The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1906-07-13

| and worry, the boss sized him up at
glance and there was no work for hin
in Packingtown, and Ona, whom he hat
married meantime was about to be
come a mother.
Then is recited In THE JUNGLE, tale
of gradual and heart-rending downfall
in the wearing out by inches, of 8
strong man. Jurgis gets job in the
terrible fertilizer vaults where his head
nearly splits with the poisonous dust
and the sitting fumes of ammonia
His father dies from the effects Of the
awful speeding up" and the Shiny
wet in which he has to work, ankle
deep. Ona, the beautiful. the once
blithe young bride succum.s to the
hateful System" and Jurgis. powerful
man that he is, his strong spirit broken
by the brutality and irresistible power
of the bosses. becomes great gaunt,
hollow eyed ghost of his former self.
The story is tale of the gradual
determination of a splendid, yirile
European family, ground to death by
a System" by a pitiless monopoly,
which cares no more or not as much
for its workers than it does for the
carcasses of the animals it converts in
to food Incidentally the description
of this process is sufficiently revolving
to turn the stomach of the stoutest
beefeater.
Oh! could Jurgis, and Ona, and the
rest OF them, with their frugality and
their Drawn, and their love of life and
work. and joy of home, have gone
into some rural district to work out
their salvation, what different story
would have been THE JUNGLE. Some
other name for the book would have
been necessary. What If they could
have gotten dozen acres, or five acres
of good land somewhere and bought II
for what they squandered uselessly for
their house in Packingtown--they were
turned out and the house resold the
first month they failed of payment
what a different history would have
been told by the authori
What IL the great packing trust, in
stead of killing. ''sen and women, should
provide that It's employees could live on
an acre of ground each. or half acre.
out on the great fertile prairies of
Illinois, quickly reached from the stock
yards by modern trolley, so that when
they were of necessity, perhaps, laid
off" for a period Of week, or six
weeks. or on half time" they would
have a piece OF rich land which they
could till and raise enough potatoes and
corn and beans and cabbage to keep
them from starving to death. But the
packing trust--Mr Ogden Armour and
other millionaires and multi-million-
aires-would make less money: 1t /
would decrease its dividends perhaps |
several per cent, and that is not to be
thought OF BY getting the best out Of |
q man, III there Is IN him IN q few |
short years. this unnamable Thing can
turn him out and get new blood II
Is evidently most profitable to speed a |
man up to the wrecking point and |
then get new men. This process of
in~human life, coupled with |
the abominable and poisonous adulterar
tions and use Of diseased animals
which Mr.. Sinclair describes at first
hand, enables Mr. Armour and the
others to make very satisfactory per-
cenfnges Of prolific pile IN millions
Of dividends wear.
II is All a verv great sforv. THE
FnsefE If not beautiful one. and well |
worth the reading smniv that the
gpaaAr NAV learn something about the |
stn1 wa cat end ~ what cost Of suf-
Iering Il Is produced