The Winslow mail., 1924-08-29
PROGRESS OF
LABOR THROUGH
HELONC YEARS
By WARREN f. STONE

He ouOJeCL VI ldDOT Is growing
one, a perennial one, and a few
thoughts upon the subject are quite
opportune. And let me begin by CIV
/ ing certain date--May 4, 1860.
In the evolution of fundamental So
cial conditions the period of time since
the date given above is an insignific-
ant one, and yet it behooves those who
( are dissatisfied with what they would
call the slow progress of things to
stop and reflect upon what has been
! accomplished
1t was on May a. 1860, that Rev.
Henry Solly of Lancaster, England or
ganized the "Workingmen's Mutual
| Improvement and Recreation society,""
the first of the numerous institutions
for the mental and social uplift of the
toiling masses.
1t is a dismal fact, but still a fact
not to be wiped out, that from the
dawn of history right down to- the
middle of the nineteenth century, the
lot of the workingman was, in all
lands, a most pathetic one, says Rev.
Thomas B. Gregory, in an article on
'Labor's Progress"
Dear old Herodotus makes a true
picture for use of the slaves who built
the pyramids by the Nile, and also of
the heartless taskmasters standing
over them. He shows us the fearful
struggling and straining, the acute
privation and deep degradation of the
! toilers, the whole combination making
/ a picture which, once seen, can nsver
| be forgotten.
/ And it must be remembered that the
spirit of the Egyptian taskmaster
practically held it's own nearly all
over the world snug down to the
time of the French revolution
The masses of the people in France
when the Bastile fell were quite as
forlorn and degraded as the people of
/ Egypt were when Old Rameses reign
ed at Memphis
The wOrkingman was simply no
body If he was permitted to toll and
! by the sweat of his brow to obtain a
fairly decent animal existence, plen-
ty of coarse food and pile of straw
to sleep on at night, he had no right
to complain, no reason to be looking
for anything better.
the work of the world might Justly
desire to improve themselves mentally
and socially; might have the wish to
| hear music and to look upon beau
! tiful pictures in their habitatiOns;
might desire to become acquainted
with the thoughts of the great men
whose names they had in one way or
another heard of, was utterly ridicu-
! lous.
The workers needed only strong
muscles and stout backbones. They
had NO use for mental culture, for So
cial aspirations, or for the knowledge
! that gives one power and self-respect
and the ambition to rise in the world.
! Labor was a degraded thing. Only
| the gentleman was respectable-an
! the gentleman was the man who did
not have to work
! Such was the absurd and degrading
! idea that prevailed pretty nearly
everywhere from the days of Aristotle
to those of Danton, Mirabeau and Pat
rick Henry.
| And to add to the badness of the
situation, the masses of the people
were largely of the same way of
thinking with the gentlemen"
! In the majority of instances they
were satisfied with their sorrowful
! lot; feeling that they were getting all
! they deserved. They were stirred by
no ambition beyond. that of the coarse
material compensations of their daily
toll
Caliban was contented with being
! Caliban.
Hence the significance of that date
May 4. 1860
With the undetermined clergyman of
the English church who started the
good work among the Lancashire
weayers we have the beginning of the
movement for the betterment of the
disgraceful situation that prevailed for
so long.
Today the amelioration of the work
ingmans condition has assumed
worldwide proportions.
The great problem. for so long ig-
nored. has become the burning theme
in every country
In all countries there are to be
found in great numbers. institutions
that are working along the lines laid
down in Rev. Mr. Solly's "The Work
ingmen's Mutual improvement society
with the result that the toilers are
rapidly ceasing to be mere toilers.
They are ceasing to be things and are
becoming men. with the thoughts,
hopes and ambitions that properly be-
long to them as such.
Each new year means for the work
ers better homes. better apparel, larg-
er thoughts. a keener appreciation OF
the beautiful in nature and in art,
deeper self-respect finer manhood
and a wider. more varied and most