Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-01-25
Let the Producer Enjoy the
Fruits of His Toll, Her
Doctrine.
PROGRESS IS THE ROOT OF
INDUSTRIAL TROUBLES
Before Labor-Saving Devices
Came There Was Work for
All and No Strikes.
BY ARTHUR E. WARNER

. STOKES my impression was
eilat Inc garment workers
couio nave acquired no stronger
CHAMPION than this sweet-faced. mild
anu sooiInl young woman. After a
mar hours conversation with her
was more than convinced of her sin
eer1ty and earnestness of n,rnoee
sue mas passed through the very con-
ditions that have recently driven har
sister-workers to conftct p -
own words, she has felt the 49,
81 huhser, the piercing of the cold,
mas worked through the long hours
Oh the DAY and night TO keep the
gaunt wolf from the door, and has
lived In the crowded tenements until
the injustice which she heiieves is
the portion of the working man and
woman has burned into the dentha Of
her SOUL Through these trials her
character became SO moulded thar
When relieved from burdens and I,ft-
cd into position of aff1ueuee she
unseinshly began to expend her life
strength and talents in assisting and
upiiiling those who have been less
ofeuldle. relieving that the relief
10 the masses could best come
through the Socialist party. she has.
TOT years, been member of. It's coln-
CHS AT present she is included
among the strike board of the marty
and in that position she is brought
intimately into the labor struggles
IN which young women are Directly
concerned and into some strikes in
winch they are not participants.
she talked with me few evenings
ago of the social and economic con-
oitions that brought about the pres
ent trouble in the garment-making
industry. AS she conversed her face
was study of sunshine and shadow.
She grew grave as she detailed what
she regards as social Injustice. but
when directing her thoughts to evils
remedied or former service of help
fulness the seriousness gave way to a
happy child-like smile Since the
strike began she has come to New
York from her home in Stamford.
Conn.,, and will remain there until
the struggle Is at an end. Mrs.
Stokes. gracious and charming in act
and manner, Is a delightful CONVEX
sationalist, frank in expression. de-
cided in her convictions and accurate
in her conclusions.
The System to Blame.
1T is the system; the system" she
repeated emphatically. that we are
forced to fight against in the struggle
between the garment-workers and
employers. Take the contract sys-
tenn for instance. The contractor is
one of the greatest evils against
which we must contend. He takes
the work from the manufacturer and
gives it out to the women. He is the
middle man." said Mrs. Stokes. I'VE
want the contract system abolished,
child labor done away with, an eight
hour day established, and the labor
union recognized by the employers,
that the workers may have the power
to force the manufacturer to keep his
agreement. The capitalist class who
toll not. neither do they spin, are
by their private ownership at the
bottom of all the unrest They reap
the reward of those who both toll
and spin and who are the producers.
The workers should and ultimately
will reap the benefits of their labor.
I'VE want all of the home work, or
sweat shop work, as you call it,
abolished. 1t is putting the work into
the hands of children. I know. I
did it when I was 9 years old. !,
with others. worked upon the cloth
ing. What I did then thousands of
children are doing now. This child
work keeps down the wages and piles
up the profits for the capitalist"
al
during the hotel walters strike early
last year. The Daily Call" she said,
had issued special number expos
ing conditions at the hotels. We were
particularly anxious that our ex-
ploitation should reach the people.
The striking walters were timorous
about selling the papers on the street
so I went out with a bundle early in
the morning, going to the Italian dis
trict in the vicinity of Fourteenth
street and Second avenue In many
houses that / visited during the day
there were but three or four where
some kind of work was not being done
at home In the places where | had
a chance to talk with the women |
was told that the husband was out
of work! No work: can't get work,
was the response to my questions.
So the mothers and children became
the burden bearers.
rs the problem Of the garment
workers the same as that of other
industries in which women and chill
dren are employed %
Progress Behind industrial Trouble.
Yes" grayely responded Mrs.
Stokes. But these problems are not
from natural conditions. They arise
from the evolution that has been arti-
ficially developed-that is, developed