The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-07-01


mere matter of wages and hours. 1t
aims to regulate these. But back of
these are great moral and patriotic
principles, ignored it is true, too Oft
en- by it's members, and lost sight of
almost entirely by its opponents. John
Mitchell, perhaps. knows more than
any other leader of the movement of
the real and full purposes of trades
unionism He is by no means dem
agogue, but holds the public conf
dence as man of sound judgment and
unimpeachable integrity. He says:
IF | believed that the trade union
movement stood for nothing else than
securing a few cents higher wages or
securing a few hours less labor |
would leave it. If | thought that is
all it does | would quit the trade I'M
ion movement and | would try to start
myself a new movement. But | be-
lieve it does more than that. l be-
lieve the trade union movement raises
the standard of our citizenship; | be-
lieve it raises the manhood and the
womanhood and the childhood of our
people. Any movement that elevates
society; that elevates the manhood
and womanhood of our people, con-
tributes immeasureably to the welfare
of our people and the good of our
country
In his Fortune of the Republic" DR..
Hills says: "Consider Carlyle's warn
l.
to the merchants of Manchester: The
MENUS between you employers and you
you people is a cash neXus. Between
you as manufacturer and your work
men, there is a great gulf fixed; you
have emphasized class distinction until
your working people have become but
the mere accidents of a. machine. Yet,
despising them, when a generation
has passed, what through poor food,
ventilation, bad air, you will destroy
the source of your wealth. Then fiji
ty years pass by. The Boer war is
on. The sons of the factory people
come in to enlist as soldiers. But
what tragedy is revealed. The fac
tory boys pass before the recruiting
thin blood, stunted bodies, spindling
legs, weak eyes, deficient in nerve
power; only an occasional factory
youth measures up to the standard for
a soldier. They go down like grass
before the scythe of these strong
handed Beers. Then parliament ap-
points a commission of inquiry, to in
vestigate the causes OF physical degen-
eracy of the factory folk. Startled by
these conditions an author begins his
| Investigations. Head that tragic,
heart-breaking book, People of the
Abyss Think of what is involved in
this, that in those wOndrous isles of
Britain. among the Scotch and English
who, two generations ago. would have
died rather than beg crumb of bread.
there are now 100000 beggars, and
persons receiving state relief-a loaf
of bread, clothes, or soup"
Every man taught the dignity of la
bor-to fit himself to do some useful
work and hold it at a dignified valua-
ton: every woman saved to the home
or safeguarded from conditions Condu-
Give to i'll health, dependency and
! degradation; every child kept from
that slavery which robs youth of its
freshness and freedom. and gives to So
ciety a stunted and vimless manhood
is immeasurably more than matter
of dollars and hours.
There is a german story of a poor
man who always went about his work
in such contented happy way, with
laughter in his eyes and a beam of
pleasure flushing his cheek. that he
was called the dreamer" He mar
ried, and the infection of happpiness
filled his home. His wife and chill
dren caught the contagion of congeni-
ality. His friends wondered. When
asked to explain his everlasting exub-
erance. the workman replied that he
carried around with him all the time
| the dream that he was king, that his