The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-08-17
Amsterdam has abolished dog

bitching Of dogs to carts. Amsterdanl-
ers are proud of the fact; and they
have a beautiful progressing modern
city-in parts. But never, anywhere
have | seen such street sCualor, such
proclamation of utter want, such in
grained dirt-begrimed poverty as in
some of the back streets of Amster-
dam. Whitechapel is a Bour-
geoise quarter as compared Wlvh
them. One recalls thes second
hand markets Of Petticoat Lane
in London, as rich depart
ment stores, on seeing the display OF
d:ngy. faded, broker objects exposed
for sale in several Of Amsterdams
markets for old clothes and worn out
household utensils. Given a possible
demand for these junk pile goods,
what could the money value be Of a
whole acre of them? And in places
one can see an acre covered with
dozens of stands at which are sold
rusty hardware, battered china, rotten
little ropes. wOrn-tO-the-handle
brooms, secondhand post cards, soil
ed writing paper, the reflections of the
boudoir and the waste Of the counting
room. What Nn<be the value per
hour of the time of the d OF
these goods? What, the state Of tbs
funds Of the buyers?
Only in a community in which
people think of their finances in fifths
Of a cent and are at a daily grind for
a starvation wage could Amsterdam's
poverty markest exist. "a impress
sion was made a conviction when.
with my travelling companions. l
visited an Exposition Of 'home-indus-
tiles which had been instituted by
various organizations in the city
largely at the instance Of the Trade
Unionists and the Socialists of HO1-
land. When it became certain that
thiS IHvnnCitinn u-nI119 ia lo Marc and
that what it must contain would be OF
the highest public moment. some Of
the prominent men in the richer
classes took up with the movement.
and in the end royalty itself recog-
nized the opening. Queen WilheImina
participating in the exercises.
The promoters, after the investiga-
ions giving rise to the Exposition had
taken place, decided to offer among
other features exact reproductions Of
the homes in which the Industries"
were carried IN. Accordingly. in the
grounds Of the Exposition, which lie
at the rear Of the beautiful Rijk Mu-
scum (Royal Museum) were erected a
score Of huts and as many duplicates
of rooms showing how many of HOl-
lands poor work and live. The peo-
pie. whose dwellings and workshops
Gall one) were thus shown, were put
to work in them at their usual occu-
NN1OA oAhN Ahoo1 III
the Exposition is open, working and
living in them. The Only difference
betWCen the real habitation and the
reproduction in the Exposition is
that at the Exposition they are new
and have an electric light, whereas in
the original homes they have a tai 4
lew candle What the visitor sees
brought together therefore is what he
could see any day if he but looked
about in rich Holland, where capital
is so plentiful that interest has been
to 2 per -cent
While the visitor observes the men
or women working, he may read on
the walls a card or placard giving the
exact wages earned per week, the
hours Of labor and the assistance Of
the wife and children. In a large hall
adjoining the POUNDS are exhibits of
the articles roduc in these home
wooden toys. children's
r~lay-things. clothing Of all sorts, even
Uniforms Of army officers, wooden
shoes. cigars, household utensils.
trooms, brushes. paper bags, artificial
flowers and a hundred and one of the
ii,considerable useful things that re-
Quire small means to purchase raw
material. several grades of skill, pa
and endurance to turn out the
product. q
A catalogue summarizing the state
ments accompanying the exhibits of
the various articles has been printed
by the managers. 1t tells a tale no
u~nacOuainted with the facts could
readily believe. but as the Exposition
has the official sanction of the gov
there is no ground even for
suspicion that the facts and figures as
are rv~erdrawn. AS the work
under discussion is usually performed
in common by an entire family the
are for all the members of the
combined. The minimum
Of hours for the head Of a.
family was not less than 66 per week,
the usual hours of labor stated were
90 per week and one instance. that is
in one industry-the birchbroom
makers-the hours Of labor of the
week were 1872! The minimum wages
a man reached 40 cents a day. in
only q fouz oacoa aid Ill. or .1;nl4I.z