Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-10-05


and the late A. w. Johnson. A solicit
ing of Captain 8. H. Harper, Major
Samuel Mahon, A. w. Johnson, the late
8. B. Evans, A. P. Peterson, the late
w. B. Bonniheld, Frank McIntire, the
late J. B. Mowrey, William Daggett
and Calvin Manning.
The committee was to solicit funds
for immediate relief, and they started
to work at once, and by the close Of
the next day had collected $1,005 to be
used In conjunction with the city coun-
ell to provide employment.
A committee to take up the work
Of handling the employment and funds
was also appointed. This committee
was composed of T. H. Picker, Carey
Inskeep, A. H. Hamilton, George A.
Brown and Alex Harlan. An article
printed in Tuesday evenings Courier,
January 9, 1894 says:
"The usual time for manufacturing
screen doors is in March, April and
May. However, in order to give en-
ployment, the two Wholesale hardware
firms Of the city, the Harper & Nc
Intire Co., and George Haw & Co.,
have placed an order for several hun
dred screen doors with Ottumwa
Screen Co., to be made during Janu-
AIRY and February. These doors were
bought at shade higher price than
they can be bought In the east and
will also have to be stored couple
of months, but by buying them now
and in this city, eight or ten men will
have work all winter making them"
The Courier of January 10, 1894 con-
tanned the following,
AT 9 o'clock this morning the regis
ter at the city hall, showed the names
OF ITO men. Most Of these were mar
ried and had from three to eight people
dependent upon them, and the time
that they had been out Of work varied
from one to twelve months. Among
them were mechanics of all kinds, and
the majority had resided In this city
upward Of five years. Nineteen Of
them were marched to the foot of Mar
ion street, where there is pile Of 200
perch of rock that the breaking Of
which will give twenty men work for
ten days at about 81 a day
At the council meeting the following
Monday night the mayor, as chairman
of the relief committee, reported that
295 people representing about eighty
families, had been given assistance,
also that about one-third Of those who
had registered at the city hall had
been given some work. The street
commissioner was instructed that call
work done this winter be done as the
work Of breaking rock is done, turn
about 1. e., that one gang work today,
another tomorrow, and so on, thus Civ.
ing all chance"
Think of that! That's the record
of mismanagement of the country's
affairs! The working man had to take
his turn at getting even chance" to
make dollar day every third day
All over the country, organized labor
was trying to arrange the work Of its
members so that each would get
enough work to earn even the bare
common, necessities of life. The Of
tumwa Typographical union made q
rule that until work was more plenty
no member holding steady situation
on a newspaper under its Jurisdiction
should work more than four days a
week, but must give at least two days
to those out Of work.
That was only one of many plans
that had to be adopted to distribute
what little employment there was 90
| it could be made to help as many as
possible.
Times were prosperous up to the
winter of 1892; people were employed
at good wages, farm products brought
good prices, but the people wanted a
change-they got it. It is just as easy
to bring on conditions that will be
ruinous to business now as 1t was