The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1908-03-14

| said he could make a brigadier gen
eral with a stroke of the pen, but it
took $3.50 in gold to buy a mule. The
cheapest thing on the American mar.
ket today is human life. We con-
tribute our money to send mission
aries to India and to China where
infants are sacrificed to Moloch ami
to the Ganges crocodiles, seemingly
unmindful of the fact that In free
America 1,75O,00O children under Il
years of age are daily offered as sac
rifices to greed, and 100000 of them
claimed annually. We read with a
lshudder Of horror that an American
missionary and his wife have been
cruelty murdered in some far-of
heather land, and Immediately send
others to shed light into the darkened
minds of the slayers. But we read
with calm equanimity that on the day
this missionary and his wife were
murdered in benighted India or China.
36 citizens were murdered and 501
others seriously injured in free Amer
lea by enlightened, Christian, church
going, missionary-supportin men who
would rather put human life into
danger than to spend a small percent
4 age of their profits in safety appli-
ances. Puritan Massachusetts fur
nishes the capital to operate south
ern cotton mills because, forsooth
the laws of unionized Massachusetts
forbid the employment Of children,
while the southern mills can and do
employ thousands of children between
the ages of five and twelve. Humane
men in Nebraska ask the enactment
of a child labor law, looking to pre-
[vention rather than cure, and from a
Nebraska city with one church to
every 300 Of population comes pro-
test that the enactment of such a
law will compel the abandonment of !,
lis canning factory.
The church thunders against the
;niquities Of the modern saloon, not.
|N;thstanding the fact that 100000
American workingmen daily find the
saloon the only place where they can
have companionship, bright lights,
good cheer, warmth and few hours
tcf forgetfulness. And the church is
silent about the iniquities of the
|sweat shop wherein daily 100000
women and children work an aver
age of fourteen hours day for an
average of less than $1.20 a week, sur
rounded by filth unspeakable, crimes
|unmentionable; never seeing a tree
or blade of grass; never hearing
the name of God save as curse;
never having hunger thoroughly ap-
peased, and never knowing what suf.
ficient clothing means.
A little band of workingmen, driven
mad by abuse, commits some overt
lact, and Immediately the newspapers
are filled with denunciation of the
.'anarchistic labor unions Multi
millionaires, "a majority of whom Oc-
cupy prominent pews in the churches,
pisnge two nations into war in order
to further fill their fat Golfers, anc
Immediately the newspapers appeal
4 to our patriotism and we rush to arms
for country and for Cod
Chinese Boxers, maddened by preju-
dice, murder handful of missionaries,
and Immediately the armies of six
great nations are sent into the coun-
try of the Yellow Dragon and hor-
rible penalty exacted, while indem-
nifty amounting to $9o0,00o,0oo is
LEVIED.
American Captains OF Industry, mad
|Gened by greed, massacre Sc, 900
American workingmen year, MAIN
ing 10000 others, and we read the
figures with equanimity and postpone
the enforcement of safety appliance
laws already enacted and postpone the
|enactment of other laws looking to
the same end-and why? Because
human life is cheaper than safety ap-
pliances. The gold dollar, held close
to the American eye. shuts out the
Isight of suffering widows and children,
and liberal check in the contribution
box turns our thoughts Africaward in
stead of inward
i Let me give you leaf from my
own experience as a union man. Time
and again have seen union men
|aprealing to legislature for laws
that would compel protection for
them-safety appliance laws, sanitary
laws, liability laws. I never in my
life. saw a committee from church
lsdvocating these humane and benefi-
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