The Labor Signal. (Oklahoma City, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 3, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, January 2, 1903 Page: 4 of 16
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"TOO OLD."
(lo had seen more prosperous days,
H"e was threadbare, pinched, and cold,
And hunting a Job. A shake of the
head
Was the answer he got—he was, they
said,
| "Too o'.a."
In the busy marts where men,
Absorbed In the search for gold.
Delve early and late, he had sought for
work,
Only to hear from a flippant clerk:
"Too old."
In the busy foundries, where
Are men of a sterner mold.
And ths furnaco flames roar day and
night,
They were "needing help," but h was
quit*
"Too old."
The beasts In ths cattle pens
Were safe within their fold,
fWlth food and care, and a place for
sleep;
But a man may be, to earn his keep,
"Too old."
And even where vice and crime
Their nightly revels hold,
Ho had thought an honest man might
stay
And still be clean. Us was turned away—
"Too old."
f
To ask for a hostler's Job
In a stable he made bold,
But the well fed coachman showed him
out;
"Wo want a fellow that's youag and
stout—
"Too eld."
Past him the young and gay
In their gaudy chariots rolled,
He watched them pass, and his eyes
grew dim;
Tnere seemed on earth no room for hlm-
"Too old."
Out of the crowded city.
Out on the dewy world.
In the gathering twilight, bleak and
gray.
He wandered until he lost his way—
"Too old."
There, next morning, they found him,
Staring, and stiff, and cold.
Thank God, to cross the mystic river
His pilgrims here are never, O, never,
"Too old."
He had found a place at last
Where the eager strife for food
Is among the things that have pssse^
away.
And no on* stands at the door t say:
The Pessimist in Business.
"Hello, Bilderdick! Are you still run-
ning the Wayback Whooper?"
"No, Peavick. Threw It up some
time since. Couldn't please every-
body."
"What was the trouble?"
"Every advertiser wanted top of
column and I couldn't fix it. I'm in
real estate now."
"That suits you better, eh?"
"Oh, no. Just the same old trouble.
Can't lay out a plan that'll give every
buyer a corner lot."
Evidently Rich.
Hotel Proprietor—"Where did you
put that ugly old man who Just regis-
tered?"
Clerk—"Gave him the best in tha
house."
Proprietor—"How do you know ha
can afford it?"
Clerk—"I caught a glimpse of his
wife waiting in the ladies' parlor.
She's young and pretty."
1* 1J.L
. i
In the Smart Set.
"That first wife of mine never could
take a joke."
"But she took you once."
"Don't get personal. When she got
her divorce from Belmoblit last week
I sent her a message wishing her
many happy returns of the day, and
now she refuses to even nod when we
meet"
* *
Turmoil in Labor Ranks.
There is a turmoil again in the
xanks of the Brotherhood of Painters
and Decorators of America. When
the two factions were united two
years ago after having kept the entire
Jobor movement of the country in a
state of unrest for five years, It was
hoped that there would be no further
dissension in the ranks of the paint-
ers. Now there is an Independent
association in New York, and last
week a sympathetic strike of all build-
ing trades was called on a large build-
ing to force the contractor to employ
members of the independent organi-
zation. This would seem Incredible,
inasmuch as the independent organi-
zation is not affiliated with the A. F.
of L. and has no jurisdiction outside
of New York city. The unionists in
New York, however, believe in build-
ing a Chinese wall aroijnd their citj| j
and barring every one from the out* \
side, a practice entirely at variancej
with the spirit of trades unionism. j
Another independent union of paint* '
ers has been formed in Muncle, Ind.,1
and it has taken out a charter under
the state laws. It was formed, it ia 1
said, as a protest against the rules
of the brotherhood in admitting em-
ployers to membership. Like tha j
New York organization it cannot hope j
for recognition, but it 1a keeping thq
painters' craft divided, and while the
Internal dissension is on it retards
any movement for the general ad-
vancement of the painters of tha
country.
Like a Boy.
Aunt Frances said to her nephew
one day, "What will you do when you
are a man?"
' "I'll grow a beard," was the une*
pected reply.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because, then I won't hav<s nearly
so much face to wash," said Tommy.
Napoleon's Homer.
Professor—We are told that Napo-
leon always had a copy of Homer In
his pocket.
Student—Well, if he always had it
in his pocket, what good did it do
him?
PMfessor—There, there, young man,
don't get smart.
Some lives are like firecrackers and
some like arc lamps.
Capable and Faithful Official.
Henry White, the national secretary
of the United Garment Workers, has
iabored earnestly to bring about a
union of the conflicting elements. He
claimed that all the clothing workers
with the exception of the regular cus-
tom tailors should be in one organiza-
tion, and the A. F. of L. adopted his
View. Mr. White has helped to bring
the clothing makers up to where they
are earning decent wages and work-
ing reasonable hours. For years It
!v/as hard work, but they now have a
Istrong organization and faithful offi-
cers.
then to ten, and eventually eight
hours. Wltu a few exceptions the
A Futile Wish.
Hours of Labor Shortened.
Back in the latter part of the eight-
eenth century the earliest records of
stonecutters' unions show that the
hours of labor were limited only by
daylight. They worked from sunrise
to sundown, and the wages were about
>$1.50 a day. This condition prevailed
[Until about 1832, when the stonecut-
ters established a fourteen-hour day.
I From that the length of the working
Iday was reduced first to twelve hours,
Two Unions at Odds.
I
w
Henry White.
eight-hour day prevails in every city
where the union is established, and
the average wage is $4 ft day.
I
Pulled the Rope Himself.
Growells (at the theater)—Mrs.
Neighbors certainly does look charm*
ing to-night.
Mrs. Growells—Yes. She has a hus-
band who likes to see her dressed de-
cently and isn't too grouchy to pay for
it.
Thoroughly Equipped.
"He's thinking of launching out as
a theatrical manager this winter.'
"I didn't suppose he was fitted for
that sort of thing."
"O, yes! A relative of his who
died recently left him a fur-lined over-
coat."
Rivalry between the Shoe Workers'
Protective Union, an independent
organization of shoe workers, and the
Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, the
the national organization, resulted in
a strike of twenty-five workmen at
the shop of Smith & Childs, at Haver-
hill, Mass.
1 These men belong to the Independ-
ent organization, but the firm is doing
contract work for a concern which
boids the stamp of tbe national or-
ganization, and is required to have It*
labor done by members of that union.
There was trouble over the matter a
while ago, but a working agreement
was arranged between the two unions
which continued until this week. The
national union is advertising for men
to fill the strikers' places. No j;rlev-
ance against the employers exists.
She—"Do you know, I think magk^J
balls are just lovely."
He—"Yes; I wish this was one."
The
law in
average man has a brother In
the insurance business.
Came Down Again.
"Remember," said the Sabbath
school teacher, "that no man ever left
this earth and returned."
"There was one," spoke up the
small boy in the red cap."
"Who was he?"
Santos-Dumont."
Returning Good for Evil.
L
'And to think that I came out here
to chop down this very tree!"
The Woman Usually Does.
"Well," said she, as she laid down
the book, "that's what I call a splendid
story."
"Held your interest, eh?" ha r
marked casually.
"Indeed, it did; down to the lasl
word."
"The heroine had that, of course."
The Wrong Man.
"Oh, dad, look at the football play*
er!" exclaimed the Christmas boy,
excitedly.
"Hush, my son," said the parent,
reprovingly. "That's not a football
player—that's an author who can't
make money enough to have his hair
cut!"
His Preference.
That man must have been a bit of
a wag who, when advertising in a
matrimonial paper for "a nice young
girl, of affectionate disposition, will-
ing to make a good-looking bachelor
happy," added the words, "Previous
experience not necessary."
Were Not Needed There.
"Is he a young man of brains?" In'
quired an old gentleman respecting
a swell youth.
"Well, really," replied his daughter,
"I have had no opportunity of Judg-
ing. I never met him anywhere ex<
cept in society."
The Youth of To-Day.
Visitor—That fellow seems rathe#
pert; acted as if he knew more than
you.
Merchant—Naturally. ,
Visitor—Why Naturally?
Merchant—He's my son.
Was Taking Chances.
"Poor Fred's voice actually trembled
when he proposed to me."
"Yes, he told me he was scared al-
most to death lest you discovered that
he was accustomed to using that for-
i inula "—The Commoner,
4~
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The Labor Signal. (Oklahoma City, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 3, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, January 2, 1903, newspaper, January 2, 1903; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc120705/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.