davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

it is so with other things. The average
man fails to realize this. and the employer
cannot see that property is only law-cre-
ated and law-protected and that its regu-
lation can be changed by society as the
conditions Of society demand
The conversation here turned to some
OF the live labor questions OF today. and
I asked the Secretary II he believed In a
minimum wage. He replied:
II have pronounced views on that sub
ject but il would not be wise for me to
discuss them.
DO you think the industries of the
United States can be run on an eight-hour
day."
Il have no doubt of 1T, and i believe
that there are many industries IN
which the workman will produce as
much in eight hours as he did In ten.
While i was chairman of the commit
tee on labor In the House 1 received q
communication from q largo employer
in the granite industry, giving the re-
suits OF his experiments In has works
as to the product as affected by the
hours per day per man. He kept records
OF the hours and the output When he
began his men were laboring ten hours
a day. He reduced them to nine, and
found that the product was greater
than when they worked ten. He then
reduced the hours to eight, and found
that he got more work out of the men
at eight hours than he did at nine. He
expected to continue the reduction, and
said that he believed the highest out
put would be reached when the hours
Of labor were reduced to the point
where the workman came back to his
work every morning fully refreshed"
"Wiil the time come when we will
have an eight-hour day everywhere in
the United States?"
THAT is the condition now In most OF
the states in many industrial Occupa-
tions. In Arizona We have the eight
hour-day law in underground mines
and workings. In California the same
is true as to mines. shelters and pub
lie works Of any kind, and it Is like
wise SO In Colorado. In Connecticut
tho hours OF labor are eight, unless
otherwise agreed, and engineers, fire.
men and machinists and other mechan-
les employed In state institutions may
not work more than eight hours ex-
cept In cases Of emergency. In nearly
all the states eight hours is the rule
upon all public works, and 1t is nearly
everywhere so In the mines and smelt
ers. It Is so in Illinois In all mech anical
employments, and II is SO on the pub
lie highways. Eight hours is the rule
in Indiana, and II is SO in Massachu-
setts as to all laborers and mechanics
employed by or on behalf Of the state.
] might go on and show the same for
nearly every state in the Union"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

department at Erie, and We have brought
the shopmen and the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company together. We have
averted n number of strikes and We are
doing that right along
Suppose the strikers at Paterson had
asked you to step in?''
II cannot say what would have been
the result We might have succeeded
in getting the parties together. We could
only have suggested and advised. We
are. l have said. merely a department
of industrial diplomacy.
~
How about strikes III the United
States? Are they tncreasing?"
NO. I believe we have fewer strikes
now than We had in the past. There are
more members to each strike and the
strikes are better organized. The trades
which are the best organized have the
fewest strikes. and as the organization OF
labor becomes more complete the strikes
become less and less. The reason for
this is that collective bargaining Is more
easily possible under that condition. Both
parties to the contract are better able
to fix terms ard carry them out"
DO you think that general strike all
over the country is possiDle?'
No
What is the ideal condition that should
exist between the employer and the en-
ploye?'
"A condition OF partnership and OF
equal rights. There is an implied part
nership now but the difficulty is that the
employer does not recognize It. He as
sumes that his plant Is his property. and
that he has n right to do with 1t as he
pleases and TO run it as he pleases. He
fails to grasp the idea that there is no
title to property that Is not a law-created
and law-protected title. Society has al
lowed private individuals or corporations
to hold certain rights only for its protec-
ton and development. Now, If society
has created the title, for its protection,
society can modify that title whenever 1,
deems necessary for its protection. There
fore when the employer claims the fac
tory as his own to do with as he pleases
he fails to realize that he has no title To
the factory except In SO far as society
permits
That would mean that society has the
right to change the regulation Of any
such piece Of property at its own will?''
THAT condition already exists in Law
and that right has always been reserved
by the governing power. It is the title OF
eminent domain. the right OF the govern
ment to determine that certain things are
of such eminent good to the community
that the community can take them over
and manage them itself. The railroad, in
getting its right of way, is able to con-
denim property through that principle, and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28
The Defender.

IOHN PCRROY Mitchell Of New
J York was talking about q new defense
Of Tammany.
1T Is a ridicuiously naive Defense" he
said. 1T reminds me OF Paint Rock.
"a visitor to the retired village Of
Paint Rock remarked to a native:
Mr.. Scrlbbler was charmed with
Paint Rock In his book he calls 1t the
quaintest, sleepiest town
But here the native. biting viciously
into plug of chewing tobacco, growled:
Wall. Paint Rock may be quaint,
all right, all right; but I don't see
nothin' sleepy about n place whar every
bodys up at four in the mornin', rain or
shine"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

was more like that OF a collese-bred man
than one whose life had been spent IN
hard. manual Labor. wondered and
asked him where he got his education.
He replied.
Il could not go to school on account
OF my work but ] was fortunate III that
my father was one OF those argument
tive Scotchmen who not only loved t. de-
bate, but sloried i'll having his facts
backed By the best of authorities. I'll"
was not an educated man, ana could not
read very well, and so made me read 10
him. My mother, who had 4 common
school education. taught me my letters,
and | soon learned to read. After that
father kept me reading 10 him every
night. and by the time l was nine or ten
Years of age | had read the whol" of
Smiths Wealth OF Nations and other
books on political economy. | had read
a great deal of Chambers Information
for the People, The Science OF The
Bible some works of Drummond and
little later on l read Burns and Campbell,
$ elley and other poets We had also
Scott and Dickens. and | got 70 know
them. Us to the Bible. father was g llEid
Presbyterian In Scotland he belonged
and. OF course, We read sreat deal
of the Scriptures As l look back upon
those days / can sec that this was
good literary training. and can realize
how much effect Ii had upon my mind
had a good memory. and this was slim
ulated by my father calling upon m. 70
corroborate his quotations from the au-
thorties used in his arguments.
shortly after | began work in the
mines. the Secretary continued, oar
community arranged for a night school
every pupil paid dollar month to Va"
principal, and for q time | vas able 10
attend that. I did also considerable study
ing at home, and so in one way and an
other | have gotten what little education
l have. | was for q time printer and
stuck type for the Bostwick Advertiser
This taught me punctuation and gave mc
some insight into grammatical construc-
ton. But altogether, as you can see, my
education has been very little
When did YOU first become connected
with labor organizations?'
Il can hardly remember when 7 was
not part of them. l became a limited
of a labor union when l was
and i have been more or less
associated with unions ever since. / am
a union man now, and have my union
card. When l was eighteen l was
victimized for my activity in the mines
as trade unionist, and was ordered to
leave. That was what. drove me 10 the
west and made me Il fireman on rail
way locomotive. After my return to
Pennsylvania did what l could for the
interest of the miners. and later on | was
secretary Of the United Mine Workers.
That organization has over 100000
members and has done much 10 better
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

for twenty years. works with two or
three clerks. Opening. out OF this Is u
small, narrow chamber, simply furnished.
where is Mr.. Mann's own desk These
two rooms contain about all the avail
able current information regarding the
government and pending legislation that
can be gathered together in Washington,
and still SO orderly is 1T kept that seem-
ingly only a few documents are about.
The Mann lack of system idea in
cludes simple but effective filing schemes
that make everything needed readily
available. Some people might call that the
best Of all systems.
How do you keep yourself Informed on
legislation and matters going on in the
government" was a question put to Mr..
Mann.
Simply by awaiting myself Of the
sources of information that are at hand.
Few people, few even in Congress, realize
the amount Of Information that can be
gathered from government publications.
l have these publications sent to me. and
/ look them over and read what need to
read.
For example, there is the book of es-
Inmates, issued annually, containing the
requests Of the various departments for
appropriations. / read this carefully.
comparing the requests with the existing
appropriations. Then when the appropri-
alton bills are reported by the committees
take the draft Of the bills and make my
own notations on them. SO that l have
at u glance the comparisons Of previous
appropriations, estimates, amount recom-
mended and everything necessary to
know. Then, too, l have the report on
the bill. and II I find it is required the
transcript OF the hearings before the COM
mittee where the officers who are to spend
the money explained what they wanted
To do with it IL appropriated.
s,A
COPIES Of all bills introduced come 10
my Office. ! do not pretend to go over
all Of them, but my clerks do and send me
any in which may be interested. go
through these and take out those that I
want to read carefully. rejecting the
others. See?" and he produced a waste
paper basket crammed with prints Of bills.
"Those 1 retain go through. mark
ing the important phraseology by un-
derscorinE it. These bills l manage to
keep track of in committee. Then l
get every bill as 1T is reported by COM
mittee together with the report, and
l mark these in the same way. some
times placing question marks beside
paragraphs that raise doubts These
are properly filed, to be available when
the bill comes up on the floor.
also j read documents printed by
the House and Senate. Now, here IL
today's grist," and he lifted some dozen
pamphlets from the table. In the pile
were reprints Of notable speeches on
governmental problems, political mono
reform-"I didn't read that" inter
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

between times and tilling mountain
land on the shares. At last q petty
farm owner Of loo acres Of hills and
hollows and finally. to cut short the
story a member Of Congress. who was
reelected again and again rs a repre-
sentative OF labor, and now q cabinet
minister with q salary OF $4,000 a year.
This sounds like a story OF the days
Of Aladdin. II is only the plain. sim
ple annals OF the evolution which IS
constantly going on in our American
life. 1t shows what n boy can make OF
himself and how, with everything APP
parently against him. he need not de-
Spair.
SO much by way OF introduction to
my interview with Mr.. William Bauchop
Wilson the head Of the Department Of
Labor. ] give /, 10 show you that he
has a right to represent the working
men OF the United states in our ma
tional government. The information
came from the Secretary upon my ask
ing whether he had ever worked with
his hands. He replied:
The grea ter part of my life has been
spent III hard, manual labor l swung
4 pick In the coal mines for twenty
seven years, and that as miner. not
Il u
10 help my father load coal. My rather
was q miner, and all the money we soi
anne from the amount Of coal nc could
nine. He was paid by tie ton ana upon
lie output depended our living. rms
was the situation when | reached the
age OF nine years. Then father mad a
bad attack of lumbago. His back was
so weak and painful that he could
not lift the coal from the floor or the
mine to the cars. lie was all right
from his waist upward. and could still
sit on the floor OF the mine and under,
cut the coal with q pick, but he could
not stoop to load 1t. l was taken down
into the mines and did the loading.
Later on, no taught me how to aid him
in drilling. and / finally learned all kinds
of mining. Father and ! worked TO,
gether for seven years and after that
had a place for myself. continued
mining coal for twenty-years longer, and
ter on mined coal In the winter time
and worked on the farm in the summer.
Your wages must have been small in
those days?"
Yes. they were small. Until l was
thirty-six years OF age. l do not think
ever made as much as $40 a month the
year round. | sometimes made as high
as $50 = month, but lean sea sons always
succeeded the tat ones and kept down
the average.
These words OF tire Secretary were in
good English: and his talk throughout
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28
Presumption.

9 ETH LOW, the president Of the Ma
- tional Civic Federation, said In New
York the other day OF an article against
arbitration:
The author Of that article shows an
amazing degree Of ignorance. He shows
presumption, too. He is like little Will
lie Budd.
"A man rang the bell at Willie Budd' s
house one day, and Willie, aged eight,
answered 1t.
rs Mr.. Budd in?' said the man.
I'm Mr.. Budd,' said Willie; or do
YOU want to see old Mr.. Budd?'
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

must. II seems to he up to me. / am
accustomed To it. and so / suppose I must
so OH.
OF course, in these cases the plea is
always made that the legislation proposed
is to right an injustice. but ! have lived
long enough in the world to know that
injusticcs are inevitable in the scheme OF
things: but when you try to right an in
justice by Personal legislation then you
are certain TO impose injustice on Il
greater number OF people.
THE matter Of extending the thanks OF
Congress to persons is another to which
some one must object. II is SO easy to
introduce resolution extending the
thanks of Congress: il gratifies . number
OF people and apparently IL isn't going TO
hurt anybody. But II we let the practice
grow, presently We would be flooded with
such resolutions, and the thanks of Con-
gress would carry no distinction. Hence
have 10 make myself the oxecutioner
Of the measures"
These are but some Of the minor things
in his days work, but they illustrate his
efforts to have the machinery Of the
House operate properly, and TO guard the
dignity and good name of the body. He
is ever on watch.
Stop it, said Asher Kinds, representa-
tive from Maine and former parliament
tary clerk of the House, to Mr. Mann
the other day. You are spelling the
House. 1t is getting so that no one but
You looks out for things. Stop it,
But Mr.. Mann has not stopped
lie simply has got into the habit Of
doing the work. and although this is
a democratic Congress now and he has
not as mucch responsibility as he for
merry had. he can't stop. All OF which
does not annoy Oscar Underwood leader
OF the dominant party, In the slightest
Nr. Mann has simply t:.ken on a lot OF
detail work that Mr.. Underwood other
wise would have to do: and Mr.. Under
wood gains IN time to deal with larger
affairs. He Is content, for he has I'M
plicit confidence in his burly republican
opponent.
1t SO happens that from the begin
ming or the republic under the Con-
stftution there has always been some
man or group of men in Congress to
do the work that Mr.. Mann does He
mas come into the position that other
great leaders once occupied, but no
has come 1T Il time when the actual
work to be done has mounted to APP
pailing proportions: when, due to the
increased membership, the growing and
diverse demands of the country, the
huge increase in the number of bills
introduced. and tho complexity of
government q degree Of Watchfulness
never before demanded is imperative.
That he Is able to do the work as
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

the United States AZ the age of eight,
and at nine delving in the coal pits OF
the Allegheny mountains. From that
time on, until he was thirty-six. his boy
hood and young manhood spent in the
darkness. swinging the pick, drilling
and blasting and loading the coal on
the cars. Then q fireman on q railroad
locomotive and worker at odd jobs. at
sawmifiing and ditchinS. Then mining
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

the conditions of labor III the mines all
over the country.
You We're elected IL Congress as a
IaboTing man. were you not
Yes. il was largely the support Of the
woI kiusmen that brought about my
nomination and election. and it is / sup
pose, my identification with and interest
in labor matters that has put me here"
is there any story connected with YOUR
appointment as Secretary of Labor
Not that | know Of | was not an APP
piicant for the place. and when by name
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

come to him for parliamentary advice
just rs freely as republicans Go-and they
get It.
But I don't guarantee to take care Of
them,' hastily declares Mr.. Mann, when
you ask him about that, looking very
fierce indeed properly to impress you
with the idea that he Is II most unrelent-
ing and partisan individual
He likes to think he is just that. and
to make other people think the same, but
the wise old democratic members who
want the language Of q resolution or a
bill alright don't hesitate for a moment
TO get him to give them the proper text.
If they are bit uncertain in their own
minds as to what it should be.
i
Sixteen years of strenuous labor on the
floor have put a lot of white into Mr..
Mann's hair and whiskers, but they
haven't otherwise affected his physical
appearance. He carries his fifty-seven
years of age like an athlete. Strength,
physical and mental. radiate from him.
Straight heavy built. he has a round.
full face that glows with health. His
eyes are blue: his gray hair. as one looks
at him; seems to reflect that same steel
blue tint. Bismarck was a man of iron
this man impresses you as one of finely
tempered steel, resilient.
t1lS JAZZ A1dllIi 3 WIlSheIS are
O stock topic Of conversation in the
House-isn't so much of a beard. after
all, when one looks at it closely. 1t Is
pretty nearly white. with one streak OF
gray in it. and, save for bunch on the
chin. is clipped close to the cheek. Com
pared to that. other famous Illinois
beard that of Senator james Hamilton
Lewis, 1t Is a modest effect.
the House and the galleries always see
him fully prepared for the day's work on
the floor. His papers always seem to be
arranged properly. He never seems to
be burdened with anything. and yet he
seems ready to discuss In its uifnutest
detail every matter that comes up.
Some one went down TO Mr.. Mann's lit
tie Office in the basement Of the Capitol
the other day to find out how he did 1t.
What is your system?" was asked.
System? Why, 1 haven't got any,
was the reply.
But that was hardly accurate. His sys-
tenn is simplicity. It consists in doing
the work Possibly what Mr. Mann meant
was that he had no schedule or time
table He doesn't work by the clock.
He refuses to make appointments. Any
body is free to go to see him, but II
others are ahead of this particular visitor
the particular visitor has to wait his
turn. And there are no c!osed-door con-
ferences.
This basement Office formerly was a
committee room. The. main Office Is q
long apartment, where Mrs. Florence A.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

ERE in BRIEF is
the story OF the
man who repre-
sentS the venty-
odd million horny
handed laborcrs of
the United States
In the cabinet
OF President Will
son. Born in Scot
land fifty years
ago, the son of a
miner. Coming 10
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

He Discusses Trades
Unions, Strikes and
the Eight-Hour Day
What His Department
Is Doing to Bring Capt.
tai and Labor Together
Are Labor Organiza-
tons a Trust ?-Secre-
tary Wilson, Career as
a Laboring Alan-How
a Boy Coal Miner Rose
to Be a Member of Con-
gress and of the Cabi-
net a Poor Boys
Education-Forty Dol
lars a Month Versus
$4,000 a \ ear.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

and by a searchlight Is found to be most
uncertain, for in one instance a oerg
about twenty-five miles away suddenly
dropped below the horizon but shortly
after was lifted by mirage until it APP
peared to be only mile away.
Commander c. Z. Johnston OF the
Seneca states the following in his re-
port: I'm my opinion the only safe way
to navigate regions Of icebergs is 20
stop during thick weather and to run
very slowly on dark nights. In clear
weather icebergs are not dangerous. l
believe that a vessel might drift against
a berg in ordinary weather without much
damage In sheering, to avoid q berg
Ii must be borne in mind that with en-
gines working ahead the vessel is pivot
ed on her stem, SO that as soon as the
bow Is clear Of the berg the helm should
be shifted In order to throw the stern
away from the berg At night and in
thick fog I should post the lookout as
In addition to this the vigilance of the
officer of the watch should be unremit-
ting
For the benefit of those remaining long
in that north region. and perhaps Of in
terest to housewives anywhere, Com
mander Johnston has published recipe.
tried successfully by his own cabin stew
ard. for cooking gulls. murre. elder duck
and other sea fowl that are inclined to be
tough and fishy.
Let the birds hang in the feather for
three days, then draw and skin them.
Soak in fresh water for three days more,
on the third day adding a tablespoonful
Of vinegar to each quart of water. Fry
the birds brown in very hot skillet;
then put them in a saucepan and half
cover with water. For FIVE or six birds.