Denver labor bulletin., 1915-09-18
In the Name
of the Lau
By JACK LEWIS

The prominent citizen one day noted
that the widow Brown was OF husky
build; that she wrestled with the wash
tubs with great success and that at the
end of the day she had a line full OF
clothes, for which kind 'neighbors paid
her stipend which permitted her to
remain ON good terms with the grocer
and the landlord.
Vow the prominent citizen was u
shrewd, cool headed cuss. He also knew
how to nourish the shekels until they
became OF lusty proportion and reposed
snugiy in the principal bank Of the town,
so he wen. to the widow and said, s'lef
US marry" She agreed and the cerc-
mory was properly and duly performed.
The prominent citizen. WAS NOT only
shrewd, but he was energetic. 40 he
straightaway purchased his new wife
some nice, shiny wash tubs. substan-
tial washboard and other necessary
equipment and sat down to rest The
onetime widow hsstened to make good
use of the tubs and continued as of yore
to stretch out long lines Of snowy white
clothes every day. for which other prom
inent citizens paid the required retainer
and declared that she was not only
sturdy but an art;st in her line.
As a consequence the -hekels OF the
prominent citizen grew in great and
splendid numbcrs and he congratulated
himself upon the fact that he had 80
shrewdIy sized up the widows talent and
capacity. But there came about that
certain ones Of the village murmured.
and the mnrmer grew into q roar, and
one night 4 committee Of leading lights
waited on the prominent citizen and
suggested that one with such n comfort
able bank roll as he possessed should
not permit his wife TO slave for him and
that her position as his wife was too
exalted for such lowly effort. They nlso
pointed out the abundant supply Of tar
near at hand and suggested its use upon
his nude person in liberal concoctions
unless he urged his wife TO cease activ--
tiles at the wash tub for the purpose Of
enriching his bank account.
The prominent citizen was Of course
chagrined at what he termed Inter
ference with personal privileges" but he
had no great penchant for tar-its odor
always nauseated him---so he did a lit
tie thinking and went down on Main
street and rented building which no
one else would have, filled IL with mod
ern machinery and hired many women
and girls to go 10 work for him. The
building was uncomfortable and unsani-
tary; steam from tubs and boilers made
/ the air poisonous; the women and girls
worked hard or they couldn't have held
their jobs and they needed the money.
He paid them so skimply that none Of
them could afford to eat as much as
they wanted. Neither could they wear
the proper clothes, so as a consequence
many Of them grew III; some Of them
died, and taken all together, their con.
ditions were much worse than the poor
widow ever experienced. But the prom
inent citizen waxed exceedingly. The
bank account grew larger and larger
the one-time widow now rode about
town In her limousine and the prominent
citizen contributed to the churches and
fashionable clubs, and his laborers In
the laundry continued to work, unless
he fired them when they were too sick
or found some one that would work foi
q. less wage.
And the community pointed out the
prominent citizen as one of great talent
"A captain Of industry, buIwark oi
progress and kind and loving husband
all of which goes TO show that where
many are gathered together in the name
of industry, there can be no wrong.