assumed shape, and
z more wretched aspect was never
seen by man. In a single room of a
miserable ramshackle tenement,
overlooking a narrow, dark, filthy al
ley, it's broken window patched with
old rags and paper, and with the
must of dampness on the broken
walls, existed a mother and four
children, some of whom were engag-
ed In making cigars of the brand of
which / was smoking. To my distort-
ed vision. the filth and stencil of the
habitat was nauseating, and on a
ragged cot in far corner rested the
wasted form Of baby struggling in
the last throes of diphtheria. Oc-
casionally the poor weary mother,
starvation staring her in the face
and despair marking her features,
would cease her work for few mo-
ments, and, with her claw-like hands
the tears held back by her breaking
heart, would try to soothe the suf-
fering child which was dear to her
and slowly leaving her world of pain
and misery.
Then back to her pitiless task, ever
struggling, ever straining to main
tain an existence. for those little
1nnocents who we're unable to help
her In the perpetual grind, I~fancied
l saw the baby die; die for the want
OF the mere necessities Of life; aye,
die for the lack of pure air, its little
weakened vitality unable to stand
the cruel and unnatural surround
ings. Then the heartrending wall of
poverty, staining the leaves of the
non-union, its brothers and sisters
struck like steel in the soul Of the
Wretched mother. But there was lit
tie time to mourn, for they had their
task to perform; they must make
their number Of cigars for the fac
tory at the sweatshop, life Destroy
ing pittance given by the manufac-
lures OF non-un1on goods, in order
that these captains of finance may
squander their ill-gotten gains at
the race tracks and gambling palaces,
on the midways of great fairs and the
environments of London and Paris.
The children grow up under these
conditions. The boys become GRIM
mails and the girls moral rectitude
gives way under the strain of their
surroundings. That was as far as
cared to 60 into the history of the
cigar, for I fancied I could see the
blood Of those who were being crush.
ed to death in their struggle against
appalling product, and in disgust I
threw away the half-consumed stump.
That seemed to have an invigorating
effect, as it brought me back to the
happy knowledge that we have un-
ion-made cigars, as well as all other
union goods, manufactured under
sanitary and living conditions, where
a fair days work is given for a fair
days pay, brought about through
the organization of the workers un-
der the banner of the American Fed
GRAFTON Of Labor, where manhood as
serts itself and labor defends it's
rights. The labor unions of America
have accomplished wonderful results
in the past, but their mission is only
in It's infancy. It is the duty of all
workingmen to shun the unfair pro-
duct and demand the union label,
which guarantees fair conditions,
and in raising our standard of living
and that Of our fellow man, we raise
our intelligence, our morality and
progress onward toward liberty and
justice and the eternal brotherhood
Of man.