The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-10-05

" vi hSIS III Il1t danger DQlI0ln V-
manufactures for explosives q.
Woolwich Arsenal. thirty-six >n-
for a -hO week was recOmm...r
In American money the seal.
fixed upon as a goal to be ,.-
would yield $3.50 to SO a Week
Davis, Municipal Employers. W3r-.4
recognized minimum wage i'm
dustries, essential to the welfare ut.
nation" TN Ipswich. the mirH...
wage fixed by the trad union
building laborers was sd. per h..,-
but a larger number worked f.r
I'D, Al. and 4 lad" \ ten-hou.- .
would therefore yield these Iahorr-t
from 10 to 80 cents.
Mr.. George Edwards, the Norfolk
Agricultural Laborers' delegate. fra
known to the Congress some OF fila
possibilities arising from the new labor
organization that was spreadt..
among his class. Although it had bee.
begun only in 1907, there were aIrtl.v
$50 branches with 1000 members IT,
said that the delegates coming from
the large centers of industry had H.,
idea of the seriousness of the questions
bearing on employment, and especially
eviction, from the standpoint Of IT,,
agricultural laborers. A town WORKER
when evicted might find a shelter in
the next street, but a farm lab0r-~
could not get one IN the same NlliaEA
nor in any of half a dozen near him
From a form of agreement in his hand.
he read the terms to which a lahore
he represented had had to submit. E-
these, the man agreed to give uu Lis
| cottage at a weeks notice; not to h7.u
pigs or fowls without the landlord 3
permission; to act as night Watchlnar
when required; to inform on poarh-
ers'; not to harbOr any one Of his
fo p,iJv 1fuyhn niOht Misconduct fb,r.-
selves in any way; not to remoVa Ger
tain of his utensils until the landlord
or the agent refused to purchase them.
to undertake to live at peace with his
neighbors and to lead an honest and
respectable life; to obtain permiSSiur
from the landlord or agent before adj
| hitting to his home any of his family
giving particulars on a form provided
| by the landlord, their names and ages.
and also il married or single, and how
long they want to stay. LabOrers who
lived under such conditions as he de-
scribed could neither make application
fer an allotment Of land under the act
of Parliament nor serve on local
boards. If they tried to do such things.
they were marked men and turned out
Of their cottages. Mr.. Edwards Su3
his organization had been ENCOURAGED
by an increase of one shilling a Wr.E
in ~onseQuen of its efforts. Vases
were usually II shilings a week CS"J
His unions dues were ID. a week a
cents). Mr.. Edwards is an interesting
personality. Born in 1880, ne has
been at work as a laborer all his life
since six years of age; he never attend
ed a school; once worked with Joseph
Arch; is a member Of the COUNTY
Council of Norfolk. He was regarded
with interest in the convention.
In the course of the week at Ipswich.
he occasion was taken to hold meet
iEgs by d numbe Of organizations as
SOclated to a greater or less extent
With the British abOrm movement. f""
nasS-me ceilings were held in the Hip
podrOme on Sunday, one in the after
noon by the Independent Labor Party,
which was by 1900 persons
according to the local press, and th'
second in the evening by the National
Union of Gas Workers and General
Laborers, when the audience number
ed 1900. At the afternoon meel'n-'
the speeches, purely Socialistic IN
character, were made by Kier HaTd'",
George H. Roberts, and Fred HendcE-
son. Mr.. Roberts, who is the PaTll,-
mentary whip of the Labor Party, SAID
he was visiting Ipswich in the dudt
capacity Of a trade union official, am
q rank-and-filer Of the Labor party.
He said: 1.-The total number Of age
workers eligible to become members
of trade unions is about $4,000, 600 IN
Great Britain and Ireland, n out Or
that umb some 100000 belong u
trade unions" Not within the recoi-
lection of any one present have w.
seen such crowded years of labor ans
Socialistic legislation as the past three
or -four years have been There az
81 Labor members in the House o'
Commons today, but as sure as sprA"
to you, there will be So or 70 in the
next House of Commons
At the evening meeting, the Sa!i..t
feature was the Countess of NarWi'E
presiding. On the Saturday preNlpi'
new headquarters were opened in Fps
Wich by the local branch Of the Labor
Party; two meetings were held, tAat
of the evening being addressed ny
three NJ. P.'s attending the Congress $
frH6o 1IoiNnictS Date l1rr4H Ctf-