Saturday Evening Mail, Volume 16, Number 40, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 27 March 1886 — Page 4

Page PDF (9.44 MB)

Back to issue view

THE^MAIL.

A PAPER FOR THE PEOPLE.

P. S. WESTFALL,

EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

SCBSCBIPTIOK PRICE, 12.00 A YEAR. PUBLICATION OFFICE, No*. 20 and 22 South Fifth Street,

Printing House Square.

TERRE IIAUfE, MARCH 27, 188U.

WORKING WOMEN.

Now that the Knights of Labor have shown what power lies in intelligent organization, the New York Tribune calls attention to the necessity that exists for a similar movement among workingwomen. Without organization of any kind their condition is helpless and pitiable in the extreme. It is estimated that there are 200,000 women in the city of New York alone who depend upon the labor of their hands for a living. Under the pressure of such competition the labor market is always glutted and wages are kept at starvation point. So meagre is the pittance they receive that even by working 12 to 16 hours a day they are scarcely able to keep soul and body together. Think of a woman making shirts at four cents apiece. And when you have thought of that think of a woman making shirts at two cents apiece. Yet that is what sewing women in New York have had to do during the ''past winter to keep from freezing and starving to death. The very thought of it is enough to make any honest man's or woman's cheek red with indignation.

It is a shame upon our civilization and upon the Christianity which as a nation we profess. Such an outrage upon womanhood is unspeakable. Something must be done. If help can be obtained through organization then let organization be the order of the day. Or if, as the woman suffragists contend, relief can only be hoped for by putting the ballot in the workingwoman's hand, thon by all means let women be enfranchised and the sooner tho bettor. The Tribune urges that if tho Knights of I^abor, who understand the work of organization so well, will take up the •cause of their oppressed and discouraged «isters and organize them in the same thorough and efficient manner in which the Knights aro organized, the workingwomen can be raised to a position of comfort and independence equal to that of tho workingmen. It may be so, but there is this difference between them. The Knights of Labor have votes. In other words the Knights are able to wield a vast political power and this counts for much. Ten, twonty, a hundred thou sand votes for or against a party or a candidate, that is what gives influence and commands respect and recognition. Politics is a great factor in this country and nowhere else moro so than in the largo cities. In the popular discussions of the labor questions tho workingwoixXQ^Jhiive been too much overlooked. is they above all others who need sympathy and support. Something must bo done for them. The only question is as to what tho help shall be.

IF public sympathy is rapidly deserting tho Knights of Labor who are maintaining the strike on tho (Jould southwestern linos, it is not because tho public has any partiality for Mr. Jay Gould. Nothing could be farther from the truth than this. It is bocauso there does not appear to havo been a valid reason for tho strike in the first place, a fact admitted by Mr. Powdorly and other promi nent Knights, nnd because tho striken have trangressod the bounds of the law in preventing tho running of trains. They have undertaken to do this by disabling the property of the company and by forcibly preventing men from working who wore willing to work. This sort of thing public opinion will and ought to condemn. Strikers may not beeomt law-breakers and law defyers. Tin uncut they do tho intelligent sent! mont of the country turns against them and without this help they cannot win Another thing which lias hurt tho Knights was tho threat that if the rail roadi did not give in they would extend the strike to all the leading linos of the country and if necessary to all the large manufactories. There could le no justification for each an exercise of their power. It w-uld be at once reckless and tyranienl and would receive, as it would deserve, the indignant condemnation of tho country. Hy doing such a thing they would cripple the business of thou sands of people who are no more responsible for the cause of tho strike than the

MI who came over in tho Mayflower. The Knights of Labor constitute a moat powerful organisation, but their power hitherto has been due largely to tin fact that popular sympathy was with ®»n. If by reckle** and intolerant conduct they alienate this popular sentiment they will find themselves shorn of their power as Samson was when he awoke out of the lap of Delilah.

TIIK coming bonnet, if report is true, will be wonderful to behold. There is to be no bird foolishness about it, no flower sentimentality. It is to le a cold, practical thing of be»'ts and bananas, mushrooms and radishes, peas and parsley, turnips and tomatoes. It will bo to speak after the Whistlerian, a symphony in tropical fruits and garden vegetables. Ye®, it is said the feminine taste, always on the lookout for some thing, has settled upon the stylo of ornamentation indicated tor the coming Easter headgear. I*t us await its coming with incredulity *nd when it has come join in a general chorus of praise Wits appropriateness and beauty.

May

Blossom"

is a charming idyl.

the opening chapters in this week's

IT is the fashion' for publishers and authors of established reputations to deny that unknown writers are. discriminated against by those having charge of the literary machinery of the country. Colonel Higginson has recently added an emphatic chapter to this line of argument and is answered by Geo. W. Cable, the popular novelist, who frankly admits (as some prouder persons might not be willing to do) that his experience at the outset of his literary career was not encouraging. He says that one of his stories, now considered one of the best things he has written, was declined by three publishers to whom it was sent, but after be had become known to fame the selfsame story brought him a handsome price from one of the very publishers who had previously rejected it. But having the literary instinct and the conviction which usually goes with it, that he did possess a talent for writing, he was not to be discouraged but set systematically to work to find some avenue to the public mind and heart. He states that he made a list of periodicals, grading them in the order of their merit, and when he had anything ready he would send it to the highest on the list and if refused by it, to the next best, and so on down the scale until it found acceptance somewhere. Mr. Cable believes that if any writer of reasonable merit will adopt this plan he will not be discarded everywhere. But it requires "sand" and stamps. One must not get discouraged because many times he receives his letter back as heavy as he sent it away. He must remember that others as good or better than he had luck as poor, buy more stamps and keep his stories on their journeys round the literary world. If he has the pluck which confidence in his own powers will give him he will hold on until he finds recognition, or, if he cannot meet with recognition anywhere, from highest to lowest, he may well conclude that nature did not design him for a worker in the field of letters. Mr. Cable's plan appears to have been a very sensible one and having worked well in his own case he confidently re commends it to others who still have before them tho struggle that once confronted him.

THE Philadelphia Ledger, reviewing the changes that have taken place in the length of the working day during the past fifty years, shows that from "sun to sun" of the long summer day came a general movement for "six to six." These figures were chalked up everywhere and figured in political campaigns. This claim was granted and bye and bye came tho movement for ten hours. This also won and without detriment to the public good. And now comes the agitation for the eight hour day. There is little doubt but the working day will be still further shortened. It is evident that with the vast multiplication of labor saving machinery and the consequent increase of productive power, the material necessities of mankind can now be bettor supplied by eight hours of work ^ut of thtf twenty-four than they could some years ago by ten hours' work. This being so tho change is a natural and reasonable one.

JAY Goin^n declares that ho will sue tho Knights for damages caused by tho great strike, as he is informed by high legal authority that such an action can be maintained. Some of the knights own valuable home* and will bo respon sible if judgment can be obtainod against them. This may be mere bluff on the part of Gould, intended to force the titrikers to terms, but if such an action could really bo maintained it would probably be hard to find a jury who would return a verdict in favor of the millionaire railway King, as against the mechanics and engineers who have managed to accumulate a modest homestead by "years by years" of hard toil Nevertheless the question is an interestone and ought to be decidcd by the courts. It cannot be supposed that all tho law is on the side of the strikers, especially when they deliberatly go beyond tho rights which tho law gives them, and when they become law-break-*s why should they not be held resposi bio for tho natural results of their acts

AN effort of a partially co-operative nature just inaugurated by a large firm in New York offers a rational solution of the labor problem. Recognizing the fact that the success of the firm was largely due to tho loyalty and good will of its employes, it is proposed to set aside a certain percentage of the net gain of the business as ascertained at the end of the year, and with that sum declare a dividend upon the total amount of the wages paid to each employe. Upon the basis of last year's business the man who earned $20* week would receive $50 as his dividend, or almost five per cent, on his entire year's salary. To make the arrangement perfect when the business of the year is unprofitable the employes ought to help to share the losses. Thus would be fib red the highest incentive for the men to exert themselves to make the business of the firm profitable. The plan appears to be practicable and ought to work well.

TnKRK will be a general feeling of satisfaction if the 4,000 cloak makers in New York City, who are on a strike for fewer hours and better pay, shall win their fight, as they seem likely to do. If ever a strike had merit that of the sewing women must be the one. When women are forced to keep starvation from their door* by making shirts for from two to four cents apiece, It is a disgrace to the age and the country in which we Live. The case of the cloakmakcrs is not so had, but it is had enough to warrant Striking for everything in sight.

Nevada is the paradise of the school teacher, where the average salary is 140 per month for males and |K for females.

•v-A

RUNNING A NEWSPAPER. [New Haven News.] It is a strange thing that the man who knows exactly how to run a newspaper is always engaged in some other kind of business.

THE FIRST TO FEEL IT. [Detroit1 Free Press.] There is a by no means small chance that the present strike will check business that had just begun increasing chill enterprise and so narrow the field and opportunity for labor. Should it postpone good times, the first to feel it would be the Knights of Labor, and they themselves would begin to distrust a weapon so potent for harm when wrongfullv used.

STAGE STR VCK GIRLS. [Ind. New.] Traveling theatrical managers report that Indianapolis has more stage-struck girls than any other city of like size in the country. Every company that plays here has from one to a dozen applicants for positions, generally from young girls, who are attracted by the -glare and glamor of the stage, and know nothing of its temptations and troubles. Among the rank and file of the profession, the life of an actress is by no means an easy or desirable one. Engagements are scarce and of brief duration salaries, if tlioy come at all, are small, and little more than enough to pay actual living expenses. There are at present hundreds of experienced actors and actresscs in* New York, who are without ongage* ments, and many of them are actually in want. The profession is overcrowded and demoralized, and those who have honest, although common, employment, should stick to it. This stage-struck business has many strange features. When local managers advertise for men and women to go on as supers or auxiliaries, they find no trouble in getting all they desire. These people get bnt little pay, so this could b* r.v? object but many respectable ladies are willing to dress

"going on the stage." Amateur performers are largely responsible for this sort of thing. Young girls who play small parts in dismal "home" performances, or are addicted to the deadly recital habit, are very foolishly praised by their ie!atives and associates, and at once be-

Secomethink

in to that they are destined to great actresses. If they adopt the stage as a profession, the great majority of them eventually find themselves in the variety theaters, or even in worse places, or in barn storming companies, without money, reputation or friends.

"Hello, got a new sled, haven't yer?" shouted Charlie to his chubby neighbor across the street. "Yer jest bet I have," and he yanked the drag rope till the sled passed in front of him in full view. "Where'd ye get it, on Chapel street?" "Na-aw, they only throw in string and A piece of court plaster there I got this sled on State street, where they throw in a Pomeroy's Petroline Poroused Plaster, which is so good for Lanio Back, Rheumatism, etc." "That ain't much, it only costs 'Jo cents at any druggist's." "It1 don't cost much, yon "bet, but it's worth its weight in gold." Charlie had had a sled before, and knew just what was needed.

SEE

THE

•*•,*

vf'-

Aitxt

TERRE HAUTE SATURDAY EVENING MATT.

IT is said that Secretary Lamar is opposed to the strict Mormon legislation, and as the Territories come under his department he is weeding out the officials who are chiefly instrumental in enforcing the laws. The laws against polygamy are not severe enough by half, and if Mr. Lamar is opposed to their enforcement he is combating the convictions of all the people in the United States, who demand that polygamy shall go, as well as all officials who are in favor of a half-hearted administration of the law.

5j5j 7* _—— THE more sensible and far seeing Knights of Labor, realizing that they have created a monster which bids fair to devour them, to paralyze commerce, and to menace the very foundations of social life, have called a halt. Master Workman Powderly has issuqd a circular in which he demands that Knights cease striking or he will leave the order. The dispatches this morning indicate that the backbone is broken, and that the south western roads will immediately resume running trains.

Six hundred millions for tobacco, nine hundred million for liquor and $571,000,000 for bread, is the annual expenditure of the people of the United States. Astonishing figures are these surely almost incredible. Thirty dollars a year to each man, woman and child in the country for liquor and tobacco! No wonder the prohibition sentiment is making such headway. What comforts, what luxuries fifteen hundred millions of dollars a year would bring into the homes of this nation. •vsi.W.3

PEOPLE WE ALL MEET.

The man who accepts favors and returns none. The man who stares offensively at women in public places. !ftie man who lies and the woman who does not tell the truth.

The woman who has seen better" days and is always sighing and talking about them.

The woman who gossips and gabbles about the private affairs of her acquaintances.

The suspicious person who sees evil in thejpnost innocent actions, because evil is in him or her.

The extremely young man who knows so much that he refuses to learn any thing more so long as he lives.

The man who is always threatening to do fine things to give his friends pleasure, and never does them.

The man whose mind is dirty and cannot refrain from letting its uncleanliness filter out through his speech.

The incessant talker, man or woman, who talks to you at all times and in all places, and never says anything you want to hear.

The man who thinks he is handsome, and in consequence of this illusion becomes something of a fool^ as ^he^nears middle age.

The woman who is in the habit of telling people she is a lady, fearing that if She did not put this information in words they would never find it out.

The woman who asks personal ques tions'and all kinds of questions who TBifres into every crevice.of your heart, your home and your purse, for the sake of indulging a vulgar, profitless curios-

ity*

_______

If you are suffering from a sense of extreme weariness, try one bottle of Ayer's Sarsaparilla. It will cost you but one dollar, and do you incalculable good. It will do away with that tired feeling, and give you new life and energy.

They are trying in Germany to find a substitute for Indian rubber. No one who has used Dr. Bigelow's Positive Cure desires a substitute, as it is eminently successful in coughs, colds and all throat and lung diseases. Sold by all druggists. 27-4t.

QKAND EXCUBSION

To Florida.

TERRE HAUTE TO JACKSONVILLE AND RETURN.

$20.30.

And other points proportionately low. Tickets good on trains leaving Tcrre Haute 9:20 p. m.,-March 81st and 5:15 a. m., April 1st and good returning until May 1st, 1888.

For full particulas call on or address,

build

J30NT. youIbuy-

"USFRTL YQUFJ'? -1VJ? -fa* *6-

STOCK

AND

AT THE

The Stock is New, Embracing All the Novelties and Sold at the Buckeye's Well ICnown Low Prices.

i-i

R. A. CAMPBELL, Gcn'l Agent, 624 Main Street.

ANTED

TERRE HAUTE

An energetic business woman to solicit and take orders for Thw »i A*MJK

UKIKWOM*

lip

Patent

kin Supporting Cornet*. These corsets have been extensively advertised and sold by lady canvassers the past ten years, which, with their nap«r(orlty, has created a larjc* demand for them throughout the United States, and any lady who gives her time nnd energy to canvassing for them can soon

a permxnent. and profitable busi

ness. They are not sold by merchants, and we giveexHnnlv* territory, thereby giving the agent entire control of these superior assigned her. Wo

emmet* In the territory

themselves up in unusual or immodest, have a large number of agents who are mak costumes to be gazed at and ridiculed by ing a grand success selling these goods, and hundreds of people, just for the sake of we desire sncb In every town. Address,

J. B. WYGANT A CO., Fredonla, N, Y.

PETROLINE

A trial will convince tho most skeptical thnt they are the best* They are medicated with capsicum and the active principle of petroleum, being far more powerful in their action than other plaster*. Do not bo induced to take other plasters which are inferior, hut te sure and fret {he genuine "Petroline." which is always endosed in an envelope with the signature of the proprietors. The P.W.I'. Co also above seal, in green and gold, on each plaster. Sold by all druggists, at S5 cents each, and our Agenta.

CORSETS,: LACESJAND EMBROIDERIES

J. J. BAUR Ac SON, Terre Haute, Ind.

Leading Clothiers^

'tv

.*a?

LEARN PRICES

Gash Store.

NEXT WEEK

--A.T—.

-GRIND DESPOT OF

Blaek and Colored Silks.

See our 75c, $1.00 and 91,23 Colored Grain. The best ever offered in the market.

Wii-r ALSO FINE NOVELTIES IN

STRIPED VELVETS

'JUST OPENED

Silks and Dress Goods a Great Specialty. SAMPLES CHEERFULLY MAILED.

'HOBERG, HOOT & CO.,

Nos. 518 and 520 Main Street.

Ours the Nicest!

tw- .f ,v

"I have been in every Clothing Store in the city and your display of Boy's and Children's Suits is tho nicost I havo soen," said a caller one day this week.

Additional Novelties will be Received Monday.

Which with our present large assortment will form one of the most most complete collections of high class novelties to be found in the city. Wo advertise our

CHILDREN'S DEPARTMT

The least and yet it is the steadiest and quickest grower of our business.

No Lady- Can Afford

To buy a suit for tier boy before visiting Our Children's Department

MYERS BROS.,

iJS'W'l'.

IK 4 '•4"*', if liftlOT,

»,"V 'AU i* ... .1 "H 4

GENTLEMEN!

WE ARE READY!

"With Our Complete Line of

Fine Spring Clothing

AND GENTS' FURNISHINGS

WHICH IS

Surpassed by None

and Equalled by Few

FOU

Fine Style, Quality, Make and Prices!4

FFJT INVITE YOCJB INSPECTION^? J* JJFFIFCI'-

*5 fi

Fourth and Main.

Q, I

J. T. H." MILLER,

Clothier, Merchant Tailor and Gents' Furnisher, 522 Main Street, north side, near 6th.

*H*'

,&*

,vV ,VK«iV^