The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, July 07, 1905, Image 1
fl THE 5 . W AGEWORKE R i A Newspaper with a Mission and without a Muzzle that is published in the Interest of Wageworkers Everywhere. VOL.2 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, JULY 7, 1905 Tr- NO. 13 - - j : PRINTERS AND AUXILIARY. News Notes From Two Live Organiza . tions That Always Keep Busy. The excessive rain the day before the Fourth Impelled the managers of the proposed Auxiliary picnic to post pone that event. Regret Is felt on all sides, as complete arrangements had been made for a fine time, and the Fourth turned out to be an ele gant day. . In lieu of the picnic the Auxiliary will endeavor to make the July social a record breaker, and the: indications are that the effort will not be in vain. I The Auxiliary held Its first July meetings at Bonhanon's hall Wednes day and transacted a lot of business. Mesdames J. E. Mlckel, F. W. Mlckel and W. M. Maupln served refresh ments at the conclusion of the meeting. ' John Moore, who has completely recovered from a long selge of typhoid fever, is again at work as head push of the Star ad alley. Mrs. Moore is also fully recovered. At the July meeting of the Typographical union resolutions of rejoicing at the recovery of this popular couple were intro duced and unanimously approved. ' Ed Howe has scraped the hirsute barnacles from his visage and looks like a tyro fresh from the country in search of a card and a regular "sit." i Perry Barngrover stepped on a , piece of rusty tin the other day, and as a result the lad is hobbling around with the injured member tied up in a rag. Marie Mlckel made a mltep the other day and as a result has been suffering from a severely sprained ankle. ' JLIttle Miss Mea Armstead of North Bend, la visiting with her aunt, Mrs. w M. Maupln. The Typographical Union took in three members at the July meeting. The work of revising the constitution and by-laws is welt under ' way and will be completed at the August meeting. Plans are on foot for a grand eight hour rally of the allied printing trades in the Missouri valley and the local Typographical Union has selected a committee to represent it In the work of making arrangements. Will Norton was off a couple of days last week on account of illness, but U again at work at the "P. O." house. Do not forget the Central Labor Union benefit at the Oliver theatre Wednesday evening, July 19. G. E. Locker has switched from- the night side of the Journal and is now working on the day side of the News. CARPENTERS' UNION Some Brief Items From the Big Union of Lincoln Carpenters are plenty in Lincoln. The Lincoln Sash & Door Co., will get out the trim for the new post office. Bro. C. E. Woodward visited Omaha for the Fourth and reports all kinds of work there. Several 1055 boys have gone to work at the new postofflce. New foundations are getting fewer. Isn't it about time we began to pre pare for Labor day? The business agent is putting men at work every day. .. . '' Send items for publication pertain ing to the Carpenters to the business agent. 'What Is the matter witlT'the Car penters having a social? Installation ', of officers Thursday July 6. If you want the handiest saw clamp on the market, one that is unbreak able and that you can put. in a chest till, inquire of Bro. S. J. Kent. Lots of applications are rolling into the Union. We are nearing the 300 mark, i ' ' . t NO SCABS FOR HIM. Philadelphia Landlord Fires a Bunch Looking for Them. Manager O'Neill of the Hotel Co lumbus, Philadelphia, has no use for "scabs," and he thinks even less bf men who will chase around hiring them. Last week there was a strike at the Burleigh boiler works on Staten Island, and immediately the managers sent out men to hunt for strikebreak' ere. A couple of these agents went to Philadelphia and put up at Manager O'Neill's hostelry. They advertised and soon "scabs" and loafers began flocking in to get a "half dollar in advance." The presence of the odor ous bunch attracted Manager O'Nelll'3 attention and he investigated. As soon as he learned the facts he fired the agents out of his hotel. "You can't set up any 'scab' em ployment, bureau in my house," ex claimed Manager O'Neill. "If you don't hike out of here in less than five minutes I'll kick the whole bunch into the street." The agents looked at the irate man ager' for a 'second or two, and then quietly sneaked out, taking their odorous bunch with them. SPECIAL TRAIN TO BEATRICE. On Sunday, July 9 and 16 the Union Pacific will run special trains to Be atrice Chautauqua, trains leaving Lin coln at 9:05 a. m., returning leave Beatrice at 7 p. m. Fare $1.00. Tick ets on sale at city office, 1044 O street. Depot at Fourth and O streets. LEAD POISONING. . Henry Bruening, head stereotyper at the Free Press, was taken to the office of Dr. Wllmeth Monday evening suffering from a. severe attack of lead poisoning. He is again at work, but sees the necessity of engaging in some other line of work and will retire from the stereotyping business in the near future. ; THE OLIVER THEATER -TT" " " . rN .... , .,. .. . . .. -. - ,. " Central Labor Union Benefit WEDNESDAY EVE , JIM 19 By the kindness of the Fulttm Stock Company and Manager .Frank. Zeh rung of the Oliver, a benefit for the Lincoln Central Labor Union will be given' on Wednesday evening, July 19, on which occasion the magnificent Labor Play, "LOST Will be given. This splendid play deals with the ever-pressing ' Labor Problem and should be seen by every employer and employe in Lincoln and vicinity. It is full of heart interest, replete, with thrilling situations, and is pre sented with a wealth of scenic effect by a splendid company. . . ... See the Great Mill Scene. See the Great Strike Scene, The' proceeds of the entertainment will be turned into the treasury of the Central Labor Union. No advance from regular prices of admission 25 cents; ; 15 cents and 10 cents. Tickets exchangeable for reserved seats at the box office on sale by Central Labor Union delegates. ...Specialties Between Acts - The Fulton Stock Company, now playing a summer engagement at the Oliver, is equal to many of the attractions playing one night engagements at a ' heavy advance over' the regular season prices. Its productions are unusually well staged, its plays the best that can be secured, and the individual members of the company are artists in their profession. .'; , - -. "LOST PARADISE" Conveys a valuable lesson to both Labor and Capital.' . Its love stories are unique. Its comedy is clean. Let every workingman and woman in the city take an active interest in this benefit performance. Wednesday Eve., July 1 9th ttT' lli'S'l T i"TTt" ) COUNTRY CLUB'S CELEBRATION The Lincolif "Country Club" observed the Fourth of July at the spacious grounds made ready for the guests. During the day several match games pf tennis and golf were played, and in the evening picnic parties were the rule, the diners scattering themselves over the grounds or eating in the cafes as inclination led them. The at tendance was unusually large, the day being perfect, and Lincoln's society folk were out in full force. After the picnic supper the crowd assembled at the club house and Hon. Frank M. Hall, acting as master of ceremonies, introduced the speakers of the evening. Mr. R. L. Metcalfe, associate editor of the Commoner, and Mrs. A'. J. Sawyer were the first speakers. Will M. Maupin, editor of The Wageworker, was the last speaker, and using as his subject "The Needed Patriotism," spoke as follows: It is. so common for the American citizen to open his vocal apparatus on this glorious anniversary and shout in gladsome tones about the grandeur and bigness of this country, that I am impelled both by precedent and inclination to follow the general rule and devote the limited time at inyf commond to panegyrics upon our republic. ' ' , This is indeed the land of big things. We have the largest area of country dedicated toliuman freedom in all the wide universe. We have the most beautiful, flag, whether viewed from the artistic or the sentimental standpoint. We have the handsomest women, the strongest men, the bestj behaved children, the fastest horses, the best poker players and :the greatest swindlers. We have the longest rivers and the widest chasm between the classes. We have the greatest lakes and the greatest trusts ; the highest mountains and the lowest depths of political degredation. Indeed, this is the land of superlatives, and one 'who would pay just and proper tribute to our republic must exhaust the dictionary of its adjectives. T It is. indeed proper, then; that' we make this day a day of noise and rejoicing, for when we Have the biggest of all the things, the best of all things and the meanest, of all things, certainly there must be those somewhere ready to celebrate our possession of all these things. , ;. . .. . There are a thousand definitions of patriotism, not the most inaccurate being that of Dr; Johnson who defined it as "the last refuge of a 'scoundrel.'' The 'grandest scoundrels we have ever had in this country have been men who were loudest in the protesta tions of patriotism, and we are all familiar with the wonderful patriotism of the men who are always shouting for the old flag and a fat office with a .bigvappr6priation for incidental and contingent expenses. " j But it is not- my purposed, at this time to deal with the abstract phases of patriotism. I must follow precedent and endeavor to snatch a few feathers from the tail of the eagle and wave them aloft for the delectation of the assembled multitude. Let me, then, devote a goodly portion of the time at my disposal to giving jn detail somej of the wonderfuf characteristics of this country. ) For more than a century we have been holding aloft bur flag as a beacon to guide the oppressed of all nations to a haven of liberty and equality, but we have prudentlv shut Our eyes to a few other things' which those who follow the beacon find here among us. We prate of liberty and go forth with sword and cannon to impose our rule upon a weaker and a helpless people. We boast of equality before the law and the rich criminal escapes with a letter of recommendation while the poor devil who steals to save, a starving family goes to jail amidst the execrations of press and?public. We point with pride to the vast stretches of unoccupied lands within our borders, capable of affording homes for added millions and forget to add that these unoccupied lands have been grabbed by speculators and frenzied financiers and are held out of the market until they are made more valuable by the sweat and toil of the homeless, We point with pride to our great universities and colleges endowed by our multi millionaires and shut our eyes to the hundreds of thousands of chil dren who can never take .advantage of them because human greed has condemned them to slavery in the sweat shops, the mines and the factories. We boast of equal opportunities to all and take no thought of Ithe fact that men whose only god is gold have purchased special laws that afford them' immunity in their damnable work of robbing the masses to enrich themselves. We swell up with patriotic pride and ' declare that every "American citizen is a sovereign and then let a few unprincipled -f rascals ride rough shod over us to place and power where theyfean work out their, own selfish plans and schemes at their elegant leisure. We have told in song and story of our utter disregard for aristocracy and our contempt for patents of nobility and scarcp a month goes by that some American sovereign does not buy a titled' husband for his daughter and weds her to the frayed and frazzled remnant of some washed out:':-race of dukes and earls. We boast of our Christian civilization and pride ourselves on being the most advanced people in all the his tory of the world and take no thought of the fact that within one square mile in the center of the greatest metropolis .upon the western continent there exists the highest luxury that wealth' cam buy and the deepest poverty that ever afflicted humanity. We boast of our civic virtue and graft reigns; supreme in our cities, in our legisla tures and in our congressional- halls. We, boast: of representative government," meaning by that; term representation, of , the people in the making of our laws and .in the governing of our. institutions -and then, gone mad with partisanship, we turn in and elect repre sentatives of the trusts and corporations to guard their interests, at the expense of our own. Our society columns are full of magnificent descriptions of elegant social functions, but never a word about, the starving men and women wbo live and suffer and die; and : rot in the tenements within the shadow of the palaces erected by our multi-millionaires. ' A big country? The biggest' on earth! The biggest trusts, and the biggest bunch of suckers that ever had an opportunity to stand up for their own rights and never had sense enpugh to do it. A grand country? The grandest on earth! Where the workingman is patted on the' back and called the mainstay of the republic, and then crowded off the map as pon as he begins to think for himself and demand a fair .share of the products of his: toil, and ignorant ind ' degraded Huns and Finns and Slavs imported in violation of our alien contract labor laws to work at wages a white man can not live on and all for the fattening of the greed of selfish man who amass their millions and then give them with brass band accom paniment to pur. magnificent universities, our great colleges and our worthy missionary societies. On the one side we see the most lavish and ostentatious wealth, and on the other side we see the direst poverty and distress. On the one side we . see a violator of the law with a political pull taken into political office and pro moted to a fat job with a rotten insurance company with a clean bill of health in his pocket, and on the other side we see a tnan who had the nerve to expose graft in public place kicked down and, put :n 'disgrace.' Great country! When we do things we do them on .'he biggest possible scale. Wheri we celebrate the Fourth of July we spend enough money in making a noise to keep a million poor families in comfort for a generation. And when we engineer a ccheme for graft it beats anything ever attempted by the unfor tunates who must live under the reign of an effete monarch in 4. i Europe. We dot the country with school houses, and then foster t-' : l d. vuiiuiuuu cuuipcis wic cnua 10 enter me sweat snop ortne factory almost before its tiny limbs can support its body', and keep it there until disgusted nature gives up the case as a bad job- and leaves the stunted little unfortunate to either die or become, an enfeebled charge, upon the charity of the public. ; .: - Retrospection is, a mighty good thing, providing we have lived on the square. Introspection is not always so cheering or pleasant, but it is often beneficial ; and profitable. : Would it riot be a good idea, then, my fellow citizens, to look within a little more. Instead of boasting forever about the good things we have, let us spend a little time now and then looking up the bad things with a view to correcting them. Keverence for the uag is a good thing, but are' we -i not in danger of making the flag a fetich?, Are we not in danger of making it an idol before which we bow down and worship? i Standing apart the flag is nothing more than a painted rag. and I unless we appreciate what the flag stands for we are nothing more i nor less than idolators when we greet it with cheers arid pay it the homage of our devotion. For fifty years it was a flaunting o lie, because while it pretended to be the emblem of human liberty.it waved over slaves owned body and soul by men who prated of 1 universal freedom. Can we with truth say that: it is today the j emblem of freedom? While that flag waves over one American ) citizen who is deprived cjf his rights, who is bilked and swindled j under guise of law, who is forced to abandon hope; while that flag flies over the heads of any man whose love for it is not so I ingrained in his soul th,at he (will willingly die in its defense because f it means something more to him than a mere bit of bunting, the flag flaunts a lie, and it is your duty and my duty,. my fellow Amer- i icans, to wash that lie from the flag. ' , , Now bear with me a few minutes 'longer a very few minutes while I speak to you of a patriotism that is more needed right now; ; than any sort of patriotism was ever before needed in thisrepublic. I nave no patience with those who teach what seems to me to be ' the unpatriotic and Unchristian doctrine called, "the strenuous life,'?f of which we have heard so much during the last few years. ' Those?. r , who advocate this sorcalled strenuous life take issue with, the? . Man of Nazareth, and nowhere in the Good Book which we or'mostfs t-' -of -us-r-believe to be the inspired word of God, can there be foundT., - one iota of evidence in support of strenuosity as exemplified in our' i modern social and business life. That strenuosity implies the idea' , 1 of climbing to success over the bowed back ;of weaker brethren, ( and whether that success be financial or social it means that the-- fj successful one has won place and pPwer because of superior strength ' that enables him tp' overcome the lesser strength of his brethren. That such a' system is contrary to the spirit of the Master must fre admitted by very student of the scriptures.; That it is contrary; to even an embryotic understanding of ; the principles of human , " - brotherhood is so apparent that we must stand amazed that such"' an inhuman and unselfish doctrine has obtained even a slight hold ' upon the hearts of American men and women.. , - , ' ; i .lanetiotitpaMotUm ar,e' not confined to 6neut; and V.l.j it is not necessary for one to die upon the field of hattle to evidence1" his patriotism. Not for worlds would I detract from the glory of? . u those who have responded to the nation's call for armed-defenders . and marched away to fife and drum to fight and die in defense off, - their country and its institutions., But there is a higher and a di- viner manifestation of patriotism than this, and to it I would call - your attention the patriotism that .impels, the citizen to, live for ; .'. , ; ? his' country. War offers many opportunities, f of , a display of patriot-7 t ; j ism, but greater opportunities are afforded us in these .days of so called peace, and these opportunities may be found in the slums of our great cities where . men and women and children weep and 1 starve and suffer and die. in destitution and w.oe-r-yictims of the : " ' greed, of men who are our most vocif erous advocates of the streni- C" -ous life in the financial and business world.' Were I' rich, rich be- yond the dreams of avarice, and inclined to build monuments to patriots who have served their country ; well, I would : for the time being pass by those who have died upon the field of battle, and rear monuments to those grand heroesand heroines who, sac- ,i rificing their own creature comforts,' ha've 'toiled and moiled in the 3. - filth and dirt of the slums to carry some ray of hope and cheer and ' ; comfort into the darkened lives of , the untold number of victims to human greed. To my mind the knightliest hero who ever couched t :V; lance and rode in full tilt to the fray no matter what his cause is iv not for one moment to be compared to that grand woman of $.--.'.Kr: Chicago whose life has been devoted to bettering the conditions " of her brothers, and her sisters of the slums. When the final roll of ."-'. -'- earth's greatest and best is called, the name of Jane Addams will ? ; ;,' lead many ot those whom the world hails as heroes. ; I would rathei ..-vy live in the memory of a few by reason of having done a work like . : that of Jane Addams of Hull House fame, or Jacob Riis of East, f -i Side tame, tnan to lie under a marble shaft rearei because 1 had ' gained honor and fame and glory upon 'the battlefield. ' : Dr. Johnson was too narrow in his definition of patriotism, but ' when we stop to think about it for a moment can we deny that, ; there is in his definition a great truth which we need to impress more firmly upon our minds. A multi-millionaire at the beginning of our reent war. with Spain armed and equipped a regiment at his own ; .expense, and he was hailed by press and public as a "patriot." And, , yet we know that his vast fortune was accumulated at the expense ; of millions of his fellows, and that-the pearls and diamonds worn by his wjfe and daughters Were the crystalized 'tears of widows and orphans whose comfort had been, sacrificed, wh6se lives-had been blighted and whose homes had. been" wrecked to satisfy the greed1 -and avarice of this man. Men who have accumulated fortunes by ,. trickery, chicanery and fraud, but who have kept inside the letter cf ,the law of the land while violafhig its spirit, scattering woe and misery in their wake, stand forth, with smug face and sanctimonious canV and give huge sums' to "charity" God save the mark anT ; men and women hail them as philanthropists and talk about how t much these men love their country and their fellows. All the mil- ? lions given by a Rockefeller or a Carnegie will riot weigh as much- -in the scales of the Almighty as the sacrifice of one-who,, putting " comfort behind, goes forth among the suffering humanity and laves . the parched lips of God's unfortunates. . -. A '-V :--V ' ' c You and I know men right here in Lincoln who would unhesi-'T, tatingly announce their willingness to die for their country, and V yet these tnen perjure themselves every year when the' tax collector come around to get the money necessary to the lifetof the cOtmtry. V We ncprl Ipss of this willinfr-to-die-for-one's-cduritrv natriotism;? and more of the patriotism that will impel us to live fpr our eoutnryv To sacrifice not only bur time but our money to better the conditions of our 'fellows and afford them an opportunity : to beepme strong, thoughtful and, intelligent citizens. The future of this country 'lies , f not in the hands of those who are ready and -willing to die for it, but j f l in the hands of those who are ready to live for... it live for-it and t j devote their lives to abolishing the evils that have crept, into our ; social being the evils of greed and aYarice. The "sweat shop," 1, the trust and all other cancerous growths that sicken our body poji- , tic ai-.e not to be curedjan exhibition of that patriotism that " : the battlefield.. : li, : . - kth'e citizenship of America shall" real-1 j the - nationals not sacrifice upon the d ' ' the primrose paths of peace. r " contemplates only deat ' God hasten the da ize that the crying nee battlefield but sacrifice i 1 s'Jfl