The Washington herald., 1915-04-16

| - 3ft5$S1sA arc by thousands of miles,
x32SA&Y have already become a
people strikinsly homogeneous.
Nevertheless, l occasionally have an expert
ence that in its human quality, strikes me as
peculiarly Western. The other day. as | was rid
ing on the train from Los Angeles to San Diego
provided an example. In the little smoker where
| sat was group of men who looked like average
Americans and who, for the most part as their
talk revealed belo iged in about Los Angeles
| With speed almost impossible in the highly
sophisticated atmosphere OF Pullman travel in the
Last we all became acquainted. The talk of those
men, easy and unconventional and frank, seemed
to me to represent pretty high average of intel
ligencc and, better still, OF kindness and freedom
from self-conscousness and class-narrowness
The chief figure, the center OF interest was a
large, rangy ranchman in middle life. He sat in
! the best seat, in the corner next to the window
and facing the engine. He had been in San Diego
several times in the past year and with an indu-
gent eye he lad watched the growth of the expo
| siton. Those fellers down there" he remarked
have done good job. Five years ago YOU
wouldn't have given $Ioo for the land they've built
that fair on 1t wasn't any for building an
you couldn't have raised anything on it to save
garden an they've put up buildings that make
| 1t look like PARADISE
When some one asked how the work had been
done, the ranChman went to explain "Well
of course, the first thing they had to raise the
money. 1t was mighty hard job San Diego
had been at standstill for years. 1t seemed
! like You couldn't make the darn place grow. An
the idea OF raISIn' millions OF dollars for a fair
| seemed like joke. But they did it and they've
! got II practically paid off, four millions an a halt
I 4. .l,.,.
land they had TO put lot OF dynamite into it and
blow it up. Now they've got a place out there
they can he proud Of lt1l make fine park for
en- after the fair is over.
At this point some one evidently stranger
to San Diego, asked question that came near
up>etting tho cquanimity ol the group ad the
| exposition been built by union labor The
~ with smiling blue eyes and ruddy COM
pIcNion that suggested outdoor living. 1t had
union labor. and there wasn't any interference
from union labor, either. | amt got word to
| say against the unions 50 long as they don't do
any huttn' in, That's all objected to-" Those
| blue eyes flashed. Some painful memories were
| evidently at work.
For a few moments somewhat critical remarks
! were made about the unions. Then ild-looking
fellow OF about s. with prcmaturely gray hair and
a thick black mustache spoke up. "The unions are
all right il you handle en- right he said. I'm
a builder by trade an l don't have any trouble
trouble go straight up to the labor council an
! they're generally ready to meet me halfway
The friendly tone at once had soothing in
fucncc. 1t was generally agreed that the unions
had done lot Of good when you think of the
way OF those ieers used to get paid said
the rancFim3n Take hod-carriers, for INSTANCE
Tough job bcin' hod carrier particular credit
to it, either an no fun. But the unions helpn
en- to get 81 and S a day, an they earn it, too.
eyes, aware that he was making concession. AN
there's another thing that I'm glad to work
ing ont: that's the compensation law. When we
were building factory few months ago used
to watch the men working big chimney
1t used to make me dizzy to sec the chances they
took up there
And the steel construction men," said the
gray haired builder. "Thcyrc always taking
chances. An some OF 'cm don't get any moro
than half much wages the hod-carriers An
there amt big building goes up without some OF
'em arc killed. In New York they say it averages
one for every floor above the fourth
The subject of death in labor drew out the
other members OF the group. Several OF them
had stories to tell, drawn from their own cx-
pericncc. Here of the age-long abuses
of labor that they could understand and sympa-
thizc with. As | listened | thought of the i'm
mensc disadvantage that labor had been under
down the generations SO often underpaid, de-
Spised, abused and neglected. laborers had risked
and sacrificed their lives leaving families behind
at the mercy of the world. And only were
VIC bcClnnlnS 10 reallZc lnlS inquiry ana TO mann
tain laws providing, not remedy, but what passed
for compensation.
All the men that group belonged to were what
the world regarded the successful people. And
they were all what sometimes called typcally
Western. Not betrayed any of the points
of view the qualities to be found among those
radically inclined And yet they evidently
in sympathy with the feelings and the aspirations
continually expressed by the radicals. Their talk
made wonder if of the greatest impulses
in the direction of the justice might not come
out of the West and if men like these might
not be the forerunners of the pioneers. And
yet on the other hand, perhaps those men, in then
attitude, not in the least Western. Perhaps
they unconsciously expressed spirit begin.
ming to animate the whole world, spirit, not local
but universal.
| The Rooseveltian Way.