United labor bulletin., 1910-07-14
4rHE HIRED CITY.
A Remarkable Article BY James Open
helm.

James Oppenheim has a remarkable
article in recent number of the Ameri-
can Magazine upon "The Hired City"
1t is about Pittsburg, city whose peo-
pie are hired hands.
1t is very striking article by a sin
gularly able young writer.
Oppenheim is poet with gifts; but
am glad necessity forces him to write
at times short stories and other articles.
In this particular article, "The Hired
City" Oppenheim speaks of the terrible
conditions suffered by the workers of
the steel trust and the worst of ali is
the 12-hour day.
Twelve hours every day or every
night these men work. says Oppenheim,
"and the 12-hour day means, on the aver
age, something like this: Twelve hours
for labor, eight hours for sleep. one and
half hours for meals, one hour to go to
and from meals, twenty-five and a half
hours routine.
This leaves a margin of one and
half hours; and of what use is that mar
gin to an exhausted man?
"WilI he go to the Carnegie Library?
Will he enjoy his friends? Will he go
into politics? Will he make his home
life beautiful"
An hour and half of life for twenty
two and one-hah hours of routine.
A fag end, a latter, a ragged fringe
of life-one hour and half, out of a long
day that means all work or preparation
for work
The men of the steel works are slaves
For such food. clothing and shelter as
they receive they give all their power,
energy and brain.
! For mere material existence these
men barter away twenty-five and a half
hours each day of life.
All, brothers of the marble churches,
ask yourselves, does man live for the
stomach in this life of ours?
Ask the steel workers, the two hun
dred and more thousand of them.
Don't worry about materialism in Mark
or in the millennium
Ask the steel workers. Today, here
and now. under Morgan the plate passe
passer-at your nose-end- Ask them.
: They have one hour and a half to look
at the skies, to study the stars and tn
| tramp the fields.
! One hour and half for a full breath,
for thought. for politics, for books, art,
music
The rest is for the stomach, and for
Morgan, and for Stag and steel ingots
before Helrs fires
The rest is for Carnegie libraries, and
hero funds and preachers pensions, and
research
All else is, men Of the cloth, for Nor
gan's stomach and steel workers stom-
ach.
All. but that precious flag end, that
latter and fringe-that's for the soul.
That blessed one hour and thirty min
utes in Pittsburg,
Or perhaps it's for drink?
/ Well, then. it's for drink and blessed
oblivion, in Pittsburg,
1T is not because of his tolls says
Carlyle. that lament for the poor: we
must all toll, or steal (howsoever we
name our stealing). which is worse no
faithful workman finds his task a pas
time.
The poor is hungry and athirst; but
for him also there is food and drink:
he is heavy-laden and weary; but for
him also the Heavens send Sleep, and
OF the deepest; in his smoky cribs, a
clear dewy Heaven of Rest envelopes
him, and fuul glitterings Of cloud
skirted Dreams.
But what l do mourn over is. that the
lamp OF his soul should go out; that no
ray OF heavenly. or even of earthly
knowledge. should visit him, but only in
the haggard darkness, like two specters,
Fear and Indignation bear him company.
Alas, while the body stands so broad
and brawny. must the soul lie blinded.
dwarfed. stupitied, almost annihilated?
Alas. was this. too, breath of God;
bestowed in heaven, but on earth never
to be unfoldeds
That there should one man die ignor-
ant who had capacity for knowledge, this
| call tragedy, were it to happen more
than twenty times in the minute. as by
some computation it does"