A PAGE OF EXCLUSIVE FEATURES
A PAGE OF EXCLUSIVE FEATURES An Open Letter,,. To Cal Wa,, EAR Sir and Brother:..... . . WWl - I -take my par in hand to let too W~ - - know that your message to Congress jpgfp'r as good as it...
...Since the late forties, the Ten Hours Law had been enacted, the truck system bad been suppressed, and a -number of secondary reforms had been in-, troduced "much against the spirit of Free Trade and unbridled competition, but quite as much in favor of the giant capitalist in his competition with his less favored brother...
...giving advice to poor people, there ain't a man anywhere that's more Hberaler.' After telling him abbot that little advance on my per capita capital," he opens Tiis heart and says,"Take ray advice, Adam,"«he says,, "and forget it...
...1 ^ . i 1 'r...
...says Sam...
...Interest on the part .-of the miners in the lectures and -classes has increased steadily...
...Otherwise everything, is lovely in- our camp...
...Today there, ' are seven young coal-diggers all of whom were in Tom's first classes attending Brook* wood, sent there on scholarships ana fellowships...
...Some of the boys do fairly well making moonshine for the dry agents and those that haven't got stills keep their spirits up by waiting fofc the sunshine you promised them...
...thd" Polish insurrection, and the work of the International Working Men's Association...
...Losing $500,000^XlO<f*r caprta wealth fh one plow was hard to bear, but Christmas coming and being brctce, I swallowed my jack g«n and said to the banker, "Well, then, supPose you let me have my...
...II you see him, fell him yjfpreciate his anxiety «jri rny^account, but r*rr»kt it worrv him ton* much...
...Later oa speakers who were experts on their - subjects were brought into the,district from all parts of the country...
...Jack Glasgow, hustling president of' the Sub* District, is a student is one of Tippett's classes in economics and will call a special meeting of any local any c4d time to impress upon its members tbe advantages of getting...
...D. AS...
...vEngels' statement inferred, the...
...In 1884 the English Co-operative Wholesale waa organised- - During the succeeding twenty years the movement went steadily forward...
...The pupils do not hesitate to rear np and say exactly what is on their minds...
...Thus the "development of production on the beats of the capitalistic system has ot itself sufficed—at least in the leading industries, for in the more unimportant branches this irvfiar from being the case—to do away wtth all those minor grievances which aggraof thV over-production . of coal, the boys in our camp are beginning tp suffer terrible ' from - the> lack of it, especially since the company has' hired . an additional watchman to lay fo» prospective customers at night...
...Growth of * Cooparwtion The workers had not only organised In these years as producers in th* trade unions, but as consumers In the co-operative movement The 'Rochdale co-operative, started In 1844 by .twenty-eight flannel weavers in Rochdale, outside ot Manchester, was given a great impetus during the revolutionary days .of 1848-S, aad ares greatly encouraged by the passing, in 1861, of the "3>agnk Charta af Co-operators," the Industrial and Provident Societies Act' By 1882 the number of societies bad grown to 460 aad the members to M.000...
...also express happiness over the satisJactory increase in savings deposits and per capita wealth...
...While they didn't •actively oppose Tom's idea they quietly laughed, op their sleeves at the thought that there was anything to be lea need about coal aad the) practical things of a miner's life out of books and from speeches...
...revolutionary . idealism found dmiong the workers during the Chartist movement had .largely disappeared by* the beginnings of the eighties, due largely to the change in the industrial situation, Thomas Cooper, the old Chartist, after a visit to the North of England during 1869 and 1870, noted the difference in their attitude toward radical change: "In our old Chartist time, tt Is true (he said), Lancashire working men were in rag* by thousands...
...The famous old firm of Hokum and Bunk would soon go bankrupt in this country if labor everywhere shoutfl adopt such a technique...
...NoW with Andy Mellon, it's different...
...Capita wealth is the- fictitious average of a, -given sum arbitrarily divided among a given number of'persons in such a manner as to Have to each what jje ha<j before.'' . ?'Fajr enough," i say, "but I can't make it pot yet" : i '""Let me explain," fie" goes on...
...an had their effect in stirring tbe^^U*u|8fe ^emapd greater detnocJw...
...vated the workman's fate during tbe earlier stages...
...Education With a Kiclo I*'^taheVaa9si!f g^rhrrs&b ' Mine yVotkena^ U&kktL .. vVEW p** is s serenupSs we^^Jifc iWsimSC from one aahaH raining eamj> to swwlhyr ij> " Central intnoia telling •the co*Mi«*T*jriMs« whsjt !• going on m West VWe^nis sthi 4so* that State is the otrtstsndfsg exa*mle of ta* capitaJiatreyatem gone completely hies...
...A girl from s miner family is studying at tbe University of Chicago aad this summer several more girls will be sent to ths Bryn Hawr summer school...
...the$ say so very loud and clear...
...Sam and I were mooching 4"or beans in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for a bunch of Oklahoma coal diggers who'd been striking for eighteen months When all at once my eyes lit on a cigar in the gutter what hadn't been smoked yet...
...Working men bad ceased to think, - and wanted to - hear no thoughtful talk...
...v ¦ ' "Keep yonx shirt on," interjects the banker, "I ain't finished-yet," and then he went on to explain that myjgwnership in the dollar I was supposed to have was real, while my ownership in th«u $500,000,000 which belongs to Andy Meflon was purely statistical and that Wider the hypothetical"law of averages, there was no way to get it, and that the best'I could do, was to be .content with that supposed dollar and ask'fto more looj questions...
...Whatever'they increased since then don't, bother me any more, but I surely was .interested in that per capita wealth of mine, so I went up to the bank to see if I couldn't borrow a few dollars on ft The banker in our camp ain't obe ot those fish-eyed skinflints what some of them are...
...r You also say that my wages are 20 per cent...
...Gladstone maintained that the burden of proof remained on those "who would exclude forty-nine fiftieths of the working classes from -the •franchise...
...ai£ Association, afterwapnsSS HLeague, was formed in LonduH Ht for a mere liberal suffrage- mBr^suato on parliamentary reform in 18*4^ the agitation soon assumed practical political importance...
...for 'many bleary mopaa This is the second year of wh*t Is geaeralry called "the Taylorville experiment" A yeaf and a half ago Tom Tippet*, then of the Federated Press and who before thee had been • practical gold-digger, hatted up the proposition to a group of Illinois coal-diggers that it might be s good idea to do «a little studying on the problems of everyday life in the coal fields...
...In addition to classes and lector eh Tom has , gone through the district selecting from tha rank and file those younger men who he believes will some day be qualified for union leadership...
...a -No, Cal, you can't talk to me about per espita wealth...
...Bnt Bill Daech, who 'is now at Brook wood and who was then president of the sub-district, and Henry Hauser, who is-district secretary and who, despite his years, ie stUJ young-minded, and others, backed Up Total He got some money from the union and started in to organize classes...
...If they disagree with the speaker's viewpoint...
...Scnif you add the 20 per cent, that some of us don't get to the 20 per cent, that-some ought to get and deduct from it the '20 per cent, what some do get, the total reaMttsa are still 20 per cent, below zero...
...of what some got, he'd be rich as the, ip&t one, but that wealth being not divided squally, the per capita of some was less than that of others...
...only la^etatler, has to charge me, as much as ever, ^rhich sounds reasonable...
...But even over at Taylorville where half of our boys have been working full time for as high as four days in the week, that J20 per cent, increase you're talking about is* only fizzolpgical,,being that they are working at the . 1919 scale which hasn't flustrated...
...and many ot them lacked food...
...To one who has striven, the greater part of his lite, to Instruct and elevate, and who has suffered and borne, imprisonment for them, all this was More painful than t care to tell...
...Per capita wealth, he says, don* belong-on the eat-a-gory of real estate, 'ZfHS&Jg&Jpppttty, or currency...
...What you gonna do with it...
...It might be added that throughout the period, the landed proprietors were -often found on the aide of legislation protecting tbe worker against unrestricted exploitation by the manufacturer, while tbe manufacturer frequently, expressed his deep aad abiding sympathy tor agricultural workers and others victimised by the landed proprietors...
...as a consequence, in the first part of the period, the activities of the trade unions were of an exceedingly mil4,character...
...at least It was so wtth most of them...
...In 1888 the workers ¦the government sends me a* income" tax blank, it loses two cents because we're all dependents in our family...
...Tippett is fortunate in having the hearty backing of the Sub* District officials.' Any so-called "intellectual" (God save the...
...Measures tor an extension of the franchise were proposed from Ume to time In the House of Commons, but each time easily defeated...
...We have'to break this off short to catch tbe> mails but next week we hope to give you something of the hnntan httercat that« bound up in tens really inspiring nKwsansst that is going on so quietly and cSectivefy out m thca* isolated coai-carnne...
...Whereupon he replied with that merry tvnstkle in his glass eye, "Suppose you take a *alk> Adam," which I did...
...Adam Coaldigger...
...But now I must quit...
...Now, you Will see no such groups tn Lancashire...
...Extension of Franchise Side by side with the organisation of labor on the economic...
...It isn't as easy to fool them now...
...On account held their first Trade Union Congress at Manchester...
...the Tailors in 18IS and the Amalgamated Society of Hallway Servants in 1872...
...Say "hetfo" for .me to'.ail the .folks jround the- White House chambers and if you need any more expert advice, don't hesitate to call on your friend and standby...
...into the educational activities...
...In 1861 the Amalgamated Society of Engineers was established...
...the tot of the labor-faker editor...
...Ifs like the cigar that Sam Carter and I owned once...
...excess profits, unearned increment, and ""gotten inheritance...
...c s ^My buddy to whom I showed your piece also told' me that while some of the- workers ^•get 20 per cent, more than,they did in 1920, there are not aa many workers working now Is were then...
...The agitation, however,- gradually gained in Influence...
...Everrtima P'^dbttmtfM fi&F&tt^f *9s%OVssssf 9Cmma9$X9' JUisjJar* sr^flsaVsJ^ ' ' •' .**-':-- /• -•4v.-^*> ; :*.'.>'^r-?^v**.!*- '• "- •' ' '•*.••' ': " * ¦¦¦• ••v:.'-'-.*v-**;vH*/-<tj ••¦¦».-¦.-- : , - , LW a«r^04Jwswk Sfmm9tmmM%f m9*3 &mio$JmM0Qmi' J^M^f^^ dr^^BssJ...
...We pre did," says L "And ain't we dividing this goof of lover' says Sam- "Divide, how come," pf» L 11 smoke, you spit," says Sam...
...The ministry resigned and'was succeeded by a Conservative cabinet represented tn the House of...
...You don't get me yet" says the banker...
...There are many other points in your message that need illumination, ' but the electric company that was your state chairman has cut off the juice on account of non-payment of dues, so I can illuminate only one more point For instance,, you only mentioned the hard coal trouble .in your message whereas theesoft coal trouble is still harder...
...By cutting my taxes in two he ' wouldn't do half bad for himself...
...It's a current is^S^'aaya, on Which he cpuldVt loan currency on any terms...
...Development of ' ' Trade Union* 'As was further indicated, the third quarter of the^nlneteeath century, saw a distinct development of tbe 'trade union movement...
...Andy may...
...WWl - I -take my par in hand to let too W~ - - know that your message to Congress jpgfp'r as good as it sounds...
...Your turn," says Sam, with a ITieved look among his powder marks, "ain't feepartners f "Sure," says I. "And din1* we Wfee to smoke this cigar together...
...Again, the repeated visitations of jChoIera, typhus, small' pox and other epidemics have sho^n the British bourgeois the urgent necessity ot sanitation ^in .his towns and cities if he wishes to save himself and his family from falling victims of such diseases...
...Trade union restrictions were, however, gradually removed, through a "series of acts culminating In the Conspiracy Acts ot 187S, by which not only strikes but also picketing and other activities not Involving violence were taken out of the scope of tbe criminal law...
...Per capita wealth, he •'sBSt on, signifies that if every man had his jfjkffe...
...He claims that only wholesale prices have gone down, but.that he, being...
...What you got ftjhere," says Sam, as I-picked up the still-born .snipe...
...The older men in the union were mildly amused...
...v-- •*•*"*.* gSr^hking as how Andy, I mean Sam, done ^the smoking reminds me that you say that iw is about to reduce my taxes on surplus ggfoe...
...The measure was displeasing to some ot Gladstone's followers because It went too far...
...f < . . We have heard so much drool a\bout work> 4 era' education these but few years, read as many learned papers, listened to so many reports on the subjects that it cotaes^aaa welcome relief to see someone Bke Tom Tippett getting out into the heart si th* labor movement and actually trying to...
...Tom had'the quaint notion that it would be possible to train the younger miners to a realization of* thetr place in the) industrial scheme and) to r*acw sort of class consciousness...
...Although the Chartist agitation had failed, tha demand for tbe suffrage did not cease...
...Never mind the 50 cents," says I, "the will, do...
...Couynone by Benjamin Disraeli (afterwards Lord Beeoonsfield...
...cigar," says I. "Let me *«," says Sam, taking the cigar out of my sands...
...There is always discussion after the classes and lectures and it is colorful and pointed...
...They've got to give it to you, for the good book says: "The meek shall I'nherit the earth...
...Jhgher than they were in 1920, and so they aright be if I got any...
...mark), who has had anything to do with'the miners* union of late years will appreciate the importance of this...
...Attitude of Employing- CUu* Engels Insists that both the development of trade unions and tbe enactment of factory laws were In line with the interests at that time of the larger capitalists, althoufch such, labor organizations and legislation were fought vigorously by many groups tn the employing class* "The fact ts (be maintained) that an these concessions to Justice and pkH«ntkropy" were nothing else but means to accelerate the concentration of capital in the hands of the few, for whom the niggardly extra extortions of former years had lost all importance and had become actual nuisances, and to crush all tbe quicker and all the safer their smaller competlUors, who could not make both ends meet without such perquisites...
...The American Civil War...
...Of course n?a too early to pmtfomr finger on any tangible results...
...But you will hear well dressed working men talking ot co-operative, stores, and thetr shares tn them, or tn buQding societies...
...Well," says I, "I'm not a hog and if my per capita wealth ain't as big as that of some, I take a little less and call it square...
...since...
...This was fallowed by the or.ganisatlon of the Carpenters and Joiners in I860, of the Miners Notional Union In 18«S...
...For another they nave abasia a deepened interest is their own press aad again it isnt an easy to foot them wtth...
...But several miners whom I 'met three years ago before Torn started in circuit-riding and who hsva bees . regular attendants at Tom's rlsssas.surpristd me on this trip by their broadened vision aad more active curiosity about tfjjjssjs oen^dssjdM one thing they are readtsnr the old-line pmpejem with more discrimination...
...i \ * W* To Start with, you say that the cost of BvBag has gone down which ain't true, according rwtny grocery keeper who denies the allega^ttan in totam...
...Yon...
...He's got a friendly wor& for everybody that comes in his bank with money and when it "comes to...
...Huge miners who "had hitherto de'pended more on the!strengthJ>f their backs than of their minds and who looked on books as white-collar tools, sat patiently on hard benches in cold union halls while Tom discusses such matters as giant power, the invasion of* the machine into-the coal industry, the problems of organizing the non-union fields and lectui^rs, come, all the way from New York and Chicago, to tell them about the world outside the coal fields...
...I'm told his taxes are some 20,000,000 bucks per annum...
...I dra wed my savings out of the bank last Christmas a year ago...
...a' Thmn miommfy PmrmtvShcmU kU brnpm** ' CKU Labor Am'tBmJ} k Grmw* Thrift , - -•*.»,:' The Revolutionary Tide Ebbs THE HISTORY OF SOCIALIST THOUGHT By HARRY W. LAIDLER...
...He believed that labor everywhere was entering into one of the biggest fights of its history and that it wa$ not ideally "equipped to meet the attacks of private monopoly,-the open shop, the company union, the Americas plan, employee stockholding and the like...
...You coirid see them in groups discussing, the great doctrines of political jusUce, or they were In earnest dispute respecting the teachings of socialism...
...supposed dollar...
...But thetr intelligence was demonstrated wherever they went...
...have overlooked this' feature of his tax f>rpgranv If so put htm next or me, because us taxpay .s ought to stick together...
...And thus it renders more and* more evident the great central tact that the canse of the miserable- condition of the working class is to be sought not in these minor grievances, hot in the Capitalist System itself...
...But you.see the mine 'Itm working in ain't working on account of which there has been no pay - around here Induce your inauguration...
...Tuilslstsi fiifajsiii...
...A whole...
...and to others because It did not go far enough...
...The first classes were held in Taylorville where the onion headquarters are situated...
...Suppose Andy Mellon owns $1,000,000,000 and you own $1X10, then-the-per capita wealth of each of your is $500,000,000.50...
...ed^ieatotadt«eeaee...
...In 1848, all strikes were regarded as Illegal and...
...la 1868, when elevated to the leadership of the Lower House, be proposed a moderate extension of the franchise, based, however, on property qualifiestiona...
...For them be arranges what might be called post-graduate work...
...P. S.—Don't let them scare you out of "a third term...
...A»4 I'm here to say that ft baa been ooe of the most thrilling experiences that^aaebcae ajoos...
...ffel^, went the increased enfranchisement of labor on the political field...
...r. *^By and by, I get anxious about my end of we cigar and says to Sam, "Aain't it about W» turn...
...Smoke it," says I., "All right," says Sam, "but being pardners, suppose we divide" •P?7 "Fair enough," says I, whereupon Sam sorrows a match from me and goes;to smok*Jg and every time, he give* a puff, I spit in sympathy...
Vol. 3 • January 1926 • No. 1
