A TEXT-BO OK
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LABOR REFORM.




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ii








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THE
LIFE, SPEECHES, LABORS
AND
ESSA
OF
WILLIAM H. SYLVIS,
LATE PRESIDENT OF THE IRON-M3OULDERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION;
AND ALSO OF
THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION.
BY HIS BROTHER
JAMES C.. SYLVIS,
OF SUNBURY, PA.
"    We minst show themt that when a just monetary system has
been established there will no longer exist a necessity
for Trades Unions." — Wm. H. SYLVIS.
PHILADELPHIA:
CLAXTON, REiMSEN & HAFFELFINGER,
1872.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
JAMES C. SYLVIS,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN & SON, PHILADELPHIA.




TO
HIS EXCELLENCY
JOHN W. GEARY,
GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA,
THE FEARLESS MAGISTRATE, THE PATRIOTIC
STATESMAN, AND CHAMPION OF
LABOR'S RIGHTS,
AND TO TIIE
WORKING PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
THIS BIOGRAPHY AND RECORD OF THEIR
STAUNCH FRIEND AND FEARLESS ADVOCATE,
0[ tispll^ nand TffEdionatIg jditiatrad
BY THE AUTHOR.
v








AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
IN presenting to the public a collection of a few of the
speeches, essays, and writings of my departed and revered
brother, with his biography, it seems but proper that I
should say something in regard to the shape of the work,
and my reasons for publishing the same. Immediately after
his death, there was an earnest and unanimous desire expressed that his biography should be written and published,
together with the choicest of his productions.
This work seems to have fallen to my lot, whether properly or not is for others, and not me, to decide. I knew
him well and intimately, and loved him both as a brother
and a laborer in the good cause of Labor Reform; and it
was properly supposed that I.knew more of him than any
one else. My only regret is that I cannot afford to issue a
larger book and a more complete record of what he has done.
Indeed, its publication in its present shape has been a work
of many and serious difficulties. When I undertook the
task, I felt myself incompetent, and what I then needed
most was a helping hand, which I finally found in the person of C. Ben Johnson, the able editor of the Anthracite
Monitor, to whom I am greatly indebted for his assistance
in the preparation of the biography. While engaged on
the biography, Mr. Johnson also had the arduous task of
editing the Monitor; hence I can recommend it to the people as a correct, well-written, instructive, and interesting
biography. The next great difficulty was that I had not
the funds necessary to put the work to press. Many were
vii




Viii         AUTHOR S PREFACE.
willing, but had not the means. In this dilemma, C. A.
Reimensnyder, Esq., of this place, and others, came to my
relief, by advancing money to go on with the work. For
this assistance, all those who believe that this tribute is to
the memory of a departed leader, as well as myself, are
under lasting obligations; for, as I am like all other working-men - poor - had it not been for this aid, this work
would not now have appeared.
Some may ask why so long a time has elapsed before the
appearance of the work, as it was advertised to be out
early in the summer of 1871; to this I reply that the
delay has been owing mainly to the difficulty which I had
to encounter in collecting material, date, etc., for the biography, which I had not in my possession at the time of my
brother's death, most of which was to be found in newspapers and manuscripts in the possession of persons scattered all over the country; and much time was lost in such
a large correspondence as was necessary for the collection
of this information. In compiling the work, however, I
had not so much trouble, as I had in my possession all of
his published speeches, and nearly all of his other writings;
which seemed almost providential, as he always made it a
rule that when any of his speeches or writings were published to mail me a copy, and I always preserved them carefully. I have endeavored to make the work both interesting
and instructive, and hope I have succeeded. No one knows
the great amount of work and anxiety there is connected
with such a task, but those who have tried it. And now, in
concluding this preface, I would commend the work to thle
blessing of God and the acceptance of the people, hoping
that the principles herein advocated may soon be a ruling
power in the land; that we may become in fact-what we
have long been in name - a free and happy people.
J. C. SYLVIS.
SUNBURY, March 29, 1872.




CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY....                      13
CHAPTER I.
BOYHOOD.........19
CHAPTER II.
MARRIAGE.........         22
CHAPTER III.
FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION.....  30
CHAPTER IV.
SERVICES IN THE ARMY.......     42
CHAPTER V.
LABORS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.... 51
CHAPTER VI.
CLOSING LABORS, AND DEATH..... 64
EULOGY BY MR. A. C. CAMERON....  90
THE FALLEN CHIEFTAIN.....      94
ixr




X                   CONTENTS.
SPEECHES.
PAGZ
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT BUFFALO, N.Y., JANUARY, 1864..  96
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT CHICAGO, JANUARY 9, 1865... 127
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT BOSTON, JANUARY, 1867...  172
SPEECH DELIVERED AT BIRMINGHAM, PA., SEPTEMBER, 1868, 223
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT SUNBURY, PA., SEPTEMBER 1, 1868. 231
EXTRACTS FROM REPORT TO THE TORONTO SESSION OF THE
I. I. I. U......  250
SECRET CIRCULAR......            259
A SPEECH OF RECEPTION TO SENATOR SPRAGUE, AT THE
CONTINENTAL HOTEL, PHILADELPHIA, WITH MIR. SPRAGUE'S
REPLY.......                    279
PLATFORM OF PRINCIPLES OF THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION  284
LETTERS.
NATIONAL DEBT, BANKS, CURRENCY, BONDS, TAXATION, AND
PUBLIC LANDS.                                 296
THE EIGHT-HOUR LAW...            319
LETTERS FROM THE SOUTH....               329
TO THE READERS OF THE ADVOCATE.....    349
ESSAYS.
WHAT IS M]ONEY?... 351
CO-OPERATION........         387
THE USES OF CO-OPERATION...                    391
THE POOR MAN'S HOME..... 394
FEMALE SUFFRAGE...... 398
BRAIN vs. MiUSCLE........    400
EIGHT HOURS....40.                     43
THE PRINCIPLE OF EIGIT HOURS RECOGNIZED..06' OU HEROES."......... 408
GRAND JURIES ON INTEMPERANCE...... 411
DRINKING WHISKEY........     413
PRISON LABOR......... 413
THE SPIRIT OF  ONOPOLY.......417




CONTENTS.         Xi
PAGE
A PLEA FOR REST....421
ABUSE OFPTHE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE...425
PLAIN TALK........   428
THE CONSPIRACY.              432
THE EVILS OF PIECE-WORK.      434
WE BIDE OUR TIMiE.......437
To YOUR TENTS!.......... 439
LARGE AND SMALL ROGUES....442
THE ARISTOCRACY OF INTELLECT......443
THE RESPECTABILITY OF LABOR.... 446
DISCONTENT..........  448
DRAWBACKS......450
THE IRON MEN OF ENGLAND..... 454








BIOGRAPHY
OF
WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
INTRODUCTORY.
E shall offer no apology for presenting to the public
the following record of the life and services of Wim.
H. Sylvis. We believe it due to the memory of the ablest
leader the workingmen of the country have yet had, that
they should know of and appreciate his sacrifices and his
labors in their behalf; besides, the deeds of less worthy
men have many a time been commemorated in memoirs.
The work of compiling this record has been one of more
than ordinary difficulty, and we are by no means satisfied
with it, now that it is finished, for the reason that it is far,
very far, from being complete; nor could it have been
made complete, without devoting to it more time and patient research than we have been able to give the subject.
The earlier years of the life of Mr. Sylvis were spent in
comparative obscurity, devoted to humble, honest, and laborious pursuits. It was only during his later years that he
worked himself into prominence, and he died, not at the
zenith of his greatness, but just as le was about to achieve
greatness. For these reasons we could not very closely
follow the footsteps of his boyhood, nor accurately repro2                                     13




14    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
duce the scenes and incidents of his early manhood; nor
did we think it necessary to the fulfilment of our object that
we should do so. We have merely tried to give you, reader,
a faint idea of the germ of great distinction that was lost
to the world when Wim. H. Sylvis was carried away to
"that bourne from whence no traveller returns."
In pursuance of this purpose, we have collected a few of
the best of his addresses, and paid some attention to the
records of his intimate connection with the rise and progress of the Iron-Moulders' International Union and the
National Labor Union. We make bold to say here, that
the achievements of the first-named organization, under the
statesmanlike leadership of Mr. Sylvis, ought to be a strong
incentive to workers in other branches of useful industry
to avail themselves of the almost innumerable good results
that must ever accrue from a wisely-directed combination
among workingmen. From being one of the poorest paid
branches of mechanical industry, iron-moulding has become one of the most profitable to the journeyman; and
the most successful applications of the principle of co-operation to production ever made in this country have been
made by the moulders.
We have incorporated with the work brief papers from
the pens of a few of his most intimate friends and official
associates in the labor movement, of which he was conceded
by all to be " the bright particular star."  These will give
the reader some conception of the estimation in which he
was held by those of his contemporaries who knew him
best. But with all this, we are not satisfied. We might
have told of the many times he denied himself comforts
— such comforts, too, as were almost necessaries-and
devoted the saving to the one great object of his life,the promulgation of labor-reform  doctrines; sacrifices,
each small in itself, but in the aggregate attaining to great



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          11. SYLVIS.     15
ness, and leaving him, at his death, without means sufficient
to bury him; whereas, had he been more thoughtful of
himself, and less liberal to the cause, he might have amassed
quite a snug little competence. We might have told how
he wore clothes until they became quite threadbare, and he
could wear them no'longer; how the shawl he wore to the
day of his death, -which, during the year or two that he
devoted to the resuscitation of the Iron-Moulders' Union,
after, through his predecessor's unfaithfulness, it had wellnigh died out of existence, -was filled with little holes,
burned there by the splashing of the molten iron from the
ladles of moulders in strange cities, whom he was beseeching to organize; how he was more than once compelled to
beg a ride from place to place on an engine, because he
had not money sufficient to pay his fare; how, to give the
National Labor movement a fair start, he had fully made
up his mind to mortgage his furniture to prepay the expenses
of the Philadelphia convention, though he died before it
met; how suffering moulders " on the tramp" came to him
for assistance, and, if deserving, were never sent away
empty handed; how he was denied the privilege of working
because he had the manhood to exact a decent respect of
his rights from those who regarded him and his fellowworkingmen as mere wealth-making machines,- brutes
with the forms of *men but without the souls; how one,
whose bitter enmity he had enlisted by his rigorous dealing with traitors, was so far malicious as to fire a pistol at
him upon one occasion; how he had himself bolstered up
in a sick-bed that he might dictate a scathing rebuke to
men who had evinced a willingness to submit to tyranny
when victory was almost within their grasp. All these
things and many more we might have told. We might
have filled a volume a dozen times the size of this one with
words of wisdom coming from his lips and pen, bearing




16    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
upon that most important question -the relative rights of
labor and capital - that would be as apropos now as when
written. It is because we might have done these things,
that we are by no means fully satisfied with the work as it
stands. Nevertheless, we are convinced that we have told
sufficient to cause every reader who sincerely believes in
labor reform, to keenly regret that William H. Sylvis is
not still in the land of the living, still here to guide us in
the difficult struggle we are making against organized capital power in the hands of bad men.
At the Philadelphia session of the National Labor Union,
it fell to the writer to prepare a plan for the creation of a
fund to be used in building a suitable monument to the
memory of the great dead. The plan adopted called for
small contributions from as many of the working-people as
might be inclined to give. We would like to see a ten-cent
subscription, by which, we think, sufficient money could be
realized to enable the National Labor Union to erect a magnificent monument; and the subject deserves nothing less
than a magnificent one. The matter is now in the hands of
a committee; and though the fulfilment of the project should
be delayed, it will be handed down from year to year until
the working-people of the country, in their realization of
the sublime principles of which Mr. Sylvis was the leading
exponent, and out of gratitude for hilt services, will erect
this deserved tribute to greatness.
We have been so busy with Mr. Sylvis's deeds as a
trades-unionist and labor reformer, that we have totally
overlooked his domestic virtues, and of these he possessed
not a few. As a father, he. was always kind and attentive,
though ever a strict disciplinarian with his children; as a
husband, he was more than affectionate, and some letters
written to his wife during his absence from home, which
have been shown us, teem with expressions of loving confi



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               17
dence in his mate, and are thoroughly permeated by that
disposition so unusual in the husband,-and yet so beautiful,-to make his wife the sharer of his business secrets
and adviser in the hour of perplexity; as a friend, we can
from experience speak of his invariable willingness to assist
the needy and condole with the afflicted. Nor was his time
so wholly devoted to his work but that he found an odd
moment now and again to give expression to beautiful
heart-thoughts. Several rhythmical productions of his pen
have come under our eye which display a keen perception
of the poetic and a heartfelt imagery.  He frequently
wrote short sketches upon such topics as poets delight in;
and some of these, written upon the fly-leaves of books and
on scraps which have been found among his papers, are
truly beautiful both in language and sentiment. We do
not believe, however, that he ever gave anything of this
nature publicity. Truly, Mr. Sylvis was a wonderful man
- a man so much above the ordinary in all moral and mental particulars, so fearless, so incorruptible, so determined,
and so constituted in every respect, that he seemed, to some,
to have been especially created by nature for the position
he adorned.
Our nation's working-people are learning, fast learning,
their rights, and how to maintain them. But a little distance off rolls the thunder of a slowly but surely coming
social revolution, under the influence of which our governmental structure will be subjected to such a cleansing, such
a purifying process, as is not contemplated in the politcian's
philosophy. Class distinctions will be swept away; monopolies will crumble into dust; man will be measured by his
manhood, not by his money, and rewarded according as he
is honest and industrious, and not for his cunning in taking
advantage of the necessities of the many. No agrarian
theory of equal division is contemplated in, or is necessary
2*                  B




18   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
to effect, this change; nothing but a simple and total abolition of those laws and customs which have given life and
nourishment to the vast money and land monopolies by
which this nation is to-day accursed; which tax the many
poor and relieve the few rich; which donate the people's
money and acres to, and confer exclusive and danlgerous
privileges upon, corporations upon the plea of national or
sectional necessity. Wipe away these laws which encourage, and the ignorant inattention of the toiling citizen to
his political rights which sanctions these wrongs, and you
bring about the labor reformer's millennium, and bring it
about just as he proposes to bring it about. And when it
is here, then will the pioneers of our movement-those
who conceived it, brought it into being, and cared tenderly
and ardently and faithfully for it in its incipiency-secure
that hold of the affections of the people which they have,
by their devotion, so nobly earned. Then will this book be
read with interest and regret that it is so incomplete- then,
and not till then, will Wm. H. Sylvis, and those who fought
the good fight with him, be honored as they deserve to be.
With these few words, we launch our book upon the sea
of public opinion, hoping that it will be gently criticized;
for the biographer does not claim for it that it is well
written; and he has already confessed that his story is, to
himself, incompletely and unsatisfactorily told.




CHAPTER I.
BOYHOOD.
THERE is a little village called Armagh, in Indiana
County, Pennsylvania, situated about fifty-two miles
east of the smoky city of Pittsburg. It is of most trifling
size,-its houses giving shelter, at this date, to less than one
hundred and fifty souls. Yet it is a place for which we
shall always feel a deep reverence; for there it was that
William H. Sylyis was ushered into this " troublous world."
Armagh is named, they tell us, in honor of the city of Armagh, the archiepiscopal seat of the primate of all Ireland,
said to have been founded by St. Patrick, in the year 450
A. D. In that village, on the 26th day of November, 1828,
Maria Sylvis bore to her husband, Nicholas, a second son,
whom they afterwards called William.
It has been stated in several public ways that the parents were of foreign birth. This is incorrect, as both were
born in this country. The mother came from the Mott
family, of New Jersey, several members of which have
been in public life. Many will remember Hon. Henry S.
Mott, who was elected canal commissioner of this State
unanimously, he having received the nomination of both
parties. General Mott, another relative, figured prominently in the late unfortunate rebellion. He commanded,
if we recollect aright, a division in the Army of the Potomac. Mr. Sylvis, Sr. was a wagon-maker by trade, and at
the time of William's birth was working as a journeyman.
He was, of course, in poor circumstances, as all working19




20   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
men naturally are in this world, where capital demands
such an inordinate recompense for its use that there is next
to nothing of the fruits of labor left for those whose mission it is to toil. His family grew in accordance with the
old proverb, " A fool for luck, and a poor man for children," which is not a very chastely-expressed, but a wondrously true, adage.
Finding it impossible to get along at Armagh, he removed to Mauch Chunk, Carbon County, where he became
associated with Adam Sylvis, an uncle, in the boat-building
business. At this time he was also, in some way, connected
with the construction of the nine-mile gravity road leading
to Summit Hill, or, what is called by many, "the old
mines." This road is a thing of interest to tourists, as
riding by gravity is a novelty to most people. Liliputian
cars, about ten by five feet, are used; and, when loaded,
the trip is sometimes made in twelve minutes. The fall
averages ninety feet to the mile.
Two inclined planes are used in making the return trip -
the first at Mount Pisgah, the second at Mount Jefferson,
up which the cars are hoisted by stationary engines. At
the Summit, Mount Pisgah plane is two thousand three
hundred and twenty-two feet in length. The summit of
the mount is six hundred and sixty-four feet above the base,
eight hundred and fifty feet above the Lehigh, and fifteen
hundred feet above tide. From here a fine view of the
Lehigh Gap is to be had. To the second plane the fall is
three hundred and two feet to the mile. The length of
Mount Jefferson plane is two thousand and seventy feet,
and its height four hundred and sixty feet. These notes
may be of interest to some, and are inserted with that expectation.
At Mauch Chunk, the Sylvis family continued to grow,
which probably had something to do with the fact that the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              21
father was unfortunate with his speculations, and found
himself forced to retrace his steps to the western part of
the State, where, after trying in various ways to obtain a
livelihood, he settled in what was known as White Deer
Valley, which is situated in Lycoming County. Here he
opened a small wagon-shop, worked with the farmers in
summer-time, and engaged in building houses. But his
family was large, and he could no more than support it.
The elder boys had by this time become old enough to be
sent to school. But they were compelled to do chores in
summer; and the winters being very severe in that section
of the country, the attainments of the persons employed to
teach being of the most ordinary kind, and the schools
being located at a distance, the boys progressed very little.
It may be said indeed they progressed not at all, for they
did not ever succeed in Inastering the rudiments of a common school education. William, who was a strong and
healthy boy, did not share even these poor advantages - his
services at home being too valuable to admit of their being
dispensed with.
Mr. Sylvis was one of the many hundreds who fell victims
to the panic of 1837; and when in after years his son was
seeking out the causes which led to that and the other fearful panics which periodically followed it, his reasoning
faculties were doubtless rendered more acute by the remembrance of his father's misfortune. His business was
entirely broken up, and he was compelled to tramp about
from place to place, working as a journeyman, leaving Mrs.
Sylvis at home in charge of the children.




CHAPTER II.
MARRIAGE.
T was at this time that young William first began to
manifest that spirit of manly independence which so
forcibly characterized the latter years of his life. He was
young, yet old enough to appreciate the manifold difficulties his parents had to contend, and still were contending
with. Knowing that his father had at some time previously favored a Mr. Pawling, a neighbor, in some way,
he induced his mother -his father being at that time absent -to enter into negotiations with Pawling, which ended
in his being taken into Pawling's family on an agreement
under which that gentleman became responsible for William's support, in return for his time and services. William was at this time but eleven years old.
Shortly after this arrangement had been effected, Mr.
Pawling became the candidate of the Whigs for a seat in
the Legislature, to represent his (Lycoming) county. The
campaign ended in Mr. Pawling's election; and during his
necessary absence from home, William was left in sole
charge of the family. The children of Mr. Pawling being
all girls, William found plenty to do about the house and
farm; and this work he did so faithfully as to earn the
hearty commendation of his new master. The elder Mr.
Sylvis was a Democrat of a pretty rabid stripe; but William, under the tuition of Pawling, even at that early age,
soon became inoculated with Whig sentiments and prejudices, for he was a close observer and careful student of
22




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              23
current history, and, though without education, a keen
critic of every passing event.
Frequently he would, having first obtained Mr. Pawling's permission, spend Sunday with his father and the
family; and upon such occasions he generally managed to
get himself into a discussion with the old gentleman on the
relative merits of Whigism and Democracy, and more than
once Sylvis, Sr. was worsted in these arguments; though he
had seen much more of life, and would naturally have been
supposed to know much more of politics than his boy. The
faith in the doctrines of the Whig party here obtained
remained with him until its dissolution, and made him an
ardent admirer of Henry Clay, the great Kentucky.statesman, whose words and deeds William was ready to defend
wherever occasion required or opportunity offered. And
even to the day of his death, there was no more certain
way of exciting Mr. Sylvis's ire than to question the greatness of his beau-ideal orator and statesman. William remained with Mr. Pawling until he was seventeen years of
age, six years in all. A letter recently received from Mr.
Pawling, who is now nearly fourscore years old, says:
"Before coming to me he had never been to school, and
did not know his letters. I think we had no school the
first winter. I taught him his letters and to spell a little.
The next winter, and every winter during his stay with me,
I sent him to school, - perhaps three months of each year.
This was all the schooling he ever got. There were no
branches then taught in our schools but reading, writing,
and arithmetic. He had free access to my library, and in
that way improved himself greatly; but he was, substantially, a self-made man. His morals were without reproach.
I do not remember a single act or thing he did during the
time he lived with us that did not meet my entire approbation. After the contract expired, I hired him for one




24   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
year to work on the farm, at the usual rates of farm
hands."
After serving his year on Mr. Pawling's farm, William
returned to his father, -who had, in the interim, somewhat
improved his fortunes, - and worked with him in a wagonshop which the father had succeeded in establishing. From
here he went to Union County, where he first worked as a
helper, and then as a keeper, in the " Forest Iron-Works,"
after which he was taken into the foundry, where he began
to learn the trade of iron-moulding. Before he had been
at the place quite a year, the company failed, and William
lost the greater part of the wages he had earned during his
stay. Again compelled to go elsewhere for employment, he
journeyed to Curwinsville, Clearfield County, at which place
he finished his trade. Shortly after he became a journeyman, in company with a friend and fellow-workman, he
rented the foundry at this place for a year, at the expiration
of which time he went to Half Moon Valley, where he
again worked as a journeyman moulder. During all of
this time a liberal portion of his earnings was sent home,
to lessen the burdens which were entailed upon his father.
His stay at Half Moon Valley was short. Leaving there,
he worked at different places in the vicinity; but not
being satisfied with any of them, he did not remain in
them, and finally settled himself at Hollidaysburg, where,
still working as a journeyman, he boarded with a family by
the name of Hunter. The youngest daughter of the Hunters, -then a little child, -named Florrie, was made an
especial pet of by Mr. Sylvis, who taught her in Sundayschool, romped with her, and assumed an almost parental
supervision of her training. That little child is now his
widow. From Hollidaysburg Mr. Sylvis wended his way
into what was then Union, now Snyder County, where he
contracted an acquainltance with Miss Amelia A. Thomas,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               25
who was eight years his junior, and whom, after a short
courtship, he married, April 11th, 1852.
After his marriage, Mr. Sylvis worked awhile at Beaver
Furnace, at Half Moon Valley, at Philadelphia, - leaving
his family at home at the Furnace, - and finally moved
with his family to the city, where he went to housekeeping, working at the time as a journeyman in the foundry
business.
We have but briefly sketched these incidents, for the
reason that there is little in them of real interest that may
not be told il a general way; and it is not our design to
carry the reader through a tedious recital of the commonplace occurrences in his career. His history thus far may
be thus condensed: He was the son of a poor father with a
large family; thrown upon his own resources at a very early
age, without educational qualifications to assist him in his
battle of life, he learns a good trade, becomes a first-class
mechanic, marries, and struggles along, just as millions of
others in his situation are compelled to, - the provision of
bread and meat for his wife and little ones being such a tax
upon his powers as to preclude the possibility of his rising
above the level of a manual laborer. But during all his
troubles, he never forgot his parents, and when opportunity
offered never failed to remit his mite to assist them.
About this time he became a great reader and student of
politics, and especially of the elementary principles of political economy. This fact would not be at all surprising,
had Mr. Sylvis had the advantages which nearly all boys
in these days have; but it must be remembered that his
education had been very defective; and his letters at this
time display a lamentable deficiency even as regards common orthography and the primary principles of English
grammar; yet throughout them runs a vein of strong
common sense, that gave good promise of the future.
3S




26   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
The next few years, spent in Philadelphia, were years of
many and peculiar hardships. Much sickness in his family, his own sickness on two or three occasions, and an accident at the foundry, by which his foot was badly burned,hot iron having been poured into his boot, - made it very
difficult for himn to even meet the demands of the butcher,
the baker, and the landlord; yet even then he occasionally
rendered his father pecuniary assistance.
On June 6th, 1855, the iron-moulders of Philadelphia
organized themselves into a trades-union. Mr. Sylvis was
at the time working at his trade; but, though already a
believer in organized resistance to the impositions so frequently perpetrated by capitalists upon theil employes, he
did not at first become a member.
In October, 1857, a strike occurred in the shop at which
he was working; its object being to resist. a proposed reduction in wages of twelve per cent. A large number of the
men signed a pledge not to accept these wages, some or
whom were union men, and some had not yet joined.
These met as a shop organization, Mr. Sylvis being their
secretary, and also a member of what was called the " Conm
mittee on Corners," whose duty it was to picket the vicinity
of the shop, in order that no strangers should be permitted
to take the places of the strikers without first being warned
of the reasons that had prompted them to cease work. In
both of these positions he was a zcalous worker. The strike
continued for some weeks, when a number violated their
pledge, and returned to work at the reduction. Some of
the strikers, however, honorably fulfilled their promise, and
Mr. Sylvis was among this number. On December 5th, the
union passed a resolution admitting these to membership.
At the meeting of the union, held on the second day of
January following, Mr. Sylvis was elected recording secretary; and with his acceptance of that position, his career




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.      27
as an active'trades-unionist may be said to have commenced.
He had long believed in the union; but up to that time, for
reasons best known to himself, he had not seen fit to become
a member of it, though all who watched his subsequent
course gave him credit for having been influenced against
joining by honest considerations. Mr. Sylvis's excellent
judgment, and his disposition to act the part of a zealot
in everything he undertook, made him a valuable acquisition to Union No. 1, as is proven by the minutes of their
proceedings, for upon every measure of importance proposed Mr. Sylvis " had his say," and that " say" was generally on the side of right and of the majority. All his
actions seem to have been guided -by a desire to confine
altercations between the men and their employers to that
natural difference in interest existing between buyer and
seller. To avoid conflicts by avoiding unjust demands, and
by making the organization so close and so powerful as to
enforce submission to, before making even just demands,
seemed to be his policy; and though the union, perhaps,
did not always act upon this policy, as a rule, its moves
were eminently equitable, and deserving of respect and
success.
There was originality and humor in his style of keeping the minutes at this time, of which the following is a
sample.  "The president proceeded to appoint a committee on corners, but did not get far before a free blow
was commenced. There appeared to be a superabundance
of gas in the room, and it was found necessary to allow a
portion of it to blow off before anything further could be
done. Finally the breeze subsided, and the business was
proceeded with."  We have not preserved his orthography,
which was so poor as to conclusively prov' that his schooldays had been few.
A local organization has its powers, but a trades organ



28    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
ization, to be of real service, should have ramifications in
every locality to which the trade extends. If unity in
one city is good, unity in many places is better. So
argued Mr. Sylvis, when, on April 10th, he submitted a
proposition directing that correspondence with the St. Louis,
and other unions of moulders already in operation, be
opened with a view to the settlement of some basis of cooperation between them; and again, on December 14th,
1858, when he offered a resolution appointing a committee
to urge the holding of a national convention of representatives of all the iron-moulders' unions in the country. Of
the committee appointed under this resolution, Mr. Sylvis
was secretary; a position, under the circumstances, of more
real importance even than the chairmanship.  The first
meeting of the committee was held at Mr. Sylvis's house, on
December 11th. After maturely deliberating the important proposition in hand, a circular was issued, urging upon
the several unions then in existence the importance of a
national organization. The circular set forth the fact that
the Philadelphia Union had weathered the panic of 1857,
and maintained prices, while in many other cities the men,
for want of organization, had been compelled to submit to
a reduction. It declared that "the interests of capital and
labor are one and inseparable," and enumerated the benefits
to accrue from having prices regulated all over the country
by the one standard. Sundry questions as to the number
of moulders, and other trade matters, were asked, with a
view to the compilation of useful statistics. To this circular favorable responses were received, and valuable information upon several matters of interest to the trade at
large. Three strikes were at the time in progress, one at
Providence, one at Port Chester, and one at Albany, the
latter being for 1857 prices, against an overplus of apprentices, and in resistance of the store-order system. The




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.      29
bosses of Albany had combined, and were in communication with those in other places, asking the formation of a
"Founders' League," for the purpose of importing workmen from Europe to take the places of the employes, who,
under the influence of the union agitation, then at its
height, had already become restive, and were displaying a
disposition to ask and enforce a decent respect for their
rights as men. The Philadelphia founders, however, discouraged the scheme; some of them because of a conviction
that they were sufficiently powerful to strangle the incipient
organizations of the men without resorting to such an extreme. Generally, wherever local organizations of any kind
of workingmen existed, an effort was being made to regain
the prices paid prior to 1857, which the "panic" or "crisis"
had materially reduced; and the moulders, being of course
no exception to the rule, were greatly stimulated thereby
in their effort to form a national organization. All the answers to the circulars that were received were favorable;
and, influenced by this fact, the committee issued a call,
dated June 15th, for a national convention to be held on
July 5th, 1859. This call was signed, Isaac A. Sheppard,
President; WVm. H. Sylvis, Recording Secretary.  The
meetings having been held in Mr. Sylvis's house, the expense incurred by the committee aggregated only $10.24,
which sum was mainly expended for printing and postage.
This brings us to the meeting of the first national convention of iron-moulders ever held on the continent, and to the
end of the chapter.
3*




CHAPTER III.
FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION.
ON July 5th, 1859, thirty-five delegates, representing
organizations of iron-moulders located at Philadelphia,
St. Louis, Albany, Troy, Cincinnati, Providence, Jersey City,
Peekskill, Utica, Port Chester, N. Y., Wilmington, and
Baltimore, met in convention at Philadelphia. As indicating the fraternal spirit already felt, the Stamford Union,
instead of sending a delegate, donated all the money in its
treasury to their striking brothers of Port Chester. Of
this convention, William C. Rea, of Missouri, was made
president. The time of the convention was, of course,
principally occupied with the work of organization. Mr.
Sylvis was one of the committee of five appointed by the
chair to prepare an address to the iron-moulders of the
United States. The address reported was written by Mr.
Sylvis. It was adopted and issued with the. constitution, to
which it, to this day, is attached, in the shape of a preamble, as evidencing Mr. Sylvis's abilities as a writer at that
time, and his conception of the work of organization they
were engaged in establishing. We quote it entire.
" PREAMBLE.
"'Labor has no protection - the weak are devoured by the
strong. All wealth and all power centre in the hands of the
few, and the many are their victims and their bondsmen.'
" So says an able writer in a treatise on association, and, in
studying the history of the past, the impartial thinker must be
impressed with the truth of the above quotation. In all countries and all times capital has been used by those possessing it
30




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.       31
to monopolize particular branches of business, until the vast
and various industrial pursuits of the world have been brought
under the immediate control of a comparatively small portion
of mankind. Although an unequal distribution of the world's
wealth, it is perhaps necessary that it should be so. To attain
to the highest degree of success in any undertaking, it is necessary to have the most perfect and systematic arrangement
possible; to acquire such a system, it requires the management
of a business to be placed as nearly as practicable under the
control of one mind; thus concentration of wealth and business
tact conduces to the most perfect working of the vast business
machinery of the world. And there is, perhaps, no other organization of society so well calculated to benefit the laborer and
advance the moral and social condition of the mechanic of this
country, if those possessed of wealth were all actuated by those
pure and philanthropic principles so necessary to the happiness
of all; but, alas! for the poor of humanity, such is not the case.
"' WEALTH IS POWER,' and practical experience teaches us
that it is a power but too often used to oppress and degrade the
daily laborer. Year after year the capital of the country becomes
more and more concentrated in the hands of a few, and, in proportion as the wealth of the country becomes centralized, its power
increases, and the laboring-classes are impoverished. It, therefore, becomes us, as men who have to battle with the stern
realities of life, to look this matter fair in the face; there is no
dodging the question; let every man give it a fair, full, and
candid consideration, and then act according to his honest
convictions. What position are we, the mechanics of America, to
hold in society? Are we to receive an equivalent for our labor
sufficient to maintain us in comparative independence and
respectability, to procure the means with which to educate our
children, and qualify them to play their part in the world's
drama; or must we be forced to bow the suppliant knee to
wealth, and earn by unprofitable toil a life too void of solace to
confirm the very chains that bind us to our doom?
"'IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH,' and in the formation of
a national organization, embracing every moulder in the country, a union founded upon a basis broad as the land in which




32    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
we live, lies our only hope. Single-handed, we can accomplish
nothing; but united, there is no power of wrong we may not
openly defy. Let the moulders of such places as have not
already moved in this matter, organize as quickly as possible,
and connect themselves with the national organization. Do
not be humbugged into the idea that this thing cannot succeed.
"We are no theorists.; this is no visionary plan, but one eminently practicable. Nor can injustice be done to any one; no
undue advantage can be taken of any of our employers. There
is not, there cannot be, any good reason why they should not
pay us a fair price for our labor. If the profits of their business
are not sufficient to remunerate them for the trouble of doing
business, let the consumer make up the balance.
"The stereotyped argument of our employers, in every attempt
to reduce wages, is, that their large expenses and small profits
will not warrant the present prices for labor; therefore, those
just able to live now must be content with less hereafter.
"In answer, we maintain that the expenses are not unreasonable, and the profits are large and, in the aggregate, great;
there is no good reason why we should not receive a fair equivalent for our labor.  A small reduction seriously diminishes
the already scanty means of the operative, and puts a large sum
in the employer's pocket. And yet some of the foundry proprietors would appear charitable before the world. We ask:
Is it charitable, is it humane, is it honest, to take from the
laborer, who is already fed, clothed, and lodged too poorly, a
portion of his food and raiment, and deprive his family of
the necessaries of life, by the common resort - a reduction
of his wages? It must not be so. To rescue our trade from the
condition into which it has fallen, and raise ourselves to that
condition in society to which we, as mechanics, are justly
entitled, and to place ourselves on a foundation sufficiently
strong to secure us from further encroachment, and to elevate
the moral, social, and intellectual condition of every moulder in
the country, is the object of our international organization;
and to the consummation of so desirable an object, we, the
delegates in convention assembled, do pledge ourselves to
unceasing efforts and untold sacrifices."




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.      33
This little appeal may not be remarkable for its etymological purity; its construction may indeed be such as to
chill the nerve of a theorizing grammarian; but its plainly
and forcibly expressed truths mark it as having come from
a pen freighted with the thoughts of a heart filled with
sympathy for the cause in which it was employed. It is
evidence that, even at that early day of his career as an
advocate of labor's rights, its writer saw deeper into the subject than was common with his kind, and foresaw that a
grand battle between labor and capital was imminent, in
which he had already determined to take a leader's part.
After constituting the officers of the convention a provisional government to hold power during the interim, the
convention adjourned to meet in the city of Albany, January 10th, 1860.
It is our intention to follow, as closely as is necessary to
indicate his policy, a few of Mr. Sylvis's acts in connection
with several annual sessions of the Iron-Moulders' National
(and International) Union, because experience has proven
that, in nearly every position he assumed, he saw clearly
the way to success. This feature of the book, we hope,
will be valuable to others under similar circumstances, as
trades-unions have become so important, so necessary to
the sustenance of the workingmen, and the acts and sayings
of trades-union leaders are nowadays so closely scrutinized
and criticized, that neither they nor the unions can lose by
patterning after and considering the advice of one who was
so uniformly successful.
Mr. Sylvis attended the Albany session as a delegate from
Philadelphia Union, No. 1. On the second day of the session, by an informal ballot, he was made a nominee for
president; but was beaten at the election subsequently held,
by Isaac I. Neal, though he was afterwards elected treasurer. The first resolution considered at this session was
C




34    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
one offered by Mr. Sylvis, which may be looked upon as
formally recording the birth of the National Union. The
resolution was in these words: Resolved, That this convention does now resolve itself into a national union, adopt
the constitution as adopted by the Philadelphia convention, and that a committee. of five be appointed by the
chair to report such amendments to and revisions of the
constitution as they may deem proper.
It will thus be seen that it was Mr. Sylvis's motion that
gave rise to the agitation, and his motion that announced
the culmination of the project to bind together in a common brotherhood all the moulders' unions in the country.
At this session, Mr. Sylvis was made chairman of a committee to prepare the card system, now in use in the ironmoulder organizations, the most admirable system for the
purpose yet conceived. Of course it has from time to time
been altered arid improved, yet it remains substantially as
originally reported by Mr. Sylvis, and all of its improvements, or nearly all, are due to the thoughtful care for
matters of detail which was one of the most remarkable
characteristics of his administration.
Much of the time of the Albany convention was spent
in debating the piece-work and helper, or Bucksheer, systems -both of which were denounced by resolutions;
piece-work, it was contended, had a tendency to make men
selfish, and to give to a few, who were content to work early
and late, a chance to monopolize the trade, to the exclusion
of better men who, while recognizing the necessity of industry, were yet unwilling to sacrifice their physical vigor
by such abject slavishness to gain. Mr. Sylvis was at this
time, and ever afterwards, a bitter opponent of piece-working, not because he did not admit it to be right that men
should be paid in accordance with the quantity and quality
of their product, but he believed in the objections above




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAfM I. SYLVIS.               35
alluded to; and further, because he knew, what is daily becoming more apparent, that there is an unseen something
controlling the products of skilled manual labor, which
almost invariably keeps the supply of those products in
excess of the demand, and therefore recognized the necessity of curtailment, by limiting or restricting the greedy.
Piece-work, under regulations looking to a fair division of
the amount of work to be done among all those willing and
possessing the requisite skill and strength to do it, was not
objectionable to him;'but it was so nearly an impossibility
to make even active trades-unionists see that they contribute in any degree to the troubles of which they complain, and so difficult to induce them to alter their plan of
working in accordance with the dictates of an intelligent
judgment in such cases, that the total abolition of piecework, at least so far as the iron-moulding trade was concerned, seemed to him to be the best, and indeed the only
available remedy under the circumstances. We cannot
have things as we wish them, but must take them as we find
them. If the current of trade Was confined to natural
channels, and not directed by artfully contrived fiscal and
other means, designed for the emolument of a few cunning
ones, at great cost to the many, we would not have such a
number of or such serious difficulties to contend with; but,
having them to contend with, we ought manfully to face
them, even at the risk of placing ourselves in opposition
to what, under other circumstances, would be eminently
right and proper.
Mr. Sylvis performed the duties of the treasuryship with
an uncommon zeal; but the treasurer of any organization
is an officer whose actions are closely watched, and be he
ever so honest, it is scarcely possible for him to escape
calumny. Particularly is it impossible in the case of the
treasurer of a trades organization.  Workingmen are




36    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
necessarily the most ignorant, and consequently the most
bigoted and envious of all classes. The better feelings of
our nature are not brought out by hard and illy remunerated toil   Toleration and its refined development —
charity - cannot be expected to have an abiding place in
the hearts of those who, because of their poverty, are compelled to devote their lives to work, work, everlasting work,
with a recompense that barely enables them to satisfy the
demands of the landlord, the victualler, and the, clothier.
Hence all such, or nearly all wh6 are connected with
trades-unions, look with suspicion upon the men to whom
is allotted the handling of the funds of their organizations,
let it be ever so little that they have contributed to those
funds, or let the stake be what it may. Besides, comparatively few workingmen have been subjected to the refining
influences of an education, and men without education are
generally without confidence in their fellow-men, and inclined to look with a poignant jealousy upon those of their
kind who have been so formed by nature, or by training, as
to be above them in the scale of intelligence, and when
such are made leaders of trades organizations, given positions of honor, trust, or emolument in them, they are sure
to become targets for the malicious insinuations of the
ignorant and suspicious. Mr. Sylvis was subjected to a
most trying ordeal of this nature. Because he was determined, and had a way of giving blunt expression to his
convictions, the jealousy aroused against him soon became
absolute hate on the part of a number of men who should
have known better. Some added fuel to the fire by giving
utterance to mysteriously spoken sentences about ambition,
dictatorship, etc. Nevertheless, Mr. Sylvis continued to
work faithfully for the interests of his class, determined
that no shadow of blame should rightfully attach to him
while he continued in office, and, at the next session of the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               37
union, to sever his official connection therewith. Just prior
to the meeting of the Cincinnati convention, under date
of December 25th, he wrote a letter to the Mechanics'
Own-a newspaper published in Philadelphia, and devoted
to the interests of the working-classes -as treasurer, giving
certain information and advice. In this letter he referred
to the opposition to him that had developed itself, saying:
" I have been assailed by a faction confined to no particular
locality, but existing chiefly in my own city, and, I am
sorry to say, in my own union, whose object appears to
have been to crush me beneath their weight, and sink me
into oblivion, which they flatter themselves they have succeeded in doing. To their accusation that I have been dishonest in the discharge of my duties as treasurer, that I
was dragged into the union, and am only a good union
man because I was compelled to be, that I had a desire to
sell out the union, and various other charges about dictatorship, ambition, etc., I have no reply to make, for, by noticing them in any way, I would be letting myself down to
their level; and I am willing to abide by the decision of
time, the great arbiter of all things." In another part of
this letter he says, "I am glad to shake off the restraints
of the most disagreeable position I have ever held in my
life."
And just here we desire all such of our readers as are
connected with workingmen's organizations to stop and ask
-themselves these four questions. Has it never occurred to
you that you are yourselves in a great measure responsible
for the wrongs of many of the defaulting officers of your
organizations? Has it never occurred to you that your
disposition to accuse every man of ambition who evinces a
willingness to assume the burdens of office in your organizations, has a tendency to keep good men from trying for
or even accepting office when you would force them into
4




38    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
it?  When you have found yourself criticizing the actions
of some union official, finding fault with him because of
his failures, have you ever "put yourself in his place,"
and considered how hard it is to work for grumblers? how
impossible it is to work with the necessary vim, and successfully, in such an up-hill business as is the managing of
trades-unions, unless supported by the encouragement and
hearty co-operation of all hands interested?  We are
assured that, if you answer these questions from your consciences, many things will appear'clear to you that
have heretofore seemed all chaos and confusion. What
you have considered unavoidable misfortunes, or the logical
results of ignorance, inattention, or treason on the part of.
your officers, will appear in their true light as the essential
consequences of your own shortcomings.
Mr. Sylvis had been a faithful, hard-working officer, yet
there were those who had accused him of all sorts of
crimes; and so bitter and malignant were these, notwithstanding his uncompromising devotion to the union, his
readiness to do all that in his power lay for its advancement, he was forced to confess himself glad to "shake off
the restraints of the most disagreeable position he ever held
in his life."
In the letter we have quoted, Mr. Sylvis intimates that
his enemies had gained a victory over him. He had reference to his defeat as a candidate for delegate to the Cincinnati convention. He had tested his strength in the union;
towards whose success he had contributed so much of his
time and talents, but found that the " prophet had no honor
in his own country," or, rather, that the majority of those
for whom he had labored had gone over to the side of his
enemies, and had succumbed to their rule.
But Mr. Sylvis was not a man to yield when he knew
himself to be in the right. An ardent believer in the ulti



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.                 39
mate triumph of the right, he maintained a bold front, and,
in the face of a persecution that would have driven most
other men out of the movement, he fought the enemy, and
in the end triumphed. He attended the Cincinnati convention, which met on January 8th, 1861, for the purpose
of reporting his official actions as treasurer during the
official year then terminating. Under the constitution, he
was awarded a seat, with all the privileges of an ex-delegate,
which included all the rights of delegates except the right
to vote. The precise words of the coistitution, as it then
stood, are as follows:' Persons having once been received as representatives to this
union shall be permanent members of the same so long as they
remain in good standing in their respective unions, proof of
which they shall present; and said. unions shall retain their
connection with this body. They shall have all the rights of representative delegates except that of voting."
The following day Mr. Sylvis, in the meantime having
been an active participant in the proceedings, was nominated as one of the candidates for the treasurership. Objection being entered that, as an ex-delegate, he was not
eligible, he replied at length, citing the constitutional provision above quoted. That it was the intention of those
who framed the constitution to make ex-delegates eligible
to office, we do not know; but that the clause we have
quoted gives them that right, is clear to all who can read
and understand our language. The president, however,
decided him ineligible. The decision was appealed from,
but was sustained by a vote of thirty yeas to twenty nays.
Among those who voted aye we notice the names of several
who afterwards learned his real worth, and were, at the
time of his death, among Mr. Sylvis's most ardent admirers
and staunch supporters. Later in the session, a committee




40    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
was appointed to revise the constitution. The committee
consisted of one from each State represented, and one for
each of the Canadas. When the president had announced
his selections, a motion was made that Wm. H. Sylvis, of
Pa., be added to the committee. This motion having been
agreed to, a delegate rose, and excitedly asked "what rights
former delegates had and did not have in the convention."
The chair, of course, explained that the union, in sustaining his ruling, had decided them not entitled to hold office,
and, by the vote just taken, that they have a right to serve
on committees. Less than this would have sufficed to send
most men off in a huff, goaded them to withdraw at once
and forever from the organization; but, as we have before
remarked, Mr. Sylvis was a man of determination as well
as brains, and having made up his mind that to conquer
he must fight, he remained, sat with the committee; and
the revised constitution, reported and adopted later in the
session, owed some of its most salient features to his forethought and keen appreciation of what trades-unions' jurisprudence ought to be.
According to the report which Mr. Sylvis, as treasurer,
rendered to the convention, $6,125.06 had passed into his
hands during the year, all of which had been paid in by
twenty-eight unions. Of this sum, $5,511.30 had been expended to support strikes at Albany, Buffalo, and Spuyten
Duyvil, New York.    Desperate efforts were made by
the enemies of Mr. Sylvis to prove his report faulty; all
of which were, however, unsuccessful. One delegate went
so far as to move a reconsideration of the vote by which his
official expenses were ordered paid; but that motion failed;
and the report proved to be in every respect accurate and
explicit in detail.  There is no possible room to doubt
that more than one personal enemy of Mr. Sylvis was present at this convention, and it was obvious that they tried all




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM IH.. SYLVIS.            41
in their power to harass him, and create a suspicion as to
his rectitude. Had he not afterwards risen to prominence
in the organization, and by his unswerving fealty proven,
beyond cavil, how real was his love for it, there are many
who, to this day, would have been convinced that he was
other than an honest man. But he did rise, and gave the lie
to every calumny hatched against him, and the aspersions
of his enemies only added to the respect in which he was
afterwards held by nearly all who knew him. The ruling
of the president, above mentioned, left him the following
year without an office. Yet, although he was officially declared ineligible, there was at least one man in the convention who had full faith in him, for in each of the four ballots taken for treasurer, there was one vote for William H.
Sylvis. It must have been a satisfaction to the man who
polled that vote, whoever he was, to know how effectually
Mr. Sylvis eventually silenced his enemies, and forced them
to yield tribute to his power, and how speedily and deservedly he increased his circle of friends until it included
nearly all who knew him. Had it been us, we should have
been proud of our foresight.
4*




CHAPTER IV.
SERVICES IN THE ARMY.
R. SYLVIS returned from the Cincinnati convention,
according to his after confession, somewhat discouraged'; but his unconquerable faith in the union soon again
asserted its sway over him; and we find abundant evidence
on the record of Philadelphia Union, No. 1, of the active
interest he continued to take in its proceedings at this time.
But the country was in a state of great agitation, and on
the eve of the greatest civil war of which there is any
record in history. Among the workingmen, a few choice
spirits, North and South, knowing that all the burdens,
and none of the honors, of war are entailed upon labor,
were engaged in an effort to frustrate the plans of those
who seemed to desire, and whose fanaticism was calculated
to precipitate, hostilities. Mr. Sylvis was heart and soul
with these men. They first held a meeting at Louisville,
at which William Horan, Robert P. Gilchrist, and other
moulders, friends of Mr. Sylvis, were among the leading
spirits. At this meeting, resolutions were passed declaring that workingmen, without distinction of party, believe
that our national prosperity and hopes of happiness depend
upon the perpetuity of the Union; that, in the election of
Abraham Lincoln, they see no reasonable pretext for the
abandonment of the mighty fabric of government; that
workingmen have no real or vital interest in the mere
abstract questions used to divide the masses; calling upon
the workingmen of every Congressional district through
42




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.     43
the land to hold meetings, and demand the resignation of
those among their representatives at Washington, who,
ultra and sectional men, are now above their actions, imperilling the safety of the Union; and, finally, declaring
that Kentucky mechanics -are Union men, but not submissionists; that they know their rights, and, knowing,
dare maintain them in the Union or out of it."
This meeting, which was not a meeting of apologists for
secession, but of honest workingmen desirous of doing what
they. could towards averting a war that just then seemed
almost inevitable, was followed by similar meetings in other
parts of the country, both North and South, which culminated in the holding of a convention at Philadelphia, on
the twenty-second day of February, the former call emanating from Louisville.
This convention, though not so well attended as had been
expected, contained representatives from quite a number
of States. It was called to order by Mr. Sylvis, who took
a most active part in its earnest, though fruitless deliberations.
South.Carolina had seceded on December 20; five
other States had " gone out" during January; the public
mind was inflamed by these revolutionary acts and the
inflammatory declarations of the most rampant of the
Northern anti-slaveryites; hence the efforts of these workingmen, though prompted solely by a love of Republican
institutions, and a desire that the already too actively
burdened labor of the country should not be still further
oppressed by the costs of a protracted war, were without
the desired effect.
There are but few workingmen who will now refuse to
admit that, had the advice of these men been listened to,
the war might have been averted, and our statute-books
would not now be filled with iniquitous and grievously op



44    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
pressive measures, which, if not soon repealed, or in some
degree modified, may yet result in another and equally
disastrous conflict.
Mr. Sylvis was one of a committee of thirty-four appointed to provide for the comfort and convenience of the
delegates to the convention, and to arrange for a workingmen's procession, and a grand mass meeting. The procession was a large and imposing one, several of the trades
carrying emblematical representations of their callings.
Among other features, the glass-blowers carried thirty-four
glass globes, each having the name of a State painted upon
it. In the evening, at the mass meeting, these globes were
arranged on the stage in the rear of the speakers, and that
one bearing the name of South Carolina burst.
Mr. Sylvis was among the speakers at the meeting. All
of the addresses were spirited, and evinced a willingness on
the part of the speakers to sacrifice their political differences to the one great object of preserving the Union.
Of this convention, Mr. Sylvis wrote, under date of
February 12th, to the Mechanics' Own, saying, "We are
going to have a workingmen's national convention in the
city on the 22d. The call has been issued by the workingmen of Kentucky, and should be responded to by the
workingmen of all sections of the country. Under the
leadership of political demagogues and traitors scattered
all over the land, North and South, East and West, the
country is going to the devil as fast as it can. And unless
the masses rise up in their miglt, and teach their representatives what to do, the good old ship will go to pieces.
We hope to see every State represented in the coming convention, if only by one man; but let each State send as
many as it can."  The letter further urged the holding of
meetings on the 22d of February, the reading of Washington's farewell address, and speeches for the Union, "in




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               45
order," said Mr. Sylvis, "that we may learn once more to
be governed by the good old principles of 1776," and concluded with a notice of a meeting to be held on that day,
for a similar purpose, at Independence Square, "beneath
the shadows of the old State House, to refresh our souls in
the memories of the past, and make one more strong pull
for the Union."
When the Whig party ceased to exist, Mr. Sylvis became
a Democrat. In the election of 1860, he had been a supporter of Mr. Douglas, whom he looked upon as a happy
medium between the two radical factions then contesting
for the supremacy. With the defeat of Douglas, he did
not cease to be a Democrat; but the above letter will show
that he regarded the safety of the Union, and the avoidance of war, as matters of far greater moment than the
success, at that time, of either Democracy or Republicanism. He was, as his letters attest, suspicious of the doctrines of both, as they were being interpreted by their recognized and trusted exponents, and chose between them
only as between two evils.
The "committee of thirty-four" was continued after the
adjournment of the convention, and had several meetings,
Mr. Sylvis acting in the capacity of corresponding secretary. A letter written by him, dated March 23d, says,
" The business of this committee is to perfect and perpetuate
an organization among the industrial classes of the city
and State, for the purpose of placing in positions of public
trust men of known honesty and ability; men who know
the real wants of the people, and who will represent us according to our wishes; men who have not made politics a
trade; men who, for a consideration, will not become the
mere tools of rotten corporations and aristocratic monopolies; men who will devote their time and energies to the
making of good laws, and direct their administration in




46    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLYIS.
such a way as will best subserve the interests of the whole
people."
The proposition was a most commendable one, but the
popular mind was not in a proper condition to receive and
consider it carefully, hence nothing came of the labors of
the committee, though they were shared by some of Philadelphia's best citizens. On the 12th of April, less than
three weeks after the publication of his last letter, the first
gun was fired on Sumpter, and the youngest of us know
what followed. The flag had been fired upon, and the
whole North was in a blaze of excitement. The great
rebellion had begun.
When hostilities actually commenced, Mr. Sylvis, with
the assistance of Michael Weaver, an old Mexican soldier,
recruited a company, of which he was offered the first
lieutenancy. For some time previous to this, Mr. Sylvis
had been, owing to the depressed condition of his trade, out
of employment, and there was no immediate prospect of his
being able to better his condition. Nevertheless, his wife
earnestly protested against his accepting the commission;
and for a long time he was undecided whether to accept or
reject.  The problem was ultimately solved without his
assistance. The company, when organized, was tendered to
Colonel (afterwards governor) Geary, whose regiment was
called the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania. But Colonel Geary
had already mustered in his frll complement of fifteen
companies, and was compelled to decline the offer. The
company was then tendered to Colonel Luj6ane, an Italian,
who had held a Professorship in the Philadelphia HighSchool, from which he had been expelled, and who was
then organizing the Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania volunteers.
But before the regiment could be mustered in, Lujeane,
because of his tyranny and manifest incompetency, became
so obnoxious to the men of the company of which Mr.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               47
Sylvis was to be first lieutenant, that it disbanded, a majority of the members enlisting in other regiments which
were preparing for the front.
Mr. Sylvis was not among this number. He went to
Washington, where he worked as a teamster, at which employment he continued several months; after which he
returned to Philadelphia, where he was given work at his
trade by Messrs. Liebrandt and McDowell, with which firm
he continued until the invasion of Pennsylvania by General
Lee, previous to the battle of Antietam. The moulders in
the employ of Liebrandt and McDowell had organized
themselves into a militia company, and when the call for
troops was made to repel the insurgents, this company was
the first to offer its services to the mayor of the city. Of
this company, Edward Sheible was elected captain, and
Wm. H. Sylvis, orderly sergeant.
The company proceeded under orders to Harrisburg,
where it was, with other companies, speedily formed into
what was, called the Twentieth Pennsylvania Militia, of
which Win. B. Thomas, of Philadelphia, was commissioned
colonel. The regiment was taken to Hagerstown, Md., at
which place they arrived just in time to hear of the retreat of Lee.  A  forward movement was immediately
ordered, as everybody supposed, to pursue Lee. On this
march a ludicrous incident occurred, which has gone into
history, and is worthy of recital here.
The section of country the regiment was then in was
totally strange to every member. At eight o'clock in the
evening, the line moved to march over what the men thought
the roughest piece of the road in this country,- and, as
every one who was in the army can testify, there are some
very bad roads south of Mason's and Dixon's line. The
only information they possessed of their whereabouts had
been gleaned of farmers and others encountered on the




48   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
line of march. After many halts, ordered for the purpose
of ascertaining, if possible, the locality in which they were,
and after six hours' hard travelling, they were brought to
a sudden stand-still by the appearance directly in advance
of them of what seemed to be innumerable lights. A halt
was of course immediately ordered, and a few pickets
thrown out, of which few Sylvis was a volunteer -their
duty being to ascertain what the lights were. These advanced cautiously, and soon learned that they were the
camp-fires of a sister militia regiment. The adjutant, who
had gone ahead on his horse, finding all right, returned at
good speed, followed by the pickets, to communicate to the
colonel the result of their reconnoissance.  The colonel,
not knowing that such a large number had been sent ahead,
naturally supposed those approaching him to be enemies,
and that an attack was to be made. Knowing the inefficiency of his force to meet a column such as he supposed
was advancing upon him, he immediately cried out, "Don't
fire; I surrender!" thus rendering up his regiment captive
to his own adjutant.  This circumstance created much
merriment, and was the cause of much chaffing among the
men. The regiment being encamped at Greencastle, Pa.,
this joke was bandied about to such an extent that Colonel
Thomas felt called upon to make a public explanation; so,
in a speech, he declared that, "If it had been a regiment
of rebels, he would have felt justified in surrendering as
preferable to fighting with a handful of green men, who
did not know which end of a cartridge to tear off, and
hardly which end of a gun to shoot out of."
One incident of the march spoken of is worthy of especial notice. The regiment consisted of eight hundred and
forty men; the distance marched was nearly twenty miles,
and was travelled in about six hours. Upon reaching
their destination, the number had dwindled down to one




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.              49
hundred and twenty men, the balance haying become wearied out and dropped off during the last half of the distance travelled. Of these one hundred and twenty, eightyfour were in the company of which Mr. Sylvis was sergeant, they having lost but one man. Mr. Sylvis's duties
as orderly sergeant were performed well and faithfully.
The position he held was one of comparatively trivial importance; yet a good orderly sergeant is much better than
a bad general, and Mr. Sylvis was a good orderly sergeant.
Though a strict disciplinarian during the short time they
were associated together, he enlisted the respect and confidence of the men to a greater degree than did any of the
other officers. His term of service was brief; but it is the
belief of those who were in a position to know, that in the
volunteer service he would have achieved distinction and
commanded respect, had his family duties permitted him to
follow the bent of his inclinations, which would, unquestionably, have attracted him into the army at the commencement of the rebellion. This points us to another of
Mr. Sylvis's manly traits. We speak of his unswerving
fealty to the interests of his family. Though they might
have had many more comforts than he gave them, had he
devoted his earnings, as others devote theirs, exclusively to
themselves and families, yet, while he expended every cent
of his surplus in the great cause of labor reform, he never
permitted them to suffer. In a letter to his brother, dated
May 5th, 1861, he says: "I have been elected first lieutenant of a company of infantry, but I have not yet made
up my mind to accept the office. I would accept it, were
it not for my family. My wife is almost crazy about it.
She wants me to go to the country, and remain there until
the war is over; but I cannot see how we can live in the
country much better than here. We have no money, and
it is very hard to live anywhere without money."
5                  D)




50    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLYIS.
While his desire was to accept the position, in deference
to the wishes of his wife he worked himself out of the
absolute poverty in which he then was by going to the capital, and laboring as a teamster, - employment that nine
out of ten, possessing one-half of his attainments, would
not have deemed sufficiently respectable, and would have
well-nigh starved before accepting.




CHAPTER V.
LABORS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
IN the last chapter, we carried Mr. Sylvis up to the fall
of 1862. It will now be necessary to go back again to
the spring of the year. There had been no convention of
the moulders held.  The war excitement had so demoralized the organization that very many of the leading men
who were consulted deemed it best to hold over. Mr. Sylvis was among the number, and argued that the condition
of the trade and the country would not warrant it. But as
the year advanced trade got better, and as the prices of
necessaries kept going up, there were stirring debates on the
question of wages in such of the unions as yet held together.
No. 1 appointed a committee, of which Sylvis was chairman, to communicate with the bosses in reference to an advance. He sent mildly-written letters to each firm, presenting the great disparity then existing between the prices paid
to labor and those charged labor for provisions, rents, clothing, &c. But the "bosses," knowing that the union was not in
good condition, and desiring to make as much hay as possible while the sun was shining so propitiously, with one
excuse and another delayed the matter for several months.
In the meantime Mr. Sylvis put himself into correspondence with the few organizations that had not totally disintegrated, with a view of holding a convention in January,
1863. Some of the officers of the preceding convention had
neglected their duties, and few of them evinced a willingness to co-operate with Mr. Sylvis in his effort to resuscitate
51




52    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
the national organization. Nevertheless his zeal was not
in the least abated by these discouragements, and he continued his efforts, which were crowned with such marked
success, that, on January 6th, twenty delegates, representing
fourteen unions, met in Pittsburg. The following morning,
before any business had been done, Mr. Sylvis was unanimously elected president.
At this session it was made apparent that the national
organization had become so badly demoralized as to be
almost useless, and that something must be done speedily
to prevent its going totally to pieces.. There was much debating as to what was needed to re-invest the organization
with some of its lost vigor. Many propositions were offered
and discarded. Finally, the delegates were, on motion, instructed to ascertain the sense of their respective unions as
to the propriety of sending out an agent for that purpose,
and to canvass for the proposed newspaper organ; the delegates to report as soon as possible to the president, and the
president, provided he should have such assurance as would,
in his judgment, warrant him in so doing, to proceed himself, or by deputy, immediately to perform those duties.
The published proceedings of the convention show that
Mr. Sylvis was assigned almost a monopoly of the work
necessary to be done to return to the organization its lost
position of strength and usefulness. The duty of preparing
forms of charter, cards, and other blanks, of regaining possession of the lost financial and other records of the union,
and much other detail work, was given him to perform;
and right nobly, as afterwards transpired, did he discharge
his important trust.
About a month after the adjournment of the convention, six out of the eight Philadelphia founders condescended to send a letter to the union, agreeing to a scale
of prices, which added nothing to the prices of most of the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLYIS.      53
work, and only six or seven per cent. to those paid for the
very poorest "jobs;" but they demanded an abandonment
of the rule of the union limiting the number of apprentices.
In this connection, it is but just that we should go back a
year or two to show the position which the union had
always held on this important and vexed question. In February, 1860, immediately after the adjournment of the
Albany convention, Mr. Sylvis offered, at a meeting of No. 1,
a resolution providing for the appointment of a committee
of two moulders from each shop, to meet two from each firm
in convention, for the purpose of settling upon some fixed
system of apprenticeship. The resolution was agreed to;
and notes were sent, signed by Mr. Sylvis as chairman of
the committee, to each firm, stating the position taken by
the union, and concluding with these words:
" We offer the above in good faith, and with a desire to put an
end to some of the vexed questions that are continually breeding
discord and contention, and hope you will respond in a like
spirit."
In answer, all of the firms save one declared that they did
not see any necessity for holding any such convention, and
insisted upon the propriety of each firm dealing with its
own employes.   It is evident that these answers were
written after consultation by the employers one with
another. Then the union proposed that apprentices should
be regularly indentured for four years; that none should be
taken under sixteen years of age, or who were not morally,
mentally, and physically qualified to become master workmen; agreeing, in return, to instruct such boys in every
branch of the trade, and take them as partners during the
last year of their apprenticeship. The firms refused to
enter into this arrangement, and at a subsequent meeting
the committee so reported, and was discharged.
5*




54    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
We have alluded to these circumstances to show that the
union had always manifested a desire to settle the apprenticeship question on a compromise basis, and was therefore
justified in refusing to abandon altogether its position on
the question at the simple dictation of the employers.
There had been, up to this time, no advance in wages since
the breaking out of the rebellion, but the prices of almost
every article that entered into the domestic economy of the
workingman had doubled, and of course the proposition of
the employers was not agreed to. A long strike was the
consequence.  The employers evidently intended that it
should be. Encouraged by the known weakness of the
National Union, disclosed by the small attendance at Pittsburg, they hoped to break up No. 1, which was regarded
as the back-bone of the organization. They called for the
co-operation of the founders in other cities, requesting that
no Philadelphia moulders be employed by them; but business was too good for those appealed to to manifest such a
feeling of magnanimity, and only one case of refusal is recorded. In February there were one hundred and fifty on
strike. Scarcely a union working under the jurisdiction
of the national body but had Philadelphia moulders employed.
A few months later, out of three hundred and eighty-four
union men, ninety-seven had enlisted, and were serving in
the army, and thirty-seven only were out of employment, the
rest having secured employment elsewhere. In August, there
were only twenty-eight on strike, and of. this number some
were working as laborers. The shops were running; one
with four " scabs" and fifty boys, another with five " scabs"
and twenty-four boys, another with nine " scabs" and sixteen boys, and still another with nineteen "scabs" and an
indefinite number of boys. In September, less than $100
per week was required to support those still out.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.     55
At one time a number of the boys were induced to quit
work. They were arrested and taken before Judge Ludlow,
who decided that their credentials were all " one-sided," and
not legal. In October, according to a letter written by Mlr.
Sylvis, "two or three superannuated, two or three who
could not be driven away, and two or three good men to
engineer the movement, were all that remained."  Some of
these were eleven months on the union pay-roll. We have
alluded to this strike because it was one of the most stubbornly contested and best conducted trade-contests that
ever took place in this country. Asking pardon for this digression, we request the reader to now go back with us to
the time immediately following the adjournment of the
Pittsburg convention. Mr. Sylvis, as soon as he returned
to Philadelphia, acquainted his union with what the International Union had done.
No. 1 gave him one hundred dollars to begin his work
with. He then issued a circular, and, receiving a number
of favorable responses, made preparations for starting upon
his tour of experiment, of which he said, in his report the
following year, "I had no very clear conception of the
extent of the task before me, or the means by which it was
to be accomplished."
It should be mentioned here that it had not been made
incumbent upon the unions to pay a tax to support him on
his journey, but had been left optional with them to give
or not to give, as they should deem proper.
On the third of January he began his journey. During
the year he visited every union working under the jurisdiction of the'international organization at least once,
some twice, and some even three times. He organized
nineteen new unions, reorganized sixteen that had dissolved,
and wherever he went infused new life into the organization.
In doing these things he travelled over ten thousand miles,




56    BIOGRAPHY       OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
into and across nearly all the States east of the Rocky
Mountains, excepting those in rebellion, and of these he
visited Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, and through
both of the Canadas.    He worked diligently and constantly through the entire year, and his report, as submitted
to the convention, shows how economically. From     that
document it appears that the total amount expended was
eight hundred and ninety-nine dollars and eighty-six cents,
being an excess of seventeen cents over the amount received.
His family lived at St. Mary's during the time; and the
following items of expenditure taken from his report will
show how they were supported; will show that they, as well
as Mr. Sylvis's self, were stinted to build up the moulders'
organization:
School-books for children..     $ 3.10
Shoes for family....      10.00
Clothes for family....      18.75
House rent.....      25.00
Paid to wife at different times for household expenses 108.00
All of the balance was spent in travelling, excepting the
following sums, which are among his reported items of expenditure:
Paid taxes.....    $ 2.00
Paid dues to societies of which I am a member       6.00
Clothes for myself during year..      58.90
Mending boots different times...       3.00
One valise.....       4.00
Books purchased....      10.50
In fact, Mr. Sylvis gave the entire year an amount of energy and perseverance that few possess, and his wonderfil




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               57
organizing powers to the moulders for the actual expenses
incurred in purchasing necessities for himself and family.
The next convention, which met at Pittsburg on Wednesday, January 6th, 1864, was attended by forty-four delegates, representing thirty-three unions; seventeen other
unions reported by letter. Mr. Sylvis's report to this body
was a very able document. It begins with a concise record
of his year's work, which is supplemented with such modest
sentences as the following: " It is gratifying to me to witness the present prosperous condition of our organization.
At the commencement of the year just closed, a feeling of
despondency and many doubts as to the possibility of organizing order out of the chaos, produced by the unfortunate
events now and for a long time past agitating the country,
and an almost total neglect of duty by those intrusted with
the management of our affairs, (the officers of the International Union for the year ending January 1st, 1863, and
many of the officers of the local unions, are to blame in
this respect), had settled down upon most, if not all, who
gave the subject their attention. It was evident to all, at
the last convention, that an unusual effort must be made,
or all would be lost. That effort has been made, and the
results are before the world, and need no further comment
from me at this time. I have endeavored faithfully, and to
the best of my ability, to carry out the instructions of the
last convention. I neither claim nor deserve the credit of
the great results that have followed these efforts; I have
had the earnest co-operation of every good man, and to
them belong the honors, if any there be."
Besides containing a carefully prepared record of the
events of the year, the report makes many recommendations bearing upon the government of the organization.
Among other things, it advised the issue of a monthly
trade journal, and such measures as would secure the per



58    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
manent establishment of the Trades Review, a labor organ then being published in Philadelphia; showing that
Mr. Sylvis was a firm believer in the power of printers'
ink. The questions of eight hours, co-operation, and others
of importance to workingmen, were also ably dwelt upon.
The committee to whom was referred the subject of the
president's compensation, reported that Mr. Sylvis had
devoted his whole time to the organization, and "most
earnestly" recommended that, as he had expended only
$279.13 to support himself and family, the sum of $350
additional be donated to him. The report of the committee was adopted; and Mr. Sylvis, who was re-elected
president,- receiving thirty-two out of thirty-eight ballots
cast,- was voted a salary of $600 for the ensuing year- for
which he was to devote his entire time to the duties of his
office. Two recommendations contained in the report of
Mr. Sylvis to this convention have since culminated in
grand results. These were, first, the propriety of establishing international foundries on the co-operative principle;
and, second, a resolution that had been adopted at a session
of the Machinists' and Blacksmiths' International Union,
urging the formation of a national trades assembly. The
committee which was appointed upon the first of these
recommendations, gave birth to the agitation which has
since made the moulders so greatly successful in their application of the principle of co-operation to production,
as is evidenced in the existence of several co-operative
foundries in Troy, Albany, Cincinnati, and other places,
which are now making a great deal of money by assuring
to themselves, not only the wages made by ordinary
workers, but the profits earned or secured by capitalists
in foundries conducted on the wages system. The second
recommendation was the cause of the enlistment of the
moulders in the movement to establish a national organ



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.      59
ization of workingmen, which movement ultimately took
shape, and to-day exists as the National Labor Union. The
greater part of the time of the Buffalo convention was
occupied in the discussion of questions of no real interest
outside of the trade.
During the year following, Mr. Sylvis devoted himself principally to the building up of the organization in
the Eastern States, where he succeeded in establishing
thirty-eight new unions, besides eight others in the NorthWestern States.  In addition, he reorganized seven old
unions that had suspended, making a total gain for the
year of fifty-three unions. In his report he says:
"Out of all the charters issued since the commencement of
my administration, two years ago, but one has been returned;
showing a degree of prosperity and stability unequalled in the
history of any similar organization on the continent."
In another part of the report, elated at the success which
had attended his almost herculean efforts to build up the
organization, after comparing its condition at that time
with its depressed and disorganized state when he assumed
control, he says:
"In the contemplation of the above facts, and the cheering
prospects for the future, can be found sufficient cause for rejoicing. The union, once shaken to its very centre, with column
after column falling in ruins around us, has been relieved from
surrounding dangers. Confidence, once shaken, has again taken
the place of universal despondency, and all is now radiant with
the sunshine of hope. Onward, onward, has been the march of
progress-meeting with obstacles, but overcoming them; creating
new demands, but supplying them. Thus difficulty after difficulty has disappeared before the onward march of determination
and energy, until our noble union stands out in bold relief a
proud monument, beneath whose gigantic column lies buried
the errors and mistakes of the past. Let us all rejoice."




60    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
From this time forward the moulders' organization prospered. New unions were formed each succeeding year;
trades grievances were obliterated, disputes settled; and the
morale of the organization improved under the administration of Mr. Sylvis, who was annually re-elected president,
and held the position at the time of his death. He made
enemies - numbers of them. A fearless disposition such
as his could not but prompt its possessor to a course calculated to make an enemy of every submissivist, whose submission meant self-degradation, and of every traitor or
madcap who sought to prostitute the power of the union to
base or foolish purposes. He made enemies outside of his
organization, bitter enemies, who would have wrought his
downfall had they possessed half his courage and persistence; for it is a truth, alas! that trades-unionists are generally more willing to listen to the accusers of their officers
than to their defenders; more ready to hear their leaders
called hard names, vilified and abused, than to afford
them  that opportunity which should be every accused
man's - the opportunity of self-defence. Several of these
enemies were men of whom better things might have been
expected.  These concentrated their efforts in a grand
struggle to secure his displacement from the position he
honored at the New York session held in January, 1866.
But Mr. Sylvis and his friends proved themselves equal to
the emergency; and it is a notable fact, that the leaders of
the wanton crusade then and there made have never prospered since.
In October, 1865, Mr. Sylvis was visited with a severe
affliction in the death of his wife, who had borne him four
sons, -Henry Clay, born at Beaver Furnace, April 11th,
1852; Oliver Perry, born August 23d, 1855; Lewis Clark,
born April 8th, 1857; and John Martin, born August
30th, 1859,-the three latter in Philadelphia. For nearly




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS,               61
two years prior to her death, she had resided at St. Mary's,
Pennsylvania; Mr. Sylvis thinking it better that she
should be there than in a large city, while he was so much
away from home. lIe brought her back to Philadelphia,
and within two weeks of that time she contracted a malignant form of the typhoid fever, of which she died. She
was ever a good wife to him, and he felt her loss most
acutely.
About a year after this, Mr. Sylvis, wanting a guardian
for his boys and a companion whose society should be a
pleasant relief from his manifold cares, bethought him of
the little girl he had nursed and petted at Hollidaysburg,
and who had since grown to womanhood. He went to her
home, laid siege to her affections, and in a short time
brought her to Philadelphia as his wife. She bore him one
other son, whom he named Casper Dent.
In addition to his labors as president of the moulders,
Mr. Sylvis was an active and willing sharer of the labors
of the Philadelphia Trades Assembly, to which he was
long a delegate. During his connection with this body, he
made many enemies, especially among strong partisans.
He was not of those who shudder at the mere mention of
politics in connection with workingmen's organizations.
He believed that if it is right foi workingmen to resist
impositions by strikes, and other expedients peculiar to
trades-union movements, it is equally right that they should
defend themselves, when the occasion requires it, with the
ballot. During the strike of the Philadelphia moulders,
the North American had taken sides against the strikers,
and had published, in support of its position, many misstatements. Some of these were indeed glaring. As an
instance, that paper asserted in one of its issues that the
moulders had been receiving $4.50 per day; that they had
struck alnd obtained an increase of fifty per cent., thus
6




62    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
making their wages $6.75; and that, not content with this
outrage, they had again struck for absolute control of the
shops. No intelligent reader needs to be told that these
statements were false; and no one will wonder that they
excited the ire of so zealous a trades-unionist as Mr. Sylvis,
and made him an enemy of the publisher of that paper,
Morton McMichael.
Mr. Sylvis looked upon an enemy of the labor movement as a personal enemy; and while he was ever inclined
to moderation in dealing with those who had done him
personal injury, he was slow to forgive those who gave their
influence against the side of right and the workingmen.
When Morton McMichael became a candidate for Mayor
of Philadelphia, Mr. Sylvis remembered what had been
done by the North American against the moulders, and
exerted his influence among the workingmen to secure his
defeat. He publicly accused Mr. McMichael of having
bitterly opposed the workingmen. Mr. McMichael denied
the charge, and protested against what he called "the perversion of organizations intended for wise and beneficial
purposes to mischievous partisan agencies." Then a mass
meeting of workingmen was called, of which Mr. Sylvis
was chairman, and resolutions were passed declaring it the
duty of every man who earns his bread by the sweat of his
brow, to vote for every man of either party who is more
favorable to the cause of labor than his opponent, "and to
vote against any man of any party who IS NOW, OR EVER
HAS BEEN, AN ENEMY TO WORKINGMEN." There is no
doubt that Mr. Sylvis inspired, though he may not have
written, these resolutions. This fight against Mr. McMichael
was made the foundation of a charge that Mr. Sylvis was
working in the interests of the Democrats. This charge
he emphatically denied, declaring that his attack was not
made against the Republican party; that "the party is dis



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.             63
tinct from Mr. McMichael, and is not involved in the censure which is directed against him, because he has been the
enemy of the workingman; and even in his denial of the
charge failed to take ground in their favor." Mr. Sylvis
made several speeches at this time, charging Mr. McMichael
with having supported what was known as the "Tioga
Outrage" on the coal-miners of Pennsylvania, their wives
and children, under the provision of the landlord and
tenant act, designed to oppress those of the miners who had
the manhood to resist tyranny, and taking the ground that
if capital can use political power to imprison workingmen
for resisting attempted reductions of wages, and can, by
political action, make it illegal for workingmen to form
unions, as was done, or rather attempted to be done, by the
infamous Hastings Bell, the workingmen can and ought to
use their political power to counteract such tyranny, and
can counteract it in no other way. This fight against Mr.
McMichael was a spirited one, and doubtless cost him
many votes; but the power of his party was too strong at
the time to permit his defeat. Certain it is that it made
Mr. Sylvis many enemies, who never could or would be
made to believe but that he had been influenced by his
Democratic prejudices; and Mr. Sylvis was at that time
more of a Democrat than a Republican, though he was
little of either.




CHAPTER VI.
CLOSING LABORS, AND DEATH.
FROM Mr. Sylvis's earliest connection with the IronMoulders' Union, he had calculated upon the ultimate
amalgamation of all workingmen's organizations into one
grand body, which, if intelligently controlled, could be
made sufficiently powerful to prevent or punish any trespass upon the rights of the toiling millions. At different
times he had had many consultations and much correspondence with other prominent trade-unionists and reformers upon the subject. It was left, however, for the
Machinists' and Blacksmithsi Union to be the first to make
a formal proposition looking to the unification of all trades
organizations. That body, at its session in 1863, appointed
a committee "to request the appointment of similar committees from other national and international trades-unions,
to meet them fully empowered to form a national trades
assembly," to facilitate the advancement of the interests of
labor, by organizing subordinate trades assemblies. Mr.
Sylvis, as has already been mentioned in his report to the
Buffalo convention in January, 1864, called attention to the
subject as one " well worthy of consideration." The matter
was referred to a committee of three, who reported in favor
of appointing the committee as requested. The committee
was appointed; but the other national trade-unions failing
to act, the matter was dropped.
In February, 1866, William Harding, of Brooklyn, then
president of the Coachmakers' International Union, being on
64




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              65
a visit to Philadelphia, met Mr. Sylvis at his office, and the
question of a national trade assembly, or labor union, was
thoroughly discussed between them; the result of the
consultation being a call for a preliminary meeting in New
York City on March 26th, 1866. Mr. Sylvis was unable to
be present, but deputized Isaac J. Neal, of Jersey City, to
represent the iron-moulders in his stead. This meeting
issued a call for a convention to be held in Baltimore, August 20th, 1866, which call was signed by William Harding,
John Reid, and John H. Fay. At this time there appeared to be among the prime movers no clearly defined
understanding as to the amount or nature of the power
that it would be wise or safe to vest with the proposed
organization. Upon one point only all agreed, and that
was the necessity of some way consolidating the forces of
labor in such a manner as to secure a harmonious unity
of all the parts. The following extract from the call
issued will serve to show that room was left for making it
sufficiently broad to be comprehensive of much more than
those matters ordinarily involved in trades-unionism:
"The agitation of the question of eight hours as a day's labor
has assumed an importance requiring concerted and harmonious
action upon all matters appertaining to the inauguration of labor
reforms;" and " It is essential that a National Congress should
be held, to form a basis upon which we may harmoniously and
concertedly move in its prosecution."
The convention met according to call, but Mr. Sylvis,
being at the time under the care of a physician, was unable
to be present. Mr. William Cathers, then president of the
Baltimore Trades Assembly, called the convention to order,
and named John Hinchcliffe, of Illinois, as temporary chairman. The subjects of eight hours, trades-unions, co-operation, public lands, the national debt, etc., occupied the
6(-i*~~~~~~~ I~~' 




66    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLAIS.
greater portion of the time of the convention, and committees were appointed to consider and report upon each of
those mentioned.
The report of the committee appointed to consider the
eight-hour question gave rise to an animated and, at times,
excited debate, which consumed by far the " biggest half"
of the session, and developed a disposition upon the part of
many delegates in favor of a formal recommendation that
" no workingman should vote for any aspirant to public
office who fails to pledge himself to the eight-hour doctrine."  Some went so far as to advocate the immediate
establishment of a " National Labor Party;" but while it
is evident that nearly all believed in the ultimate necessity
for such a party, the majority considered that a start at
the time would be premature and unwise. Some few there
were who thought it would be best to trust wholly to agitation, and the moral influence of numbers, as an incentive to
one or the other of the old parties to take up for advocacy
the political questions affecting labor; apparently ignoring
the necessity that would still exist for a majority of the
workingmen to vote with whatever party might decide to
be so liberal, so just, or so mindful of the power of labor;
and ignoring, as well, another fact, that it is far easier to
induce a man to vote for his own measures, unconnected
with others against which he is prejudiced, than it is to
make a Democrat out of a Republican, or vice versa, or
even to induce a member of one party to vote the other
ticket for the sake of any particular measure, however important it may be,  These latter, however, were few in
number, and powerless to stay the tide of popular opinion.
Mr. Edward Schleger, of Illinois, who represented the German Workingmen's Association of Chicago, was particularly
plain and eloquent in his demand for the immediate forma.
tion of a new party. During the debate, he said that he




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              67
wanted "a specific plan of action. A new party of the
people must be in the minority when it first comes into
action. But what of that? Time and perseverance will
give us victory; and if we are not willing to sacrifice time
and employ perseverance, we are not deserving of victory.
It is useless to hold conventions, if we fear so greatly to
touch the prejudices of others. A new labor party must be
formed, composed of the elements of American labor. We
are shy of fighting the old political parties, but should not
be. If we are right, let us go ahead. The Free Soil party
originated with a few thousand voters; but if it had not
been formed, Lincoln would never have been President
of the United States. This great central committe must
propose some definite plan of action. A political question
is one that is decided at the ballot-box, and here must this
question be met."
These are sentences picked here and there from his address, which serve to show its tenor. In attestation of their
appreciation of his views and abilities, the delegates afterwards elected Mr. Schleger vice-president at large.
Many other delegates favored independent political action in equally eloquent addresses, and nearly all made open
acknowledgment of their belief that the movement had
necessarily to become a political one before it could hope
to succeed in establishing. the reforms demanded by the
needs of the toiler.
The platform finally adopted declared, in a preamble,
that "the alarming encroachments of capital upon the
rights of the producing classes of the United States have
rendered it imperative that they should calmly and deliberately devise the most effective means by which the same
may be arrested."  The first resolve was, " That the first
and grand desideratum of the hour, in order to deliver the
labor of the country from this thraldom, is the enactment




68    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.
of a law whereby eight hours shall be made to constitute a
legal day's work in every state of the American Union."
The platform further advised the encouragement of cooperation, deprecated the contract system of prison labor,
recommended the support of newspapers devoted exclusively to the interests of the industrial classes, asked for
the speedy restoration of the agricultural interests of the
Southern States, pledged support to "the sewing women
and daughters of toil of the land," called attention to the
subject of tenement-houses as "a system sadly in need of
reform," and declared that "the whole public domain
should be disposed of to settlers only."
The report of the committee on trades-unions and strikes,
which was adopted, recommended the organization of all
mechanics into trades-unions, and all other workingmen
into general labor-unions; a more rigid enforcement of the
apprenticeship system as a preventive against filling the
country with " botches," and the establishment of workingmen's lyceums, institutes, and reading-rooms. With regard
to the subject of strikes, this committee reported it as their
"deliberate opinion that, as a rule, they are productive of
great injury to the laboring-classes; that many have been
injudicious and ill-advised, and the result of impulse rather
than principle; that those who have been the fiercest in
their advocacy have been the first to advocate submission;"
and on these grounds recommended that they "be discountenanced, except as a dernier ressort, and after all means
for an amicable adjustment have been exhausted;" and
that each trades assembly appoint an arbitration committee
for the settlement of all disputes between employer and
employed, "by the earlier adoption of which means," the
committee believed, " a majority of the ill-advised, so-called
strikes that had occurred would have been prevented."
This mention of what was done will advise the reader,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              69
in part, of the purposes of the founders of the National
Labor Union. The task before them was one of much
magnitude; and there is here exhibited a disposition to meet
it fairly and squarely, but a doubt as to the means that
should be employed. Strikes are discouraged, and arbitration recommended as a proper substitute; but measures are
proposed that seem to require a resort to the ballot-box;
and yet, while a large number of the delegates were apparently ready to resort to independent political action, and
so declared themselves, no recommendation to that effect
was made by the organization, though individual recommendations of that kind were numerous.
J. C. C. Whaley, of Washington, D. C., was chosen president. Mr. Whaley is a printer, a gentleman of ability
and refinement, though he is but a mechanic, and has been
an ardent labor reformer.
After the adjournment of the convention, a committee,
headed by John Hinchcliffe, waited upon President Johnson,
and informed him of the objects of the organization they
had just formed. The President, in response, said he was
in sympathy with them as regards convict labor, and the
reservation of the public lands for actual settlers, and cited
his record to prove his assertion. On the eight-hour question, he said: "As to the number of hours which should
constitute a day's work, that is a matter of detail and experience which they could consider and settle as they went
along; but he would say he was in favor of the shortest
number of hours for a day's work that would accomplish
its ends."
Mr. Sylvis was, at this time, publishing for the moulders
a thirty-two page monthly, called The Iron-Moulders' International Journal, which was ably and creditably conducted;
was a complete compendium of labor news from all parts
of the world, and a fearless exponent of the principles




70    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
sought to be established for the good of those who toil in
workshops, on the farm, or in the mine. He took greater
pride in, and was better satisfied with, this journal than
in any other effort of his life; but, for some reason, the
moulders ordered its discontinuance after the first year,
and, much against Mr. Sylvis's inclination, the order was,
of course, executed.
His opinion of what was done at the Baltimore convention is fully set down in an editorial which appeared in the
Journal for the succeeding month, from which we make
the following extract:
" The great event, since our last issue, was the meeting of the
Labor Congress in Baltimore on the 20th ultimo. The convention was a great success. We always believed that it would be.
It was not only a great success in point of numbers and mental
calibre, but its legislation was such that every workingman can
look to it with mingled feelings of pride and satisfaction. When
we say that the convention was a great success, we do not wish
to be understood as indorsing all that was done, or as believing
that all was done that should have been; we, however, consider the sins of omission much more numerous than those of
commission, and to these only shall we revert at present. It
was confidently expected that measures would be adopted looking to the permanent organization of the trades under one
head; and that a constitution and rules would be adopted,
giving to the new organization a form patterned somewhat
after the Congress of the United States, giving to it only recommendatory and specially delegated powers; said constitution to
be submitted to the various labor organizations throughout
the country for their adoption or rejection; and only such as
indorsed them to be entitled to representation in the next convention. This would have given a character and importance to
the movement which it does not now possess."
Alluding to the neglect of the convention to provide
ways and means, the article adds:




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM 1-. SYLVIS.              71
"The fact is, the convention met, held a five days' session,
built a splendid railroad track, placed upon it a locomotive
complete in all its parts; provided an engineer and numerous
assistants, placed them upon the foot-board, told them to go
ahead, and then suddenly adjourned without providing wood
and water to get up steam; and there the whole machine will
stand until the third Monday in August, 1867, when, it is
hoped, there will be such a coming together of workingmen as
will astonish the oldest inhabitant, and that the work so nobly
begun at Baltimore will be completed."
The article concludes:
"We again say the convention was a great success, notwithstanding the selfish and senseless croaking and opposition of
some whose vision is so contracted that they cannot see beyond
the narrow limits of the little village in which they live."
This article indorses, in a general way, the principles
enunciated, and finds fault only because of defects in the
plan of organization; on the subject of independent political action he had been for a long time undecided what
stand to take. It will be remembered that, as a member of the "committee of thirty-four," just prior to the
breaking out of the rebellion, he had favored political
action by the workingman. In a card published during his
fight against Mr. McMichael, he said, "I will vote and
work against any man of any party who opposes the labor
movement; and I consider it the duty of every workingman
to do the same;" and on sundry other occasions he had
spoken and written against certain individuals and cliques
who were especially hostile to labor; but yet, as to the propriety of organizing a distinct labor party, his convictions
were not strong until after the holding of the Baltimore'
convention, when he several times publicly declared for
the new party. On one occasion he said:




72    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM I. SYLVIS.
" We have tried the balance-power or make-weight expedient
of questioning candidates, and throwing our votes in favor of such
as indorsed or were pledged to our interests. How vain and
futile this expedient has proven is known to all. It is but a
history of broken promises and violated pledges, and invariably
ends in exposing our weakness; for, say what you will, men
of opposite opinions to the candidate will not trust him in the
face of such frequent deceptions. This and other considerations
have convinced us that, if we resort to political action at all, we
must keep clear of all entangling alliances. With a distinct
workingman's party in the field, there can be no distrust, no
want of confidence. When it becomes a fixed fact that workingmen can vote for men of them and with them, the incentive
will be sufficient to unite the masses in one grand struggle for
victory. We should then knowfor whom andfor what we voted.
Every toiler would feel that he held his destiny in his own
hands; and the road to reform would be so direct and open,
that none but the corrupt and false-hearted would desert the
banner of labor; and the sooner the organization could be rid
of such an element, the better for the good and true men of the
cause."
Frequently, about this time, he expressed not only his
belief in a labor party, but his conviction that the prevailing sentiment of workingmen was in favor of such a move.
With the features of the platform, each and all of them,
Mr. Sylvis had frequently expressed his sympathy; and the
decision of the convention with regard to strikes tallied exactly with views he had a long time previously pronounced.
Knowing that men smarting under a real or imaginary
grievance are apt to allow themselves to be led away and
controlled by the impulses of the moment, and in many
cases to give way to a spirit of retaliation, which is always
wrong, from the very commencement of his career he did
all he could to prevent unnecessary conflicts; though he
always held- as does every properly spirited workingman



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               73
that the right to strike, under sufficient provocation, is a
sacred one, and can never be justly interfered with by the
government. As president of the moulders, he ne-er once
permitted a strike to take place at the expense of the International Union until it was constitutionally sanctioned; not
because he feared to take the responsibility, but because
he deprecated strikes, - because, as he said in his report to
the Boston convention, " he looked upon a strike as a very
serious thing, only to be resorted to in extreme cases;" and
he had faith in the willingness of the union to maintain
strikers, whenever the circumstances justified them in so
doing.
Mr. Sylvis believed in the principles enunciated at Baltimore; in fact, they were his principles before the Baltimore
convention was held. He believed also in the propriety
and feasibility of going farther than the convention had
ventured to go; and he saw many points of weakness in the
plan laid down for the perpetuation of the National Labor
Union, by which name the Baltimore convention had decided
to call the organization it had formed; and immediately
upon his recovery from the sickness which had prevented his
participating in its labors, entered with his usual energy
and vim into the plans of those who devoted themselves
during the year following to perfecting the work then
scarcely laid out.
The following year the National Labor Union met in
Chicago. It was well attended, and Mr. Sylvis took an
active and prominent part in its proceedings. One who
was present as a delegate afterwards said, in an article upon
Mr. Sylvis:
"We first met him at Chicago in 1867, and recognized at once
what we had felt the want of at Baltimore-the presence of
the leader in a great movement. In a quiet, unassuming way,
7




74    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
in a few brief sentences, he disposed of question after question,
invariably carrying the congress with him almost unanimously,
and silencing all opposition."
It was at this session that the financial feature was added
to the platform. To this phase of the problem Mr. Sylvis
had devoted considerable study, and his advocacy contributed no little towards securing its adoption. He was
not a willing candidate for the presidency, but received a
hearty support for the position from a number of the delegates. Several ballots had to be taken before a choice was
effected; and at one time, despite his protestations that he
was not a candidate, he barely escaped an election. The
idea of a national labor bureau was broached at this
convention, for the first time, by Mr. Sylvis. He argued,
in its favor, that labor is the most important of all material
interests; that upon it all others hinged; and that, if there
is any virtue in giving to any interest a separate and distinct department of the government to protect and nourish
it - and there certainly is, - labor is the interest, of all
others, entitled to that consideration. The demand for a
bureau was unanimously made a part of the platform. The
Chicago convention attracted a much greater share of public
attention than its predecessor. Many things left undone at
Baltimore were done at Chicago; but after the adjournment, it was ascertained that the plan of organization was
yet by no means perfect; so that but little was done during
the year in the way of formally organizing labor unions.
Many individual efforts were, however, made to induce
one or the other of the existing parties to indorse the principles of the National Labor Union. Leading Democrats
were consulted, and quite a number seemed willing that
their platform should be modified so as to include a portion
at least of the delllands of the National Labor Union; and
at one time there seemed to be good reasons for believing




BIOGRAPI-Y OF WILLIAM H. SYLVTS.              75
that the party would, in return for the vote of the workingmen, agree to support their principles.  Meanwhile,
propositions to run an independent labor reform ticket
were numerously made. The Wo6rkingman's Advocate urged
Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio, as a fit candidate for the presidency.
The Welcome Workman, then published in Philadelphia by
Jonathan C. Fincher, while deprecating the putting of an
independent ticket in the field, proposed to add to the
strength of the ticket, which it was intended to head with
Cary's name, by suggesting Wm. H. Sylvis for the vice-presidency. The People's Weekly, of Baltimore, which advocated
the platform of the National Labor Union but supported the
Democratic party, named for the consideration of that party,
for president, George H. Pendleton; for vice-president, Wim.
H. Sylvis. Other papers talked of Chase and Sylvis as a
good ticket. The People's Weekly published a short sketch
of Mr. Sylvis, and pushed his claims vigorously; but the
subject of all this agitation worked quietly and determinedly
on in the interest of the national labor movement and of
his trade organization; and although it is probable that he
would have accepted a nomination either from the Democrats or from the labor reformers as an independent party,
he made no effort to secure either.
The third session or congress of the National Labor
Union met in New York, in August, 1868. By this time
the organization had obtained great notoriety, and not a
little popularity. Its principles had spread and been studied until their converts from among men of all classes
and conditions of life were numbered by thousands. It
had commenced to exert some political influence, and politicians were beginning to court its power. Its principles
were such as could not be established except through the
connivance, and with the assistance, of one or the other of
the old parties, or the establishment of a new labor party.




76   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
As you already know, the proposition to form such a party
had been more than once publicly made; and papers published in the labor interest spoke confidently of the early
approach of the day when the army of labor, reunited,
should deposit its ballots for right, and against the money
tyranny. The official documents of the national labor
union, each and all of them, indicated an intention- which
nearly all in the movement shared -of resorting to independent political action as soon as the proper time should
arrive. Yet there were a number whose partisan prejudices
were so strong that they could not abide the idea that labor
should contaminate itself by touching polities; just as
though the contamination would not be greater from contact with the old and corrupt parties than it would have
been through the accomplishment of the project to form a
new and pure party.   Trades-unionists, who had been
toadied and petted by politicians because of their power
with the workingmen, saw that power waning. Willing
slaves to party name were affrighted, and even good men
were exerqised and cautious lest the new party should follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, and become corrupt
and an instrument of wrong in the hands of designing men,
instead of, as intended, a power for justice to the toiler.
The more bitter of the opponents of the new idea concentrated their efforts, and entered into an organized campaign
against those features of the platform which seemed to require a resort to the ballot-box.
The following extract from a letter written by Mr.
Sylvis to the New York State Workingmen's Assembly will
serve to show the opinion entertained by Mr. Sylvis upon
the propriety of workingmen taking to the ballot for relief, after he had had so much and such varied experience
as a trades-unionist:
"I would ask of the assembly, if it can consistently indorse




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.                 77
the platform of principles of the national labor movement, to
recommend to the local unions in the State the necessity of connecting themselves with the National Labor Union. I would
like very much if two or three short, positive, and pointed resolutions would be adopted, setting forth the views of the assembly on this important matter.
"The very greatest drawback to the labor reform movement
is the fact that the trades-unions hold themselves aloof from
the movement. This is not only a singular, but a very unfortunate fact. If it were possible to make all the trades-unions
in the country see the importance of this movement, and appreciate the fact that if we can succeed in establishing our
monetary system as the law of the land, it would so change the
whole face of society as to do away with the necessity of
trades-unions entirely; there would be no trouble to accomplish
the whole labor reform movement in a very short time. I have
long since come to the conclusion that no permanent reform
can ever be established through the agency of trades-unions as
they are now and have been conducted. They are purely defensive in their character, and experience has taught all of us,
who have been for any considerable time connected with them,
that to keep them alive at all requires a continued struggle
and a vast expenditure of time and money. The organization
I have the honor to represent has spent money enough within
the past ten years to have effected an entire revolution in our
monetary system, and secure whatever congressional legislation
we may need.
"Within the past ten years we have spent a million and a
half of dollars; and to-day we have the same struggles to maintain ourselves -we ever had, and there will be no end to it until
the workingmen of the country wake up to the necessity of
seeking a remedy through the ballot-box. All the evils under
which we groan are legislative, that is, they are the results of
bad laws; and there is no way to reach the matter, and effect a
cure, but by a repeal of those laws, and this can only be done
through political action. You must excuse me for occupying
so much of your time on this point; its very great importance
must be my excuse."
7 *K




78    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
The financial features fell in for an especial share of
abuse and ridicule; the objects of the leaders were misinterpreted; and the leaders maligned and accused of being
in the movement from motives of self-interest. During the
session a strenuous effort was made to expunge from the
platform the portions we have mentioned; but the true, tried,
and fearless men, headed by Sylvis, fought the good fight
of defence, and came off victors. The debates were lively,
and the platform ably sustained.*
Mr. Sylvis was elected president at this session; and upon
taking the chair was loudly called upon for a speech.
Thinking that most too much time had already been devoted to speech-making, he took the gavel in his hand, and
said, "I have made all the speech I am going to make this
morning. The union will now proceed to business."  The
enemies of the platform having been utterly routed, the
further proceedings of the convention were harmonious and
profitable, inasmuch as little time was expended in useless
palaver, and all devoted themselves with a will to the business incident to the occasion. The New York Sun made
mention of several of the leading delegates to this session.
We make tbe following extract from its article:
"A finer body of workingmen has never convened in this
city, than the delegates to the labor congress now in session
here. All of them represent labor organizations, but all do not
labor themselves with hand and muscle. Many of them have
achieved a wide reputation by their writings and speeches upon
co-operative labor reform, and kindred topics. Foremost among
them all stands VWm. H. Sylvis, president of the Iron-Moulders'
International Union of North America, whose name is as
familiar as household words to the workingmen of America,
both by his writings and his speeches. - \He is a medium-sized
The platform there adopted will be found in another part of the
book, with some additions.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.       79
man, strongly built, of florid complexion, light beard and
moustache, and a face and eyes beaming with intelligence.
Perseverance and determination are as plainly written in his
countenance as if the words were penned there with indelible
ink. Mr. Sylvis has done more for labor organizations, and cooperation in America, than any other living man. By his individual efforts, the iron-moulders of the United States, and of
the British provinces, have been organized into local unions,
now numbering one hundred and ninety-eight, and these again
into one grand international union, which now numbers over
ten thousand members. Mr. Sylvis is self-made.  He never
went to school six days in his life, and when first elected secretary of his local union, was unable to write his name or keep
the books of his society. But he is a man of brain and of indomitable perseverance, and such a man could not long remain
in the bondage of ignorance. Since the organization of the
Iron-Moulders' Union, in 1853, they have spent over one million
five hundred thousand dollars on strikes and lock-outs, — a large
sum in itself, but small compared with the advantage accruing
to the trade therefrom. The union has now several co-operative
foundries throughout the country, six of them being in this
State; and they aim, by co-operation, to own and possess all the
work of their trade on this continent some day. It is with them
only a question of time. These foundries return as high as
eighty-three per cent. upon the capital invested. In the debates
of the labor congress, Mr. Sylvis does not say much, but when
he speaks, he generally carries the majority of the house with
him."
Mr. Sylvis's educational advantages are here somewhat
under-estimated, but in the main the article is correct. The
compliment paid him in the closing sentence was certainly
a deserved one, as all who have had the pleasure of listening to his simple eloquence and unanswerable logic can
testify.
Mr. Sylvis returned from New York prepared to do for
the National Labor Union just what he had done for the




80    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
Iron-Moulders' International Union, when the helm of that
organization was placed in his hands. On October 1st, he
issued a circular, from which the following is an extract:
"The second annual session of the National Labor Union has
just closed. I had the high honor to be called upon to act as
president of the National Labor Union by the unanimous voice
of the delegates.
" Having accepted the position, I now propose to go to work,
and I shall expect every man and woman who desires to see
the success of our movement will go to work. We have undertaken a gigantic task -a social and political revolution such
as the world has never seen. To succeed, within a reasonable
time, it will require the united energies and persistent efforts
of every friend of the cause. While I promise you that I shall
not be found wanting in energy, perseverance, and patience,
you must not forget that I can do nothing without your cooperation.
"The convention resolved to proceed at once to the organization of a'Labor Reform Party, having for its object the election of representative men to our State and national councils.'
" The organization of a new party,- a workingman's party,for the purpose of getting control of Congress and the several
State Legislatures, is a huge work; but it can and must be done.
We have been the tools of professional politicians of all parties
long enough; let us now cut loose from all party ties, and organize a workingman's party, founded upon honesty, economy,
and equal rights and equal privileges to all men. The day of
monster monopolies and class legislation must come to a close.
Let our motto be,'Our God, our country, our currency.'
Money has ruled us long enough; let us see if we cannot rule
money for a time. We want equal taxation upon all property
according to its real value, no matter whether it be in the shape
of houses or government bonds. Let our cry be REFORM —
down with a moneyed aristocracy and up with the people.
" Now let every man and woman go to work. Do not wait.
Remember that'procrastination is the thief of time.' Let
each one start out with a determination that we will miakle the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVIS.                81
President in 1872, and that between now and then we will control Congress and the State Legislatures. If we will but set out
in earnest to accomplish this great work, obnoxious laws will
soon disappear from our statute-books; plain, practical laws for
the protection and encouragement of the deserving will take
their place, and the drones who fatten upon the earnings of the
poor will be compelled to make an honest living or starve.
Don't let us wait to be pushed into a corner. Stop acting on
the defensive —take the aggressive; make war upon every opposing power; have faith in the right, and success will come.
I ask every one who may have a suggestion to make or a question to ask, to put it on paper and send it to me. I shall proceed, with the aid of others, to adopt a system of operations as
fast as possible."
The promulgation of this circular gave rise to considerable agitation, and elicited a large number of letters from
all parts of the country. These encouraged Mr. Sylvis to
issue another circular, dated November 16th, in which he
alluded to the interest already awakened, and declared
himself ready to issue charters.
This second circular concludes as follows:
"A number of applications for charters have already been
received, and the organization is gradually assuming a definite
shape. There are about three thousand trades-unions in the
United States. The members of these unions are more generally acquainted with the principles of our platform, and the objects of the National Labor Union, than the rest of the people.
Efforts should therefore be made to have them take hold of
this matter with energy. These three thousand well-organized
unions see and feel that, by the adoption of the principles embodied in our platform by the national government, more will
be done to establish an equitable standard of wages, a fair division of profits, reasonable hours, and a universal emancipation
from the power of capital, than can ever be accomplished by
trades-unions as now organized.  We must show them that when
F




82    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
a just monetary system has been established, there will no longer
exist a necessity for trade- unions. I therefore call upon every
trades-union in the land to take hold of this matter in earnest.
Let us adopt the motto of General Jackson:'Put your shoulder
to the wheel, trust in God, and push along the column.' There
is rapidly building up in this country a privileged moneyed aristocracy, such as nowhere else exists. The whole productive
powers of the nation have become subservient to and dependent upon this moneyed aristocracy. They control the whole currency of the country, and with the money control the government.
Our people are being divided into two classes -the rich and
the poor, the producers and the non-producers; the busy bees
in the industrial hive, and the idle drones who fatten upon what
they steal.
"The working-people of our nation, white and black, male and
female, are sinking to a condition of serfdom. Even now a
slavery exists in our land worse than ever existed under the old
slave system. The centre of the slave-power no longer exists
south of Mason's and Dixon's line. It has been transferred to
Wall Street; its vitality is to be found in our huge national bank
swindle, and a false monetary system. The war abolished the
right of property in man, but it did not abolish slavery. This
movement we are now engaged in is the great anti-slavery
movement, and we must push on the work of emancipation
until slavery is abolished in every corner of our country. Our
objective point is a new monetary system, a system that will
take from a few men the power to control the money, and give
to the people a cheap, secure, and abundant currency. This
done, and the people will be free, Then will come such a social
revolution as the world has never witnessed; honest industry in
every department will receive its just reward, and public thieves
will be compelled to make an honest living or starve. LET US
ALL GO TO WORK."
It was with such appeals as this one, that Mr. Sylvis
soon succeeded in awakening the dormant energies of labor
reformers everywhere, in increasing and organizing senti



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              83
ment, and bringing application after application for charter
to his office. His position on the subject of trades-unions
was one that required considerable courage for a man in
his circumstances to take; but he had the courage, and,
knowing it to be right, took it, regardless of the possible
consequences to himself. The sentence in the above circular which we have italicized, shows that, by this time, he
had learned from experience to look upon trades-unions as
mere preparatory institutions, without the power to do
other than defensive battle, and frequently unequal to that
task-but schools of training, in which workingmen
might and ought to learn how, and acquire the discipline
necessary, to enable them to accomplish their work of
reform.
He wrote to everybody whom he thought would cooperate with him; in short, devoted a goodly portion of
his time, and every penny he could spare (for the National
Labor Union collected little or no revenue at this time),
to the work of agitation and organization.
On the 6th of February, 1869, in company with Richard Trevellick, his successor as president of the National
Labor Union, he started from Wilmington, Del., on a tour
through the South, with the threefold object of resuscitating and reinvigorating some old moulders' unions that
were languishing, organizing new ones, and spreading the
principles of the National Labor Union. He was unusually
short of funds at this time; and his trip was therefore not
so profitable as it would otherwise have been. But his
work for the moulders was well done; and he succeeded
also in sowing the seeds of the National Labor Union in
many places to such purpose that labor unions sprang up,
and were represented at the conventions held the following
August. During this trip, he conceived an affection for
the Southern climate, and, upon his return, talked much of




84    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
going there to live, should an opportunity occur. tie conversed with leading Southern statesmen and business men,
and in several instances secured their hearty co-operation
in the course in which his whole soul and being were
enlisted.
Mr. Sylvis worked from this time forward almost up to
the day of his death as it seemed he only could work,
taking advantage of every chance offered to force the principles of the National Labor Union before the people and
before the public men. Scarcely a meeting of workingmen
was held in any part of the country, but he was there, in
person or by letter, advocating those principles, and asking
indorsement and co-operation. * He had become joint proprietor of The WTorkingman's Advocate, published simultaneously in Chicago and Philadelphia, which was the official
organ of the National Labor Union; and found time, amid
all his other labors, to contribute to its columns many articles upon the several phases of the movement; and his
articles were always terse, and written with a view of
reaching the common understanding, and not, as is too frequently the case with writers, for the purpose of exhibiting
a mastery of language. His letters to the attorney-general,
and others in official position, were evidence of his wonderful pertinacity, and that indomitable courage which made
him fearless of any controversy, no matter with whom it
might be, after he had once assured himself that right was
upon his side: A letter, which gives evidence of this spirit,
was written to President Johnson in the fall of 1869. The
wages of the moulders and other mechanics in the navy-yard
at Charlestown, Mass., were reduced below what was being
paid outside.
Mr. Sylvis went to Washington, and called upon the
President with a statement of the grievance, afterwards
going to Secretary Welles, who promised to order an inves



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.      85
tigation. A commission was afterwards delegated with the
duty of ascertaining the rate of wages paid by private
parties. This commission reported, and upon that report
the commandant insisted upon ao reduction. Then the
moulders themselves, under the direction of Mr. Sylvis,
had a statement prepared, showing the difference between
the wages paid in the yard and those paid outside, which
was sworn to and sent to the secretary of the navy, by whom
it was transmitted to the commandant. That officer answered that the matter had been investigated by the commission, which had reported adversely to any change.
Upon receipt of the information, Mr. Sylvis wrote the
letter referred to. He said:
"Here is an injustice practised upon as hard working
and poorly paid men as there are in the service of the government, and we cannot believe that you will permit it to
continue. Our sworn statement is true, notwithstanding
the report of the commission. We do not say that the commission has done an intentional wrong; but they did not go
at their work in a manner to learn the truth. Who they
went to, and how they obtained their information, is unknown to us; but we do know that we had no voice in the
matter. None of our men were on the commission; none
of our men were before it to give evidence; nor was any
moulder consulted. If that is what the navy department
calls an investigation, we wish to be delivered from any
more of them. We have made a sworn statement that the
wages paid in the yard are less than are paid outside.
" That statement is in the hands of the secretary of the
navy, who has acted upon it as a false statement, because
the commandant and his commission have said something
else. I suppose he considers our sworn statement of no
weight alongside of the naked assertion of the comman8




86    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
dant. The commandant is a government official, and we
are only workingmen. We think it would be more to the
credit of the government, if the salaries of a whole host of
office-holders who receive from ten to fifty times as much
as we do, and do much less work, were reduced, instead of
endeavoring to reduce expenses by cutting down the wages
of the laborer, who, at best, can hardly make both ends
meet. We again assert the reduction of our wages to be
an outrage, and against it we desire to offer an earnest protest. Believing that when the facts are made known to
you, you will interpose your authority and instruct the
secretary of the navy to countermand the order by which
our wages have been reduced, I am, &c."
This letter he sent to Samuel F. Cary, then a member
of Congress, to be by him delivered to the President.
In the letter of transmittal he said: "I desire you to
read this letter before presenting it. You may think it
very strong; but it is just what I wish to say, just what I
would say, could I see Mr. Johnson.   We have been
grossly abused in this matter, and we intend to fight it to
the bitter end."
Mr. Sylvis's efforts during the several months immediately preceding his death were directed to the securing of
a large representation at the Philadelphia session.
Generals Cary and Butler had both made speeches in
Congress in indorsement of the monetary system of the
National Labor Union; and Senator Sprague, though he
had not indorsed that system, had at least made a damaging
expose of the evils of the old system. These speeches, and
a letter which had been written to President Grant by
John Maguire, of St. Louis, at Mr. Sylvis's request, in
which the plans and purposes of the National Labor Union
were dwelt upon with ability and at length, were widely
circulated from Mr. Sylvis's office, and letters were contin



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               87
nally being sent to friends of the movement everywhere.
These efforts, together with Mr. Sylvis's southern trip and
his frequent appeals made through the newspapers and on
the stump, added much to the wide-spread interest already
felt, and assured a larger attendance than had been present
at any previous convention.
But it was ordained that he should not live to witness
the fulfilment of. that assurance. For several years he had
not enjoyed good health, though he was seldom so sick as
to require him to cease work. He ate very rapidly, and
without paying proper attention to the necessity for masticating his food, and thus, by forcing his stomach to do what
his teeth were made for, impaired his digestion, and contracted the disease which ended in his death. This at least
is the opinion of those who were intimately associated with
him at the time.
On the morning of Thursday, July 22d, he came to the office as usual, and commenced the preparation of his address
to the National Labor Union, which he intended should
be a complete resume of what had been accomplished since
his accession to the presidency, but shortly after felt so unwell that he was compelled to leave for home. At five
o'clock his family physician was summoned, who pronounced his ailing to be a severe attack of inflammation
of the bowels, but expressed the belief that the disease
would speedily succumb to the remedies prescribed. His
hopes or predictions were unrealized, as a restless night was
spent, the disease increasing hourly in intensity.  On
Friday he was cheered by the arrival of his friend, Richard
Trevellick, who, up to the hour of his death, continued his
constant attendant, and ministered to his necessities. On
Saturday he seemed considerably revived; so much so, indeed, as to make buoyant the spirits of his anxious friends,
and encourage the hope that the crisis had been passed.




88    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
These hopes were of short duration, for on Sunday morning it was deemed expedient to summon additional aid.
Consequently a consultation was held, and the terrible
truth was made known that his sickness was unto death,
of which fact he already seemed to be aware.
On Monday morning at nine o'clock a great change for
the worst had taken place, the disease having continued to
baffle all the aid and skill of his physicians. At midnight
his spiritual adviser, the Rev. Mr. Kemp, pastor of the
Fitzwater Street Methodist Episcopal Mission Church, was
summoned, and at his request engaged in prayer. In reply
to the inquiry if he had any fears in view of his approaching dissolution, and if his mind was at peace, he calmly replied, "If it pleases God to take me, I have no fears of
death; I believe I am grounded in the true faith; Christ
has pardoned my sins." At two o'clock, when asked by
his wife how he felt, he said, "Go to bed, birdie, you will
make yourself sick by waiting so much."  At twenty minutes past three, he again asked Mr. Kemp to supplicate the
throne of grace, and while so engaged a heavenly light
seemed to overspread his countenance. Fervently clasping
his hands, he exclaimed, "Glory to God, glory to God; I
am going home to Christ; I know my sins are all forgiven."
These were his last words, though he was conscious to the
moment of his departure. He continued growing fainter
and weaker until twenty-five minutes to six o'clock, when
his peaceful spirit burst its tenement of clay and took its
flight to its eternal home. And so passed from earth to
heaven one of the best, the purest, and the grandest men
that the nineteenth century has produced.
For several years prior to his death, Mr. Sylvis was associated with the temperance movement, and in its ranks was
a zealous advocate of the cold-water doctrine. He had
also become a regular member of the Methodist Church,
and an active Sunday-school worker.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS,     89
The news of the death of the chieftain of the labor
movement was soon telegraphed to all parts of the country,
and words of condolence for the widow and friends soon
came pouring in. All in the labor movement felt that
they had lost their best man.
The funeral, which took place on Friday morning, July
30th, was largely attended by representatives of the movement from all parts of the country. The iron-moulders
of Philadelphia participated en masse, and nearly all the
unions in neighboring localities were represented by delegations. His temperance lodge, Minnehaha Circle, Temple
of Honor, several workingmen's societies, and a large number of personal friends, were also in line; but among all the
long line of mourners that followed his body to its burialplace, none seemed to be more deeply affected than his
Sabbath-school class boys, who had learned to love their
teacher for his invariable good-nature, and the skill with
which he portrayed to their young minds the rewards in
store for those who lead a righteous life. The Rev. Mr.
Kemp's funeral sermon, which was preached from the text,
"My ways are not as your ways, nor my thoughts as
your thoughts; for as the heavens are high above the earth,
so are my ways above your ways, my thoughts above your
thoughts;" left scarcely a dry eye in the homely little structure at which he worshipped, and where it was delivered.
It was an eloquent and fitting tribute to the virtues and
well-earned fame of the deceased.
The body was laid in Laurel Hill Cemetery, situated on
the bank of the romantic Schuylkill, above the city, where
now slumbers the mortal remains of a great and good man,
a worthy citizen, a lovely husband, a never failing friend,
and a kind and indulgent parent.
A most fitting conclusion to this work is the following
beautiful tribute from affection's pencil to the virtues of
8*




90    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
a departed hero, a eulogy delivered by his business partner and bosom friend, A. C. Cameron, of Illinois, before
the Philadelphia congress of the National Labor Union:
EULOGY BY MR. A. C. CAMERON.
THERE are times, Mr. President and gentlemen, alike
in seasons of sorrow and joy, when language fails to
convey the emotions of the human soul; times when the
heart, knowing its own grief, would fain hide it in its inmost recesses and cherish the feelings it cannot express.
Such, I am sure, are the feelings of all present who truly
appreciate the character and loss of our dear departed
friend, William H. Sylvis. The death of a good man is a
calamity always to be deplored. The loss of such a man at
such a time, and under such circumstances, is one of those
inscrutable dispensations which must remain among the
arcana of him
Who moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
Who plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm."
To a character of such a scope, to a mind so fertile, possessed of such resources and God-given powers, I feel
myself unable to do justice. Fortunately, the life and
memory of such a man require no eulogium at my hands.
The shafts of malice and the tongue of praise can neither
detract from nor add to a fame which was secured by a
life-long devotion to the interests of oppressed humanity.
His life is the best panegyric; his character his best epitaph,
and a glorious legacy. Essentially a self-made man, born
in poverty and raised in obscurity, thrown upon his own
resources in early boyhood, friendless and alone, by his
talents, indomitable energy, and force of character, he




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               91
came to be recognized as one of the foremost men of the
nation; and there are those here who deem it no flattery or
flight of fancy to state that the prospects of his one day securing the highest office within the gift of the American
people, was second to that of no living man. Under these
circumstances I shall not attempt a delineation of his character, but shall simply and briefly refer to a few of the more
prominent traits which commanded and received the admiration of all. Prominent among the most peculiar features
of his character were his indomitable energy and perseverance; and it is doubtless owing, in a great measure, to the
possession of these traits, that his remarkable success may
be attributed.  Failure was a word which had been
stricken from his vocabulary.  Attempt meant success.
To dare was to do.  The difficulties before which others
would have quailed, disappeared before his magic influence and exhaustless resources, and were invariably accepted as incentives to more persistent effort. His action,
however, resembled more the brilliancy of the fixed star
than the flash of the meteor; was based more on the principle that it is the constant dripping which wears away the
stone, than on that erratic, dazzling, Napoleonic genius
which embellishes utopian and impracticable schemes; systematic, methodical, eminently practical in all his transactions, his faith was based on the weapons of truth and
the intelligence and independence of the American people.
His simplicity, force, and independence of character, and
his ability to transfer his views and his courage to those
with whom he was brought into contact, was marvellous in
the extreme.  William H. Sylvis was no sycophant; he
courted neither the smiles nor the frowns of those in power.
Conscious of his own integrity and the success of those
principles to which his life was devoted, with a faith that
never faltered and a hope that never died, he pursued the




92    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
even tenor of his way, and pressed on to the goal of his ambition - the arrival of that time when
"Man to man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be, and a' that;"
when tyranny and oppression of every kind and character
shall be uprooted and destroyed, and when the freemen of
our country shall occupy that proud position which God in
his kind providence intended they should occupy. Inexorable in the right - as God gave him to see the right -
neither threats nor favors could swerve him from his conscientious conviction. The beautiful lines of Cowper may
here be appropriately quoted:
"No meretricious graces to beguile," &c.
His enlarged views; his comprehensive judgment; his
splendid executive ability; his catholic spirit, and thorough knowledge of human nature - each of which is
worthy of a eulogy, all of which he possessed in an eminent degree —were qualifications which peculiarly adapted
him for the responsible position to which he was called,
which he filled with so much honor to himself and benefit
to the country at large, and which is as well known to my
hearers as to myself. As a writer, he was pointed and
forcible, and possessed, in an eminent degree, the happy
faculty of saying just what he meant, and enabling his
readers to comprehend his meaning —features which any
successful journalist can duly appreciate. He was no respecter of persons. The wrong was denounced, whether in
high places or low; while many and many a wrong-doer
has been exposed, and many a tyrant made to wince beneath his trenchant blows.  In his social relations, as a
bosom friend and confidant, I had the pleasure of knowing
him intimately and well; and in all our associations I




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.      93
found him high-toned, noble, generous, and true; while in
this connection, as in his public career, every personal aspiration was subordinate to a desire for the "success of the
great cause." To the bereaved consort and afflicted family,
let us tender our condolence. May He who tempers the
wind to the shorn lamb, and who watches over even the
sparrow's fall, give her strength to bear with Christian resignation the mysterious dispensation, and the assurance
that she shall meet him beyond the swelling floods, where
death and parting are never known. And now that he has
gone from our midst; that his active, plodding brain has
been stilled forever; that his words of counsel and encouragement will be heard no more, let it be our highest ambition to carry to successful completion the good work so
gloriously begun. Let us re-pledge our devotion to the dissemination of those principles to which his life was devoted,
and in the attainment of which the welfare of the human
race is involved; and although we may not be able to emblazon our names in letters of such shining light, or engrave
them high on the scroll of fame as he, yet we shall be emulating his virtues by following his example, by making the
precepts which made him so truly great our precepts, leave
behind us the fragrance of a well-spent life, and a memory
to be honored and revered.
Then up and be doing. The night has ended.




94    BIOGRAPHY        OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
THE FALLEN CHIEFTAIN.
BY JOHN JAMES.
A NOBLE spirit's fled;
A gallant heart is torn;
A soul that knew no dread;
To its native realm is borne.
The flock have lost their herdHis voice is silent now;
No more we'll hear his kindly word,
Nor view his manly brow;
But here in sorrow must deplore
That such a hero's gone before.
Our star of hope is dimm'd,
A cloud is o'er it cast;
The mind that ever trimm'd
Our lamps, has thought its last.
The gem in all our crown,
The purest, brightest, best,
D(ath ruthlessly has claimed his own,
And pierced his noble breast;
While comfortless, whole thousands mourn
To think he never can return.
The oak, so strong, is fell'd,
And withering now lies low;
How oft it has repell'd
Storms that would o'er us blow.
But now, alas! no more,
It towers into the sky,With branches spreading widely o'er,
To shelter all therebyFallen, mould'ring in the clay,
While we lament the fatal day.
Alas I to know he's gone -
Such honesty and worth;




BIOGRAPHY        OF WILLIAM       H. SYLYIS. 
How strange't is ever prone,
To quit so soon this earth l
So we must still bewail,
And see the virtuous die,
While villany may live and rail,
And cheat, deceive, and lie.
Yet goodness, greatness, truth, and zeal,
Must sink beneath death's tyrant heel.
Thou must have felt a throe,
Oh! death, to kill a heart,
Who but to wrong a foeA man in every part.
He did not fear thy blow,
Nor shrank he from thy dart;
He felt it was his time to go,
And yielded to its smart.
The war's unequal thou dost make,
And sweetness still thou lovest to take.
Mourn, ye reformers, mourn,
Your leader is no more;
From forth your midst is torn
The greatest in the core.
Let every heart sincere,
In memory let fall
A heartfelt, sympathetic tear
Upon his humble pall:
Our simple tribute to the mind
That has no equal left behind.
But on some Joshua may
The heavenly command
Devolve to lead the way
Into the Promised Land.
Or, as on Elisha, may
The inspired mantle fall
Upon some one, to-day,
Designed to lead us all
Unto that great and happy goal
That SYLVIS meant was for the whole.




SPEECHES.
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT BUFFALO, N. Y., JANUARY, 1864.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: — In
rising in my place to address you upon this occasion, I am
fully impressed with the magnitude of the undertaking, the
importance of the occasion, and the expectations of yourselves and those assembled here to listen to what I may
have to say. I am also oppressed with a sense of my own
littleness and inability to cope with the great questions before me.
I, however, believe it to be the duty of every man occupying a public position as a leader in this labor movement,
to place himself upon record, and give to the world his
views, however humble they may be. This, sir, must be
my apology for occupying a small portion of your valuable
time.
We come to these conventions as the representatives of a
great people- of a mechanical community, having an
organization second to none on this continent. We hold a
few sessions, and pass a few laws, in our opinion necessary,
and then return to our constituents with a dry and condensed report of our proceedings, without a word of the
discussions arising from a consideration of the various
questions, leaving the people most interested in these laws
ir, total darkness as to the great principles upon which we
96




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS,              97
have founded this legislation. I believe that a due regard
for the interests and welfare of our constituents dlemands at
our hands an exposition of our views.
This labor question, Mr. Chairman, is one that has
troubled the minds of men for centuries past. Men in all1
ages and sections of the civilized world have been fobund
who have endeavored, by laborious and extended writings
and researches, to solve the great probleml of political and
social science, and the origin and distribution of the wealth
of nations. Thousands of volumes have been written by
as many different men, upon the prilciples that underlie
the present social structure. Unfortunately, these economists have universally belonged to that class which they
are pleased to call the "higher orders," the " creDam of society," the " privileged classes," etc. Men whose hands were
never soiled by honest labor; lmen entirely destitute of all
practical knowledge of -the walits and condition of the
masses; consequently, their ideas have ever synmpathized
with the interests of capital, while the rights of labor, and
indeed labor itself, except so far as it may be made an element of wealth in the hands of these " privileged classes,"
have been entirely ignored. These men have, with but one
or two exceptions, taken the ground and founded their
arguments upon the assumed iacts, that the soil is the
source of all wealth. That there is an ideintity of interests
between labor and capital, that labor ancd capital are copartners, that the two elements go hand-in-handc, and constitute one vast firm, who carry oi and control the vast
business of the world; that labor is an article of commerce,
and that the price of labor is regulated by the laws of
supply and demand.
Nothing, to my mind, can be more absurd than all these
propositions.  It may be considered presumption in so
humble an individual as I to set lmyself up in opposition
9                   G




98    BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLYIS.
to these great authors, but, nevertheless, I claim the right
to do so.
Assuming the position that labor is the real source of
all wealth, and that its legitimate and proper distribution
depends upon a proper and well-regulated political and
social system, I shall proceed to discuss the several questions connected with the subject from that stand-point. The
condition of the toiling millions forming, as I believe they
do, the foundation of all wealth, and the substratum of
political and social life, should engage the earnest attention of good men in every station of life; for it must be
evident that, unless the condition of the laboring-classes
be in strict harmony with the social well-being and commercial wealth of the nation, the people must live in constant dread of a thousand evils that must arise from a
neglect of this great principle.
Adam Smith, in his " Wealth of Nations," lays it cown
as a great truth, that " unless the material comfort of the
working-classes in a commonwealth progress in a parallel
ratio with the increasing wealth of the community, there is
really no progress of any extent or value made by that
nation;" its ultimate fate will be retrogression and decay.
No question of equal importance to this can be entertained.
The amount of national wealth, the progress of manufacture, the cultivation of the soil, commercial credit, civil
and religious liberty,- these are all questions of great moment, but not to be compared with the social and material
condition of the laboring-classes - for they are the producers of all wealth; they uphold the entire political and
social fabric, and without them capital would have no commercial existence, nor civilization the elements of expansion
and progress.
Labor then being the foundation of all capital, and taking upon itself the divine mission to give birth and success




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              99
to civilization and human progress, must have an eternal
claim upon the value and profits of its own productions;
this claim appears to be entirely forgotten by the wealthy,
or, if not forgotten, entirely ignored. This view of this interesting subject, that labor has a claim upon its own productions- a right to the profits of its own investments, because it is the foundation, the corner-stone of the entire
political and social structure, is one worthy the consideration of every man who toils, whether with his hands or his
head. I shall give it a proper consideration when I pass
to the subject of co-operation.
Ages upon ages have rolled, away since "commerce set
its mark of selfishness, the signet of its all-enslaving power,
upon a shining ore, and called it gold;" and from then to
now a gradual concentration or centralization of wealth
has been going on until now, in many of the older countries,
the entire wealth of the nation is centred in the hands of
a few individuals, and the many are their victims and their
bondsmen.
It has ever been the study and purpose of these men,
who arrogate to themselves the right to the enjoyment of
all the power and wealth of the world, to make labor entirely subservient to their will- to own it and use it as a
part of their machinery, with no other expense than that
required to furnish the fuel to keep the machine in motion
-all the necessary repairs having to be made by the
machine itself. And experience teaches us that in every
country they have partly succeeded in their diabolical plan,
and in those places where they have obtained control of
the law-making power, they have succeeded entirely.
If these things be so, and who will contradict them,
what becomes of this so much talked-of identity of interests? In denying the existence of an identity of interests between labor and capital, I do not wish to be un



100 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM             H. SYLYIS.
derstood as saying that there is no identity of interests
between labor and mioney. I deny that there is an identity
of interest between labor and capitalists. The fact that
capital denies to labor the right to regulate its own affairs,
would take from the worlkingman the right to place a
valuation upon his own labor, destroys at once the theory
of an identity of interests; if, as is held by them, the interests of the two are identical, and their positions and
relations mutual, there would be no interference whatever
one with another; the worlingman would be left free to
place his own price upon his labor, as capitalists are to say
what interest or profits they shall have upon money invested. This identity of interests amnounts to simply this
and nothing more. Capitalists employ labor for the amount
of profit realized, and workingmen labor for the amount of
wages received. This is the only relation existing between
them; they are two distinct elements, or rather two distinct
classes, with interests as widely separated as the poles.
We find capitalists ever watchful of their interests - ever
ready to make everything bend to their desires. Then
why should not laborers be equally watchful of their interests —equally ready to take advantage of every circumstance to secure good wages and social elevation?  Were
labor left free to control itself, as it should be and must be,
instead of there being an identity of interests, a mutual
relation between the two classes, there is an antagonism
that ever did alnd ever will exist; a sort of an irrepressible
conflict that commenced with the world, and will only end
with it.
If workingmen and capitalists are equal co-partners,
composing one'vast firm by which the industry of the
world is carried on and controlled, why do they not share
equally in the profits?  Why does capital take to itself the
whole loaf, while labor is left to gather up the crumbs?




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 101
Why does capital roll in luxury and wealth, while labor is
left to eke out a miserable existence in poverty and want?
Are these the evidences of an identity of interests, of
mutual relations, of equal partnership? No, sir. On the
contrary, they are evidences of an antagonism. This antagonism is the general origin of all "strikes."  Labor has
always the same complaints to make, and capital always
the same oppressive rules to make, and power to employ.
Were it not for this antagonism, labor would often escape
the penalty of much misery and moral degradation, and
capital the disgrace and ruin consequent upon such dangerous collisions. There is not only a never-ending conflict
between the two classes, but capital is, in all cases, the
aggressor. Labor is always found on the defensive, because
1. Capitol enjoys individual power, and in the exercise
of that is given to encroach upon the rights and privileges
of labor.
2. Labor is individually weak, and only becomes powerful when banded together for self-defence.
3. Capital is jealous of control, or even of remonstrance,
and will often object to the interference of labor, even when
such an interference would be beneficial to its own interests.
4. Capital is selfish and regardless of the fate, feelings,
or condition of labor. The physical condition, intellectual
development, and moral training of labor are neglected for
that inordinate power which accumulated wealth supplies.
5. Capital is haughty, proud, and insolent, and spurns
with contempt the remonstrances of the oppressed, the respectful entreaties of the defrauded, and the cries of the
poor and abject.
6. Capital seldom forgives; it loses the finer feelings of
the human heart, and knows no other commercial principle
than that embodied in the famous axiom of the "Free
Trade" school, which says, "buy in the cheapest market
9  -




102 BIOGRAPHY       OF WILLIAM      H. SYLVIS.
and sell in the dearest," but which, if applied to labor
means, " keep down the price of labor and starve the workingmen; so shall thy profits be many, and thy wealth increased."  It must follow, from the admission of these premises, that the interests of employer and employee are not
identical. That on the one side, employers are interested,
because of profit, to keep down the price of labor; while
on the other side, the employees are justified, on account
of self-interest, to keep up wages. Thus labor and capital
are antagonistic.
Again: The deplorable and disastrous struggles that
have taken place between capital and labor within a few
years, and those that are now going on or have just terminated, must be an evidence of a great evil, of the encroachments of capital, and the defensive position of labor.
Surely where such things exist, there can be no identity of
interests. If there is this mutuality of interests, this oneness of feeling, I ask, sir, what means this universal uprising of the workingmen of this continent, who are rushing together as with the power of the whirlwind towards
one common centre?   A "union of workingmen."   Surely
they must be impelled by some powerful stimulus, by the
presence of some terrible evil; for bear in mind that these
organizations are contrary to our deep-seated notions of individual independence, and therefore can only be effected
by the existence of a stronger feeling and the presence of
a greater evil.
Surely these things cannot be where there is an identity
of interests. No,-sir, they are the result of an antagonism
that always has existed, and ever will. One more observation, Mr. Chairman, and I shall pass to the consideration
of another branch of the subject. Why is it, if the interests of the two classes are identical, that the few monopolize all the wealth, power, and honors of the world



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.            103
that after a few years of little toil they accumulate vast
wealth, they can live through their allotted years in luxury
and ease, leaving behind them, at the close of life, a marble
pile, a granite column, or, perchance, their names written
upon the scroll of fame, it may be in letters of gold, but
nevertheless there, while the toiling many, the authors of
all their greatness and glory, after having been doomed to
years of unremitting drudgery, care, and misery, go down
to a premature grave "unwept, unhonored, and unsung."
Is all this the result of this much-vaunted mutuality?
The theory that the laws of supply and demand govern
the price of labor, and that therefore, when work is plenty
and labor scarce, wages will be high, and when work is
scarce and labor plenty, wages will be low, is, in my
opinion, a fallacy as transparent as the other. The great
mistake is in making of labor an article of commerce, to
be bought and sold in the market the same as a pound of
butter, or a bushel of wheat, and subject to and controlled
by the same laws, and in the same manner as these articles.
The legitimate workings of the laws of supply and demand, in their influence upon an article of commerce, is as
follows: If there be two bushels of wheat in the market,
to-day, and but one purchaser, and he wanting but one
bushel, the price, we will say, will be a dollar a bushel;
and if to-morrow there be but one bushel, and two purchasers wanting a bushel each, the price will go up to two
dollars; and the operation is just the same upon every
other article of commerce. Take cotton, for an example.
A short supply has run the price up to a point almost
without a parallel, and does not a short supply of any
other article, continued for the same length of time, produce the same results? And yet we find that for the past two
years there has been a gradually increasing demand for
labor, almost, if not altogether corresponding to the de



104   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM II. SYLVIS.
mand for cotton. Has the price of labor kept pace with
that of cotton? If not, then there must be something
wrong with the theory that labor is an article of commerce.
I do not place my labor in the market alongside of a pound
of butter. A pound of butter is a perishable article; my
labor is not. A pound of butter has no control over itself;
I have over my labor. A pound of butter cannot say that
it will not be bought or sold for less or more than a given
price. I can dispose of my labor as I please.
The tendency of the price of labor is ever downward.
For the proof of this we need not go to the older countries,
where labor is reduced to the lowest possible condition of
wretchedness. The evidences are scattered around us in
disagreeable abundance. Witness the terrible condition of
the thirty thousand sewing-women of New York, who, by
working literally day and night, only earn from $1 to ~3
per week, many of them being.the only support of aged
and infirm parents, or families of helpless children. It requires no stretch of the imagination to conjure up the horrible condition of suffering to which these helpless creatures
are reduced. Recent investigations develop the startling
fact that in the lower sections of New York alone there
are over six thousand families living under the ground.
Placing the average at five souls to the family, we have an
aggregate of over thirty thousand human beings literally
buried alive, huddled together like cattle in a pen, hid
away in dark and noisome dungeons, where no cheering
streak of sunshine, or breath of pure air, so bountifully
supplied by the Divine Creator, can ever come, steeped in
a gulf of mental and moral darkness, such as make "angels
weep."  "Are these things the result of the laws of supply
and demand operating upon labor?"  Go with me to the
magnificent cotton-mills of the Eastern States, and I will
show you a picture such as you have never seen. A few




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.     105
years ago men received fair wages in these mills, and were
able to live comfortably from their earnings, and to raise
and educate their children well; but now, by this downward
tendency of the price of labor, by this gradual reduction
of wages, it requires the combined labor of the husband,
wife, and every child old enough to walk to the factory, for
from twelve to fifteen hours a day, to earn sufficient to keep
body and soul together. There can be found thousands of
human beings, men, women, and children, who are mental,
moral, and physical deformities.
" Are these things the result of a harmony of interests?"
There is ever going on a gradual reduction of the price of
labor. On the recurrence of every political or financial
revulsion, wages are reduced; but whoever heard of a corresponding advance on the return of good times? If labor
is an article of commerce, and subject to the same laws that
regulate other articles, it would be just like other articles.
When left free to the operations of these laws, the rise and
fall each day would exactly correspond with the demand
for it; the price would be regulated from time to time with
the same nicety that other articles are.
If this supply and demand doctrine be correct, why is
it that during the past two years of unparalleled business
prosperity, and an unusual and ever increasing demand for
labor, we have had more " strikes," a more universal organizing of workingmen, for the purpose of forcing up wages,
than ever before? If, Mr. Chairman, we find that the price
of labor is not regulated by the demand for it, and supply
of it, then the proposition that labor is an article of commerce, and subject to the laws that control such articles,
must fall to the ground. I am well aware, sir, that this
view of these important questions is unpopular; but I believe it to be so only because it is new, because it runs in
direct opposition to the old and almost universally received




106 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM1 H. SYLVIS.
opinions upon these questions. But, sir, I have the most
unbounded confidence in the ultimate triumph of right.
You may bury it beneath a mountain of wrong, but, like a
cork in the water, it is sure to come to the surface sooner
or later. I have no faith whatever in the stability or ultimate succeess of our organization, until we place it upon
the eternal rock of justice and truth. My endeavors to
search out our true position, and the true relations existing
between la or and capital, has confirmed me in the views I
hold upon these questions. Believing that I have sufficiently ventilated this portion of the subject to make it
plain to every candid mind that this supply and demand
doctrine, so much talked about and harped upon by capitalists, is another of those fallacies imposed upon the
credulous masses, the more easily to impose upon them, I
shall now proceed to the consideration of another branch
of the great question.
The terrible condition of poverty and degradation to
which the working-people of most European countries are
reduced, and the awful fact written in dark and portentous
characters upon the horizon of the dawning future, that we
(the laboring-people of this great continent) imust surely, and
at no distant day, occupy the same low and miserable condition, has awakened in the mind of every workingman who
values his own happiness, and who loves his God, his country, and his family, and who has a proper appreciation of
the great blessings of civilization and human progress,
from a religious and moral point of view as well as commercial, and wishes to hand down to posterity these inestimable blessings, a strong asid earnest desire to adopt
some measures whereby to turn back the tide of oppression
and human bondage that is threatening to ingulf us in
mental and moral darkness before it is ever too late. It
has long been evident to all that by individual action nothing




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 107
whatever could be accomplished. I am fully imbued with
that great American idea of individual independence, and
much as I admire it as a characteristic of our race, yet I
cannot fail to see that, if adhered to in our dealings with
capitalists, it must sooner or later bring us to one common
ruin.
It having been demonstrated by experience that if here
and there a spirit more bold than the rest would remonstrate against the wrongs and impositions practised upon
all, he would be immediately sacrificed as an intimidation
to the whole body, it became necessary to discover, if possible, some means by which this evil could be avoided.
Combination was thought of. Men began to talk about
harmony of action, unity of purpose, oneness of interests,
which shortly took practical shape in the formation of
trades-unions; and it is astonishing to see with what rapidity these fraternizing influences drew Irmen together. To-day
there is scarcely a branch of industry without its organization. In England they are much more powerful than here.
It is true, they are older, and perhaps more highly prized.
There some of them have entire control of their trades,
having in some of the large towns central offices, to which
the employers have to send up for hands when they want
them. Capital may know when there is a scarcity of labor;
but they never know when there is a superabundance, because men are not allowed to go to the shops and apply for
work. In reference to the great central power of one of
these organizations, Lord Campbell recently said, in the
Court of the Queen's Bench: "I must confess I look with
some alarm upon this general association sitting in London
dictating to masters what they shall pay their men, and levying contributions for the support of such society all over the
kingdom, that might raise a fund as large as the revenue
of some of the sovereign States of Europe."  Thus far




108 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
the attempts at forming unions on this continent have been
feeble compared to those there; but energy and perseverance, directed by caution, intelligence, and wisdom, will do
for us what they have done for them. But upon the
threshold of our efforts, we are met by the opposition of
capitalists. They deny to us the right to combine; not that
they have any legal objections to offer (for happily there is
no law against it yet), but they raise a question of right
and wrong. They tell us that we have no moral nor social
right to form these combinations; that we are bringing together the various elements of the industrial world, and
creating a power that we will not be able to control, and
that the commercial manufacturing interests, as well as
society generally, will ultimately suffer by it; that we are
creating a monopoly dangerous to the best interests of the
country; that we are intruding upon the sacred precincts
of the favored few, and that our actions will one day recoil
upon our own heads, and bring general and wide-spread
ruin upon those whom we would benefit. All this is done
for a purpose; their object is to divert the attention of the
honest and unsuspecting from the course dictated by reason
and common sense. Capitalists, and the professional robbers
of the hard earnings of the toiling millions, political and
professional demagogues, and other drones upon society,
have been so long used to lording it over the poor man;
so long used to moulding us to their own fashions, and
making of us the stepping-stones to their wealth, ease, and
elevation, that any effort by us to shake off this power that
has been " grinding us to the dust of misery," threatening
with mental and moral darkness, misery, and despair not
only ourselves but our posterity for all time to come, is
looked upon by them as dangerous to the best interests of
society. They see in this great reformation the ultimate
destruction of their power over the people; they see the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 109
transparent sophistry fabricated by them to deceive the
masses penetrated, and that, unless the movement can be
crushed in its infancy, their power will have departed.
This explains the holy horror and the flow of pious rhetoric
with which they of late cajole the "dear people," and cry
out against the immoral tendencies of " trade-unions." I
believe that all men are "endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights," among which is the divine
right to labor, the right to an interest in the soil, the
right to free homes, the right to limit the hours of toil to
suit our physical capacities, the right to place a valuation
upon our own labor proportionate to our social and corporeal wants, the right to the first social position in the land,
the right to a voice in the councils of the nation, the
right to control and direct legislation for the good of the
majority, the right to compel the drones of society to seek
useful employment (or become public instead of private
paupers), and the right to adopt whatever means we please
within the pale of reason and law to secure these rights.
And why, may I ask, should we listen to the croakings
of the opposition?  Are we not full-grown men?   Are
we not capable of taking our destiny into our own hands,
and of fashioning it after our own designs? They tell
us we have no right to combine to protect all that we
hold dear in the world; that these combinations are immoral, unnatural, and an interference with the individual
rights of each other. In the face of these protestations
we find them combining for every conceivable purpose;
and these combinations, when formed for good purposes,
have been the source of vast benefit to the world; but
capitalists combine for evil as well as good purposes. We
find combinations almost everywhere for the purpose of
speculating in every article of commerce; and monopolizing
and controlling every branch of industry and every source
10




110   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
of wealth.  Against many of these combinations, and
especially those for the purpose of speculating in the necessaries of life, and making fortunes from the necessities of
the poor, we might raise objections founded upon moral
principles. But we will not stop to do so; we will not
waste our time in useless controversy with these sanctimonious hypocrites, but pursue the even tenor of our way,
and hew out our destiny in our own way.
" We have no right to combine."  All nature frowns the
liar into culprit silence. This magnificent globe and everything thereon is the result of combinatiofi. Man himself
is the most beautiful and wonderful combination ever conceived by the mind or fashioned by the- hand of Deity.
Combination is one of nature's universal laws. What, sir,
I would ask, has developed this mighty continent? What
has converted this once vast and unbroken wilderness,
where for ages the red man roamed in unmolested and
undisturbed solitude, into teeming fields, whose broad
bosom is dotted over with magnificent cities, and beautiful
villages, and millions of happy homes; whose hill-tops are
crowned with churches, and school-houses, and institutions
of science and literature of every kind and character;
whose rivers and lakes bear upon their broad waves the
commerce of ten thousand towns, and tens of thousands of
farms and mines; over whose mountain, field, and forest
there is stretching, in their serpentine course, a thousand
railroads, the inventive genius of whose sons has made the
earth and the elements alike subservient to their will.
Answering capitalists reply: " Ve did it. Gold, the power
of wealth, produced these grand results."  No, gentlemen,
you- did not; it was a combination of bone and muscle
directed by mechanical and practical mind that presented
to the world this glorious picture of human progress. It is
true that, after labor had commienced the work, capitalists




BIOGRTAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS. 111
saw the opportunity and stepped in to rob the poor man of
his prize. "But," says capital, "we are entitled to an
equal share of the credit because we go hand-in-hand with
labor." No, sir; labor always goes first, and capital follows
after. We, however, have no objection to an equal division
of the credit and honor, providing we get an equal share of
the profits. But there is no equality about it. Capitalists
not only appropriate to themselves all the profits, but all
the honor and glory; while humble labor goes unrewarded
but by the taunts and jeers of the usurper. We are perfectly willing the profits and honors should be equally
divided between us. That is just what we want, and just
what we intend to have; for that was this great reformation
inaugurated; and for that will it be pushed forward until
the two elements of capital, money and labor, are concentrated in the hands of and controlled by those who produce them. But, sir, let us not deceive ourselves. Let us
not go searching after pearls in a pigsty, nor waste our
time with attempts to accomplish impossibilities. I am not
one of those who believe in a coming millennium. This
world must be inhabited by a new species of human beings,
or the present race very materially changed before such a
day will dawn upon the world. Whether such an event
will ever come is one of those mysteries hidden in the unexplored future, and known only to the Divine Creator.
I do not believe the time will ever come when the "lion
will lie down with the lamb," when "nations will cease
to war against nations," or when the rich man will take
the poor man into his parlor and acknowledge him  his
equal, and treat him as such. All visionary schemes and
theoretical abstractions must be discarded. We must know
just where we are, what we want, and how to get it.
Is there any reason why we should not occupy a social
position equal to other men? Labor is the foundation of




112   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
the entire political, social, and commercial structure.
Labor is the author of all wealth; it is labor that breathes
into the nostrils of inert matter its commercial existence.
And yet we are told by the aristocracy - by these sticklers
for the divine right to rule the world - that we are only
fitted to be the "hewers of wood and drawers of water;"
and, therefore, should be kept in constant subjection.
Does a foreign or domestic enemy threaten us with war,
the strong aym of labor must drive back the foe; and of
this we find no fault, for who is so much interested in the
preservation of a great and good government on this continent as the toiling millions. The present sad and humiliating condition of our once proud and happy country is a
sad commentary upon the rottenness and corruption of those
who set themselves up as the custodians of our most precious
rights. A sad solution of the doctrine that the few should
rule the many.
I have long been impressed with the opinion that God,
in the amplitude of his omniscient wisdom, reserved this
continent, and discovered it to the world in the fulness of
time, as an asylum wherein the toil-worn sons of humanity
could find an abiding place free from the curse of landless
and homeless toil. In the early days, when the future of
this great continent was but dimly seen, a poet sung:
" Has Heaven reserved, in pity for the poor,
No pathless waste, no undiscovered shore,
No secret island in the boundless main,
No peaceful desert yet unclaimed by Spain?
Quick let us rise, the happy seas explore,
And bear Oppression's insolence no more.
This mournful truth is everywhere confessed,
SLOW RISES WORTH BY POVrRTY OPPRFSSED.
Yes, here is that land which " Heaven reserved in pity
for the poor;" and it depends upon ourselves whether or




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     113
not we will enjoy the priceless blessing. It is an inheritance bequeathed to us by the great Giver of all good, and
we must prepare ourselves for its possession, qualify ourselves for its enjoyment. Again, Mr. Chairman, why should
we not occupy a high social and political position? There
is no reason why we should not, but there are many reasons
why we do not.
1. We are not sufficiently educated to properly understand the true principles of social and political science, and
too apt to listen to the teachings of those whose interest it is
to foster prejudices rather than cultivate intelligence.
2. Our labor occupies too large a portion of our time
to enable us to read, study, and reflect. A high degree of
intelligence is necessary to enable us to discharge all the
duties of citizens. If we were sufficiently well paid for from
six to eight hours work a day, to furnish ourselves with the
means of cultivation, we would do better work and be more
useful men.
3. There is not sufficient union and harmony among us
to secure the blessings and conditions we so much need and
desire. This can only be accomplished by an earnest,
united, and properly directed effort by those who see and
appreciate the condition and wants of labor, and understand the true way to ameliorate this condition, and supply
these wants.
4. Low wages prevent us from exercising that moral influence over our fellow-men which enables men of wealth to
control the social and political affairs of a nation. This can
only be accomplished by a thorough combination and cooperation among all branches of industry.
5. The want of a well-regulated apprentice system has
filled the land with a vast number of inferior workmen,
who, not being masters of their trade, are more or less sub-.ject to the whims and caprices of capitalists.
10 *                 I




114   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS.
To secure these blessings, two things are absolutely necessary. We want more time and more money; fewer hours
of toil, and more wages for what we do. These wants we
will supply, and these evils we will remedy through the
instrumentality of our organizations. We must have a
thorough combination of all branches of labor. And then
by co-operation we must erect our own workshops, and
establish our own stores, and till our own farms, and live
in our own houses — in short, we must absolutely control
within ourselves the two elements of capital -labor and
money. Then we will not only secure a fair standard of
wages, but all the profits of our labor. We must erect our
own halls wherein we can establish our own libraries, reading- and lecture-rooms, under the control and mlanagement
of our own men; and we must have time to use them. We
must do our own thinking, and infuse into the minds of our
people a high tone of morals. We must learn to respect
ourselves, and be proud of our occupations and positions.
We must hold up our heads, and not be ashamed nor afraid
to walk upon the fashionable side of the street.
Mr. Chairman, I acknowledge no superiority except that
of moral worth - the man who is morally better than I am
is my superior, and none others. Every workingman should
learn to think so. You may say there is such a thing as
mental superiority. Brains are the gift of God, and because
one man has more than another, is no reason why he should
treat with contempt or disrespect the man who has less.
You may say there is a superiority of wealth. It is true
that one man is rich while another is poor; but the poor
man may be much the more honest, and much tie better
Christian, though not so respectable. This question of wages
is one of the most vital importance. These men, who arrogate to themselves the right to monopolize all the wealth
of the nation, are the worst enemies of mankind. This de



BIOGRAPHY       OF WILLIAM      H. SYLVIS.     115
sire to make labor entirely subject to capital, by establishing a low standard of wages as possible, leaving to labor
only a bare subsistence, is a development of the most sordid,
selfish, and pernicious propensities of the human heart.
An English writer; treating of this subject, says: "This
advantage bids fair, in the course of time, to realize Mr.
Cobden's Utopia, which is'to make Great Britain into one
vast workshop - the workshop of the world.' This view
of the ultimate destiny of our beloved country may have
peculiar charms in the eyes of capitalists, but I must confess it possesses little or no charms in mine, unless the condition of the working-classes, who are expected to toil in
this vast workshop, shall be permitted to keep pace with
our national wealth and prosperity. As it rests, however, at present, this condition is neither satisfactory nor
hopeful. In Lancashire and Yorkshire, for instance, two
counties which may be regarded as a sample of the workingclasses in Mr. Cobden's utopian workshop, there are five
millions of Englishmen, whose moral and intellectual poverty is quite in keeping with their physical prostration and
social wretchedness. Life in these districts is one unceasing
round of toil, without relief, eating and drinking and sleeping; there is little time for anything else. At five in the
morning,'the warner,' with a regularity as punctual as'quarter-day,' summons the deep sleepers to the shuttle
and the loom, while the restless wheels and the humming
machinery cease not their vibrations until the sun is down;
time to snatch a hasty meal being the only interval."
How much better off are the operatives in many of the
manufacturing districts on this continent?  Scarcely any.
Any one who will take the trouble to investigate and study
their condition, will find thousands sunk to a degree of
mental, moral, social, and physical wretchedness horrible
to contemplate, whose very souls are crushed within their




116   BIOGRAPHY      OF WILLIAM      H. SYLVIS.
living bodies. These capitalists are no respecters of persons,
either. All upon whose heads rest the curse or crime of
poverty are treated alike. Gentle woman, the loveliest of
God's creation, and the tender infant, scarce able to lisp its
mother's name, are alike the victims of their rapacity.
That country cannot be free, where men of wealth, regardless of their moral fitness or mental qualifications, can
buy themselves into political and other positions, while the
useful, industrious, and honest poor man is consigned to
obscurity. That nation cannot be truly great, that people
cannot be truly happy, where labor is poorly paid.
The history of the world praises nothing more certainly,
nothing with clearer demonstrations, than that where wages
are lowest there is the greatest poverty and suffering; there
the condition of the laborer is most forlorn and wretched;
there is the least moral and intellectual culture; and there
our race is sunk into the depths of political and social degradation, incapable of raising itself to that lofty elevation
attained by a free and enlightened people capable of governing their own affairs. It tends to the very opposite of
everything dearest to us, for the descent carries with it not
only wages, but all the high and noble qualities which fit
us for self-government.
This view of this all-important question should not only
bring to us the warm and earnest sympathy, but the active
co-operation of every good man, no matter what station or
position in life he may occupy.
We must have a sufficient compensation for our labor to
bring around us not only all the necessaries, but all the
comforts and, if we want them, all the luxuries of life.
I am asked, "How are we to secure these things? "  By
combination, by association, by co-operation. "Well, what
do these terms mean?"  Combination or association is so
beautifully explained by a modern writer, that I can do no




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 117
better than quote them here. He says: "You are menthat is to say, creatures capable of rational, social, and intellectual progress, solely through the medium of association - a progress to which none may assign a limit. The
country is not an aggregate, but an association. Association centuples your strength; it makes the thoughts of others
and the progress of others your own, while it elevates and
sanctifies your natures, through the affections and the growing sentiment of the unity of the human family. In proportion as your association with your brother man is
extended, in proportion as it is intimate and comprehensive,
will you advance on the path of individual improvement.
"Humanity is as a man who lives and learns forever.
Your task is to found the universal family- to build up
the city of God- and unremittingly to labor towards the
active, progressive fulfilment of his great work in humanity. The right of association is as sacred as religion itself,
which is an association of souls.  You are all the sons of
God. You are, therefore, brothers. Who then may, without guilt, set limit to association, the communion among
brothers?  Consider association both your duty and your
right. Association must be peaceful, association must be
public. Bring your wages here; economize; abstain from
every excess, whether of drink or otherwise. Emancipate
yourselves from poverty by privation."
These are ponderous words. Lay them up in your mind
and digest them well, and you will have a full knowledge
of the meaning of the terms combination, association.
Again I am asked, "And what is co-operation?" Co-operation is the banding together, by mutual agreement, of a
number of individuals for the accomplishment of a given
object. If that object be to start a store, build houses,
establish manufactories or other enterprises, they each pay
into the common fund a certain amount of money in in



118   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
stalments of given amounts at given times; and when the
aggregate amounts to a sufficient sum, the enterprise is
started. An honest and trusty person is placed in charge,
whose duty it is to make purchases and sales, to have a
general supervision over the interests of the establishment,
to keep correct accounts of all transactions, subject to inspection by a board of trustees or auditors, and at all
times open to the inspection of the shareholders. A price
sufficiently above the net cost to insure a fair profit is fixed
upon each article, and the same price is charged to all purchasers, whether shareholders or not. These profits are
divided equally among the shareholders, according to the
amounts purchased by each, or placed to their credit and
left in the concern for the purpose of increasing the business, or of making necessary repairs and improvements.
The advantages arising from a system of this kind are so
diversified, that to enter into a detail of each, and the
minutise of its workings, would occupy too large a portion
of your time, and more ability than I can bestow upon it.
Co-operation is the great idea of the age: it is the only
means by which we can fully control both labor and money,
by which we can secure to ourselves the wealth we have
been so long creating for the use of others; for by it we
secure a fair standard of wages, and a fair share of the
profits arising from our industry.
" What is co-operation?"  "Co-operation is a united
movement by workingmen to realize better times for themselves and their families.  How? Through co-operation
or union in getting and saving.  Oh, the vast strength
of unity!   Remember the'bundle of sticks,' brother
workmen, and band yourselves together. Be of one mind
in support of truth; have faith in the lovely principle of
co-operation, and you may cast your mountain of woe into
the sea of oblivion. Co-operation aims at elevating men




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 119
morally, mentally, socially, physically, and politically.
This it will do by freeing us from the carking cares of
poverty and wretchedness, which chain millions to a merely
animal existence, and blessing us with the plenty and happiness that come of sympathy and united action for a good
end."
Our first object must be to obtain organized and united
action, to promote and regulate the formation of co-operative societies, to collect and preserve balance-sheets, books
of rules, reports, and all other information connected with
and relaing to the subject, as a guide for future action.
The history of the co-operative associations of Europe presents a picture of success truly gratifying to every lover of
human progress on the road to moral and Christian elevation.
"The problems which in ancient days
Have vexed the minds and hearts of men,
Are, to co-operation's praise,
Wrought out by hand, and tongue, and pen.
These virtues win my sympathies,
And tie me to co-operate;
And as our strength in union lies,
Let love increase and patience wait."
The subject of female labor is one that demands our
attention and most earnest consideration. There are many
reasons why females should not labor outside of the domestic circle. Being forced into the field, the factory, and the
workshop, (and they do not go there from  choice, but because necessity compels them,) they come in direct competition with men in the great field of labor; and being
compelled of necessity, from their defenceless condition, to
work for low wages, they exercise a vast influence over the
price of labor in almost every department. If they received the same wages that men do for similar work, this




120 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM It. SYLVIS.
objection would in a great measure disappear. But there
is another reason, founded upon moral principle and common humanity, far above and beyond this, why they should
not be thus employed. Woman was created and intended
to be man's companion, not his slave. Endowed as she is
with all her loveliness and powers to please, she exercises an
almost unlimited influence over the more stern and unbending disposition of man's nature. If there are reasons why
man should be educated, there are many more and stronger
reasons why woman should receive the soundest and most
practical mental and moral training. She was created to
be the presiding deity of the home circle, the instructor of
our children, to guide the tottering footsteps of tender infancy in the paths of rectitude and virtue, to smooth down
the wrinkles of our perverse nature, to weep over our
shortcomings, and make us glad in the days of adversity,
to counsel, comfort, and console us in our declining years.
"Woman's warm heart and gentle hand, in God's eternal plan,
Were formed to soften, soothe, refine, exalt, and comfort man."
Who is there among us that does not know and has not
felt the powerful influences of a good and noble woman?
one in whom, after the busy toil and care of the day are past,
we can confide our little secrets and consult upon the great
issues of life. These, sir, are my views upon this question.
This I believe to be the true and divine mission of woman,
this her proper sphere; and those men who would and do turn
her from it are the worst enemies of our race, the Shylocks
of the age, the robbers of woman's virtue; they make commerce of the blood and tears of helpless women, and merchandise of souls. In the poverty, wretchedness, and utter
ruin of their helpless victims, they see nothing but an accumulating pile of gold. In the weeping and wailing of the
distressed, they hear nothing but a " metallic ring." To the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.     121
abolition of this wrong imposed upon the tender sex should
be devoted every attribute of our nature, every impulse of
our heart, and every energy and ability with which we are
endowed.
Mr. Chairman, I have heretofore so fully expressed myself upon the apprentice question, that I do not deem it
necessary to give it more than a passing notice at this time.
Of all others, this is the most difficult we have to deal
with, as it is, perhaps, the most important, for from this
flow many of the evils under which we labor; and I must
confess that the way to regulate it and escape its baneful influences do not appear very clear to my mind. There are,
however, two things, in my opinion, necessary to be done
before we can hope to make much progress in this direction.
First, we want legislation. We want a law by which each
boy entering a shop to learn a trade shall be bound to serve
a certain number of years, and at the end of his apprenticeship he shall receive from his master a certificate, setting
forth that he has served the required time, and is, therefore,
a lawful journeyman; and it shall be unlawful for any one
to employ him to work at the trade he undertook to learn,
without such certificate. Secondly, we want a sound public
opinion regarding this matter. This we can have in a little
while, if we pursue the proper course. It is poor men's
sons who learn trades. These men must be talked to and
reasoned with, and an occasional well written article upon
the questions widely and universally spread among them,
so that both men and boys can read and learn. They must
be made to see that, in nine cases out of ten, boys entering
shops to learn trades have little or no chance of getting a
thorough knowledge of the business, because the master
assumes no responsibilities, and that the boy has only to
remain as long as he feels inclined; and whenever he feels
that he has a slight insight of the trade, he can leave,
11




122   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H; SYLVIS.
and set himself up as a journeyman. It is by these means
that a very large number of inferior workmen are thrown
upon the community. I am satisfied, that if we can inculcate a sound public sentiment on this question, and secure
the necessary legislation, we will have nearly, if not quite,
eradicated this evil.
Another matter needing our serious attention is that of
"prison labor."  I do not wish to be understood as being
opposed to convict labor, nor as having any sympathy for
the felon beyond that which I feel for poor fallen humanity
everywhere. It is against the present sytem of prison labor
that I wish to raise my voice. The object of confining in
prison those convicted of crime is to rid society of their
presence, and to endeavor, during their confinement, to reform them, so that when again turned loose upon the world
they may become good citizens. This is the intention of the
law. The first object of the law is of course accomplished;
and as an illustration of what is accomplished in a reformatory way, I will describe what I recently saw in a prisonhouse in Detroit, Michigan; and the same system is practised
everywhere. There they carry on chair-making quite extensively. Most that I saw were making chairs, or rather
parts of chairs. One makes backs, another bottoms, another
legs, another rungs, and so on to the end. This they call
learning a trade in prison. But a convict may make chairbacks for any length of time, and when his term expires he
will know no more about making a bottom, or putting a
chair together, than the man in the moon. One of the worst
features of this chair-making is, that a portion of the work
is cone by females. Of course, the young lady who serves
out a term of years, and learns the very desirable accomplishment of plaiting chair-bottoms, will be well able to go
out and battle with the world for the rest of her life. A
portion of the work is'done by free labor, and that very




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYIVIS. 123
poorly paid for. The net cost of making these chairs is far
below the same articles outside. These chairs are sold to a
contractor, who puts them into the market at a very low
price. Thus the honest and industrious chair-lmaker outside
is brought into direct competition with this cheap prison
labor. I may be asked, " What will you do with them? Do
you propose to keep them in idleness? " Not by any means.
But you have no more right to impose upon a convict than
upon " any other man." If their term be long enough, I
would have them learn some useful occupation. I would
have them work at whatever can be found for them to do,
but pay them the same price that is paid for similar work
outside. Do not bring the honest mechanic into unfair
competition with the felon. But these sanctimonious hypocrites, who are always talking about reforming the world,
hold up their hands in holy horror and exclaim, " What!
would you give them money?"   Yes, gentlemen, I would
give them money. I would pay them for everything they
do the highest price paid for the same kind of work outside,
and deduct from their earnings the amount it costs to keep
them there; and at the end of their term I would hand
over to them the balances, or perchance they might have a
needy and helpless family, who should have it each week.
This course would be doing justice to the honest and innocent mechanic, who has not incurred the penalty of the law;
and in thousands of cases the money thus raised would save
the convict from the further. commission of crime, and perhaps his innocent wife and children from beggary and want.
The prison-labor system, as it stands at present, is a festering sore fastened upon society, that can never be healed
over until a new order of things can be introduced.
The eight-hour question is one demanding our most
earnest and enlightened consideration. It is a subject of
such vast and momentous importance, that I cannot help




124   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.
expressing my inability to approach it in a manner anything like satisfactory even to myself. Many, indeed, if not
all the wrongs under which the toiling millions groan, may
be traced to the ignorance of the masses; and that ignorance is the direct and inevitable result of over-work. So
large a portion of the working-classes is taken up by active,
physical toil, that mental cultivation, however strong the
desire for it may be, is rendered impossible. And yet we
are scoffed at for the want of cultivation, and pointed to
the various institutions of learning scattered in abundance
around us. It is true that churches are erected, schoolhouses are built, mechanics' institutions are founded, and
libraries, free and otherwise, are ready to receive us, to instruct our understanding and shape our judgment; but
alas i we lack the time to use them - time, so precious to the
wise man, so worthless to the fool, but which is the treasure
of earth to the over-worked and under-paid sons of toil.
Poor millions! they only want time.
Solomon, the wise king of Israel, declared there was a
" time for every thing."  I once thought so, too; but experience has dispelled the illusion. Time there is, indeed,
precious and plentiful, but it is devoted to the god of this
world, to the worship of Mammon, to the aggrandizement
of the few, to the accumulation of wealth. Labor is denied
a claim, a right, an ownership to it. The poor needlewoman, the overtasked workmen of every kind, only want
time to improve their condition. " Time! time! time! " is
the cry ere eternity approach, and then "time shall be no
more."  Man is permitted a little time of God to prepare
himself for a higher, nobler, happier existence beyond the
grave. But his fellow-man steps in, and, like a stealthy
highwayman, robs him of his treasure. Still, I predict for
this movement an ample and glorious result; it will carry
in its train a thousand blessings. To diminish the hours of




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS. 120
toil is to increase the value of labor, is to multiply the number of laborers, is to add to the moral dignity and religious
spirit of the times, is to change for the better the social
state and character of the people, and this will be to
strengthen the patriotism, the commercial credit, and the
*political institutions of the country.
" Physiologically speaking, eight hours of physical toil,
no matter in what department of industry, is a reasonable
amount of physical exertion for the average individual
strength of man in one day." The highest authorities who
have spoken and written concerning physical man, testify
the same thing. To combine, therefore, to agitate, to organize throughout the length and breadth of the land, is a step
in the right direction. The object is not only legal and legitimate, but it has a moral sanction above and beyond all
these. It is honorable in those who concede it as well as
those who labor for it. The vast numbers of laboringpeople who are confined in our large cities are justified, in
every sense of the word, to bring the prolonged hours of
toil within reasonable limits. Compelled of necessity to
seek a dwelling-place for their families in the most remote
suburbs of these vast collections of humanity, where they
can most economically eke out the scanty earnings of the
week, they are compelled to rise at the first hours of early
morn, in order to reach the great gates of the capitalist, to
enter upon the long hours of toil that stretch their weary
length until the close of day. But the labor is not yet at
an end. Again they have to exert their exhausted frames
and weary limbs over many a weary mile before they can
sit down to.rest or enjoy the society of wife and children.
In what physical state, in what mental condition, is this exhausted laborer to enter upon the duties of the social circle,
or the cultivation of the mind? Alas! his toil-worn limbs
refilse their office any longer. The eyes, wearied with con11 *




126   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
tinual vigilance, sink blinded within their aching and
throbbing sockets, and the slumberer, half fed, half cleansed,
half caressing and caressed, is prostrated in a sleep that
hardly knows a waking. Again, and yet again, is this process of walking, toiling, eating, and sleeping repeated;
nature engaged in fearful conflict with mind acted upon by
the laws of necessity and social existence. All this time
the capitalist is well cared for. A railroad car or cab, or
it may be his own private carriage, conveys him at the sober
hour of ten to his place of business, and the same reconveys
him home again at the business hour of four. He has time
to live, to converse, to attend the evening soiree or the club.
Time is of little or no consequence to him. The pleasures of
idleness fall heavy upon his taste, and labor even becomes
an agreeable relaxation. Again, when the business of life
is done, and the little toil of a few years has accumulated
vast wealth, capital retires to its country mansion and rural
enjoyment, while worn-out labor asks permission to enter an
almshouse and die.
Such, sir, are some of our claims to a little more time.
Time to breathe, to rest, to repose, to think, - a little time
transferred from the busy workshop to the quiet family
circle, to enjoy the child's caresses, the wife's smile, the
friendly greeting of a neighbor, the grave counsel of a
visiting pastor, the perusal of a newspaper, the chapter in
the family Bible, - time to think of our Creator's bounty,
to forget man's tyranny, to remember heaven's promises,
and to refresh the weary soul with prayer.
Mr. Chairman, I am   convinced this movement must
succeed. "The onward progress of man's soul in humanity and justice on earth must bear him nearer to the courts
of heaven."
Sir, although there remain many highly important and
interesting points of this great subject yet untouched, but




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 127
having, I fear, exhausted your patience and my own strength,
I shall, after a very few more remarks, leave it.
How long, oh, how long, must the toiling millions, the
authors of all the wealth and affluence that surround us
on every side, be doomed to groan beneath the Juggernautwheels of oppression? Let us trust not long. We have
made the beginning, and the end is visible.
Through that thick gloom, that for ages has hung like a
pall over the poor man's home, enshrouding in total darkness mental, moral, social, political, and physical, can be
seen the dawning of a better day. Away in the misty
future is visible the glimmering rays of a rising sun which,
if we are but true to ourselves, will soon break in all its
splendor upon us.
Let us depart from this convention with new resolves,
with enlarged and exalted ideas, with our faith in the
glorious cause strengthened and refined, and a firmer determination, let what may come, to push on the great and
good work
"Of winning, fettering, moulding, welding, banding
The hearts of millions, till they move as one."
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT CHICAGO, JANUARY 9, 1865.
Gentlemen of the Convention: — I wish again to make use
of the opportunity of your'meeting in annual session to
address you upon the mighty events that are transpiring
around us, and present for your consideration, and the consideration of my fellow-workmen everywhere, my humble
views upon some of the great questions of the day.
Time, in its ceaseless rounds, has again brought us to the




128   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
close of another year: a year laden with events which have
caused the nations of the earth to pause and gaze in wonder
and astonishment. A political revolution, before which all
others of which history speaks sinks into insignificance, hats
left its trail of blood upon the sky, which will remain to
astonish and appall all future generations; the results of
which will settle for ages, and, perhaps, forever, the great
experiment of republican institutions; the great problem
of man's capacity for self-government. While these events
have been transpiring around us, others, no less important
in their bearing upon the future destiny of the nation and
the world, though partially obscured for.the time by the brilliancy of these, have been taking place. The year that has
just closed its doors behind us, has witnessed the rise and
progress of a social revolution such as the world has never
known. The hard test of reason and honest, practical thought
has penetrated to the very bottom of social economy, and the
vast upheaval of the social strata, bringing to the surface
the diamond and the rotten-stone, the pure gold and the
dross, is the result. So gigantic in its proportions, so potent
in its influences, and so tremendous in its bearings upon the
present and the future, has this reformation become, that
were it not for the more brilliant and dazzling events by
which we are surrounded, the civilized world would watch,
with increasing interest, the development of every new
movement. The true friends of human progress, throughout the world, would hail it as the dawning of that good
time coming, when right and wrong shall wage their last
fierce conflict; when all forms of tyranny over the mind
and soul of man shall cease; when reason shall rule the nations of the earth; when the dark clouds of error and superstition shall roll away, and when loud echoing over the rolling flood shall come the anthems of the free - the promised
words:




BIOGRAPHY       OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.           129
"Of liberty and reason,
Of righteousness and peace,
Foretelling that elysium
When hate and strife shall cease.
"Of'land for all the landless,'
Ordained of God above;
Of'free homes for the homeless,'
Of'truth, and hope, and love."'
But although these events have attracted less attention
than others, they are none the less important on that account. What would it profit us, as a nation, were we to preserve our institutions and destroy the morals of the people;
save our Constitution, and sink the masses into hopeless ignorance, poverty, and crime; all the forms of our republican
institutions to remain on the statute-books, and the great
body of the people sunk so low as to be incapable of comprehending their most simple and essential principles; with
the wealth of the nation concentrated in the hands of the
few, and the toiling many reduced to squalid poverty and
utter dependence on the lords of the land, and with every
position of profit and honor filled by the proud and opulent? Again, allow me to ask, what would it profit us if
the forms of our institutions were preserved and all else
lost? But, Mr.. Chairman, I am told that I have mounted
upon fancy's wing and gone rioting through the fields of
imagination, and present a picture that is overdrawn; a
state of affairs that can never come to pass; that our institutions are built upon a foundation as firm as the "eternal
hills," against which the angry waves of foreign and domestic strife may surge in vain. But, fellow-workmen, be
not deceived. Allow not yourselves to be rocked into a
false security by these sweet lullabies. Remember that tyrants have ever sung of safety to the people while grinding
the sword to stab their liberties. Remember, too, that all
I




130   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
popular governments must depend for their stability and
success upon the virtue and intelligence of the masses; that
tyranny is founded upon ignorance, and liberty upon education; and that while long hours, low wages, and few privileges are the strength and support of the one, they are entirely incompatible with the other. Again, I am told that
by "vulgar arguments" and "coarse language," I am appealing to the passions of the "ignorant masses," and sowing the seeds of discontent where once were happiness and
"mutual confidence;" that my teachings are "destroying
those relations which should always exist between employers
and employes," and which, if persisted in, will eventually
bring about a "collision between capital and labor."  Mr.
Chairman, to the charge of "vulgar arguments" and
"coarse language," I have no reply to make; but, allow me
to ask, in what consists that mutual confidence? In this,
sir, and in this only. Employers were confident of their
ability to impose upon us to whatever extent they pleased,
and we were confident of our ability to resist their encroachments. That my teachings are destructive of those relations
that should exist between the two, I deny; that they are destroying the relations that do exist between them, I freely
admit. Those relations are, for the most part, that of master and slave, and are totally at variance with the spirit of
the institutions of a free people, and the relations that
should exist between equals; and, sir, if any effort I can
make will contribute to the total downfall and destruction
of such relations, I shall consider the work of my lifetime
accomplished; and to accomplish this, my most earnest
efforts shall be directed to the education, elevation, and
emancipation of the "ignorant masses."
"A collision between capital and labor" already exists.
At present, it is only a clashing of interests, a social revolution, a war of classes- with such weapons as fair argu



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              131
ment, honesty of purpose, a true regard for the best interests of society, lofty, noble, and unselfish patriotism, a just
regard for the individual rights of every man, a firm reliance
upon the great Builder of the universe, and the ultimate
destruction of the power of wrong and the triumph of right,
on the one side, and selfishness, envy, sophistry, ignorance,
falsehood, flattery, covetousness, intrigue, enmity, pride, robbery, ambition, &c., on the other. But if those who employ
this language mean a collision of a sterner character, I have
only to repeat the language of Judge Tilford, while denouncing a recent attempt at a reduction of wages: "It cannot
and must not be. By the laws of ancient Rome, a convicted
traitor was hurled from the Tarpean Rock. Let the man
who, in this crisis, advocates the reduction of wages,'or the
subjugation of labor to the whims and caprices of the
wealthy, by denying to labor the right to regulate its own
affirs,' be girdled and encircled with burning fagots, and
receive the fate of the Roman felon." If the doctrines and
principles promulgated and taught by the advocates of
union among workingmen, and the efforts of those engaged
in this movement to secure to labor the fruits of its toil,
and the full enjoyment of all the blessings of an enlightened
civilization, will produce such a collision, let it come. Let
me say to those who hold such language, and who are endeavoring by such means to frighten us into submission,
that we are terribly in earnest, and that, sooner than turn
back from the point we have reached, and the course we
have marked out, we will accept the fearful issue. TG us,
this question is something more, something dearer, than constitutional ties or church relations or country itself, and the
sooner those who are, by means the most dishonorable, attempting to destroy our organizations come to understand
our true feelings, and what we mean, the better it will be
for all concerned. An able writer on this subject says:




132  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
"Capitalists have deliberately attempted to destroy tradesunions. Fortunately, their strength was ludicrously inadequate to the task. They were like a drunkard sitting on a
barrel of gunpowder, and trying to ignite it with a damp
match. Society is held together, or, to speak in a tongue
they understand better, property is preserved, not by policemen, but by ideas - by the faith which each man has in
some principle other than brute force. Destroy that faith,
rudely snatch from him that idea, by sharing which, with
others, he has been bound to society, and you have anarchy." Destroy that faith, take away that idea, bring that
anarchy, and scenes would follow before which the French
revolution, or our own rebellion, would grow pale, and sink
into insignificance.
Mr. Chairman, I have dwelt long upon this subject. I
have done so because it is one of the most vital and momentous importance. It is impossible for us to foresee to
what extremities we may be driven. I have considered it
my duty to raise my voice at this time, and proclaim a
warning to those who are to-day boasting of their power to
destroy our organizations, that they may know our intentions; may know that we are in earnest; may know that we
are ready to meet whatever issues may be forced upon us;
and then, if, with this warning before them, they force a
collision, upon them must rest the responsibility.
But a few days ago, Mr. Chairman, one of these men,
more honest than the rest, solemnly declared to me that it
was the fixed purpose of the capitalists of the country to destroy our organizations; and that the day was not far distant
when the condition of the workingmen would be far worse
than ever before; when men who are now active in the
union movement would be forced upon their bended knees
to beg for work; because, said he, "a spirit of retaliation
has been aroused in the bosom of every employer, the fruits




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     133
of which are being manifested in the wide-spread and universal organization of capitalists for the avowed and publicly proclaimed purpose of destroying your unions."  A
retrospective glance over the events of the past year, and a
brief review of a few of the most important events such as
bear directly upon the point on our anvil, will be both interesting and instructive, and will serve to show us, too,
that we have been much nearer to scenes from which every
honest man must shrink with horror than most men have
dreamed. On the 29th day of April, 1864, the following
order was issued:
GENERAL ORDER, NO. 65.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE IISSOURI,
ST. Louis, April 26, 1864.
It having come to the knowledge of the Commanding General
that combinations exist in the city of St. Louis, having for their
object to preventjourneymen-mechanics, apprentices, and laborers from working in manufacturing establishments, except on
terms prescribed to the proprietors thereof by parties not interested therein, which terms have no relation to the matter of wages
to be paid to employes, but to the internal management of such
establishments; and it appearing that, in consequence of such
combinations and the practices of those concerned in them, the
operations of some establishments where articles are produced
which are required for use in the navigation of the Western
waters, and in the military, naval, and transport service of the
United States, have been broken up, and the production of such
articles stopped or suspended; the following order is promulgated, any violation thereof will be punished as a military offence:
I. No person shall, directly or indirectly, attempt to deter or
prevent any other person from working on such terms as he
may agree upon in any manufacturing establishment where any
article is ordinarily made which may be required for use in the
navigation of the Western waters, or in the military, naval, or
transport service of the United States.
12




134   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM             I. SYLVIS.
II. No person shall watch around or hang about any such
establishment for the purpose of annoying the employes thereof, or learning who are employed therein.
III. No association or combination shall be formed or continue, or meeting be held, having for its object to prescribe to
the proprietors of any such establishment whom they shall
employ therein, or how they shall conduct the operations
thereof.
IV. All employes in such establishments will be protected
by military authority against all attempts by any person to
interfere with or annoy them in their work, or in consequence
of their being engaged in it.
V. The proprietors of every such establishment in the county
of St. Louis will forthwith transmit to the office of the ProvostMarshal General the names of all persons who have, since the
15tl day of March, 1864, left their employ to engage in any
such combination or association as that above referred to; or
have been induced to leave by the operations of any such combination or association, or by the individual efforts concerned
ther.ein. The places of residence of such persons, as far as
known, will be stated, together with a list, by name, of all who
have taken an active part in any combination or effort to control
the conduct of any such establishment, or to prevent persons
from working therein.
VI. The post commander, Colonel J. H. Baker, 10th Minnesota Volunteers, is charged, under the direction of the district
commander, with the execution of this order. All persons applying for the aid of the military forces, in this connection, will
report direct to Colonel Baker.
VII. In putting down this attack upon private rights and
the military power of the nation by organizations led by bad
men, the General confidently relies upon the support and aid
of the city authorities, and of all right-minded men.
By command of Major-General Rosecrans.
0. D. GREENE,
Assistant Adjutant- General.
Official.                           FRANK ENO,
Assistant Adjutant- General.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 135
At the time of the appearance of this order two strikes
were in progress in the city of St. Louis -machinists and
blacksmiths, and tailors.  Several members of the two
unions were arrested, and an intense excitement, silent, to
be sure, but none the less intense on that account, was the
result. A demonstration by the workingmen against this
invasion of their rights could not be made, because that
city was then ruled by martial law. A respectful petition,
numerously signed, asking for a modification of the order,
was presented to the General, but without effect. This order
was brought about by a combined effort on the part of the
employers of that city. I cannot suppose that a man occupying the proud position of major-general in the American
army could be led, by mercenary motives, to commit such'an outrage upon the workingmen of his department. But
he was waited upon by, and made the dupe of, bad men,
who represented those engaged in the strikes and in the
union movement as "roughs," among whom were many
disloyal men, and that, altogether, they were a dangerous
class; and those whose shops were idle because of the
strikes, and who were, in part, engaged on government
work, plead their necessities, and convinced the General
that the men were making unreasonable demands altogether
beyond their power to comply with; and that it had become
a military necessity that these men should be forced back
into the shops at the point of the bayonet. The General
supposed these men to be honest, because they were rich
and held high positions in society; while he spurned, with
contempt, the honest poor man who waited upon him, and
the order went forth to the world, and there it will stand
upon history's page, a lasting disgrace to its author and all
who were connected with it. Again, on the 19th day of
May, 1864, the following order was promulgated:




136   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.
HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY,
OFFICE PPOVOST-MARSHATL GENERAL,
LOUISVILLE, May 19th, 1864.
[Orders.]
It having come to the knowledge of the General Government
that combinations exist in this city, having for their object to
prevent mechanics and laborers from working in manufacturing
establishments, except on terms prescribed to the proprietors
thereof by parties not interested therein, which terms have no relation to the wages paid, but to the internal management of such
establishments; and it appearing that, in consequence of such
combinations, and the practices of those connected with them,
that the operations of some establishments where articles are
manufactured for the naval and transport service of the United
States, and for military railroads of the same, are in danger of
being suspended, and the interests of the service injured thereby, it is ordered:
I. No person shall directly or indirectly attempt to prevent
any other person from working on such terms as he may agree
upon in any manufacturing establishment where articles are
made which may be required in the military or naval service of
the United States.
II. No combinations shall be formed or meetings held, having
for their object to prescribe to the proprietors of any such establishment whom they shall employ therein, or how they shall
conduct the operations thereof.
III. The proprietors of such establishments in the city of
Louisville will forthwith transmit to the office of the ProvostMarshal of the city the names of all persons who have, since
the 18th day of April, 1864, left their employ to engage in any
such combination as that above referred to, or have been induced
to leave by the efforts of any one concerned therein. The places
of residence of persons who have taken an active part in any
combination, or effort to control, the conduct of any such establishment, or to prevent persons from working therein, will be
given.
IV. The post commander and the provost-marshal of the city




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     137
of Louisville are charged with the enforcement of this order.
Any violation of it will be punished as a military offence.
V. In putting down this attack upon private rights and the
interests of the service by organizations led by bad men, the
General Commanding confidently relies upon the support and
aid of the city authorities, and of all right-minded men.
By order of Brigadier-General Burbridge.
STEPHEN E. JONES,
Capt. and A. D. C., P. i. G. D., KCy.
This order was issued under about the same circumstances
as Order No. 65, and for a like purpose, the only difference
being that there are the strongest reasons for believing that
General Burbridge was in the confidence of the employers,
aware of all their plans and objects, and that he was actuated by the most selfish and dishonorable motives.
On the 10th day of March last, a strike took place
among the laborers at Cold Springs, N. Y. These men
were in the employ of R. P. Parrott, who was engaged
in the manufacture of shot, shell, &c., for the Government, and who is the inventor of the "Parrott gun."
The men were receiving from a dollar to a dollar and a
quarter per day. Owing to the very large advance in the
prices of all the necessaries of life, they made a very respectful request that their wages should be advanced to a
dollar and a half per day. This request was refused, and a
strike was the consequence. Two days after the strike took
place, four of them were arrested and sent to Fort Lafayette, where they remained for seven weeks, when they were
liberated without a trial, although a trial was demanded.
Two companies of United States soldiers were ordered to
the place, and martial law proclaimed, and the men forced
to resume work at the old prices. Three of these poor men,
who were robbed of seven weeks of their time, and confined
in prison for no offence other than exercising their right to
12 *




138   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.
refuse to work at a less price than they were pleased to ask
-- a right belonging to every American citizen - were not
permitted to return to their homes, were driven from their
abiding places, exiled in a free land, their families forced
from the town, forced to move beyond the limits of this
tyrant's domains, whose rule is as absolute as is that of
the Emperor of all the Russias.
The following bill was presented to the New York Legislature at its last session:
An Act to punish unlawful interference with employers and
employ6s.
The people of the State of New York, represented in the
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Any person who shall himself, or in combination
with any other person or persons, by force or threats of any kind,
either
1. Prevent or deter, or attempt to prevent or deter, any other
person or persons from engaging or continuing in any lawful
employment, labor or undertaking, in such manner and upon
such terms as he or they may choose or accept.
2. Prevent or deter, or attempt to prevent or deter, any other
person or persons from employing such workmen, laborers, or
employes that he or they desire to employ, and in such manner
and on such terms as he or they may choose or accept, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Section 2. Any person who shall himself, or in combination
with any other person or persons, commit either of the offences
described in the first section of this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Section 3. This provides a punishment for persons convicted
under the above sections by imprisonment in the county jail,
not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding $250, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
Section 4. This Act shall take effect immediately.
This bill was introduced by Senator Hastings, the Rep



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM.H. SYLVIS. 139
resentative of the Troy District -a district, the voting
population of which is very largely, perhaps three-fourths,
mechanics and laboring men. The primary object in the
introduction of this bill was the breaking up of the Moulders',
and Machinists' and Blacksmiths' Unions in that State; but
its provisions are such that every trade organization in New
York would have been crushed out of existence had it become a law; but, fortunately, the workingmen of the great
Empire State were equal to the emergency. The introduction of this bill created among the working-people of New
York one of those profound and intense excitements, such
as sometimes seize a whole people when about to be overwhelmed by some terrible disaster. The great body of our
fellow-workmen in that State saw, as it were by inspiration,
the terrible dangers that were threatening their liberties
with destruction, heard with awful distinctness the clanking
of the chains that were being forged at Albany, with which
to bind them to the chariot-wheels of opulence and oppression. And as one man, and with one voice, they rose up
from one end of the State to the other to protest against its
passage. And to this watchfulness and determination they
and every workingman on this continent are indebted for
the defeat of the boldest scheme yet attempted to accomplish
the subjugation of labor. A similar bill was introduced
into the Massachusetts Legislature by a Mr. Brown; this
bill passed one branch of that body, but was sunk in committee of the other by a timely demonstration on the part of
the workingmen of Boston. The names of Hastings and
Brown will go down to posterity as the first American legislators, who, for a price, made themselves the willing instruments of a few pampered menials who sought to steal away
the rights of the people. Their names should be hung up
in every workingman's house, and their children taught to
hate them.




140   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
Mr. Chairman, I have selected these cases from among
many, such as the breaking up of the Miners' Association,
in the Eastern coal fields, by government interference; the
defeat of the Reading Railroad engineers by the same
means; the confiscation of the back pay of the moulders in
the Brooklyn Navy-Yard, who struck for higher wages; the
introduction of the convict labor system into the Sing Sing
prison, by which a large number of honest men were thrown
out of employment, etc. I have presented the above cases,
and gone into detail, because they best answered my purpose,
and because they stand out as the most glaring assaults upon,
and most infamous interference with, the rights of the laboring-people. I am aware, sir, that this is a delicate subject,
and I do not wish to be understood as fixing any of the
blame for these abuses upon the authorities at Washington.
It is true that some of these petty tyrants, "clothed in a
little brief authority," have been retained in the positions
they have disgraced; but a reason for this may be found in
the fact that the matter has never been fairly presented to
the authorities. I presume it is hardly necessary for me to
enter into any arguments to prove that the workingmen, the
great body of the people, the bone and muscle of the nation,
the very pillars of our temple of liberty, are loyal; that, I
take it, would be sheer mockery, would be adding insult to
injury: for the evidences of our loyalty we need only point
to the history of the war; to the fact, that while armed
treason and rebellion threatened our institutions with destruction, while the proud and opulent of the land were plotting
the downfall of our government, the toiling millions stood
like a wall of adamant between it and the destructive elements of revolution, between the country and all its foes.
These outrages upon the rights of the people have created
a profound sensation, have made impressions that can never
be erased. It is true that the muttering thunders of the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 141
confined volcano were scarcely audible above the surface,
but they were none the less deep because in secret.
History points us to a period in the life of one of the
proudest nations of the earth, when, through foreign foes
and domestic traitors, the liberties of the people were lost;
and thus in the almost hopelessness of their condition, while
the wealthy were fawning at the feet of the proud conqueror, or assisting in a division of the nation's wealth, the
mechanics, the laborers, the " the ignorant masses," who had
had, for a long time previous, trades-unions almost similar
to our own, were holding secret councils in their lodge-rooms,
and devising ways and means whereby to drive the invaders
from the land and re-establish the government; and as the
iron heel of the conqueror became more firmly fixed upon
the necks of the people, and as taxes increased, and one
privilege after another disappeared, the slowly gathering
anger of the people became more audible, muttering at first
to itself in secret, then bursting forth here and there in resistance to some act of more flagrant oppression and extortion, at length triumphing in a wild and irresistible explosion, in the massacre of Bruges and the bloody victory of
Courtrai. Let those who would trample under foot the
rights of the working-people of this nation, beware lest history repeats itself, and the names of St. Louis and New
York be substituted for Bruges and Courtrai.
Mr. Chairman, my object has been accomplished. I have
wished to show to the country, and especially to those in
authority, how near we have been to scenes that would
appall the stoutest heart. In ordinary times a collision
would have been inevitable; nothing but the patient patriotism of the people, and their desire in no way to embarrass the government, prevented it. But "there is a point
where forbearance ceases to be a virtue," - that point may
be reached.




142   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.
MIr. Chairman, after all that has been said and written in
defence of trades-unions, and the necessity for their existence, it would seem almost superfluous to refer to the subject
at all. But we seem to have just arrived at that point
where it becomes necessary to arouse the dormant energies
of the mind, and summon to our assistance every new and
available argument, to convince our fellow-workmen that in
combination and co-operation lies our only hope for the future. Taking it for granted that the question of right
has been disposed of, I shall therefore proceed briefly to
argue the question from the stand-point of necessity. That
a necessity exists for some action on the part of the laboring
masses, if they wish to counteract the influences and avoid
the evils of a centralization of wealth and the downward
tendency of the price of labor, I think all will admit. I
think a brief survey of the field will prove interesting. I
believe that one of the most powerful arguments that can
be produced, and one which will make the most profound
and lasting impression on the minds of my hearers-and I
am talking to every workingman on the American continent-is a comprehensive and, as far as possible, statistical
contrast between those branches of industry which are yet
without their trade organizations, and those which have
them so far perfected as to derive benefit therefrom. And,
first, let us consider, for a moment, the condition of the
laboring - classes in those countries where, for ages, the
wealth of the land has been slowly, but surely, concentrating in the hands of the few; and where, through the operations of the downward tendency of the price of labor, the
poor have been multiplied and reduced to the lowest possible condition of poverty and degradation.
In all these countries the sons of toil have been the serfs
of the land, the slaves of a master, or the inheritors of those
brands of bondage and badges of servility which held them




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H, SYLVIS. 143
in a state very little superior to that of our southern negroes.
The tenure of their existence was eternal toil; the recompense of their labor a bare subsistence; the profits of their
industry was the property of their masters. Thus were the
wages of labor almost universally decided by power instead
of justice; the smallest pittance compatible with life has
been allotted to the children of industry. The origin of the
wages of labor came from masters who arrogated to themselves absolute power. Beginning with Egypt, the laborers
were slaves; it is the same with the Turks; it was the same
with Greece and Rome. Then arose the feudal barons of
Germany, of France, and of Britain, with their serfs, their
clans, their retainers, varied epithets by which to designate
slaves. And this pittance of ancient and feudal times to
slaves is now the principal of the wages of labor under our
equal rights and charters of liberty in this the middle of
the nineteenth century. What but a principle of slavery
could have made it a felony, as it was, and is now, the case
in nearly every country in the Old World, for a workingman
to demand the true and just wages of his labor?  If mechanics combine to raise their wages, the laws punish them
as conspirators against the good of society, and the dungeon
awaits them as it does the robber. But the laws have made
it a just and meritorious act that capitalists shall conbine to
strip the man of labor of his earnings, and reduce him to a
dry crust and a gourd of water. Thus does power invert
justice, and derange the order of nature.
I have stated, Mr. Chairman, that the wealth of the countries of the Old World was slowly, but surely, concentrating
in the hands of a few individuals; this is a contradiction of
the position taken by many political economists; without
multiplying evidences, I simply propose to refer to a few
examples. By a reference to well authenticated tables, we
find that in the year 1786 the soil of England was owned




144   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVISo
by 250,000 corporators and proprietors; and, in 1822, the
number had fallen to 30,000; thus, in thirty-six years, 220,000
persons ceased to be landholders, leaving the whole soil of
England centred in the hands of 30,000 individuals. This
vast domain is distributed something like this: the Marquis
of Breadalbane rides out of his house a hundred miles in
a straight line to the sea on his own property; the Duke
of Sutherland owns the county of Sutherland stretching
across Scotland from sea to sea; the Duke of Devonshire,
besides his other estates, owns 96,000 acres in the county of
Derby; the Duke of Richmond has 40,000 acres at Goodwood and 300,000 acres at Gordon Castle; the Duke of Norfolk's park in Sussex is fifteen miles in circuit. The large
domains are growing larger, and the great estates are absorbing the small freeholds. What is true of landed property is equally true of every other species of wealth.
England presents to view a pyramid, but an inverted one,
the apex of which rests upon a vast population, a portion
of which is uninstructed to a degree almost incredible, while
another large portion is instructed in a very small degree,
and the whole are wanting activity. Piled on these is a vast
poor-house establishment, with its hosts of officers. On this
again stands Manchester, and on this rests a large mass of
great merchants and bankers, trading largely on credit and
but little capital. On the top of this rest numerous great
corporations, making large dividends out of Irish rents,
and taxes on the coal consumed by the artisans of London,
or the salt eaten by the unfortunate people of India, or the
proceeds of high interest charged to unhappy traders. On
the top of this we see a great church collecting millions to
be divided among archbishops, bishops, prebends and rectors, while curates do the work and starve on servants'
wages. Next, we see a great aristocracy, with vast possessions cultivated by men who live in mud hovels, and earn




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYIVIS.             145
nine shillings a week, ($2.10,) and mortgages so heavy that
record officers are undesirable. Piled on this, Pelion upon
Ossa, we have a fleet and army requiring a hundred millions of dollars annually for their support. Over all stands
the ministers and great officers of state, surrounded by hosts
of chancellors and ex-chancellors, pensioners, sinecurists,
and recipients of the public moneys, of all grades and conditions of life, from the great duke to the tide-waiter and
letter-sorter. The machine is top-heavy. It rests on the
shoulders of the very poor; upon those of the little children
and poor women of Manchester; upon the five millions of
workingmen who toil in the vast workshops of Lancashire
and Yorkshire, whose moral and intellectual poverty is
quite in keeping with their physical prostration and social
wretchedness; upon the eighteen thousand colliers and laborers of South Staffordshire, and the fifty or sixty thousand
women and children dependent upon them for support. In
short, it rests upon the shoulders of the toiling millions, who
produce what the few monopolize. What is true of England is equally true of every other country in the Old World.
"France, too, presents to view another great inverted pyramid resting on the shoulders of the miserable people of
Paris, one-half of whom receive alms in the form of bread
tickets when the crops are short, and the more miserable
operatives of Lyons and Sedan. The part which stands
high in, the air, and which should be the bottom, is broad;
and there we see the king busily employed in raising materials from below to widen the top, creating appcanages and
viceroyalties for his children, while all around are watching
for the time when the whole machine will topple over, burying in its ruins king, princes, princesses, appanages, viceroyalites and all."  Some idea may be formed of this stupendous pyramid, when we consider that the whole number
of officials appointed and paid by that government liable
13                  K




146  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
to removal and promotion, and annuitants and pensioners,
was, in 1850, about 940,000, and the amount of salaries and
pensions was about $85,000,000, to this was not added the
army, 400,000, and the navy, 60,000. What an army of
non-producers. "Poverty and wretchedness, the necessary
consequences of misgovernment, exist everywhere in that
great country, and where they are found, the habit of union
can have no place. Society is divided into two great classes,
separated by an impassable gulf -those who labor to produce and may not enjoy, and those who enjoy without producing." Mr. Chairman, I will pursue the point no further.
Argument might be piled upon argument, and examples
from history mutiplied indefinitely, but I think enough has
been said to establish the truth of the proposition that
where all power is centred in the few, there also will all
wealth accumulate.
Now let us for a moment glance at the other proposition,
"that as the wealth of a nation becomes centred in the
hands of the few, the power of that few increases, and the
many sink lower and lower in the social scale."  And to
prove this position, I shall again summon statistical evidences as the best possible argument. The science of statistics is to political economy what steam is to the steamengine. No theory, however plausible the argument in its
favor may be, can stand before an array of accurate statistical information. Assuming this to be a fact, then it must
follow that the writer who can produce the best authenticated statistical evidences in favor of his proposition, will
be entitled to the larger amount of confidence. The downward tendency of the price of labor commenced with the
spirit of monopoly, and together they have travelled through
all the ages of the past. Where one extreme is found there
will be the other also.
Vast accumulations of wealth in individual hands have




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM I. SYLVIS.               147
ever produced the extremest poverty among the many; thus,
in those countries where we see all wealth and all power
centred in the hands of the few, we find the masses of the
people steeped in ignorance and vice, and all that train of
evils which hangs like a withering blight over society.
I have, Mr. Chairman, by a few brief statistics, showed
to what extent the wealth of European countries was monopolized. Now see what is the condition of the great
masses of the people of these countries. By a reference to
carefully prepared tables, we find that the wages of farm
laborers in England and Ireland do not exceed, at the
highest, over thirty-seven cents per day. In most parts of
Irelaid, the farm laborer gets but twenty-five cents per day,
and boards and lodges himself; and at that rate he cannot
find employment more than half the time.    The day's
work, moreover, is from daylight till dark. No ten-hour
system there! In Ghent, Belgium, the average price is
about thirty cents per day, the workmen finding themselves.
In the neighborhood of Bonn, on the Rhine, it is about
twenty-five cents per day. In Wiesbaden it is from thirty to
thirty-five cents per day. At the farm of the Agricultural
Institute of Geisberg, near Wiesbaden, the price paid is
twenty-four cents per day; the men in all cases boarding
themselves. In and about Heidelberg, in the Grand Duchy
of Baden, it varies from twenty-nine to thirty-one cents per
day.  In and around Cassel the daily wages amount to
thirty-seven cents. At the Agricultural College of Weihenstephan, the pay for female laborers in the field is about
eighteen cents per day, fiuding themselves. This is in harvest-time, when the price is higher than at other seasons.
The price of potatoes in the neighborhood of Dublin is
sixty cents a bushel. Parsnips twenty dollars a ton. The
price of good butter throughout Ireland is, on an average,
twenty-three cents a pound; so that a man must work a whole




148   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
day, from twelve to fourteen hours, to earn a pound of butter. The Model Farm, at Glasneven, got thirty-six cents a
pound in January, 1864. The price of flour is about as
high on the continent as in America, and the same quality
of meats as high. In many portions of France, wages are
still lower than these figures. In every country in Europe,
everywhere in the Old World, we find the same low standard. The history of the world praises nothing more certainly, nothing with clearer demonstration, than that, where
wages are lowest, there is the greatest poverty and suffering;
there the condition of the laborer is most forlorn and
wretched; there is the least moral and intellectual culture;
and there is our race sunk into the depths of political and
social degradation, incapable of raising itself to that lofty
elevation attained by a free and enlightened people capable
of governing their own affairs. It tends to the very opposite of everything cearest to us, for the descent carries with
it not only wages, but all the high and noble qualities which
fit man for self-government. This, Mr. Chairman, is no exaggeration. An appeal to the darkest pages of the history of
our race reveals abundant evidences of its truthfulness. We
find it in the expulsion of three thousand families from their
little farms on the Sutherland estate, and their villages
burnt. " Two acres per family were allowed them elsewhere,
to be held on short leases, on payment of a rent of two shillings six pence per acre. Nearly the whole race of Highlanders has been expelled in a similar manner, and their
habitations destroyed."  Read the report of the Poor-Law
Commissioners, who, in speaking of the pauper lunatics, tell
us that "the portion of the domestic accommodations usually assigned to these unfortunates-is that commonly devoted to the reception of coals, &c., namely, the triangular
space formed between the stairs and the ground floor. In
these confined, dark, and damp corners may be found, at




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           TI. SYLYIS. 149
this very time, no small number of our fellow-beings, huddled, crouching and gibbering, with less apparent intelligence, and under worse treatment than the lower domestic
animals."  Take up the history of Ireland, and refer to the
records of 1847, and later. See in one single parish, sixteen
hundred human beings with neither work nor food. Eight
famnilies, consisting of forty-seven persons, were ejected from
one estate, (Sir Edward Waller's.) From another, (Lord
Bloomfield's,) eight families of forty - five persons were
turned upon the road without a roof to protect them from
the rigors of the weather.
At the village of " Glen, on the estate of the Earl of Cork,
ejectments were executed by the sub-sheriff of Cork, aided by
the military and police force, on forty-eight tenants. Their
houses or cabins were thrown down, and the forty-eight fanlilies, numbering about four hundred human beings, were
turned out upon the high road. Of these, it is alleged,
more than one hundred were suffering from fever. They were
obliged to take refuge in a neighboring churchyard. The
churchyard of Ballysally contains many flat tombstones and
grass-covered graves; and among these graves the ejected
families slept for four consecutive nights, huddled together.
One poor woman was taken off her bed four days after confinement, and placed by the side of the ditch with her infant,
both in a state of helpless exhaustion."
Search the records of France, and behold the awful results of human overwork - of a system by which one-third
of those who work in miles, factories, and workshops, are
under twelve years old. " The paupers are described as consisting of weavers, unable at times to support their families,
and wholly chargeable to public or private charity in case
of illness, scarcity, or discharge from work; of workmen,
ignorant, improvident, brutified by debauchery, or enervated by manufacturing labor, and habitually unable to
138- 




150   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM IH. SYLVIS.
support their families; of aged persons prematurely infirm,
and abandoned by their children; of children and orphans,
a great number of whom labor under incurable disease or
deformity, and of numerous families of hereditary paupers
and beggars, heaped together in loathsome cellars and garrets; and, for the most, subject to infirmities, and addicted
to brutal vice and depravity."  Yes, Mr. Chairman, the
history of the world praises nothing more certainly, nothing
with clearer demonstration, than that, where wages are
lowest, there is the greatest poverty and suffering, there the
condition of the laborer is most forlorn and wretched. In
1844, out of a population of 34,400,000 in France, there
were 16,855,000 persons unable to read and write; and
7,097,000 able to read, but not to write; and 6,968,000 able
to read and write but incorrectly. Thus, in a population of
over 34,000,000, we find about 24,000,000 without sufficient
mental cultivation to comprehend the most ordinary events,
while we find but 315,000 who had completed their classical studies. Surely, here are the privileged few and degraded many.  What a commentary on the civilization of
the nineteenth century!
Yes, Mr. Chairman, experience teaches us nothing more
certainly than that the downward tendency of the price of
labor carries with it not only wages, but all the high and
noble qualities which fit us for self- government. The
nation cannot be truly great, that people cannot be truly
free and happy, where labor is poorly paid.
These evidences are from the blackest chapters of history,
and the mind, horrified and disgusted, gladly breaks away
from the fetters that bind it to the contemplation of scenes
so appalling, and involuntarily exclaims: " Oh, is there no
escape? is the great Bulk of human kind doomed to eternal,
unremitting toil? is there no bright oasis in all this black
desert of despair, no bright star of hope to guide the toil



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.             151
ing millions to some far-off haven?" Yes, one blessing does
illuminate the scene. The chill winds which blow over the
neglected wastes of social economy, bear upon their wings
the glad tidings of one little green plot discovered; a voice
which rose when man first oppressed his fellow-man, and
has come floating upon the tide of time through all the centuries of the past, awakening at long intervals the toiling
many to visionary dreams of a.day of deliverance. Then
passing on, leaving no track behind, the name of that voice
we will call " Brotherhood," and as century after century
rolled away into the ocean of eternity, it found, in later
ages, by the wayside, a companion, naked, neglected, and
deformed, still a companion, whose name we will.call " Combination."  Uniting their fortunes, with healing on their
wings, and teaching, as they passed from age to age, the inspiring doctrine of " universal brotherhood,"-of hope, and
love, and truth, —they reach the present century, they
come down to the present age; and here, in their wanderings up and down the avenues of the world, they fall in
with a third companion, strong, hale, and hearty, clad in
impenetrable armor, gigantic in stature, with inexhaustible
resources, ready to seize with herculean force upon the
powers of mental, moral, and social darkness, and make
eternal, unrelenting, uncompromising war upon these enemies of mankind. This one we will name " Co-operation."
"Co-operation" says to "Brotherhood" and "Combination," Go out among the poor and lowly, teach the principles of " peace on earth and good-will to men; " unite them
in one common brotherhood, combine them for one common
purpose, and together we will commence offensive war upon
the strongholds of monopoly and centralization. We will
level to the ground these pyramids built of the blood and
tears and groans of oppressed humanity —these monuments of perverted ambition. We will hurl from their




152   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM IT. SYLYIS.
seats each tyranny and oppression, under the sway of which
the multitudes have groaned in the long days of sorrow.
Sir, the work is commenced; the great gulf between poverty and competence is being bridged over, and the great
artificers who dig the foundations, quarry the stone, and
construct the plans, are " brotherhood," " combination," and
" co-operation."
Mr. Chairman, I have not lost sight of the original proposition,-that of the necessity for action of some kind if we
would escape the power that is grinding us to the dust of
misery. That such a necessity does exist, who will deny.
It may be said that I have been confining myself wholly
to a review of the condition of the people of older countries,
and that so sad a state of affairs as I have presented can
never exist on this continent, because of a more enlightened
civilization, and a higher appreciation of the "rights of
man."  But, sir, "the same spirit which operated to the
vassalage" and degradation of the toiling millions of the
Old World is abroad in our land. The spirit of centralization on the one hand, and depression of the price of labor
on the other. It is the same spirit that has consigned to
eternal toil, with almost no remuneration, a hundred thousand American women. We find it in the vindictive spirit
manifested on every occasion of difference between men and
employers; we find it in the refusal of employers to accept
offers of arbitration as a means for the settlement of difficulties; we find it in their refusal to meet us on equal and
honorable terms, except upon isolated occasions, and then
only to gain time and impose on our credulity; we find it
in the "'utter contempt" with which they look upon the
whole laboring community, and every effort made by them
for their elevation and protection. What but the same
spirit has caused this universal uprising of the laboringp-?(le of this continent, and this wide-spread cand every



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              153
where existing contest between capital and labor. It is the
same spirit that with vindictive persecution would consign
to obscurity the very names of those who put themselves
forward as the champions and defenders of the labor movement, who are denounced as mischief-makers, demagogues,
and theorists, actuated by selfish motives. This is the everyday cant of the aristocracy, the prolific source from which
low-priced editors draw many a high-sounding editorial
with which to tickle the ears of their wealthy patrons.
Sir, " the same spirit which dooms millions of our fellowworkmen in Europe to all the horrors of squalid poverty,
in order that ONE earl, or duke, or lord may wear his
coronet, riot in his castle, and wring from the hard hand
of labor the last doit of his earnings," is abroad in OUR
land - is everywhere to be met with in all of our relations
and connections with capital.
" It is admitted on all hands, by the philanthropists of
the age, that the condition of society demands amelioration.
They affect to sympathize with misery, and exhort to reform
the depravity of man. They call upon the laboring masses
to cease their crime and study frugality; yet refuse them
time and means for education, to give them a knowledge of
virtue, and deny them that justice which would rescue them
from beggary. The problem lies in the insincerity of their
concern, and is solved by the pertinacity of their injustice.
By imposing the compulsion to labor for a meagre subsistence, they have degraded the minds and obliterated the
principles of those upon whom they make a requisition for
qualities, which can only belong to intelligence and competence. If those who labor are already despised, they have
little motive for virtue. If they are oppressed by the extortion of capital within the narrow confines of " keeping
body and soul together," they have as little motive as room
for economy. It is, therefore, a mere pretence to affect re



154   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
gard for the happiness of society, and at the same time
deny the means by which alone it can be happy.
It is worse than pretence, to say we cannot consent to receive and pay for your labor on principles of equity, but
we will provide you a poorhouse to die in. We cannot
agree to treat you as equals, and furnish you education to
meet us on equal terms; but we will build penitentiaries in
which to incarcerate you, when you commit crime. This is
the philanthropy of the age. Nor yet is it the best possible
physical condition of man that can make him virtuous and
happy. His MORAL state controls his destiny. As he is
treated by society, so will he rise or fall in the scale of
human excellence and infirmity. Contemned, despised, degraded, he sinks to the lowest level of the brute; respected,
cherished, honored, he becomes ambitious of esteem, and
aspires to excel in all that confers reputation or extorts applause. The virtual distinctions of rank, which too frequently extend into forms and titles, and which have for
their basis injustice and extortion, which are the adjuncts
of wealth, and which draw the line of exclusion where labor
commences, are the cause of all that moral depravity over
which the pampered men of opulence affect to shed tears of
compassion, and project systems of amelioration. When
the children of toil are as much shunned in society as if
they were leprous convicts just emerged from loathsome
cells, the most powerful obstacle is erected between them
and all that can make them happy, the family tie of the
race is snapped asunder, and man, thus degraded and
oppressed, would be less than man if he did not feel enmity
towards his oppressor, and view with resentment an order
of things so contrary to the dictates of justice and humanity - so broadly in contradiction to his political and social
rights, and so basely in violation of his equal attributes as
a man. Here is the fountain, the sacred fountain, of all




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM IH. SYLVIS. 155
revolutions, all strikes; this is the point at which nature
revolts; this is the point to which the producing classes
have been depressed, and at which they now rebel, claiming
their rights, and resolving to attain them.
Mr. Chairman, " the proper means of developing a nation's
resources" is, perhaps, a subject upon which more has been
written by political economists than any other. By them
and by all capitalists it is understood to mean the best
means of acquiring wealth, national and individual wealth.
Acting upon this idea, co-partnerships are established, colnpanies with acts of incorporation are organized, speculative
associations of every kind and character are fastened upon
the body politic, having at their disposal immense sums of
money and sources of revenue, and around these are thrown
the protecting arms of the law; - even the law itself becomes subject to their will. A vast network of railroads is
spread over the face of the country; canals are excavated,
connecting distant points by water navigation; navigable
rivers and lakes are burthened with steam-vessels and other
craft, and every ocean is whitened by canvas. All these
are used as a means of developing the commercial, manufacturing, agricultural, and mineral resources of the country,
such as bringing to the surface the vast deposits of coal,
iron, lead, copper, silver, gold, and other minerals, which
lie hidden in inexhaustible quantities within the bowels of
the earth, and the creation and adoption of systems by
which the soil can be made to bring forth the most plentiful supply of its various productions, and of converting the
raw material into the most abundant supply of articles useful and useless to mankind. A nation that accomplishes
these things, that is free from debts, has an overflowing
treasury, that can boast of its magnificent cities, public
buildings, and institutions of learning and science, with a
vast system of internal improvements, and a navy of steam




156   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
and sail vessels sufficient to carry its commerce to every
corner of the world, with hundreds of citizens who can each
boast his million or more — I say a nation that accomplishes these things many be termed rich, is termed rich by
social economists - is rich in all that constitutes material
wealth. But, sir, if all this vast system of improvements is
owned and controlled by a few individuals, with the manufacturing and commercial interests in the hands of another
few, with all the positions of honor and profit monopolized
by the representatives of wealth, and the institutions of
learning filled by the sons and daughters of the aristocracy,
while the producing classes- a vast majority of the people
- are, by low wages and long hours, depressed to the lowest
social position, with sensibilities blunted, principles obliterated, minds degraded, every motive or incentive to virtue
removed; with squalid poverty and all its vast train of
evils and vices as an inheritance forever; with a fixed consciousness that no change can ever come, that the great
yawning gulf between indigence and competence can never
be bridged over, that themselves and their posterity are
doomed to eternal unremitting toil, the mere living pullies
of a vast machine, that nation would be poor indeed, though
possessed of vast material wealth, yet poor in all that constitutes true riches, small in all that constitutes true greatness. There is, there can be, but one rule for estimating the
true value of wealth; that rule is HUMAN HAPPINESS. General competence, which can only be secured by an equitable
distribution of the products of labor.
"Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen who survey
The rich man's gains increase, the poor's decay,'T is yours to judge how wide the limits stand
Between a splendid and a happy land."
When philanthropists and political economists turn their




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 157
attention to an equitable (not equal) distribution of the
world's wealth, then will there be some hope, then can we
believe that their concern for mankind is something more
than mere hypocritical cant; but this they never dream of.
They continue to doctor the disease without removing the
cause. Hence the necessity we set out to prove. I think I
hear the howlings of the defenders of the aristocracy as they
cry agitator, fanatic, enthusiast.
Rowland Hill, in once addressing an immense congregation, raising himself, exclaimed: "Because I am in earnest,
muen call me an enthusiast. When I first came into this
part of the country, I was walking on yonder hill, and saw a
gravel pit fall in and bury three men alive. I lifted up my
voice for help so loud that I was heard in the town below,
at a distance of near a mile. Help came and rescued two
of the sufferers. No one called me an enthusiast them; and
when I cry aloud for men to'flee from the wrath to come,'
shall I be called an enthusiast now? "
I am no enthusiast, though I would thunder in the ears
of every enslaved man these denunciations of that power
which has covered our palsied limbs with chains. An equitable distribution of wealth would bring joy and gladness
to the human race. Small capitals are productive of happiness and industry; large ones become pernicious, by giving
to one great capitalist the profits of the wages of hundreds
and thousands of workmen. In some immense factories of
England and this country, thousands of workmen drag out
a half-famished existence, whilst the capitalist, who lives at
his ease, in London or Boston, perhaps rioting in all' the
sensuality of court life, amasses millions on millions. Here,
then, we behold capital degrading and enslaving mankind,
making society vicious, wretched, and ferocious on the one
hand, and proud, cruel, and oppressive on the other. In
this country, we are daily approximating to the same hor14




158   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
rible inequality to be met with everywhere in Europe,
owing to that tendency in capital to detract, extort, and
accumulate from  the wages of labor, besides legalized
monopolies, grinding down industry to the scanty pittance
necessary to sustain life. Man, selfish, ambitious, proud,
avaricious, and vain, delights in being superior to his fellows,
and even when the desire of fortune is gratified, the habit
of extortion and the ambition of riches remain to torture
himself and oppress the poor.
"For money, men sacrifice domestic comfort, health,
character, and even hazard life itself; for it they are guilty
of fraud, deception, and robbery. For money, they sacrifice friendship, gratitude, natural affection, and every holy
and divine feeling. For money, man becomes a creeping,
crawling, obsequious, despicable creature, instead of walking erect as the offspring of God. Mammon and manhood
are incompatible."
"Oh, cursed lust of gold, when for thy sake
The fool throws up his interest in both worlds;
First starved in this, then damned in that to come."
If capital were always auxiliary to the objects of labor,
and assisted in the equitable distributions of its wages, we
should have so few poor, ignorant, and vicious, that almshouses, public schools, and penitentiaries would be unknown
among us; whereas, under the existing system, science, genius, and philanthropy are baffled by these overgrown and
bloated remedies of a spurious and oppressed method of
government. If capital were not the enemy of industry, in
most of its forms, we should not behold it in the shape of
monopoly, nor giving birth to combinations on the part of
labor to counteract its baneful operations. " Who's born
for sloth?" I answer, the capitalist — the idle, Iuxurious,
extortionate capitalist. And as truly as the sun drinks up




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              159
the morning's dew, so does the idle capitalist absorb the
just substance of the man of labor, stripping from his
children's limbs what should clothe them, taking from their
mouths what should feed them, and keeping from their immortal souls what should instruct, enlighten, and save them.
"Who's born for sloth?" Yet how many thousands upon
thousands live upon the sweat of the poor man's labor in
idle pleasure and suicidal vice. Nature decrees it otherwise, justice decrees it otherwise, reason proclaims it ought
not to be so; but proud, oppressive, overbearing, cruel
man, while he admits the fact with feigned regret, ascribes
it to "circumstances," and insists that wisdom and virtue are
only compatible with satiety on the one hand, and starvation on the other.
Mr. Chairman, time admonishes me that I can proceed
no farther in this direction. Have I succeeded in proving
a "necessity" for action?  Believing that I have, it now
becomes our duty to inquire what course we should pursue.
If we would raise ourselves to that lofty position for which
nature designed us, we must accept the issue of a contest
with tyranny, and strike out boldly for emancipation.
It may be inferred from what has been stated, that my
remedy for the evils complained of is an equitable distribution of wealth. All people have had their Utopias; and it
may be said that this is ours; but fortunately we have solid,
substantial facts to take hold of in defence of our position.
But before proceeding to the consideration of combination and co-operation as remedies with which to meet the
"necessity," let us look for a moment at the remedies proposed by social economists. All the writers on social and
political economy previous to Mr. Malthus, may be considered as nothing more than apologists for the aristocracy.
Among the foremost of these apologists of tyranny stands
Adam Smith, who, in the very teeth of the starving mil



160   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
lions of Great Britain, wrote in defence of the existing system of distribution, because it secured to "every man the
fruits of his own industry."  He and the whole school of
economists are very scientific in their classifications of
society, but studiously avoid any application of the natural
principles of justice to the comfort of those whose labor creates all wealth. Mr. Malthus, however, startled the world
with a new theory. Admitting all that could be claimed
by the most enthusiastic philanthropist, he proposed a
remedy, a panacea for all the ills of society, and scared half
the world into the commission of all sorts of " fantastic
pranks," when he said "that the human race had a tendency to increase faster than food." "There are," says he,
" few States in which there is not a constant effort in the
population to increase beyond the means of subsistence.
This constant effort as constantly tends to subject the lower
classes of society to distress, and to prevent any great permanent amelioration in their condition."  This, according
to Mr. Malthus, is the cause of all our suffering. Having
discovered the cause, of course it was an easy matter to propose a remedy. That remedy, we are told, is to be found in
a check upon population. We are gravely informed that
the great curse under which we labor, is the first commandment, "increase and multiply."  And that this divine injunction must be disregarded, matrimony must be discouraged, and profligacy promoted. We are told that if all
mankind were sober and industrious, and war, famine, pestilence, and crime were to cease, the world would soon become overpopulated, and men would be compelled to starve
or eat each other. "Honest industry leads to starvation.
Licentiousness and crime, robbery and murder, tend to render the supply of food abundant."  We are taught to believe the disgusting doctrine, that we are placed here by an
all-wise Providence, whose powers and attributes are unlim



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 161
ited and incomprehensible, who has filled the vast immensity of space with moving worlds, each held in its place by
a power which knows no confusion. With the principles
of reproduction fixed in our natures, and" resting upon us
the great command from the author of our being to "increase and multiply," while the " natural checks " provided
as an offset to this commandment by the same wise God are
poverty, degradation, war, famine, pestilence, murder, and
whatever tends to shorten or destroy human life. We find this
monstrous doctrine defended by nearly all the great economists since Mr. Malthus. McCulloch, Senior, Wakefield, Dr.
Chalmers, Gregg, Mill, and a host of others, hold up a limit
to population as the only remedy for the evils of poverty,
and the hope of depressed labor; while even Mr. Carey, the
ablest writer of the age, and opposer of the Malthusian
theory, admits the possibility "that at some future period
the world may be fully, and perhaps, overpeopled."  But I
cannot admit even the possibility of such an event. It is
true, that were all the descendants of Adam and Eve to
appear suddenly upon the earth, they could not find standing room. And it is equally true, that were the population
of the earth to commence doubling at the rate of once in
fifty years, the same result would soon be reached; or were
the products of the earth. most essential to the sustenance.
and comfort of man to suddenly double, great disorder
would ensue; immense quantities would perish, and man
would be but little benefited; and at most the benefit would
be temporary, because the spirit of monopoly would soon
bring it together in large quantities for the benefit of the
few. -But nature does not work by sudden starts. Order,
regularity, and graduation, are great natural laws. The
acorn does not suddenly become a mighty oak. The infant
of to-day will not be a man to-morrow. The little rills that
issue from the mountain-side are not at once made into
14                  L




162  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
mighty rivers, but go on leaping from rock to rock, or, murmuring through little nooks and quiet vales, they gradually
find their way to the coast and mingle with the ocean.
Winter, spring-time, and harvest, do not come suddenly
upon us. The sun does not suddenly appear in all its noonday splendor, nor as suddenly disappear, leaving the world
in midnight darkness. This is the order of nature. Were
we to attempt to erect a column three hundred feet high
upon a base ten feet square, we would find it an impossibility; but if we were to commence by throwing up loose
dirt, the large lumps would roll off to the bottom, and the
base would widen in exact proportion to the increasing
height, and no difficulty would be experienced in carrying the pyramid to the desired elevation. Were we to
place five hundred civilized beings upon one square mile
of the richest soil, and leave them to shift for themselves,
nearly all would die of hunger. But were we to place
a single family in that position, understanding the powers
of accumulation and production, they could go on multiplying until their numbers would reach five hundred or more;
and yet the square mile could be made to supply their
wants.
If man was guided solely by the natural laws under which,he was created and designed to live, multiplication would
unquestionably be much more rapid than it now is: but is it
not reasonable, is it not Christian, to suppose that the all-wise
Being who placed us here, and whose attributes are benevolence and love, could find other means of controlling population by than war, famine, pestilence, and crime in all its
forms? And yet we find such men as John Stuart Mill, who
is looked upon as the great leader on the popular side of the
social question, and who ignores combination, and gives to cooperation but a passing notice, as a side issue, defending this
most pernicious and disgusting doctrine, and holding it up




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM It. SYLVIS. 163
as the only hope for the toiling millions. And even this
plan does not comprehend anything beyond a mere nominal
advantage.
Believing, as we do, that wages should be at least one
hundred per cent. higher than at present, to accomplish this
object, we must either destroy one-half the present laboring
population, or stop multiplying until the present number is
reduced one-half. Such is their theory. But let us look
for a moment at the utter fallacy of such a doctrine. Suppose we could suddenly sweep from the- face of the earth
one-half the producing people, what would be the result?
Would wages go up? By no means. Vast districts would
become depopulated, real estate would become valueless,
rents would fall to a mere nominal standard, universal ruin
would everywhere exist. The productive industry of the
world being reduced one-half, production would of course
be reduced at least to that extent, the ability to pay increased wages would thus be no greater than previous to the
change, and the condition of the remaining half would be
far worse than before; and the results would be the same if
we would adopt the slow process of abstaining from reproduction. Anything that interferes with the principles of
production, whether it be human industry or the introduction of machinery, detracts from the aggregate wealth
of the world; it is here those people mistake who oppose immigration, and the appliance of the arts and sciences to mechanical, manufacturing, and agricultural pursuits.
Mr. Chairman, believing that the question of population
is one we can safely leave with the Author of our existence,
whose laws, if not transgressed, will secure to us happiness
and safety, and believing that this is the highest ground
that can be taken, I shall not pursue the argument by showing that in all countries where the remedies have been ap



164   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
plied, the condition of the people is more deplorable, and
where reproduction has been unchecked, their condition is
most comfortable and promising; nor shall I proceed to
discuss the absurd theory that a given portion of the aggregate wealth of the world, or of a country, is set apart as
the wages of labor, and that that sum cannot be augmented
without corresponding injury to " commerce and trade." It
will readily be perceived by the reflecting mind that this
theory carefully conceals the idea of an equitable distribution of wealth, and is founded upon the presumed fact that
the merchant is the most important individual in society,
instead of being but the agent of labor.
This theory entirely ignores the idea that, as civilization
advances and workingmen become more enlightened, they
will see that they have a right to a voice in the fixing of
the " wages fund," and that ten per cent. of what they produce is hardly a fair or just proportion to be set aside for
their benefit. Time will not permit me to dwell upon these
points.
We will now return to the consideration of what we believe to be the remedies for the present unsatisfactory state
of society. Combination, or union among workingmen,
may be looked upon as the first step towards competence
and independence. Long years ago the few more intelligent among the laboring-classes saw that by individual action no change in their condition could ever come; and they
also saw that, without an effort on the part of the masses
themselves, their condition must forever remain the same;
and they also clearly saw that an effort to be successful must
be a united one.
These ideas were not long in taking practical shape in
the organization of "trades - unions."  Foremost among
these, and one that preserved its organization, and went on
increasing in magnitude, importance, and influence against




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 165
the most fearful odds, breaking down every barrier and
removing every opposition, and one which now, at the end
of fifty-five years, can boast of a combination superior to any
other in the world, stands the Moulders' Union of England,
Ireland, and Wales, with a branch from the same in Scotland. This organization was founded in 1809. Similar
organizations have sprung up in all sections of the Old
World, where they are not interdicted by law. The same
cause, the same " necessity," produced similar results here,
and to-day we find almost every branch of labor, skilled
and unskilled, with its organization. In the front rank,
though not the oldest, but without a rival, stands the " IronMoulders' International Union."  To enter upon a summing up of the good these unions have accomplished, or
of the two specified, would be a herculean task; nor is it
necessary that I should do so; it is sufficient to know that
the most beneficial and astonishing results have sprung from
them. We see a convention of moulders, assembled for the
modification and creation of laws and rules for their own
government, holding a session in London, last year, extending through a period of seventy-four days. The income and
expenditure of this association amount to many thousands
of pounds annually, and so completely do they control their
trade, that they are now receiving as large wages, and are
in the enjoyment of as many blessings and privileges as we
are; while all around them we find unorganized labor occupying a position far below them in wages, mental and
moral condition, and, indeed, in every respect. Another of
these organizations, with a membership of over 24,000, received, during the past year, about $650,000, and of that
sum disbursed about $310,000, leaving on hand, at the disposal of the members, nearly $340,000. These organizations contain both the protective and beneficial features.
The amount of good accomplished by the expenditure of




16G BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
such large sums of money for the alleviation of distress, in
cases of sickness or misfortune, is incalculable. In this
country our unions, as a general thing, contain but the
protective feature-that is, to force capital, by the power
of numbers, to concede to our demands. Although what is
termed the beneficial feature is discarded, they embrace, besides the protective, many other splendid features. The
wages of labor here are fully fifty per cent. above what
it would be had the idea of union never entered the brain
of a man in this country, except, perhaps, in a few isolated
cases. One of two things is always present when an advance of wages is given -either a demand on the part of
the men, or a fear that such a demand will be made. Had
no union ever been formed, and employers felt perfectly
sure that no demand for increased pay would be made,
would they ever have given it?
Workingmen throughout the States are now working for
considerable less wages than they received four and five
years ago; and how, let me ask, have we got the small advance thus far secured?  By fighting for it -by making
demands, and backing them up by whatever power we could
command. So persistent and bitter has been the opposition
to an increase of wages, that what little we have secured,
has cost us very nearly as much as the amount received.
It is no difficult matter to see what would now be our condition, had we no unions.
The benefits secured by our union, aside from an increase
of wages, are beyond calculation.  A strong desire for
mental cultivation has infused itself throughout the entire
body. Schools, libraries, reading- and lecture-rooms, and
other institutions for the diffusion of useful knowledge, are
springing up among us; and were it not for the opposition
of the "better classes," the progress in this direction would
be much more rapid. One of the most beautiful and bene



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM I-. SYLVIS.             167
ficial results flowing from our organization is the universal
and wide-spread acquaintance that has sprung up among the
members: a feeling of brotherhood everywhere exists; an
interest in each other's welfare has broken down, to a vast extent, that old feeling of selfishness that used to exist among
us; a feeling of manly independence has taken the place of
that cringing and crawling spirit that used to make us the
scorn of honest men. Indeed, Mr. Chairman, it is impossible
for the true man to cast his eyes over the past, and contemplate the present proud position our organization has
attained, and the glorious future that lies invitingly before
us, without being carried away by those lofty feelings of
manly pride and hope which have animated the true reformer - the true friend of right - in all ages of the
world.
These are but a few of the benefits and beauties of combination as applied to labor, and but briefly told. But, sir,
however widely extended may be the principles of combination, with their teachings of unity and brotherhood, and
however great may be their influences upon our people; yet
I do not agree with those who believe that combination is
the great idea, and that by its agency alone we can carry
forward this great reformation to an entirely successful issue.
No, sir. Combination is only the first great step on the road
to emancipation and success. Protective combination has
gone forward and marshalled the forces of the great army
of labor; has caused a ray of light to penetrate the midnight darkness of the mind; has opened our eyes to a true
sense of our condition; has shown us the true reasons why
that condition is poor and miserable; has given us a true
conception of the principles of justice and common sense,
and taught us to reason upon the great issues before us, as
man should reason with equal; has shed abroad in the land
that great and divine principle of universal brotherhood,




168   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
without which man can never rise to that lofty elevation
which alone can fit him for self-government; has led us on
by glittering hopes and promises to the very threshold of
the promised land; and as the mind warmed into new life,
animated with bright and cheering hope, reaches forward
to grasp the great idea, and begins to realize the glorious
future which lies just beyond, the soul enlarges, we draw
nigher to the great Author of our existence, and we begin to
feel that we are men.
A new idea has been born to the children of industry. "Co-operation" has dawned upon the world. "Cooperation" is the next great step; this taken, and we will
have crossed the boundary which has so long separated
man from his true destiny. This is the true remedy for the
evils of society; this is the great idea that is destined to
break down the present system of centralization, monopoly,
and extortion. By co-operation, we will become a nation of
employers- the employers of our own labor. The wealth
of the land will pass into the hands of those who produce
it. The idle drone, who fattens upon the substances of the
poor, will be forced to seek an occupation; the rum-seller,
who, with an ungodly hand, deals out ruin to mankind,
will be forced to honest industry, or left to starve. "The
devil won a great victory when he introduced whiskey into
the world. He knew what he was about. It was his business to fill his region with souls, and he knew that whiskey
was the best recruiting officer for the armies of perdition he
could employ. Don't touch it; it is a vile practice in which
politicians, common people, all the rest of mankind, and
even editors and lawyers indulge."  The vile, the vicious,
the evil-doers, and the idle of every class will be driven
from society. The body politic, which is now a mass of
festering sores, will become clean and healthy; honesty and
integrity will be rewarded; genius will be developed; the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 169
principles and powers of production will be understood and
multiplied, and the wealth of the world vastly augmented;
the penalties attached to a violation of nature's'lawswar, famine, pestilence, and all the vast train of disturbing
causes- will disappear; population and production will
take care of themselves, and God will take care of the race.
Such, Mr. Chairman, is destined to be the glorious future
of the labor movement, wrought out by our remediesbrotherhood, combination, and co-operation. But let us
not forget that success depends upon our own efforts. "It
is not what is done for people, but what people do for themselves,
that acts upon their character and condition."
But, sir, we are told that we cannot succeed; that our
plans and theories are chimerical, and therefore impossible
of execution; that society, as now existing, is founded upon
the experience of all ages, and that so firmly is it established, that to overturn it is impossible, and that none but
designing and corrupt men are found advocating the cause
of labor. The mind of that man must be dull indeed, who
can see in this great movement nothing more than a momentary excitement, produced by the condition of the
country, and the influences of ambitious and designing
men. And those statesmen and journalists who pretend to
ignore this the greatest reformation the world has ever witnessed, are false-lights, and are doing more to retard the
progress of the age, and fasten upon the masses the chains
of slavery, superstition, ignorance, and moral darkness,
than any and all other causes. I do not believe the doctrine
taught by many, that man has, at different periods of the
world, risen to the highest state of civilization attainable,
and then gradually sunk back into a state of comparative
barbarism, from which, after long years of darkness, he
would advance; and thus rise and fall like the succeeding
waves of the ocean. No, sir; I believe that man is a pro15




170   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
gressive animal, and that, notwithstanding civilization has
received many and severe checks, and has been thrown
back hundreds of years at different times, the march of the
empire of knowledge has been steadily forward, and that
we are a long way in advance of any other people of any
other age. Man is a progressive animal, and has been from
the beginning; or at least from the first great transgression,
making steady progress upwards. Slow sometimes, to be
sure; so slow, indeed, as to cause the best men, in all ages,
to weep and mourn over the perverseness of the race, and
even to doubt the possibility of his rising to that lofty
elevation designed by his Creator. But sure, if slow; and
that progress is destined to go forward until that point has
been reached so devoutly to be wished - when all mankind
shall be free, when the whole human family shall become
united in one common brotherhood; when the broad banner
of political, social, and religious freedom shall wave over
every land, under whose ample folds all the nations of the
earth can find protection, and when reason, directed by
moral principle, shall rule all the nations of the earth.
"Even now the half of slavery's flag is furled,
And thought's free sunshine circles the wide world."
To some, this consummation of a civilized age may appear visionary; but let it be remembered that, at one
period, all the improvements which subsequently arose
were adjudged impossible. Time and mind are the creators
of human destiny which accomplish more than miracles,
and produce revolutions that only fail to astonish because
they enlighten. As it is mind that makes the man, we have 
but to combine intellect with labor and the task of equal
happiness is completed. It is only under the dark and
hush policy of silence that abuses can expect to continue,
extortion to thrive, capital to luxuriate, and monopoly to
expand.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.     171
Mr. Chairman, the little hour allotted to this purpose
has passed away, leaving the subject by no means exhausted. Let us remember, sir, that burning words and
thrilling eloquence cannot alone accomplish our purpose,
though they may do much to arouse the dormant energies
of the thoughtless and indifferent. Works are what we
want; great, noble, and brave deeds. Our task is but
commenced; difficulties and dangers environ on every side.
Many may faint and falter in the great work; others may
sink beneath the strokes of tyranny, and perish by the
wayside; this generation may pass away long ere this great
work shall be accomplished. But let us remember that
"They never fail who die
In a great cause; the block may soak their gore;
Their heads may sodden in the sun; their limbs
Be strung to the city gates and castle walls;
But still their spirit walks abroad. Though years
Elapse, and others share as dark a doom,
They but augment the deep and swelling thought,
Which overpower all others, and conduct
The World, at last, to Freedon."
And now, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, let me ask
again: Why should toiling, starving men be linked to
misery forever?  Labor of head and hand is man's best
estate and earthly destiny, but it is at the bottom, instead
of the top of the scale. Yet the time is drawing nigh - a
little bird whispers it in my ear -when the laborer, the workinlman, no longer ignorant, brutalized, debased, shall rise,
without impeachment of the claims of any, to the highest,
best elevation of nature's aristocracy. Shall he not dwell
in palaces, who raises palaces?  Shall she not go in rich
attire, whose fingers wind the silk of the toiling worm?
Shall the ruby, the diamond, and the red, red gold, not
glitter on the miner's manly breast, or deck the fingers of




172   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
his wife and child? Shall she not wear who spins; he eat
who sows? Shall the purple juice recruit no more the
fainting vine-dresser, or pictures deck or choicest harmony
cheer the dwellings of the poor? Yes! By the living God
shall they. By the very majesty of heaven, man, man
himself, shall waken from the trance of ages, and the producer and the consumer, the creator of enjoyments and he
who revels in them, shall be one and indivisible once more.
Nature's glad voices shall breathe out peacefully again.
The carolling birds, the whispering winds, the gorgeous
clouds and perfumed flowers, the sunny earth, the mighty
ocean, man's glorious beauty, speak seraph-toned his ineffable destiny, the faint foreshadowings of his final home.
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT BOSTON, JANUARY,
1867.
Gentlemen of the Convention: -I greet you, to-day, as
co-laborers in the great work of reform, and hail this large
representation as an evidence that our organization has extended its field of usefulness over a vast extent of country
for some years divided from us by internal dissensions. I
need not say that I feel gratified to know that a restoration of national harmony has removed the last obstacle to
our onward march-opening up avenues of communications
which will extend our lines, and eventually bring into close
association the moulders of every State in the Union.
The annual return of our sessions never fails to inspire
emotions of pleasure, but, on the present occasion, that
pleasure is enhanced, from the fact that the participants in
trials and sacrifices of no ordinary character during the
past year have come together where they can shake hands




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     173
in mutual congratulations over banished troubles, and rejoice that manly independence, blended with a just appreciation of individual rights, has given us strength and
power to combat the wrong, and to assert and maintain the
great principle of free agency, with which an all-wise Creator has endowed mankind. The present is an occasion,
too, in which we can enjoy an interchange of thoughts, recount experiences growing out of the varied circumstances
presented in the past, and apply them with such profit as
intelligence and calm discussion may suggest.
The past year has been prolific of conventions - capitalists, those devoted to the professions, students of science
and art, and the politicians of both parties, have held conventions, but none, in my opinion, have been of so much
importance as those held by workingmen. None ought to
awaken as deep an interest in the breast of the moulder as
the one I am now addressing. Here there is no scramble
for office, no selfish ends to promote, no political ambition
to gratify. We constitute an assemblage of men who aim
to lay the corner-stone of that proud structure of equality
which defends the weak and shelters the oppressed. We
profess to recognize manhood in rags or broadcloth, in poverty or riches, and claim for labor the same prerogatives
accorded to capital. Our legislation is circumscribed by no
narrow limits, nor is it designed to meet the emergencies of
the hour, soon to be effaced by the rapid march of time. No;
we are here, to-day, to act as stewards of a high trust, for
which we are to render a strict account to posterity. Our
acts will redound to the weal or woe of future generations,
as well as of the present; and hence I claim that this convention, compared to all others, so far as moulders are concerned, involves graver interests, nobler duties, and holier
trusts. All that makes life desirable, and all that gives
hope to the toiler, and all that secures comfort to the fire15*




174   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
side of millions, is intimately interwoven with the deliberations of this body. Example is the parent of influence,
and in proportion as we establish wholesome precedents, to
that extent will others profit by the good we accomplish;
for there is such a close affinity between all classes of
workingmen, that whatever advantages or disadvantages
are worked out by one is felt by all.
Bear with me, then, gentlemen, if I too earnestly impress upon you the important nature of the responsibilities
which cluster around your deliberations. I need not tell
you that the eyes of capitalists, from Maine to California,
are directed towards you. While they may be too prudent
to betray anxiety, rest assured that they are keenly alive
to all the actions of this body, and every mistake, every
dissension, will be a source of exultation to them. But I
have that confidence in the experience and intelligence
here assembled, which gives me assurance that a spirit of
harmony and mutual concession, as well as brotherly forbearance, will govern us in discussing the many subjects
presented for our consideration.  I hope to escape the
charge of egotism when I assert that the moulders have,
and will excel in dignity and decorum, conventions composed of those who sneer at workingmen, and who are actuated by more selfish motives. I am not insensible to the
pride awakened by the fraternal relations you have exhibited on former occasions; and when I know that the honor
of our organization is in your keeping, I can smile at the
groundless anticipations of those who hope for, if they have
not prophesied, discord.
Since we last met, many collisions between labor and
capital have taken place. I have carefully watched these
conflicts in both the Old and New World, and have deduced
from them such lessons as, in my humble judgment, are best
calculated to afford us profit.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              175
The helpless condition of the vast majority of the producing classes in Europe and Asia, while it excites our
warmest sympathy, should admonish us to guard our rights
with greater vigilance, lest we suffer encroachments to steal
upon us imperceptibly, that we may find ourselves bound
hand and foot, helpless for resistance, before we wake from
a dreamy security to find ourselves enslaved.  Unfortunately for our transatlantic fellow-toilers, they have never
possessed the facilities for self-defence so wisely provided for
the masses by the founders of our government; and while
drawing a distinction that may point to their social disparagement, we cannot but compliment them for the progress
they have made under so many discouragements. Strangers
to the ballot-box, without a voice in making the laws, treated
as the mere inanimate machinery of society, forced to the
lowest scale of social life by the aristocracy, kept in poverty
and despised because they are poor, yet still they heave and
surge against the walls of exclusiveness which wealth and
power have erected -always hoping and never despairing
of ultimately extorting relief. Even now, the great reform
movement, which threatens to break down the proscription
of wealth and power, is causing the "privileged classes" the
most intense anxiety. They quail and cower before the myriads who are clamoring for justice, and cluster around parliament as the last fortress that can shield oppression; but
even here they have what they esteem an Achar in the
camp, in that indomitable and fearless champion John
Bright, while the masses are thundering at the very gates
of the citadel. God speed the right. And what has rendered these extraordinary efforts to ameliorate their condition necessary? It is the encroachments of unjust laws that
foster a system of speculation, by which the rich are made
richer and the poor poorer. Wealth is continually drifting
into the hands of the few; the lands are monopolized by the




176   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
"nobility," and all laws are framed to maintain this condition of things, because the victims of this exclusive monopoly
are disfranchised, the rich make laws to protect themselves,
and the poor have no remedy. While the "noblemen" hold
fancy parks of hundreds of acres, workingmen and workingwomen are literally packed in narrow courts and. alleys,
reeking with filth, where they inhale the poisonous malaria
of the stews and dens they inhabit. Dissipation, vice and
misery of every grade, is the level they reach at last, and
the two extremes of wealth and squalid poverty meet in a
Christian land.
Here is a lively picture of class legislation in the Old
World, and does not the same causes produce the same
effects in the New?  I need not tell you, gentlemen, with
what aptness the capitalists of America imitate those
abroad. It is a continual struggle to reach the same standard of exclusiveness, to exercise the same tyranny, and to
confine our privileges to the same limits. Here, where our
institutions give better means of defence, it requires greater
tact and shrewdness on the part of capital to accomplish the
results; hence we find it more prolific in expedients, more
untiring in its efforts. In spite of all we have yet done,
however, there is no denying the fact that the slow and certain centralization of wealth in the hands of the few is progressing. As this evil grows upon us, so certain will the
degradation of labor follow. This has been proved in all
ages of the world. But since the tendency of capital is to
monopoly, and since the streams of wealth continually flow
into the pockets of the few, we need not be surprised at the
efforts to make the masses tributary to their gains. To accomplish this monopoly, it arrogates to itself the right to
hold and control every avenue of wealth; and they do not
fail to have the mantle of legislative protection thrown
around every undertaking when they desire to cripple or




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 177
exclude individual enterprise. Then we have the combinations of gold gamblers, money brokers, note shavers, speculators and forestallers, who place a fictitious value upon
money and plunder the poor of the necessaries of life. And
here, permit me to say, will be found the fruitful source of
trouble between capital and labor. These money-worshipping conspirators place a tariff upon the bread we eat, which
drains the last penny to satisfy the cravings of hunger. Not
only from necessity, but from sheer desperation, workingmen are forced to combine in turn, and strike for wages that
will relieve them in some measure from the extortion practised upon them. We know, and God knows, it was never
from choice that we engaged in a conflict with our employers, but as husbands and fathers we have been compelled to
seek redress from imposition that brought starvation to our
doors.
But our list of monopolies does not end here. Perhaps
the most extensive of these evils is to be found in coal and
iron. Capitalists appear to have singled these two interests
over which they claim exclusive control. They must regulate the price and the supply, and every dealer is punctual
in practising the extortions of the combination which governs them. The poor may shiver, or flee as paupers to our
charitable institutions, but five prices over its cost, when
ready for shipment from the mines, must be maintained as
the price of coal.
Who shall estimate the miseries and privations entailed
upon toiling men and their families from the causes we have
named? It is the old process of widening the breach between the rich and the poor -enabling the one to enjoy the
luxuries, while the other is denied the necessaries of life.
Now, let me ask, is it reasonable to expect workingmen to
rest contented under this inequality? It was never designed
that these advantages should belong exclusively to the rich,
M




178   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
or that this oppression should be visited upon the poor. Society is never safe when such proscriptions are tolerated.
Here is the fountain, the sacred fountain of all revolutions,
all strikes, all flour riots, or "bread or blood" demonstrations, which so frequently darken the annals of the world;
this is the point to which the producing classes have been
depressed and at which they now rebel, claiming their
rights and resolving to attain them. There is a point beyond
endurance to which men may be driven, let their veneration
for the law be what it may; for
"To men
Pressed by their wants, all change is ever welcome."
The extent of our public domain may, in the estimation
of many, seem to render it impossible that monopoly should
despoil the poor of land, but, unfortunately, capital absorbs
our broad acres as fast as civilization advances. We find
in the middle and seaboard States that it is gradually being
concentrated in the hands of the few. Wealth owns the
town lots, and, to a great extent, the farm lands. In the
vicinity of all mechanical and manufacturing pursuits few
men who work for a living can save sufficient to purchase a
lot from the wages paid. Speculation has scarcely left a
foot of land for a poor man to stand upon that he can call
his own. While the homestead law may benefit actual settlers to a limited extent, it is so evaded that speculators
can fasten upon it at will, and turn it to profit. -The mania
for monopolizing public land has invaded the halls of Congress time and again. Scarcely a session passes, but some
adroitly cloaked bill is presented by speculators, who adopt
every conceivable pretext for securing a grant, and holding
it till it rises to many times above the original price. The
questionable appropriations of land by Congress to railroads, and to further other enterprises in new States and




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVIS.             179
Territories, is another means of placing the soil beyond the
reach of the poor man. These corporations are rich enough
to hold it until they obtain fabulous prices, which proves
that they do not need the patronage of the government.
We have seen the efforts of Wall Street speculators to secure
some of the most valuable mineral lands in Montana Territory, ostensibly for mining purposes, and they would have
succeeded but for the interposition of the President's veto.
There was no difficulty in passing the bill through Congress,
because we commit the fatal blunder of selecting capitalists
and their sympathizers to represent us. Nay, it has been
openly asserted that some of the "Honorables" belong to
the "ring" and "go snacks" with the projectors of those fat
jobs, and share the profits. We have also seen 800,000
acres of the Cherokee lands sold to the "American Emigrant Aid Society," a company chartered, if I mistake not,
by the Legislature of Connecticut, for one dollar per acre
less than the government price, thus robbing the government of over three-quarters of a million of dollars, and
placing this vast tract of land beyond the reach of the poor
man. This company is composed of capitalists and fostered
by capitalists, and was organized for the sole purpose of inducing workingmen to immigrate, with a view to overstocking the labor market, and thus effect a reduction of wages.
This is one of the "remedies for strikes" proposed by our
oppressors, and they were never guilty of a baser fraud than
when they asserted that this land was designed for immigrants. Not a man at home or abroad will ever occupy a
foot of that land at the price paid for it, and Secretary Harlan was never guilty of a baser act than giving it away.
That whole transaction is but another scheme to legislate
the land from under the feet of the masses, and to render
them more dependent by closing every avenue of relief from
the thraldom of monopolists. Far better for the country




180   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
and the liberties of the people would it be, were the government to give the land to actual settlers in small parcels,
than to have it absorbed and held by land companies, emigrant aid societies, and mining corporations; for, even now,
capitalists are getting possession of all that portion of the
country from which the precious metals are extracted.
Thus, we find every expedient that avarice can invent is
urged to cut off this last resource of industry.
Capital feels unsafe in waging a war against labor, so long
as workingmen have access to land. The object is to get
possession of it, and thus cut off all retreat. There is still
hope for the toiler, though he be driven to the wilderness
for sustenance, while he can stand upon a portion of God's
footstool and call it his own. Far better for him to become
familiar with the war-whoop and to brave the dangers of
frontier life, than to be pent up in the fetid atmosphere of
narrow lanes in crowded cities, or inhale the foul air of
packed workrooms, at such wages as taskmasters see fit to
pay.
It has been predicted that the population of this country
will reach 100,000,000 by the close of the present century.
This may not be an over-estimate, in view of the fact that
a large portion of Europe's oppressed population is flocking to our shores; and many are of the opinion that the
exodus will be greatly increased by the fearful revolutions
which a dissatisfied population threaten. We cannot escape
the conviction that the reins of power must be loosened in
the Old World, if existing governments fail to ameliorate
the condition of the masses, and to recognize the great principle of self-government which is now working like leaven
in their midst. When that struggle comes, as come it must,
society will be so disrupted that we may look for large accessions, terminate as it may. This, added to our rapid
increase of population, will go far towards peopling the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM It. SYLVIS. 181
vast territory we possess. But, bear in mind, we are a new
country, yet in our infancy, compared to those which now
exhibit "the sear and yellow leaf;" and what will be our
condition when we shall number half the years of those now
in existence? A few centuries, at most, will find our lands
absorbed to such an extent that we shall be unable to offer
inducements to settlers, and land will be entirely inaccessible but to those who can command larger sums of money
than workingmen can save.   Hence, we cannot see the
wisdom of surrendering thus early to speculators, or of
forcing a populatiop upon it to the exclusion of posterity.
When we shall have reached the power and greatness of
which our liberal institutions give promise, to maintain the
high standard we aspire to as a nation, we shall still need
a resting-place for the poor, a refuge for oppressed labor;
and I regard that as short-sighted legislation which squanders blessings with a lavish hand, when they were as sacredly
bequeathed to coming generations as to us. Workingmen,
we are but the custodians of this treasure, given to us to
enjoy, but not to destroy, and we shall be held as recreants
to our trust, if we fail to shield it from the grasp of a moneyed aristocracy.
But there is a remedy for these abuses, and that remedy
is with us. Unlike our struggling brothers abroad, we have
the ballot-box. We can make laws and repeal laws. We
possess the power, because we have the numbers to annul any
oppressive act emanating from State or National legislation.
We can compel our rulers to be just, or supplant them by men
from our own ranks, whose sympathies and interests are identical with our own.
Possessing this power to right our wrongs, I blush to say
that we have been too long indifferent to the means of defence
afbfrded us by the institutions of the land. The present war,
however, so earnestly urged against labor by capital, appears
16




182   BIOGRAPHIY OF WILLIAM IH. SYLVIS.
to be rousing the dormant energies of workingmen, who are
gradually breaking the ties which bind them hand and foot
to party. In many localities we have extorted an approval
of the eight-hour law from candidates, quite a number of
whom have been elected through our aid. Yet, it too often
happens that we lack the moral courage to sever our political associations, and thousands of workingmen still suffer
themselves to be used as hobbies, upon whose shoulders
aspiring demagogues ride themselves into power and place.
If we would make the ballot-box a sure weapon of defence,
we must appropriate it to our own interests, instead of. to
strengthen parties that make use of it to enslave us.
Let me ask you, to-day, to point out a single benefit that
you have derived from your years of devotion to any particular party. Not one of them ever put a loaf upon your
table, a pair of boots upon your feet, or a coat upon your
back. All of them stand out in bold relief as the proscriptive agents that never fail to close the door of promotion to
us all. The rich are promoted, the. poor are excluded.
Why? Because our system of conducting elections has become so corrupt, that none but the rich possess the means
to purchase power and position. The question is not upon
the character or capacity of candidates, but upon the amount
of money they can spend. Hence, workingmen may devote
a lifetime of service to the existing parties, but they can
never rise to position. Their poverty is an inseparable
barrier.
If the theory of our government is the greatest good for
the greatest number, why shall we not put it in practice?
This government was made for the people, and we are the
people, but thus far we have proved ourselves unequal to
the task of self-government, because we vear the chains of
party. We fail to come up to that standard of manhood,
and aim not for that proud position which entitles us to the




BIOGRAPHIY OF WILLIAM         It. SYLVIS.     183
appellation of a free people. We are slaves, not because
we nmust be, but because we will be. So long as we tolerate
this condition of things we must expect to be scourged, for
we merit the lash of the taskmaster. How contemptible,
how belittling, to whine and complain of the very wrongs
we sanction by our own indifference. It is impossible that
we can long maintain the sympathy of our toiling brethren
in Europe, if we voluntarily hold out our hands and suffer
capital to rivet our fetters upon us. Give our struggling
brethren abroad the facilities for social emancipation that
wet possess, and thrones would totter, the nobility would
tremble, and money kings would stand aghast as they gazed
upon the surging masses, while uprooting the last landmark
of aristocracy, and expunging from the statutes every oppressive enactment. Not by violence, not by mob law, not
by anarchy, would this work be accomplished, but by that
innate yearning for social emancipation which centres
around the ballot-box millions who regard it as their only
ark of safety, for
"Slaves who once conceive the glowing thought
Of freedom, in that hope itself possess
All that the contest calls for,- spirit, strength,
The scorn of danger, and united hearts, -
The surest prestige of the good they seek."
Surely, the lessons of deception we have learned fiom
broken political promises and violated faith should be sufficient to warn us against confiding the interests of labor to
demagogues. From year to year workingmen are wheedled
and cajoled into supporting partisan favorites who dare not
hazard a renomination by any sact of political heterodoxy
which might " injure the party." Even if a measure favorable to the interests of labor is introduced, there is too often
a secret understanding by which other members dovetail
amendments to it that render it useless or offensive. We




184   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
have seen eight-hour bills strangled in several Legislatures
by this very process. But it is needless to dwell longer ilpon
these unpleasant facts. Before me are the representatives
of man's handicraft, whose interests are identified with all
who toil. They comprise at least eight-tenths of a voting
population - each a freeman, a sovereign possessing intelligence and capacity for self-government. Then let us rise in
the majesty of our strength, and resolve to rule instead of
being ruled; assert our rights instead of begging for them,
and occupy that proud position which a republican form of
government secures to majorities.
To me, it is sometimes a matter of amazement, that we
have accomplished so much for the interest of labor in this
country, when we have suffered the most effective agencies
of its elevation to lay idle by our side. We have passed
many trying ordeals during the past few years, and manfully resisted the most formidable assaults. I can but attribute our success more to the justness of our cause, however, than to a proper use of all the means of defence placed
within our grasp. Yet how much of suffering, how many
privations, our wives and little ones might have escaped, had
we commenced years ago to legislate for ourselves. The
firmness and resolution so nobly displayed in many conflicts with capital, would, if applied to the principle of selfgovernment, put an end to all such contests. It is with us to
establish a permanent code of justice, which would concede
to capital all that it can claim in equity, while it would secure to labor all that belongs to it.
It was unfortunate for labor that wages were far beneath
an equitable standard, when a fictitious value was placed
upon the necessaries of life by the war. As fast as we endeavored to adapt wages to the cost of living, speculators
would immediately place every home comfort beyond our
reach. Thus we have been forced again to try to get wages




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            I. SYLVIS.     185
up, to try to keep pace with the advance of the necessaries
of life. Capitalists would complain of our so frequently
"disturbing the relations between capital and labor," while
they were in the very act of buying up and forestalling
everything that necessity compels us to consume.
But the war is over, and nearly two years of peace bring
us no relief. The profits of capital are maintained at the
war standard. The prices of all we consume are kept at
the same figures, and yet we are censured because we demand a proportionate recompense. No, not proportionate,
for we failed to make it so at the start, and we have never
yet succeeded in equalizing it. Therefore, if capitalists desire peace, let them cease predicting an additional advance
on products of fifty per cent. by labor. All we ask is reasonable wages - let them be content with reasonable profits,
otherwise an advance on our part becomes necessary whenever capital attempts extortion.
Oh, then, while we have the power, let us use it to lift
labor from the bondage into which it has been plunged by
the iron grasp of capital. As an agent of all that is beneficial to our race, do not suffer it to remain where it is, or to
sink lower and lower in the social scale. Want and misery
are members of every poor man's home, bound to us by the
ties of necessity. And yet in this country we possess the right
and the power to appropriate labor to its legitimate purposes.
How blessed we are in facilities for guarding and fostering
it, compared to those possessed by our fellow-toilers in other
countries. There they are hampered by oppressive laws,
and deprived of every means of redress save revolution, and
that is next to impossible, because large standing armies are
maintained to keep the masses in subjection, and the entire
military force is not only controlled but owned by the aristocracy. But even there a brighter day is dawning. We
cannot be indifferent spectators to the convulsive throes
16G*




186   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
caused by the industrial and political reforms now agitated
in the Old World. The upheaving masses are clamorous for
those rights which nature and nature's God assigned to man.
As the light of intelligence spreads abroad, and gives them
a clearer conception of the wrongs inflicted upon them, they
pause in amazement to find themselves in social and political slavery - bound, as the Roman prisoners of old, to the
triumphal car of capital. Starting from their apathy by
the clanking of their own fetters, they are surging to and
fro like desperate men, resolved upon emancipation.
The reaction has commenced. The cry for deliverance
penetrates hall and palace, and rings in the ears of kings,
emperors, and noblemen. The rights of labor are not only
demanded, but they insist upon the elective franchise as a
safeguard against future aggressions. At this hour a struggle is going on in the Old World, the results of which will
be the social and political emancipation of enslaved millions, and the downfall of monarchy everywhere, and the
building upon its ruins a more liberal government. Need
I remind you of the importance of the conflict now going
on in America? Need I tell you that the interests of labor
are identical throughout the world?  We suffer from the
degradation of labor, let it occur where it will, because we
are liable at any moment to meet it in competition. With
but ten days distance apart by steam, and but a few minutes by telegraph, it is an easy matter for capitalists and
chartered emigrant societies to arrange an exodus of labor
from one country to another, to carry out schemes of oppression. Experience has taught us that capitalists are not
slow to avail themselves of such facilities. It is, therefore,
a matter of vital importance that an equilibrium of wages
should be established throughout the world. Hence, both
our sympathies and our interests are enlisted in favor of
the great reform movement abroad. A victory to them will




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM I. SYLVIS. 187
be a victory to us; and when the news of their triumph
shall be heard across the Atlantic, the workingmen of
America will ring out shouts of triumph from Maine to
California. I trust that a knowledge of anxiety, and our
hopes for their success, will cheer them on, and spur them
to nobler efforts. Nor can we, in justice, refuse to accord
to them unlimited praise for what they have already accomplished. Amid disparagements of every kind, under all
the restrictions that tyranny could invent, they have overleaped every barrier to their progress, and are bravely
pressing on to social and political deliverance, realizing the
fact that
"Men, at some time, are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear brothers, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
To counteract the manifold evils of which we complain,
however, it is well to view, from a rational stand-point, the
relations of labor to capital. It requires no argument to
show that workingmen make up the aggregate of all governments. Labor is the great fountain from which they draw
all support and acquire a vital power.  Upon labor is
founded all of enterprise, progress, and the perfection of
everything that renders a nation great and prosperous. In
all these elements of national pride, capital, without labor,
would be like a loaf of bread suspended over a hungry man
without the means to reach it. It would be as silent and
dead as the unearthed treasure embedded in the mountains.
But, without capital, labor would be by no means helpless.
Daniel Boone was no capitalist, neither was John Jacob
Astor when he first started out as a trapper. The history
of this country, from its earliest settlement to the present
time, proves that labor can survive where capital would
starve.




188   BIOGRAPIY OF WILLIAM II. SYLVIS.
While I admit that the greatest good can be accomplished
by a harmonious and equitable association of the two, I
deny that labor is as dependent as capital. Combined on
equitable terms, both receive an impetus which rapidly
achieves great results; and all we ask is, that labor should
be rewarded and ennobled in proportion to the good accomplished. It is not my purpose to depreciate capital when I
desire to elevate labor. Nature designed them to work in
concert, and the happiness of man is involved in their close
alliance. What we complain of, is conceding to capital
ninety per cent. of the total production, and robbing the
producing power of its just dues. Labor has never yet received an adequate reward. As the basis of all national
and individual wealth, it should receive an equitable share
of what would not exist without it. Combined with mechanical skill, inventive genius, and scientific knowledge, it
has brought countless blessings to mankind. It gives practical shape and utility to all things. It is the great civilizer, educator, and beautifier of the world.  Labor has
felled the forests, beautified the plains, built up cities, spread
a network of railroads over the earth, whitened every sea
with canvas, united rivers and seas by canals, controlled the
elements, connected continents by a wire rope, and brought
the capitals of Europe nearer to New York than Boston
was a year ago. -It is labor that defends a nation in war,
and contributes to its wealth and glory in peace.
Upon this subject we want more of practical argument
and less of theoretical speculation. I know it has become
fashionable among politicians, sensation writers, and political economists, to descant "upon the dignity of labor;"
and it is too often used as a hobby upon which to ride into
power and place. Popularity-seekers never fail to sweeten
the mental palates of workingmen with fulsome eulogies
and windy panegyrics upon labor, because they have found




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVIS.             189
it the shortest road to the poor man's heart. Even those
who aspire to the title of statesmen stoop to flattery and
noisy declamations, while they enlarge upon the rights and
wrongs of labor, decking it with flowers, or clothing it in
rags, as interest or fancy may prompt. But there is a wide
difference between these speculative theorists and those who
have practical experience. The man who sits by his comfortable fireside, with pen in hand, sketching a picture of
labor such as an active brain may create, can never portray
the living likeness, with its hopes and its despondency, its
care and suffering, its physical and mental prostration. The
workingman, who, after a hard day's work, returns to an
impoverished home, shut in from pure air, and packed in a
contracted street or alley, feels what a mere theorist, surrounded by wealth and luxury, can never comprehend.
To work, and slave, and suffer, for the simple reward of
what will keep body and soul together, with no hope of a
respite in old age, is the real condition of millions at this
hour. Therefore, I say, that no school of political economists have faithfully represented the wrongs of labor. Such
men as Smith, Malthus, Mill, Carey, and the whole batch
of them, only skim the surface, and never descend to the
bottom of the labor question. They view it from a standpoint so far removed from the workshop and the poor man's
home, that they can have no practical knowledge of the
condition and wants of labor. Why, let me ask, do not
these speculative gentlemen draw that comparison between
labor and capital that would exhibit the misery of the one
and the luxury of the other? A just God never designed
that this discrepancy should exist. It was never intended
that one portion of mankind should drink the dregs of
misery, and the other riot in a surplus of wealth, surfeit
on every delicacy, and travel a life-long round of idleness
and pleasure. To this extent has avarice and oppression




190  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          I. SYLVIS.
made a distinction between the rich and the poor, in a
country where the laws concede equal rights and privileges
to all. For my part, I have often wondered at the pretensions of capital, when it is so dependent upon labor. It
arrogates to itself a superiority, and extorts a deference,
which can scarcely be expressed in the word presumption.
Yet how helpless, how impotent, would be capital, but for
labor. The purse-proud may domineer and oppress, the
millionnaire may exhibit contempt or pity, as impulse may
suggest; but there is not an article' of food they eat, or of
clothes they wear, or shelter they own, or a convenience
fashioned for their ease or comfort, that does not place them
under obligations to labor.
But the train of thoughts these remarks suggest, gentlemen, will render a further illustration of the dependence
of capital upon labor unnecessary. Your own observation
will enable you to pursue this subject much further than I
can on this occasion.
Fellow-workingmen, I cannot but congratulate you upon
the many agencies of assistance your own exertions have
developed within the past few years, which have worked
out so much of good, and which steadily tend to our social
elevation.
Within twelve months, none more than moulders have
tested the utility of compact organization.  During the
period named, we have encountered a concentration of capitalists, who could command many millions of dollars,
drawn together for the purpose of making one determined
effort to break through our ranks, and subject us to the
bondage of unrequited labor. They were well organized,
and contemplated a simultaneous onslaught upon us
throughout the land. But when the charge was made, you
met it manfully. That struggle will render the annals of
1866 ever memorable among moulders. Thanks to the per



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     191
fection of our organization - thanks to the manliness and
liberality of our members -we breasted the storm and
successfully resisted this well-concocted scheme. I will
not deny that many privations and trials were forced upon
us, and although we were called upon to make sacrifices,
yet there was no real suffering.
Foiled in this, they next sought to break up our unions
by offers of dishonorable compromise, and to demoralize
our leaders by direct bribery and offers of prominent and
profitable situations, which would place them beyond want,
and beyond the reach of those they might betray. In these
they were also unsuccessful. We had passed through too
many trying scenes, and found our unions an impregnable
fortress of defence on too many occasions, to tamely surrender them. And here, permit me to say, we shall ever
find the point of attack from capitalists. They have felt the
power of trade organizations, and aim at their destruction
as the first step towards our subjugation. When our opponents thus acknowledge their potency, can we too highly
appreciate their importance - their necessity? The fact
that they strike terror to our foes is the strongest argument
in their favor. Therefore let us cling to them  as the
wrecked mariner clings to a floating plank; cherish them
as our strongest means of defence; honor them  as the
source of new-born hopes; lean upon them as the last rock
upon which we can stand while drifting towards the maelstrom of social degradation.
Yet, in the face of all the good that combination has accomplished, we find those among us who are opposed to
trade organizations. We cannot ascribe this perverseness
to conscientious scruples, for neither their government, laws,
nor usages conflict with duty, morals, or justice; on the contrary, these essential virtues constitute integral parts of all
such combinations. Upon what, then, is their opposition




192   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM It. SYLVIS.
based?  Al! I fear "in their simple show they harbor
treason." It is a fact well known to all, that capitalists
will use them for a convenience, and spurn them when their
ends are accomplished; for however severe the conflict between journeymen and employers, a display of true manliness on the part of the former will always be respected by
the latter, when the struggle is over; while the fawning,
subservient creatures who betray their fellow-workmen will
be loathed and scorned by those they have served. This
class of men will always be found Iagos in friendship, Indians in treachery, Malays in mercy-ever ready to betray,
while they infuse poison into the minds of those who listen to
their fault-finding. Yet these very men are indebted to the
unions they defame for the wages they receive. They share
all the advantages which flow from the organization, and
contribute nothing to its support. Were these same principles of rascality involved in a suit at law, these miscreants
would be left to brood over their perfidy in a penitentiary.
But we leave this unpleasant part of our duty to dwell
upon the more pleasing subject of co-operation.
In this country the great principle of "self-help " is yet
in its infancy, although we regret to say it falls short of the
fair proportions it ought to present, when we consider the
date of its introduction among us. Repeated failures at first
dampened the ardor of its early friends; many of these
failures were caused by inexperience, and many by mismanagement. Of late, however, its success in England
seems to have given birth to new efforts in America, and I
am gratified to know that co-operation is gradually becoming a fixed institution among the masses. Regarding it as
the most important feature of combination, I claim it as the
most valuable of all the instruments for our elevation, and
cannot too earnestly impress upon workingmen everywhere
the necessity of adopting it. The few efforts that have re



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     193
cently been made have answered all expectations, and now
that we have been made familiar with its practical workings, we see nothing to retard its progress but the want of
energy among ourselves.
It has no doubt been a matter of surprise to you, as it
has been to me, that in Europe, where the masses are kept
in subjection, and hampered by restrictions and oppressive
laws, they should rise superior to all these obstacles with a
boldness and success that has so far eclipsed our best efforts.
With all their poverty, with all the proscriptions heaped
upon them, they subsist amid strikes and lock-outs, such as
would sorely test our powers of endurance in this land of
plenty - the secret will befound in co-operation. They have
no credit in the corner grocery, because the employers warn
the proprietors against trust. They seldom have a shilling
"to the fore," because the wages paid admits of nothing
"for a rainy day."  But they have invested the profits of
the corner grocer in co-operation. Little by little it has
been accumulating in stock, and when idleness or sickness
comes, they have a fountain from which to draw. In this
way labor is made independent of misfortune and affliction,
and the members thus possess an advantage under the system they never could obtain without it. In the ordinary
lifetime of a workingman, the aggregate gain he could derive from co-operation would maintain him in old age. The
profits of these associations have been frequently published
in the labor press of America, and all of you are more or
less familar with the history of the Rochdale Pioneer
Society. At this hour it is driving on milling and manufacturing on a large scale; while it counts among its various
branches of business, dry goods, boots and shoes, groceries,
fresh and salt meats, and every article of domestic use.
The following statement will give an idea of its immense
transactions, together with the profits of the Corn-Mill
17                   N




194   BIOGRAPIY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
Society. The members are 5,730 in number, being an increase of 230 for three months. The assets of the society
are $444,88.5, being more than in March last by $17,885.
The cash received for goods sold during the three months
is $304,520, an increase of $17,935, as compared with the
preceding quarter. The profits realized on three months'
sales are $34,585, which, after depreciating fixed stock
account, $1,375, paying interest, $4,730, applying $710
to educational purposes, allows a dividend of 44 cents on
every $25 worth purchased at the society's store. At the
quarterly meeting, held July 2, 1866, the committee was
authorized to contract or make arrangements for supplying
coals to the members. At the same meeting the members
voted $50 to the Manchester Eye Institution, also an annual
subscription of $25, to be paid on the first day in each year.
The business cash receipts of the Rochdale Corporation
Corn-Mill Society for the three months are $251,030, being
$43,705 more than last March quarter, which, after deducting an item termed "extraordinary receipts wholesale,
$27,540," leaves an increase on ordinary sales of $16,180.
The society's assets are $318,860, being higher than the
preceding quarter by $15,335. The profits realized on the
three months' sales is $16,965, which, after depreciating
fixed stock, and paying interest on capital, gives a dividend
of 22 cents on every $25.
The following statistics afford an index to the progress of
the system in England: The annual returns of the societies
registered under the act of 1863, contain accounts for the
year 1865, relating to 417 of the 599 whose rules have been
certified by Mr. Tidd Pratt.
These co-operative associations, carrying on the trade of
grocers and dealers in other provisions, shoemaking and
drapery, had, at the close of 1865, 148,586 members; their
share capital amounted to $3,806,565, and their loan capi



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.             195
tal was $563,665. They paid $15,315,440 for goods bought
in the year 1865, and received for goods sold $16,869,185.
They state their profits realized in the year to be $1,396,130,
out of which they paid dividends on shares and dividends
on purchases made from the societies, and provided for reserve and depreciation funds. At the close of the year the
value of their assets and property was $5,528,425, the
money in hand, $684,615, and trade liabilities, $1,367,400.
I might present many moe evidences of the utility and
great prosperity of co-operation abroad, but these are sufficient to show, in bold contrast, our own indifference to this
great lever of self-defence; still, I feel encouraged to hope,
by the efbfrts already made, that we shall soon follow in the
wake of our more enterprising brothers abroad. I am already gratified to witness industrial combinations on the
co-operative principle, and a little pride will be pardonable,
when I state that the moulders of Troy have presented the
first and most successful experiment in the manufacturing
line in this country. Every member of this association can
better appreciate the wisdom of this movement, from the
fact that they have so recently passed through severe trials,
which might have been greatly lessened, if not altogether
avoided, had their co-operative foundry been started a year
sooner. Having been forewarned, they are now forearmed.
But even in "industrial combination" England is far
ahead of us, as will be found in the plan, recently adopted,
of giving the workmen a percentage of the profits in addition to their wages. The following test of this new system
is derived from the Whitewood and Methley Colleries, as
detailed by Mr. H. C. Briggs, the managing partner, although it has been adopted with equal success by other
firms.
The profits had fallen in one year to 4- per cent., in another year to 3~ per cent., and the constant recurrence of




196   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
strikes among their workmen afforded no probability of
effecting any improvement in their affairs. It was clear
that there was little encouragement to run all the risks, and
to submit to all the anxieties of a business so costly and so
uncertain as coal-mining, and to get in return the same interest for the capital invested as it would have yielded if
left in the funds or put out on mortgage. They determined
to try whether, by so far taking their workmen into partnership with themselves as toomake the interests of the two
identical, the difficulty could not be solved. The company
was accordingly registered under the act of 1862, two-thirds
of the share capital retained by the members of the firm,
and one-third allotted in shares of ~15, with ~10 called up,
to their workmen and customers. The rate of wages paid
was to be the average rate of the district, and the profits of
the concern were to be divided in the following fashion: 10
per cent. was set aside as the dividend due to the capitalist;
but all above that proportion was to be divided equally between the shareholders and the laborers in their employ. In
order to encourage the latter class to become shareholders,
the half set apart for them was to be again subdivided, so
that the shareholders employed should appropriate onethird of the bonus, and the whole number employed the remaining two-thirds. It was agreed to try the plan here
sketched, during the year beginning July 1, 1865; and in
the previous May, Mr. H. C. Briggs, the managing partner
of the firm, put out an address to the workmen, detailing
the scheme at full length, and encouraging them to co-operate heartily with the experiment by a detailed example of
the results which would follow, supposing the divisible profits of the year to amount to 122 or 15 per cent. In the
former case, a workman not a shareholder would receive,
according to Mr. Briggs's calculations, 1 7-10 per cent. on
his earnings, making, if his weekly wages amounted to 30s.,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILILIAM        H. SYLVIS. 197
a bonus of 26s. 6d. at the end of the year; while a workman who was also a shareholder would receive 5 per cent.,
giving him - supposing his wages to be the same - a bonus
of ~3 18s. at the end of the year. If the profits should rise
to 15 per cent., the bonus divisible among the workmen
would amount to 10 per cent. on their earnings, or double
the preceding estimate.
Aided by the increased care and attention of the workmen, and, above all, by the absence of strikes, enabled the
directors to divide 12 per cent. for the year on the paid-up
capital, and to devote the sum of ~1,800, (equal to 2 per
cent. on the capital) to the formation of a workman's bonus
fund. Thus, on the one hand, the owners of capital realized an actually larger sum during the year than they
had ever done before; and, on the other hand, the workmen
received from ~1 to ~10 in addition to the usual wages paid
in the neighboring collieries. "Many had a five-pound note
in their possession for the first time, and some few had two;
the highest bonus being paid to a miner who, being a shareholder, received on his year's earnings of ~109 8s. 9d. a
bonus of ~10 18s. 10d."
The justice and equity of this system are too apparent to
admit of discussion. That it will tend to establish more
amicable relations between employers and journeymen none
can doubt; for, say what you will, there is an antagonism
in fact, however ably theorists may argue against it; and it
must continue to exist so long as avarice dwells in the human heart, or man struggles for deliverance from necessity,
unless the producer is raised to the position of an employer;
this will neutralize the effects of the one and destroy the
other. We cannot hope for a real identity of interests until
capital and labor become united in the same person. Make
labor a participant in the profits of its products, and you
create an identity that cannot be established by any other
17 *




198   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM Hl. SYLVIS.
process. This will forever destroy all antagonism, and
prove a sure remedy for all the unpleasant and unprofitable
struggles between capital and labor.
The above statement proves that a firm under the old
system had to endure all the vexations incident to its imperfections with small recompense, while under the new,
their profits were greatly increased, and the year passed in
harmony between employers and journeymen. Why? Because every man felt that he had an interest in its success.
He was careful to waste nothing, destroy nothing, because
every offset to the profits was his loss. In addition to this,
he had an incentive to industry; for the more he made, the
greater were his profits secured by the percentage derived
from the aggregate earnings. With encouragement like
this, workmen will be loath to idle away their time. The
ambition to display that " five-pound note," as a premium
for industry, quickens their ambition, and they commence
and continue a race to excel each other in the amount of
yearly bonus derived from their earnings. Sum up, if you
can, the many domestic comforts this would bring to the
families of workingmen. Estimate its value in improving
the morals of the poor. Freed from the apprehensions of
want, the workman no longer repairs to the dram-shop to
drown his sorrows in the bowl. The fact that he is a partner in the firm begets a self-respect consistent with his new
position, and he becomes more keenly alive to the responsibilities of manhood. The wife grows more cheerful over
the improved condition and buoyant hopes of her husband,
and her heart leaps with joy to find his brow unclouded
with care. Even the children realize a new life in the
change, and happiness, like a ministering angel, hovers
around the hearthstone.
In my preceding remarks, I have presented reasons why
labor should share a portion of the profit it earns. It is




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLYIS.     199
but equitable and just, because labor is the foundation of
all wealth. I maintain that this division of profit will produce harmony in society, elevate morals, increase temperance, and spread true religion more than the combined
efforts of all the moral reforms, philanthropists, missionary
societies, and pulpits, in the country; because it chases despair from poverty, it removes all cause for provocation,
it leaves no motive for revenge, it tends to lift mankind
above their vices, gives him a higher estimate of manhood,
inspires a fraternal feeling, and no longer permits him to
brood over the world's injustice. In short, give to labor a
fair share of the profits on its production, and you will witness a revolution in society that will shed its benign influence over the whole human race. Let us hope that the
good example we chronicle of capital in the Old World
will be speedily followed in the new.
Among other available instruments for the elevation of
labor, I cannot fail to mention education -mental, moral,
and physical. There are thousands of workingmlen who
have not been without many opportunities of advancement,
but were compelled to plod on in the beaten track, because
deficient in the rudiments of a common English education.
So large a portion of the time of the working-classes is
taken up by active physical toil, that mental cultivation,
however strong the desire for it may be, is rendered impossible. And yet we are scoffed at for the want of cultivation,
and pointed to the various institutions of learning scattered
in abundance around us. It is true that churches are
erected, school-houses are built, mechanics' institutions are
founded, and libraries, free and otherwise, are ready to receive us, to instruct our understanding and shape our judgment, but alas! we lack the time to use them - time.
The vast numbers of laboring-people who are confined
in our large cities, are justified in every sense of the word




200   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
to bring the prolonged hours of toil within reasonable limits.
Compelled of necessity to seek a dwelling-place for their
families in the most remote suburbs of these vast collections
of humanity, where they can most economically eke out the
scanty earnings of the week, they are compelled to rise at
the first hours of early morn, in order to reach the great
gates of the capitalist, to enter upon the long hours of toil
that stretch their weary length until the close of day. But
the labor is not yet at an end. Again they have to exert
their exhausted frames and weary limbs over many a weary
mile before they can sit down to rest, or enjoy the society
of wife and children. In what physical state, in what
mental condition, is this exhausted laborer to enter upon
the duties of the social circle, or the cultivation of the
mind? Alas! his toil-worn limbs refuse their office any
longer. The eyes, wearied with continued vigilance, sink
blinded within their aching and throbbing sockets, and the
slumberer, half fed, half cleansed, half caressing and caressed, is prostrated, in a sleep that hardly knows a waking.
Again, and yet again, is this process of walking, toiling,
eating, and sleeping repeated -nature engaged in a fearful
conflict with mind acted upon by the laws of necessity and
social existence.
And this is not the end. Necessity too often forces our
children from the school-room to the workshop at a premature age. The small pittance they can earn is essential to
the support of the family, and poverty -thus closes every
avenue of education to a large portion of the rising generation. This is the experience of a large portion of the workingmen of this country; and I cannot too strongly urge the
endurance of every bearable privation, or the propriety of
making every possible sacrifice, to fit our children for the
best opportunities of promotion. Every effort should be
made to rescue the young from the evil associations by




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.    201
which they are surrounded. Above all, keep them from all
immoral enticements calculated to instil vices which time
may never remove.
We know of many great and good men who have sprung
from obscurity to adorn the walks of life. The most proficient in arts and science, the most skilled in mechanism, the
most ingenious inventors, the most renowned statesmen,
commenced their career with no capital but their bone and
muscle. But all these men owe their greatness to midnight
study, and persevering search for information that overleaped every barrier to their progress.
This is the history of all self-made men, for they were
strangers to colleges and all the avenues of education monopolized by the rich. The road to greatness for the toiling millions is a thorny one, and few they are who can
travel it.
The workingman needs education also for other purposes
than those prompted by mere ambitious motives. Intelligence, sharpened by education, often enables a mechanic to
advance more by head-work than hand-work. It gives him
a quicker appreciation of his art, makes him more precise
in his calculations, and suggests many expedients that enable him to save time and labor. To a practical workman,
it furnishes ideas that often culminate in valuable improvements and inventions; and it has often happened that a
single thought applied to mechanism has worked out a fortune to the thinker. Aside from this, education fits a man
for a variety of occupations the illiterate can never aspire
to, when idleness or misfortune is forced upon them.
In connection with this subject permit me to impress
upon you the importance of moral culture. The revolution
we hope to work out in favor of labor involves an earnest
preparation for the many important changes that will follow in its train. Our aim is to reach that standard in so



202   BIOGRAP-HY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
ciety which will enable us to be recognized as intelligent
free agents - a portion of the body politic - exercising a
controlling power commensurate with the responsibilities
devolving upon us; and we must convince the world that we
merit the exaltation. It is our duty, therefore, to combine
dignity and morality with education. Every vice should
be surrendered on the altar of our aspirations. You might
as well deck the jackdaw with the peacock's feathers as to
place a man in an elevated position, with head and heart
poisoned by a passion for low and degrading pursuits.
While I am no temperance crusader, my anxiety for the
improvement of workingmen prompts me to warn them
against the evils of intemperance. The sober man is always
a preferred workman, because he is more reliable. The
sober man makes a better husband, father, and citizen. The
sober man brings more happiness to his fireside, and proves
a better friend and neighbor. His chances for promotion
are far better than the inebriate's. We know that workingmen are as sober, moral, and upright as any other portion
of the community; but it is my ambition to see them excel
all others in this respect. Therefore let us set about a reform that will render us worthy of the amelioration we are
struggling to achieve.
I need not point out to you the deleterious effects of depraved habits in a physical point of view. That dissipation
tends to a prostration of the system, shatters the nerves,
and stultifies the senses, none can deny. The slave to his
appetite thus becomes deficient in workmanship, and renders his chances of employment more precarious, while the
mind gradually relaxes into imbecility. The workman
should never fail to adhere to that discipline, and exercise
those restraints, which bring to his aid the greatest amount
of physical energy.
I am happy to know that my suggestions in regard to




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 203
education and self-improvement have been anticipated in a
few localities, by the establishment of workingmen's libraries, free reading-rooms, debating clubs, etc. No surer
means could be selected to facilitate the education and refinement of the masses; while intellectual and moral benefits
of incalculable value are derived from these associations,
they absorb the time and attention of young and old, and
serve to warn the more evil-disposed from demoralizing associations.
Aside from this they constitute a school for the development of varied talent, and fit us better for contact with the
world. I cannot too strongly impress upon you the importance of establishing these institutions in every part of the
land. What our unions accomplish socially, they will
accomplish intellectually, for we become qualified to combat,
in the press or on the forum, every assault made upon the
interests of labor.
I will now approach a subject to which I have given
much serious thought. I allude to the financial interests of
the workingmen. It has long been a custom with us to
place our savings in the keeping of bankers, banking institutions, and savings-banks, under control of capitalists.
We make up no trifling capital for these institutions in the
aggregate, and, after making a profit upon our labor, they
make another upon our savings. Nay, it frequently happens
that, by mismanagement or roguery, the carefully hoarded
surplus saved from years of toil is swept away by failures
or embezzlement, and we are left destitute of the last means
we had provided against sickness or old age.
These swindles are of frequent occurrence, and thousands
of workingmen have been stripped of their last dollar by
the dishonesty of these institutions.
Why need we run this risk? Will you tell me there is
not sufficient financial ability among workingmen to qualify




204   BIOGItAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
them as custodians of their own savings?  They neither
lack honesty nor capacity;'and surely men who toil for their
money, would guard it with more care than those who live
upon the labor of others. If anything is to be made upon
banking capital furnished by workingmen, they should
make it -not the pampered drones who live upon their
wits. Every encouragement given to this system is a virtual acknowledgment that we are incompetent to manage
our own affairs, and is a direct assault upon the principle
of self-government we are striving to establish.
In the July issue of the Jowrntal, we proposed a plan
for raising a sufficient capital to establish co-operative
foundries throughout the country, and suggested a process
by which we could establish a national bank. Time has
only confirmed my convictions upon that subject; but independent of that proposition, the road is open to moulders
and all other workingmen by which they can have sole
control of their earnings on a safer basis than that presented by the present banking system. It is an easy matter
to start one on capital furnished by labor, and to be officered and controlled by workingmen selected by the depositors. An institution of this kind would command general
confidence, because the officers would not receive princely
salaries, nor would the sons of broken merchants be pensioned upon it. Its profits would be increased by an economical administration of its affairs, and this would secure
a liberal patronage from the public.
The experiment has been successfully tested in France,
and a number of banking and saving institutions are now
in successful operation in that country. Under the present
banking system in this country, poor men can hope for no
advantages. All the favors are bestowed upon the wealthy.
All the profits go to the stock owners. What we need is
a bank that will carry out the co-operative principle, by




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          II. SYLVIS.    205
sharing the profits with the depositors, and affording facilities to struggling men making an honest business effort. In
short, those who create the institution should reap the accruing benefits, and not the few who speculate upon the
deposits.
Among other handmaids of help to workingmen will be
found Home and Land Associations, Building Societies, etc.
I commend them to your careful consideration, because I
look upon them as exercising a great social influence. By
small monthly instalments, such as we can spare above our
expenses, a few years at most will find us the possessor of
a homestead. United with one of these institutions, we
always have a motive for perseverance, because we know
that our yearly accumulations will place us beyond the extortion of landlords. Rent is an incessant moth upon our
earnings, and is ever detracting from our substance. Oh!
what a happy deliverance from the worst apprehensions,
when we obtain a home of our own. Let our afflictions or
our misfortunes be what they may, it is a relief to know
that we are freed from the importunities of landlords and
their agents.
It is by a combination of all the elements at our command, and by their proper application to our wants, that
we can escape the condition of dependence which too often
falls to the lot of the poor. Having so much to oppress and
embarrass us, we should not hesitate to avail ourselves of
every means calculated to place us upon an equality with
the more favored, and to secure us those comforts which
are due to honest industry. These agencies, discreetly used,
cannot fail to hasten the dawning day of a happy deliverance from social bondage, and guide us in the attainment of
those blessings and privileges which avarice and oppression
have wrested from us.
In view of the past year's struggles to establish the eight18




206   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
hour law, much might be said, but it would reflect but
little credit upon the energy of the workingmen as a
body. In some localities, however, there are.noble exceptions to the general indifference upon this subject. Our
labor organs have apprised you of the progress this reform
has made, and of the untiring efforts of a devoted few to
awaken a new interest in its success. When I reflect upon
the advantages it would secure to the masses, and the
comparative ease with which it could be made a law of the
land, I am amazed at the apathy of those for whose benefit it is designed. I need not rehearse the many arguments
advanced in its favor, for. so ably has the subject been discussed by the many talented champions of our cause, that
I have but little to add. I will remind you again, however, that the introduction of labor-saving machinery
should confer upon workingmen equal benefits with those
received by capitalists. Under the existing organization
of society, machinery increases the profits of the latter,
while the former are compelled to devote the same time to
labor.  Yet all these business facilities, at least a large
majority of them, emanate from the brain-work and handiwork of the toiler. They are projected and constructed by
workingmen, and none can present higher claims to the
advantages derived from them.
We must admit that machinery lessens employment to a
certain extent, and often forces mechanics to seek other
avenues of labor, and but for the growing enterprise of a
new country, we should often experience a disastrous stagnation. As it is, we are not free from the effects of those
changes which its introduction never fails to create; and
when we ask a reduction of two hours per day, the demand
is a modest one, to say the least, compared to the additional
gains received by the capitalist. We contend, also, that
machinery destroys the necessity for so much hard labor.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 207
It was designed to give all mankind a limited respite from
incessant physical exertion, and not to benefit the few whose
circumstances allow them to live upon the labor of others.
We regard it as one of the instruments for ameliorating
the condition of the industrial classes, as well as a means
of increasing the usefulness of capital. It is one of those
blessings developed by the progress of the age, and, like the
air we breathe, the water we drink, or the glorious sunshine,
should be shared by all in common.
The principle of reducing the hours of labor was tested
in this country thirty-two years ago, when such men as
Farrell, Luther, English, Hogan, and others, met with the
same opposition in establishing the ten-hour system that we
now encounter to make eight hours a legal day's work.
Then a reduction of three hours per day was demanded -
now we ask but for two. Will it be denied that this is a
reasonable request, when we consider that, in 1834, laborsaving machinery was yet in its infancy, and that now it
has almost reached the acme of its expansive power? Yet
none of the disasters predicted by the change then fell upon
the community. There was no reduction of wages, there
was no curtailment of profits. On the contrary, more have
since made fortunes, and made them in a shorter space of
time, than ever was known before. Why? Machinery for
planing and grooving boards, for making bricks, boots and
shoes, and its adaptation to all mechanical and manufacturing operations, to say nothing of navigation and commerce,
have not only made up the deficiency created by the reduction of three hours at that period, but the inventions of man
have so multiplied that a further reduction of working
hours becomes necessary, in order to give a fair proportion
of employment to the increasing number of workmen incident to the rapid advance of population.
Man's propensity to evade the law, however, has pre



208   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
vented the producing classes from enjoying, as a whole, the
advantages of the ten-hour law. In several of the Eastern
and Middle States, particularly in manufacturing districts,
eleven and twelve hours are still extorted from workingmen,
in violation of the law, by the special contract system. Only
very recently, we have noticed the efforts of mill operatives
to secure a reduction to the legal ten hours. In these establishments children of tender years are doomed to a life of
servitude, the severity of which was seldom felt by plantation slaves. Let us then renew our efforts to shorten the
hours of labor. It may be that when we establish eight
hours as a legal day's work, those now forced to work
twelve will be allowed to reduce theirs to ten. But we
should not fail to profit by past experience. Since capitalists will evade the law, we must throw such guards around
this reform as will prevent special contracts, or agreements
of any kind, that will strip it of its full force and power.
The law must mean what it says —eight hours and no
more, and not be framed in such a manner as to render it
nugatory by such quirks and quibbles as capitalists may
invent.
While considering this subject, it may not be amiss to
state that we owe some relief to the rising generation as
well as to ourselves. We hold that a man who works ten
hours can scarcely obtain a sight of his children, certainly
not by daylight, except on the Sabbath, for six months in
the year. He has to start so early to the shop, and returnso late, that he must leave them in bed and find them there
when he comes home. Poverty compels him to live in the
suburbs, and generally at such a distance from business
marts that two hours of preparation and travel to and fro
are added to the ten before he can rest at his fireside. He
is thus deprived of all opportunity to cultivate those affections, and give that proper tone and direction to his chil



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               209
dren, which are demanded of every parent. The mother, possibly, is compelled to toil at some occupation independent
of household duties, and her children are left to all the evil
associations and surroundings which train them in habits of
vice and crime. Could the inmates of the houses of refuge,
houses of correction, and other institutions for the punishment of youthful offenders, speak, they might trace their
wanderings from the path of rectitude to involuntary parental neglect.
Aside from this, children are often forced into mills and
factories at a premature age, from necessity. The workman, for instance, becomes a father at 25 years of age; at
35, when his boy is but 10, the father, by incessant application, finds his energies beginning to relax. He can no
longer work with his accustomed vigor, and his earnings are
gradually lessened, for man, in one sense, is like a piece of
machinery - constant use will wear him out; and he often
fails in the meridian of life. What then? Want compels
him to introduce his children into the factory to make up
the deficiency. Thus we find the rising generation is deprived of education and parental control, only doomed to
physical prostration, and denied all opportunities of mental
cultivation. Each child in turn must follow, because the
father is growing less efficient; and thus a whole family is
not only enslaved but reared in ignorance, and left destitute
of every incentive that ennobles manhood, or that prompts
to social, moral, or religious culture. We find this point
of our argument ably sustained by the following extract
from "Prize Essays on the Temporal Advantages of the
Sabbath:"
"The ordinary work-days of most of our operatives are necessarily so engrossed by their out-door occupations, and the time
consumed in going to and fro, that whatever their inclinations
may be, they seldom have opportunities to indulge in the offices
18*                  (0




210   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.
of family devotion. Business, as now conducted, is so thoroughly
worldly in its spirit and requirements, and so greedy of every moment it can wrest from its slaves, that no space is left between
the rising and setting sun for the pious laborer to assemble his
household around the domestic altar. His meal-times barely
suffice to enable him to reach his home to appease the appetite
of nature and to retrace his steps again. Thus the devout workman, however his soul may pant for a brief daily season which
he may consecrate to the social exercise of religion, finds himself irresistibly borne onward by the tide of human selfishness,
and compelled to conform to many of the customs and restrictions imposed by the ungodly."
Every consideration, then, which involves physical relaxation, mental improvement, social elevation, moral progress,
and religious devotion, demands of us new efforts and cheerful sacrifices to make eight hours a legal day's work. We
must unite and work in harmony to accomplish this great
reform. If labor and means are required, give them cheerfully and liberally. If a sacrifice of political preferences or
partisan attachments is necessary, lay both upon the altar
of our hopes and desires for the success of the cause.
Whenever you can nominate a candidate favorable to this
measure, bear down all opposition by your numbers. Whenever you can exercise a balance-vote to accomplish the same
purpose, go to the polls a unit, and make both politicians
and capitalists feel your influence.
"Let not the poor
Be forced to grind the bones out of their arms
For bread, but have some space to think and feel,
Like moral and immortal creatures."
Prison labor is another subject which should arrest. the
serious attention of workingmen. The Labor Congress
which assembled in Baltimore last August, treated it as one
of the most important business features of the session, and




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS. 211
will no doubt give it due consideration at the next session
of that body. That it is an evil, and a growing one, all
must admit; for there can be no surer agency for the degradation of labor. Like the eight-hour law, it can only be
reached by legislation, and we must look to the ballot-box
for a remedy.
Having so thoroughly discussed this question in the
Journal for the months of November and December, we
need not enlarge upon it here. In a circular dated Louisville, Ky., November 14, 1866, I find the following statement, which may be regarded as a synopsis of the practical
working of the system:
" A firm in this city, extensively engaged in the manufacture
of agricultural implements and machines, employing necessarily
a number of workmen, has entered into partnership with the
lessee of the beforenamed penitentiary, thereby, at certain reduced rates, all the labor is performed by convicts. Having succeeded in this enterprise, we understand that the same firm has
made a similar agreement with the party having control of the
Nashville penitentiary. And it requires little foresight to see
that other capitalists will not be behind them; and thus it may
come to pass that these houses of correction, which we build and
sustain with our money for a specific end, may be made the
means of depriving us honest men of our means of subsistence.
We know, from observation, that capitalists will invest so as to
realize the largest profits; and it cannot be doubt6d that they will
gain more by employing convict workmen at the rate of forty
cents per day than they will by employing us. We have learned
that the same parties have made arrangements to carry on the
same business in the Kentucky penitentiary."
I have long been convinced of the beneficial results which
would accrue to the interest of labor by an alliance with
trade organizations throughout the world. Our aims, objects, and interests are the same everywhere, and I look
upon this as the safest plan to prevent an unjust competi



212   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
tion, because it would destroy the power of capitalists to
supplant workmen struggling for their rights in one portion
of the world by the importation of help from another. We
could hold communication at close intervals, and keep the
producing-classes informed of the movements of capitalists
in both hemispheres. We know that strangers have often
been intruded upon us to effect a reduction of wages, when
they were entirely ignorant of any existing difficulty. In
many instances they have nobly refused to be made instruments of our oppression, and cast their lot with us, resolved
to stand firm in our defence. But it often occurs that our
poverty, and their necessities, leaves them no alternative but
that of "fulfilling the bond" with those who have contracted for their labor. In addition to this, we could establish rules and regulations which would prevent capitalists
from contracting for labor in any part of the world, when
detrimental to the interests of labor, by the same process of
warning now in practice among ourselves. In this particular, the Atlantic cable might prove as advantageous to us as
it is to others.
I need not point out to you the advantages to be derived
from such an alliance, so far as fraternal feelings and interests are concerned. Under existing circumstances, strangers
from other countries are looked upon with suspicion, if not
with fear, when they approach our workshops. Their advent among us has so often proved an injury through the
deception and misrepresentations of capitalists, that we are
loath to give them a cordial welcome. In this way a prejudice has been created and ill-feeling engendered which
ought never to exist.
An alliance that would embrace in its membership every
workingman, no matter where his lot might be cast, would
ensure a hearty welcome to the toiler in every quarter of
the globe. As far as trade is concerned, he would be a cos



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               213
mopolitan, enjoying the right to locate where it best suited
him, possessing credentials that would open the door of
trades-unions, and cause the right hand of fellowship to
be extended to him, no matter where he is located. Bound
together by fraternal ties, having the same interests and
feelings, recognizing membership in his trade organization
as the only essential passport, we could build up a power
that would defy the world. With eight-tenths of the civilized human race in the union, we could laugh at the assumptions of avarice, and successfully resist oppression.
This and kindred subjects, however, will be the legitimate
property of the next Labor Congress. In view of the many
important questions that will be brought before that body,
I cannot too strongly urge the propriety of selecting for
delegates our deepest thinkers and most proficient legislators.
If ever there was a necessity for the convocation of the best
talent, the clearest intelligence, and the greatest experience
that the ranks of labor can produce, it exists now. The
action of that convention, if made up of such material as
workingmen can furnish, may confer lasting benefits upon
the producing-classes. We require in council men of broad,
comprehensive views, capable of taking in at a glance the
great future, and so familiar with the laws of cause and
effect that they can legislate for posterity as well as the
present generation.
I need not say to you with what anxiety I look forward
to its deliberations, for labor's best hope will centre there.
Let us see to it, then, that a full representation is secured.
The Baltimore convention was a new thing - we might say
an experiment. The notice was short, and its importance
not fully understood. Under the circumstances, it exceeded
our expectations in point of numbers and talent, the able
manner in which vital questions were treated, the interesting character of the business before it, and the favorable




214   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
opinions elicited from the President of the United States in
regard to many of the leading measures, left an impression,
which will, I trust, awaken a deeper interest in the next
Labor Congress, and render it a worthy custodian of all that
labor will confide to its wisdom.
Let me congratulate you, gentlemen, upon the encouragement and aid the labor movement has received from its
accredited organs in this country. It would be difficult to
estimate the assistance they have afforded us in resisting that
prejudice, proscription, and oppression which have drawn
so broad a line between the rich and the poor. Since 1863,
a number of these " silent pleaders " for the rights of workingmen have been started, and nobly did they perform their
mission, so long as they maintained their vitality. But, I
am sorry to say, they were suffered to languish and die for
the want of proper support. One after another went down
after spasmodic struggles, leaving their projectors deeply
involved. Subsequent to that period, however, the progress
derived from these disastrous experiments gave courage to
others, and new organs have made their appearance in different parts of the country, the majority devoted wholly to
the labor cause, but a few of them are obliged to blend extraneous issues with the ostensible object of their publication, in order to secure an existence. I cannot too earnestly
declaim against such uncongenial association of antagonistic
purposes. Particularly is it detrimental to our cause when
newspapers, professing to be labor organs, lend themselves
to either one of the political parties. It is this practice
which gives our enemies cause for the not always groundless
charge of prostituting the labor movement to partisan interests. Such impressions forced upon the public, either by
necessity or design on the part of the publishers, stultifies
our best efforts, and creates a prejudice that is difficult to
overcome.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.     215
Let me urge you to a course of liberality and personal
exertion to extend the circulation of labor organs that will
place them above the necessity of occupying so questionable
a position. Keep them distinct, and sanction no " entangling alliances " calculated to awaken distrust or suspicion.
We must hold our cause spotless and pure if we would win
public favor, and those who attempt to carry water on both
shoulders, that is, "to serve two masters," cannot bring
essential aid to either. He that is not for us is against us,
and we want no partial advocates of the labor movement,
no half-way support. To such organs, therefore, as start
out wholly and solely devoted to us, give them that aid
which will remove them from the temptation of wearing two
faces.
I need not dwell on the importance of an outspoken press.
It is ever powerful in moulding public sentiment wherever
civilization and intelligence hold sway.  Every interest
dear to man, art, science, morality, religion, temperance, or
any other cause influenced by public opinion, have their
organs, and labor alone is deficient in this essential element
of progress. Without them we struggled hopelessly and
groped in the dark for many years. Not until their advent
did we make the slightest advance towards equalizing
wages with the cost of living, nor would our best efforts to
establish the eight-hour law, or to accomplish any other
reform, have availed us anything without their aid. Can
there be any more effective weapon to guard against assault,
let it come in what shape it may, whether from oppression,
extortion, or misrepresentation?  The time was when we
were compelled to submit to the sneers and scoffs of capital,
and insulting defiance hurled in our teeth; but since we
have established labor organs we are treated with respect,
and our opponents are slow to provoke a controversy the
merits of which will be placed before the public, whom




216   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS,
we no longer permit to make up a verdict on ex parte evidence furnished by our opponents. In view of these apparent truths, I hope I shall escape the charge of egotism,
if I refer with pride to the field of usefulness occupied by
our own Journal.   But nine numbers have been issued,
and I wish that you were as well informed as my position
enables me to be, of the happy results derived from its publication. Since its first issue I venture to assert that the
members of our organization have become better informed
of the practical working of the international and subordinate unions than they ever were before. They have manifested a deeper interest, exhibited a greater anxiety, and
devoted more time and attention to the work of self-elevation.  The eagerness with which the Journal is sought
after, too, gives me reason to hope that a concern and devotion, on the part of its readers, is bestowed upon the labor
movement heretofore unknown.
That it has exalted our character as workingmen, both
at home and abroad, is proved by the copious extracts
taken from, and the high encomiums passed upon it in both
hemispheres. It has made the Iron-Moulders' International
Union of America a household word in Europe; and the
hope and encouragement it has given to the labor cause
everywhere, I leave to be estimated by others. Not the
least compliment paid our Journal, however, is the fact
that employers as well as journeymen are always eager to
peruse its contents. This may be prompted more from fear
than affection; but so it is, and not a few capitalists read it
by stealth as a "forbidden book," while others peruse its
contents with undisguised gratification.
We are pleased to see that the Coachmakers' International Union, though yet in its infancy, has issued a
monthly journal, got up and illustrated in a costly manner.
Thus our example has not been without profit, and it is to




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              217
be hoped that the time will come when every national trade
organization will have its own organ, placed above the accidents of time and circumstances by the liberality of its respective members. In such an event, our own Journal will
be looked upon as the pioneer of labor literature, should
you, in your wisdom, decide upon its continuance. I might
add that the uncertainty of its future has proved a formidable obstacle to its general dissemination. The knowledge
that this body could at any time suspend its publication has
prevented that exertion to extend its circulation which
would have been put forth under other circumstances. I
have not a doubt that its expenses could be materially
lessened, if it could not be made a source of revenue, were
this body to decide it a fixture of our organization. Before
I close my remarks, I feel it a duty to speak of the depressed condition of female labor. It is a lamentable fact,
that "the fairest portion of God's creation" is left to
struggle in their weakness, with no manly hand extended to
lift them from the social oppression of this avaricious age.
True, spasmodic efforts have resulted in a few public
meetings, where superficial theorists have been permitted to
display their oratorical powers and to tickle the public ear,
but no good has been gained. The efforts were ephemeral,
the effect fleeting. It is but a mockery of Woman's woe to
draw a fanciful picture of her sufferings, and then leave her
in her misery, without hope of amelioration. All laws,
human and divine, point to man as her natural protector;.
and yet we suffer women to be made the victims of inhumanity without throwing a protecting arm around them.
Why this indifference? Are we not selfish and unfeeling,
to be so- absorbed in our own interests as to lose sight of all
that pertains to the welfare of the weaker sex?
I have often pondered upon their destitute condition since
the unprecedented rise in the cost of the -necessaries of life,
19




218   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
and wondered how they could exist on the starvation wages
paid them. Many have been made widows by natural
causes, and more by the casualties of war, with from two to
five children to provide for. How is it possible to support
them on the pittance paid for needle-work or any other
labor? Manhood, honor, humanity, gallantry alike revolt
at the hardships women are compelled to endure through
the avarice of man. All the economy they can practise,
pinch and stint as they may, cannot secure them the comforts of life, though they may stitch till the midnight hour
and rise at early dawn. In this land of plenty thousands
of women and children go to bed hungry, while mothers
toil on hopelessly, with hollow cheek and sunken eye, until
their trials are ended by premature death.
What is it that drives women to houses of prostitution
or consigns them to prison? The character of American
women is too exalted, too pre-eminent in virtue, to suppose
that they would seek either from choice. No, it is man's
injustice that drives them to the alternative of starvation
or a life of vice and crime. Too often it is necessity that
compels her to flee from hunger and seek temporary relief
in haunts and associations that awaken feelings of loathing
and abhorrence. We hold that man's injustice works out
more ruin for the sex than all the libertines and roues in
the land, and even these never fail to parade the show and
tinsel of a life of crime, and contrast its luxuries with the
poverty of their victims, before the starveling flies from one
misery to another.
We claim that workingmen, above all others, should wash
their hands of all participation in this rank injustice. As
men struggling to maintain an equitable standard of wages
and to dignify labor, we owe it to consistency, if not to
humanity, to guard and protect the rights of female labor,
as well as those of our own. How can we hope to reach




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 219
that social elevation for which we all aim, without making
woman the companion of our advancement as she has been
of our depression? Are we to march on to the goal of our
ambition and leave her behind to drink the dregs of
misery?   Surely we have not paused to reflect upon
this subject, or we would have higher conceptions of our
duty as men.
The influence workingmen exercise in society can accomplish much for the amelioration of women.  Instead of
patronizing establishments for such articles as women make
or manufacture, because they sell cheaper, and are enabled
to do so by the pittance doled out to their operatives, purchase only from those who pay them living wages. Base
your preference on the liberality of the employer to his
operatives, and let them know that you will promptly make
a sacrifice to maintain a principle. If they deal fairly with
their workwomen, you will deal with them, and not otherwise. Remember those who labor comprise the great mass
of consumers, and possess the power to punish avarice
wherever it is practised. Let their goods remain on the
shelf, and do not purchase them at any price, if they have
been put there by the unrequited labor of women.
We can further aid workingwomen by urging and assisting them to organize trade societies. Let us place the same
weapons of defence in their hands that we have found so
effective. In their unions, they could keep a list of employers in any particular calling, placing the Shylocks on a
black list, which would enable us to shun their establishments, and select from the more just and liberal with whom
to deal. In this way we would be offering an inducement,
or paying a premium in the way of patronage, to those who
paid their hands living wages.
But the surest remedy for these evils, after all, is co-operation. There are many occupations which women could




220   BIOGRPAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
carry on with but a small amount of capital, such as all
kinds of clothing for women, boys and girls, shirts and caps
for both sexes, umbrellas, map coloring, and almost all the
occupations at which they are employed. In the majority
of cases no capital at all would be required, because the
customer could bring the material to the co-operative depot,
and have them made up. Transfer the profits from the
pockets of heartless employers to the pockets of the worker,
and a different state of things would exist.  Workmen,
however, must take the initiative, and give the women all
necessary assistance at the start. Once in operation, they
can " go alone," if we give them the support we can give.
The experiment has been tried with but limited success, and
why? Because we have given all such efforts cold neglect instead of the encouragement they had a right to
expect.
Rest assured, gentlemen, we cannot go forward without
marching hand-in-hand with woman. If we leave her behind, capital will not be slow to unsex her, and place her
in many of those channels of labor now occupied by us.
She must have the same inducements, and derive equal
benefits from the reform we are striving to accomplish, to
make ourselves secure. We are bound to extricate her
from  her present depressed condition from  motives of
humanity as well as policy. It will be fatal to the cause
of labor, when we place the sexes in competition, and
jeopardize those social relations which render woman queen
of the household. Keep her in the sphere which God designed her to fill, by manly assistance, and save her as far
as possible from physical prostration,' and the too often
demoralizing influences of the mill, the factory, and the
workroom.
The proud mission of woman should place her above a
mere condition of drudgery, a machine to be worked by the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              221
power of necessity on one hand, and that of avarice on the
other.  What would be the domestic hearthstone or the
family altar without her? How desolate and cheerless the
home denied the presence of woman. She it is who ministers to our wants, shares our sorrows, soothes in sickness,
lessens our cares, and blunts the barbed arrows hurled by
malice, envy, or slander. She is the great moral reformer
who lifts us above selfishness, and points out the path of
honor and usefulness. Without her civilizing and christianizing influence, man would be a savage. Essayists have
written and poets have sung in praise of woman's faithfulness and constancy; but could they witness the patient endurance and long-suffering of women in the humbler walks
of life, when husbands and fathers are forced from employment by tyrannical exactions, they would feel an inspiration never awakened beyond the pale of labor's circle.
How they banish despondency, cheer the despairing, and
strengthen the wavering in such trying hours, can be
attested by many before me. Where is our gratitude, then,
that we shall leave her helpless and unprotected? Unfortunately, society has long been too niggard of privileges
that should be conceded to women. Her moral worth is
too lightly estimated, and we consider it a foul wrong that
she is not included in every progressive movement designed
to benefit man.
Recently, however, by their own indomitable perseverance, the public are beginning to recognize the claims of
woman. They fill professorships, receive diplomas, and
master art and science with an aptness not excelled by the
sterner sex. A writer in a recent issue of the New York
Tribune, states that there is a college at Manhattan, Kansas,
where the sexes are placed on an equality in the race for
honors. He says: "Thus far, the girls excel their competitors
of the other sex, even in composition, declamation, and the
19*




222 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
higher mathematics. This term they are to have a debating
club, and learn parliamentary law. If women will conduct
our great charities, they must hold public meetings; if
they will hold public meetings, they must know the rules
of deliberative bodies."
The constitution of Kansas allows every woman of eighteen and upwards to vote on every question in district and
school meetings, and makes them eligible to all offices in
school-boards. The same writer states that "in some districts they do not vote; in others, they turn out en masse.
Many are elected to offices, and fill them with great zeal
and practical wisdom. I learn of one district where a lady
drew plans, obtained and let a contract for a school-house,
and is the leading spirit of the board."
I find the subject of conferring the elective franchise upon
women begins to meet with grave consideration. Senator
Cowan, of Pennsylvania, and Senator Wade, of Ohio, have
openly declared in favor of it in the U. S. Senate; and it
has long been a debatable question with myself, whether
common justice should not concede them the right to vote
on all matters that directly affect their welfare.  Many
assert, and I fully endorse it, that they would add dignity
to the elective franchise, and give it a moral power that
would elevate it above the bribery, corruption, dissipation
and dishonesty that now cling to it like a festering sore.
Certain it is, had they the privilege of voting, they would
command a consideration now withheld. Left out of legislation, denied all means of redress, and held subservient to
man, they tare restricted in their usefulness, and crippled
in their efforts to consummate those comprehensive schemes
of benevolence and charity which alone can originate in
woman's heart.  Why should women not enjoy every
social and political privilege enjoyed by men? The time,
I hope, is not far off when universal suffrage and universal
liberty will be the rule all over the world.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 223
In conclusion, gentlemen, let me remind you that it requires union and harmony to carry out the several suggestions I have made. Let us " pull together," and avoid the
bickerings and jealousies often awakened by an honest
difference of opinion, where men fall short of the intelligence and toleration that should govern rational beings
striving to accomplish a great purpose. When men become slaves to their passions and prejudices, good results
are hopeless. It is my ambition to see moulders exhibit
a liberality and a charity for each other that will strengthen
the ties of friendship, cement the bonds of union, and render our organization a brotherhood that will always command a cheerful obedience to its enactments. Whatever
the sacrifice we may be called upon to make, or however
severe the trial duty demands we should encounter, let us
meet them with ready hands and cheerful hearts. Above
all, let us exercise that charity and forbearance towards
each other -which are demanded by the great interests we
have at stake. I am admonished by my own deficiencies
that none of us are infallible. Let us do the best we can.
"Angels can do no more."
SPEECH    DELIVERED     AT BIRMINGHAM, PA.,
SEPTEMBER, 1868.
FELLOW-WORKINGMEN: - And if I am not mistaken, this
is a meeting of workingmen; assembled pursuant to a call
made by the Labor Reform party of this county. We are
not here, then, to praise or condemn either the Democratic
or Republican parties; we are here to discuss such questions as seem to be of vital importance to the laboring-men
of the nation, and if, in the discussion of those questions,




224 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM II. SYLVIS.
we shall bear hard upon either of the parties, it must be
because they have acted contrary to what we believe to be
correct, viewed from our stand-point. I am not here as a
politician, as a representative of any political party, but as
a workingman. I have but one object in view -the success of our party, of such principles as will elevate and
better the condition of the class to which I belong-the
workingmen of the nation; the men whose labor has made
our country what it is; the men who, when treason and rebellion reared their monstrous heads in the land, and
threatened our government with destruction, rose up in the
majesty of their strength, and stood like a wall of adamant between the Constitution and all the elements of destruction and
desolation. When I can see theworkingmen of this nation enjoying some of the fruits of their toil and some of the rights
supposed to belong to freemen- some protection under the
common law, and some exemption from the burdens imposed
upon them -then will I be content to " shuffle off this mortal
coil," for mine eyes will have beheld the day of our salvation.
When our fathers landed upon the barren shore of New
England, in 1620, they did not bring with them a cargo of
gold and bonds, with which to begin the erection of a new
empire - their stock in trade was composed of strong arms
and brave hearts, and they went to work cutting down the forests, building log-cabins, and planting corn. They were our
fathers in the great field of labor; and their descendants,
with hundreds of thousands of the oppressed of all nations,
have gone on from that day to this, until, as a result of their
toil, what was then a vast wilderness, is now the finest country on the globe, and, in some respects, the greatest nation
the world has ever seen. The founders of our government
intended to create a true democracy, where every man
should be in the enjoyment of equal rights and privileges.
They did not anticipate a time when every example and




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 225
precept taught by them should be disregarded, and every
landmark by them erected should be torn down, and a despotism erected here such as nowhere else exists, and yet they
are scarcely cold in their graves until all these things have
come to pass.
Men talk to me of our independence and boast of our
constitutional government, and all that it guarantees to us;
but with these spread-eagle gentlemen I do not agree. These
things will do very well for Fourth-of-July orations, but
not for every-day life. Workingmen do not live in imagination, but upon cold, practical facts; and the facts are,
that the workingmen of this nation are oppressed more than
the same class in any other country. It is true, we have no
king - no political king - but here we have monopolies,
banking monopolies, railroad monopolies, land monopolies,
and bond monopolies, that supply the place of kings, dukes,
lords, etc., and their rule is getting to be more intolerable
than is found anywhere else. If we have no political king,
we have money kings, and they are the worst kings in the
world. We, by our labor, have been putting into motion
millions of little streams of wealth, and a false financial and money system has been directing them into the
pockets of a few individuals, while we remain poor and
powerless. No, not powerless, for we have yet one way
of escape.  The ballot-box is still open.  We in this
State have yet no law allowing the Legislature to do our
voting for us. If we will use the ballot effectively, we will
soon be freed from the golden rule that now crushes
the vitality out of the industry of the whole nation. This
we are now trying to do. This is the object of the Labor
Reform party; and we are ready to make common cause
with any other party or people who will adopt our principles and get on our platform; and our platform is broad
enough and strong enough to hold nine-tenths of the people
P




226  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.
of our country. So we now ask all men of all parties, who
have an interest in the industrial and commercial success
of our country, to get upon our platform.
What do we want? Why, we want peace, harmony, and
union, from ocean to ocean, and from the Gulf of Mexico to
the North Pole; we want the immediate restoration to their
proper places, under the Constitution, of every State, and a
reconstruction that will give immediate confidence to all the
people, and'put all workingmen to work upon an equal footing; we want an immediate repeal of the law that grants
from $12,000,000 to $50,000,000 annually to feed and
clothe the labor of one section, while the workingmen and
women in another section are starving; we want those who
are held under charge of treason to have a speedy trial, and,
if found guilty, to be hung without further humbug or expense to the people. We want a public land system that
will give the lands to actual settlers, and not one acre to
any man who will not go upon and cultivate it, and a restoration to the government of every acre now held by any
company or individual that is not placed in the market at
once, and for all time put an end to all speculation in the
public domain. We want equal protection under the flag
to every man who sets his foot upon American soil with the
intention of living among us, no matter where he may be
from, and immediate reparation, or war with any government that will insult an American citizen, no matter where
he may have been born.
WE WANT TO PAY EVERY DOLLAR OF THE PUBLIC DEBT
IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE SPACE OF TIME.
We want " one currency for the government and the people, the laborer and the office-holder, the pensioner and the
soldier, the producer and the bond-holder," the widows and
orphans of the dead soldier, and the money-kings who




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 227
skinned the government in the hour of its danger. We
want an immediate repeal of the National Bank law, and
all other banking laws, because the whole banking system,
and especially the national banking system, is a swindle
from beginning to end, and is sustained by a direct tax
upon the industry of the nation. We want" equal taxation
upon every species of property according to its real value,
including government bonds and other public securities."
And finally, more than anything else, we want a monetary
system that will give to the people a secure, cheap, and
abundant currency. Here is a chapter of wants, that constitute the platform of the Labor Reform party; and is
there any man who will say that they are not reasonable
wants? Is there any man who dares to say there is not
justice in every one of them? If there is, let him come up
here and object. We are ready to meet the issue here or
anywhere.
It has become fashionable to call us and those who think
with us, repudiators, because we desire to pay a certain portion of the public debt with greenbacks, and because we
want to tax the bonds. Now, in reply to this, I claim that
those who gave us the greenbacks are the repudiators.
They claimed that it was a work of necessity. We admit
it. But when they made them a legal tender, all who disputed their right to do so were called traitors. I was not
one of those, because I was then, as now, in favor of a
paper currency issued by the government. But, now, after
they gave us the greenbacks, and we find them to be the
best currency we have ever had, and want to keep them,
they brand us as repudiators. They created the greenbacks,
gave them to the country, forced them upon us, and now
want to repudiate them. The government got into a tight
place; there was no money to be had; those who had gold and
silver hid it away, held on to it, looking to a higher rate of




228   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
interest, a higher price for it. Congress, in this dilemma,
did just what it should, just what was proper-issued a
paper currency free of interest, and made it a legal tender
in payment of all debts public and private, except duties on
imports, and interest on public debts. This took the power
from the money-shavers, and gave the people and government
a currency independent of the gold that was hid away. What
was the result? how long did this wholesome condition of
things continue? Not long; for the Shylocks bought up the
greenbacks at a low price, raised the price of gold and
everything else so high that they made the greenbacks almost powerless. Then came another pressure. What was
to be done? There was an open warfare between Congress
and the money-lords, between the government and gold;
gold went to Washington and dictated terms; Congress was
not equal to the emergency and gold conquered; and from
that day to this, the government and the people have been
at the mercy of the gold board and their satellites. Wall
Street, Third Street, and State Street said, issue bonds at a
higher rate of interest, payable in gold, and we will buy
them. The bonds were issued, and were purchased at an
average rate of about sixty cents on the dollar; six per
cent. interest in gold on their face value, free from tax.
But even this advantage of thirteen per cent. did not satisfy
them: they wanted a still furthei chance to speculate in
gold, and skin the government and people. To do this, the
national bank swindle was organized, which has succeeded
in placing the whole monetary power of the nation in the
hands of a few men, and to sustain which we are compelled
to be taxed more than a hundred millions a year. But we
are told that Congress could do no better; that an emergency existed, and that these moneyed men - these patriotic
Christian bankers-came forward and saved the government.
These Christian gentlemen held on to their money until




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS. 229
they had squeezed the hardest terms possible out of the government, and then they took a mortgage on the bone and
muscle of the country - on the body and soul of the nation,
and to-day they are sucking the life-blood from the productive powers of our country. Why, sir, the armies of Jeff:
Davis were full of such patriots, and hell is full of such
Christians. I am asked, what better Congress could have
done than submit to the hard terms of the bankers? Suppose the workingmen of the whole country had said, we
won't go into the army, nor fire a musket, until you give
us one hundred dollars a month in gold. What would
Congress have done? Do you think the terms would have
been granted? No; a draft would have been ordered;
armed soldiers would have entered our workshops and our
homes, and forced us into the army, and that would have
been perfectly right. When men were wanted, they were
taken, which was right; for the government has the right
to lay its hand upon every citizen, and say, "You must
come and help defend the life of the nation." Now, if it
wanted money, could it not have done the same thing? If
*it has the right to take every man, has it not the right to
take every dollar also? Why, sir, instead of surrendering
to the bankers, Congress should have drafted the money,
as it did the men; it should have filled its treasury, as it
did its army. Congress should have taken this monetary
power by the throat and squeezed the life out of it. This
was not done, and now the bankers and bond-holders are
squeezing the life out of the nation. There is but one
remedy - the people must do what Congress failed to do.
They must take this monster by the neck and shake the life
out of it.
Our debt of $3,000,000,000 is but a small matter, if
properly managed. Give us a sound currency, equal taxation upon all property, resolve to pay the five-twenties in
20




230   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
greenbacks, reduce the interest on the debt to three per cent.,
and bring the expenses of the government within reasonable
limits, and every department of industry will be fully employed, the productive powers of the nation will go forward
as we have never seen them, and the wealth of the nation
will be so largely and rapidly increased, that the payment
of the debt will be but a small task. As it is, what are the
prospects? Commissioner Wells issued a report, a short
time ago, which led us to believe that the debt was being
largely reduced. Now, what are the figures? We see that
the debt has been increased over $50,000,000 in ten
months. At this rate, how long will it be until the debt
is paid?  Just get out your slates and pencils, and figure
it up.
Who is this man Wells? He is one of the worst enemies
the workingmen of this country ever had. It was he who
published a report, some time since, showing how well the
labor of the United States is paid, and what a happy and
contented people they are. I guess he had not heard of the
Labor Reform movement. He is the same fellow who went
over to England, and in a speech said that the girls who
work in the cotton-mills in the Eastern States were so well
paid that they spent a portion of each summer at the seashore.
Now, fellow-workingmen, I must close, and in doing so,
let me call upon you to sever old party ties, cut loose from
old party associations, and get right upon our platform.
On the platform of the Labor Reform party. Vote for
Burtt, send him to Congress, and you will send a man who
will act with the other friends of labor in Congress, and
from whose united efforts we must look for emancipation
from the burdens under which we are now groaning. Mr.
Burtt stands committed to every one of the ideas and principles above referred to, and will make an able advocate




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 231
of the rights of labor. Vote the whole Labor Reform
ticket, and where there is no labor ticket in the field, vote
for the man who stands pledged to carry out the ideas contained in our platform. If we are but true to ourselves,
and true to the great principles we acknowledge, and which
were advocated by the fathers of the Republic, the time
will soon come when we will be in fact what we have long
been in name, a free, happy, and independent people.
ADDRESS DELIVERED AT SUNBURY, PENNA.,
SEPTEMBER 16, 1868.
FELLOW-WORKINGMEN: - I left my office this morning,
and hurried from that great city on the Delaware to this
beautiful town on the Susquehanna, at your call. I come
not among you as a Republican or a Democrat, but as a
worker in that great labor reform movement that is so rapidly developing itself over the whole land.
We have met here, not as the adherents to either of the
two great political parties, but as workingmen; not as partisans, but as patriots; not as pieces of machinery, but as
intelligent citizens of a common country; not in a spirit of
rebellion, but to protest against the monstrous wrongs that
are and have been imposed upon us and all who toil. We
are not here to talk about the issues that have been buried
in the past, and which will never come upon the stage again,
but to discuss the living issues of the day - the great questions that are now before the American people, and which
are to be passed upon in the coming elections.
As most of you are aware, I have been, for years, connected with the labor movement in some capacity. I am a
workingman myself, and have been all my life. For twenty




232   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
years I have been trying to discover some remedy for the
great wrongs imposed upon labor -to find the reasons why
a small portion of the population enjoyed ninety per cent.
of the wealth of the nation while the many, whose labor
produced everything, lived in poverty and want; why the
millions of little streams of wealth, put in motion by our
hands, run continually into the pockets of a few individuals;
why one man can enjoy his millions while a thousand go
hungry and naked; why one man can live in a palace while
hundreds have scarcely a roof to cover them; why the costly
equipage and the starving mechanic are jostled together in
the same street. I believe we have at last discovered the
cause; and if we are true to our own interests, true to the
class to which we belong, true to our families and our
country, we will soon see a brighter day than has ever yet
been seen by workingmen in any part of the world.
In the discussion of the great questions of the hour - or
such as them as I shall notice -I shall treat them as a
workingman, viewed from a labor stand-point, and draw
such conclusions as I believe are best calculated to promote
the interests of the great masses of the people.
Within the last seven years we have passed through the
most gigantic war the world ever saw. A rebellion such as
no other government could have successfully combated.
Whatever our opinions may be as to the immediate causes
of that war, we can all agree that human slavery (property
in man) was the first great cause; and from the day that
the first gun was fired, it was my earnest hope that the war
might not end until slavery ended with it. No man in
America rejoiced more than I at the downfall of negro slavery. But when the shackles fell from the limbs of those
four millions of blacks, it did not make them free men; it
simply transferred them from one condition of slavery to
another; it placed them upon the platform of the white




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 233
workingmen, and made all slaves together. I do not
mean that freeing the negro enslaved the white; I mean
that we were slaves before, always have been, and that the
abolition of the right of property in man added four millions of black slaves to the white slaves of the country. We
are now all one family of slaves together; and the labor reform movement is a second emancipation proclamation. The
second Declaration of Independence was issued by the Labor
Congress, in Chicago, in 1867; and upon that platform of
principles we will stand until liberty is proclaimed to every
son and daughter of this great land. When the rebellion
came, the workingmen from every city and town, from every
hillside and valley, rushed forth to save the life of the nation; the bone and muscle of the country stood, like a wall,
between the Constitution and all the elements of destruction, and hurled back the power that would destroy our
government.
More than three years ago these toilworn and war-battered veterans forced the last armed foe to yield, and returned to their homes, believing that their work was done,
the Union saved, and that peace and gladness would at once
reign over all the land. They supposed each State, lately
in rebellion, occupied just the same position as before the
war. They believed that a number of the leading rebels
would be hung for treason. They believed that the war
establishment would be reduced to a peace-footing. They
believed that the freed negroes would, like themselves, be
compelled to go to work and earn an honest living. They
believed that the expenses of the government would be reduced to what they were before the war, and that, in a short
time, all traces of that great contest would be wiped out,
and we would at once begin to pay off the debt. This was
the general belief.
Not a single one of these expectations has been realized.
20S




234   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
More than three years ago the war ended, and we are now
farther from a true peace than we were then.
I do not intend to discuss the several plans of reconstruction, because it is foreign to my object, and I do not believe
in any of them. I first desire to state a workingman's idea
of the matter.
The Southern States undertook to secede - to get out of
the Union. We went to war to prevent them from seceding.
We whipped them; consequently they never were out.
Secession never was an accomplished fact.
I hold that if, at the end of the war, there was but one
loyal man in the State of South Carolina, that man was the
State. The words "reconstruction" and " restoration" are
the wrong words. Reorganization, under the State Constitutions, was all that'was needed. It is just as impossible to
take a State out of the American Union as to make the Susquehanna River run over the Allegheny Mountains. Every
man, woman, and child might be hung for treason or blown
from the cannon's mouth as rebels and traitors; but the territory would be there still, and any man setting foot upon
it would be just as much under the laws and the Constitution as in any other spot. But we will leave this. I said
that the soldier, when he returned to the field or the workshop, expected that the negro whom he had set free would
be made to work for his living the same as the white workingman of the North, but he was mistaken.
The Freedmen's Bureau was established, and still continues, and there seems to be but little prospect of its repeal
under present management. How much money that institution has cost the people we will never know, for the reason that there is nobody who does know. It has been variously estimated at from $150,000,000 to $300,000,000, and
it is now costing from $12,000,000 to $20,000,000 annually.
For salaries alone it costs almost a million of dollars -a




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.             235
vast army of Federal officers, and worthless, ignorant negroes feeding from our labor. I pronounce the Freedmen's
Bureau to be a stupendous fraud upon the labor of the natinoln. It has been feeding and clothing the negroes while
thousands of white workingmen and women in the North,
within the past two years, have been suffering all the
pinchings of poverty and starvation, with no bureau to go
to; and a portion of every dollar they have earned has gone
to feed these people at the South, who are abundantly able
to work. Here in this part of the world, where men are
compelled to work, we find no such sympathy. While we
have work, we receive just wages enough to buy the commonest necessaries of life, and when dull times come, and
we are thrown out of work, we must get along as best we
can; if we have no money, buy on time - must mortgage
the future, and if we cannot get credit, we must beg or
starve.
We have no Bureau to go to, and many of us are compelled
to sell our bureau to get bread, if we are fortunate enough
to have one. But we do not want to be clothed and fed at
public expense. All we ask is an opportunity to work. We
want the labor of the whole country to be put upon the same
footing. While we are willing to work, we are not willing
that a portion of our wages should go to keeping other men
in idleness who are as able to work as we are. But it is said
that some provision had to be made for those people. Very
true; but they should have been put to work and made to
earn their living. "Oh, but," says some fellow, " the planters, their former masters, had no money, and everything was
disorganized; they could not pay for labor."  Very true;
but a reorganization would have been an easy matter; and
would it not have been much better to loan the planters a
few millions of dollars, at a reasonable rate of interest, taking
a mortgage on their real estate as security. $20,000,000




236   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. ST'LVIS.
loaned in this manner would have done more to "reconstruct" the South than a thousand millions spent upon the
Freedmen's Bureau. At the close of the war the whole
South was in ruins. Grim-visaged war had desolated the
whole land. Not only wvas their substance eaten up, but
their currency became suddenly worthless and labor unmanageable. Had order been restored, as it should have
been, and capital furnished to employ labor, the whole
South would this day be in a prosperous and flourishing
condition. These people, who have been fed and clothed at
our expense for three years, would, by their industry, be
paying a large portion of the taxes necessary to carry on
the government, and the labor of the rest of the country
would be relieved of a great burden..We now come to the greatest question before the American people- a question of the very first importance to every
producer in the land - a question in which is involved the
freedom or slavery of every workingman in America - a
question that must destroy the power of a monster moneyed
aristocracy, or bind the whole labor of the nation, white and
black, in fetters of gold- that question is one of finances. A
great noise is being made by the bond-holders about the national credit, national honor, the plighted faith of the nation,
and so on. They do not pretend to place their claims to
gold upon the broad grounds of right and justice. To alarm
the people, and draw attention from the merits of the question, they raise the cry of repudiation. Now let us consider
this matter for a little while, and see what there is in it. The
whole amount of bonds now out were purchased at about
sixty cents on the dollar, in greenbacks. They draw six per
cent. interest in gold, on one hundred cents to the dollar;
that is, they draw ten per cent. in gold, on the sixty cents
in greenbacks invested. When these bonds are paid, it will
not be at the same price they were purchased, but at their




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 237
full face value. Now, don't you see, if they are paid in
greenbacks, the holder will get forty cents on the dollar
more than he paid. If a man holds $100,000 of these bonds,
he will make $40,000 by the operation, besides his interest
for the time he holds them. Don't you think he ought to
be satisfied with that? Yes; but he is not. He demands
gold. Suppose he is paid in gold, at the present rates he
would get one hundred and forty-four cents for every sixty
cents paid; or, for his $60,000 he would get $144,000 - a net
gain of $84,000. The interest at ten per cent. in gold would
be 14 4-10, say fourteen per cent. in greenbacks, or $8,400
per annum. If he holds the bonds five years, this would be
$12,000 more, or a total of $126,000 made in five years on an
investment of $60,000, and without one hour's labor. Just
look at these figures, fellow-toilers, and see how much justice
there is in this demand for gold. We will not pay gold.
Forty cents on the dollar and fourteen per cent. on the investment is all the premium we will pay, or can pay. There is
not an honest man in the country who will tell you that this
debt can be paid in gold. The gold coin now in the country
is estimated at $250,000,000. Our debt is $3,000,000,000.
Can we pay the larger sum with the smaller? And the
amount of gold is growing less each day. The sum sent
abroad to pay interest on bonds, and the sum required to
settle balances of trade against us, is greater than the supply. The payment of the debt in gold means repudiation.
The people will never stand it. These bond-holders, having
raised the cry of repudiation to frighten the people, are now
frightened at the monster they created, and are trying to
find refuge in a funding bill. You know a funding bill
passed Congress just before it adjourned. The President refused to sign it, and it failed. This bill provided for a new
bond at 3.60 per cent., principal and interest payable in gold,
bonds to run forty years; the old bonds to be converted into




238   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLYIS.
the new. This was the bond-holders' bill. They were perfectly willing to sacrifice two and one-half per cent. of interest to secure a mortgage on our labor for forty years, and
then get gold for their whole claim.
We are told now that this bill would have amounted to
nothing; that nobody would have been fool enough to exchange a six per cent. for a 3.60 per cent. bond. That is a
mistake. Bond-holders are alarmed at the rising wrath of
the people; the word " repudiation" comes up before them
like a grim monster - a spectre that haunts them at every
turn; they see that the people have penetrated the thin
armor that covered their rascalities. This funding bill was
a dodge to deceive the people, to take the whole matter) out
of our hands for forty years. Did you ever stop to consider what a funding bill means? Suppose we issue a new
bond at four per cent., with forty years to run, four per
cent. on $3,000,000,000 would be $120,000,000 per annum;
for forty years $4,800,000,000 - or nearly $2,000,000,000
more than the whole debt, leaving $3,000,000,000 still unpaid. At the end of forty years this and the rising generation will have passed away, and what will we have left
our posterity? The children of the bond-holder will hold
a mortgage on our children; our children will be slaves to
them, as we are now slaves to the bond-holders to-day.
The funding system is one of the parents of the unequal
distribution of property -a fungus on the body politic.
In itself, the funding system, of all the provisions of our
Constitution, is especially oppressive to labor. It is the
parent of the banking system-that fruitful mother of unutterable affliction to the sons of industry-which brought
us, at one fatal step, into the vortex of a moneyed aristocracy, overgrown fortunes, and'hopeless poverty, taxation through all the elements of existence, and speculation
to the utter grinding down of labor, to pamper the fortunes




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 239
of the rich. Thus far, then, we see our boasted equal rights
to be the merest skeleton of liberty, which by its letter declares that equality shall be guaranteed to all; but by its
operation creates aristocracy, privileges, extortion, monopoly,
and the legal robbery of those who toil. Shall these bonds
be paid in gold? Shall this incubus of uncounted millions
be fastened upon us and our posterity forever? Our answer
at the ballot-box must settle the question. When the greenbacks were issued as a legal tender, many men in both
parties opposed it as dangerous legislation, and contrary to
the spirit of our Constitution. The friends of the measure
were compelled to defend it. I remember the debates very
well. I was one of its friends, for I thought I could see
through it the dawning of the day of deliverance for labor.
I remember that it was common to raise the cry of rebel,
traitor, etc., against all who opposed it. We, who favored
it, said the greenbacks would be as good as gold; that they
would take the place made vacant bythe withdrawal of the
gold and silver by these patriotic bankers; that we would
have no more use for gold as money-no more use for
bankers and brokers - and that we would be free from the
grasp of the money power. If any of you, fellow-workingmen, are fortunate enough to have a greenback in your
pocket, just look at it, and you will see on its back the
words - " This note is a legal tender for all debts, public
and private, except duties on imports and interest on the
public debt, and is receivable in payment of all loans made
to the United States."  From this we draw the most conclusive proof, that it was the intention of the makers of
the law that these greenbacks should be the currency of
the country, and that no law should be made recognizing
contracts for the payment of any other kind of money. So
careful were they not to be misunderstood as to the public
debt, that they said, in large letters on the back of each




240   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVIS.
note, " And is receivable for all loans made to the United
States."  Not only do we find this clear proof on the backs
of the original legal - tenders, but if you will look up a
national bank note, you will see upon its back these words:
"This note is receivable at par in all parts of the United
States in payment of all taxes and excises, and all other
dues to the United States, except duties on imports; and
also for all salaries and other debts owing by the United States
to individuals, corporations, and associations within the United
States, except interest on the public debt."  These notes
were issued after every denomination of bond was authorized. Does any man want any stronger evidence than this,
that those who framed these several laws never intended
the public debt should be paid in gold? The only exceptions made were duties on imports and interest on the public debt. If they intended to pay the principal in gold,
would they not have excepted that also? If it was not the
intention to pay the principal in greenbacks, then every
note issued by authority of Congress bears a lie upon its
back, and those who authorized their issue are fathers to
the lie. But we have further evidence: Senator Sherman,
of Ohio, a leading man in all our financial measures for
years past, said in a speech the other day in Ohio:
"Now, when we come to look at the law, which is the
essential part of the contract, we find a provision that a
kind of money defined in that act, and called lawful money,
shall be a lawful tender in payment of all debts, public and
private, except the interest qf the public debt, which must be
paid in coin. Now, I have reasoned about this matter very
often, in public and private discussion. I have made and
answered collateral arguments in speeches and reports; but
my mind always comes back to this conclusion: that under
the law the contract between the creditor and the United
States was, that the creditor should loan the United States




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 241
lawful money, or paper money - that the United States
would pay the interest at six per cent. in coin, and -that
the United States might, at the end of five years, return
to the creditor his principal sum, in the same money loaned
to tJte govern2ent."
Senator Sherman is stumping the West for the Republican party. He says the law means greenbacks. Senator
Morgan is stumping the East for the same party. He says
the law means gold. Who is right, Sherman or Morgan?
The secret of the difference between these two great men
is not to be found in men, but in the atmosphere. In the
West, the plough-holders predominate; in the East, the bondholders control the political machine. The operations of
the atmosphere upon the human system, and especially
upon the human pocket, are altogether different in the two
sections. Shall these bonds be paid in gold? Not if the
people have the power to prevent it. What; do you say,
you man, out there in the crowd, with one leg, and a prop
under yQur arm, did you get your wages in gold? Do you
get your pension in gold? No. If you did, you might buy
a new leg. But there is no gold for you. The blood that
flowed from your veins on some hard-fought field in the
defence of the old flag, was coined into gold for the bondholder. There is no gold for the widow and orphan.
Their tears and sorrows have been made into gold-bearing
bonds, and sold to the worst enemies this country ever had.
What do you say, workingmen of Northumberland County,
are you going to allow yourselves and your children to be
chained to the car of this monstrous Juggernaut- this
gold power? Are you going to'receive wages in greenbacks and pay taxes in gold? Your answer is one universal NO. But election-day will tell whether you are honest
or not. But we are told that these bond-holders loaned
their gold to the government when it was in a tight place.
21                 Q




242   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
They never did any such thing. They held on to their
money-bags until the government, to save itself, was compelled to issue greenbacks. They then run down the greenbacks and bought them up with their gold, and bought
bonds with the greenbacks. As soon as they had got the
bonds, they had both the government and the people in
their power. The next step towards absolute power was
the creation of the national banking system, by which we
are taxed $50,000,000 a year, which we pay to these banks
for furnishing us with $300,000,000 of bank-notes —the
printing of which could be done for a few hundred dollars.
Why did not Congress issue $300,000,000 of greenbacks,
instead of these national bank notes? Greenbacks are free
of interest. But the $50,000,000 of interest is but a small
portion of what the government and people are swindled
out of by the speculations and dishonesty of these banks.
One of the ablest writers in America says of this greenback
question:
When the Legal-tender Act was passed in 1862, all our
Republican friends declared that greenbacks were as good
as gold. Governor Todd, in a speech which elicited great
attention, insisted that they were better than gold. They
actually did pay all debts, debts that had been contracted
in gold to be paid in gold. There were plenty of instances
where debts of $1,000 in gold were paid with $1,000 in
greenbacks, which were worth but $400 in gold. They
liquidated all contracts of every description; they cancelled
mortgages; they satisfied judgments and stopped executions.
All the business of trust funds was conducted in them.
The debts of the infant creditor, the widow, and the orphan
were discharged in them. They paid the soldier and the
pensions for the price of their blood. They satisfied all
bonds of every description - town, city, county, and State.
The Republican legislatures of the States paid the interest




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              243
of debts contracted in gold with legal-tenders. Did our
Republican friends see any repudiation in all this? None
in the world. The legal-tenders were money, the people's
money, and to question it was to be disloyal in the highest
degree. But, presto! what a change! When the bondholder of the United States is to be paidl-that privileged
and aristocratic class, which has been exempt from all
taxation for years —then, for the first time, we are informed
by the radicals that greenbacks will not answer.  They
have paid everybody else's debt, but they can't pay the
bond-holder. He stands on a more elevated plane than the
rest of the community. No offerings can be burned at his
shrine but the solid and bright gold. Now, we are told,
after greenbacks have liquidated thousands of millions of
debts-after they are in everybody's pocket - they are not
money, but mere promises to pay, of no particular account.
By a magic wand, the bond-holder seems to have converted
all the radical leaders and newspapers to his opinions; and
the latter immediately proceed to unsay all that they have
said, and to undo, financially, all they have done. To pay
the bond-holder in the same currency that pays every other
debt, in the same currency with which he bought the bonds,
is now, forsooth, no payment at all -it is repudiation.
Most happy and patriotic bond-holder! you are the preferred of the preferred, the very elect of the elect. The
people lent gold, and had to take legal-tenders; you lent
legal-tenders, and imust have gold!
But another objeetion raised to the payment of the 5.20
bonds in.greenbacks is that most of the savings-banks hold
them  as security or on deposit, and most of the depositors
are poor men - workingmen; and to pay in greenbacks
would be an injustice to these people. This, the gold people
think, is a strong point, and thousands of workingmen
think it is a sound and just argument. Let us see how




244   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
much truth there is in it. A savings-bank holds $500,000
in bonds. It draws six per cent. in gold, or nine per cent.
in greenbacks, and pays to its depositors five per cent. in
greenbacks - a clear gain of four per cent. Nine per cent.
on $500,000 would be $45,000; five per cent. to the depositors would be $25,000-a net profit to the bank of $20,000.
But this is not all. The poor depositor must pay tax on
his income, while the bank pays no tax at all. This, with
other advantages in favor of the bonds, makes the interest
about twelve per cent. Thus you see, while the depositor
gets but five per cent., the bank gets seven per cent. Twelve
per cent. on $500,000 would be $60,000; or, in other words,
the depositors would get $25,000 and the bank $35,000.
Do you see how this is done? Do you see how labor is
robbed? You pay your money to these banks and get five
per cent. in greenbacks; they take your money and buy
bonds, and get interest in gold, and pay no tax. Some
may say no wrong is done the depositor, because he gets
what they agree to pay him. Very true; but a great wrong
is done to the people, to the tax-payer, to the producer.
The $35,000 pocketed by the bank is stolen from the people. It is added to the millions more that are ground out
of your bone and muscle by the tax-gatherer's machine.
Three years ago the war ended, and every heart was
filled with joy. The soldiers returned to their homes, the
ships were laid up, and every one expected a large contraction of expenses. What has been the result? $600,000,000
a year is squeezed from the industry of the nation in the
shape of taxes, and yet the debt is increasing at the rate
of $10,000,000 a month; and one of the leading papers
of our country stated, a few days ago, that the last report
of Mr. M'Cullough showed that the revenue laws were not
quite productive enough. Taxes must be raised. "Oh,
but," says John Covode, and other gold men, "no man pays




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              245
any tax whose income is not over $1,000! "  What do you
say to that? How much more do you pay for the necessaries of life than you did before the war? I make the
assertion here, without fear of contradiction, that not one
dollar of tax is paid, or can be paid, that does not come
out of the workingman -the producer; not indirectly, but
dcirectly out of the producer's sweat and toil; and the man
who will endeavor to deceive the people by a contrary argument is a fraud upon the country.. We pay fifteen dollars
a barrel for flour that we used to get for six, from four to
eight dollars per ton for coal that we used to get for less
than one-half of that. Rents have advanced more than
one hundred per cent., and everything we consume has
gone up in like proportion; and yet, in the face of these
things, men have the impudence to say the workingman
pays no tax! I find very great efforts making to convince
workingmen that the high price of coal and flour is owing
to a short supply. We are told that the Western farmers
are holding back their crops, and that coal is scarce because the miners have been on a " strike."  Let us see how
much truth there is in this  The entire production of
anthracite coal this year is 8,340,173 tons against 8,116,832
tons last year, a gain of 223,341 tons. If this increase is
kept up to the end of the year, the whole amount will be
about 14,000,000 tons. So you see there is no short supply
there. The eastward movement of flour and grain through
Buffalo, from January 1st to September 1st, shows an increase over last year of 163,407 barrels of flour, and 4,050,932 bushels of wheat; and the season for the shipment of
flour and grain is just opening. So we find no short supply
there; and so we would find it through the whole catalogue.
I only call your attention to this to show you the folly of
some of the arguments of our opponents.
It is claimed that the national banks should not be dis21 *




246   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
turbed, because they furnish a safe currency. Is it any
safer than greenbacks? Again, we are told that by the
creation of the national banks the government obtained an
immzediate loan of $300,000,000. This is not true. It is
well known that, for the first year after the adoption of the
system, not more than $40,000,000 of bonds were purchased
from the United States treasury. The most of the few
banks that did adopt it during the first year had on hand a
sufficient amount of bonds, which they handed over to the
treasurer for currency. It was nearly two years before the
system was generally adopted, and not more than fifty or
sixty millions' worth of bonds were ever taken by the national banks; and this sum being spread over a period of
two or three years, what becomes of the immediate loan of
$300,000,000?
A man wanting to start a bank, buys $100,000 worth of
bonds, takes them to Washington, deposits them with the
secretary of the treasury, gets $90,000 in national bank
notes, comes home, and opens a bank. He draws six per
cent. interest in gold on his bonds, besides what he makes
on his circulation and the speculations banks indulge in.
The profits made by these banks can be judged from the
magnificent palaces they build. The operation, in all its
naked deformity, is a simple one. The government furnishes the bonds upon which the circulation is based, and
pays six per cent. in gold for the privilege of allowing them
to remain in the treasury department; then it furnishes the
notes for circulation; then it issues a charter, - more properly called a license to swindle the people, - and the bank
is complete. The only thing that the banker furnishes is
his own worthless carcass. The interest of the nation requires that the $300,000,000 of national bank currency
be called in, and $500,000,000 of greenbacks be issued;
with these take up $500,000,000 of 5.20 bonds. This will




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLYIS. 247
give us a good currency, and will pay off nearly one-fifth
of the national debt, and save, in interest alone, $30,000,000 per annum, besides breaking up the greatest nest of
public robbers ever organized in any country. I am frequently asked by workingmen, what has this question of
interest to do with us? we are not borrowers, neither have we
money to lend. Let us see: the natural increase in the wealth
of the nation in seventy years is less than four per cent. -
say four per cent. per annum. Then it follows that any rate of
interest above four per cent. is too much, and is running the
nation in debt. While the increase of wealth was at the rate
of four per cent. per annum, interest has averaged at least
eight per cent. for seventy years. But if we take the last seven
years, we will find that the increase in wealth has not been
over three per cent., while the rate of interest has averaged
fully fifteen per cent., making an actual loss to productive
industry of twelve per cent. per annum. This matter of
interest is the source of all our financial panics. The man
who spends more than his income must go to the wall
sooner or later; and the nation that spends more than it
produces must come to ruin. No nation on the globe ever
did, or ever can, carry a rate of interest above the natural
increase of wealth, without coming to financial ruin. The
manufacturer, the farmer, the mechanic, and the common
laborer each run in debt, or each have a load of debt accumulating upon him, an ever-increasing mortgage upon his
energies, upon future labor to make up present deficiencies. The money-lenders and the whole horde of bankers,
speculators, and other gamblers are, day by day, accumulating additional liens upon labor. This condition of things
lasts about ten years, when labor breaks down under the
load. Its resources are exhausted, the rate of interest can
no longer be paid, the creditors begin to crowd the debtors, a
"lmoney panic" ensues, and financial ruin sweeps over the




248 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.
land, prostrating everything before it; debts are settled at a
small per cent. on the dollar, bankrupt laws are enacted,
we become a nation of individual repudiators - all the
figures on the slate are wiped off. In this general ruin and
mixing up of things, the bankers gather up all there is,
and labor must make a new start. This operation is repeated every ten or twelve years. Interest acts like the
tax-gatherer; it enters into all things, and eats up -the
profits of labor.  Labor marries a wife and supports a
family; labor needs food, clothing, and rest; labor works
but six days in the week; labor gets sick, and has doctor's
bills to pay. Interest works all the time; interest never
gets tired; interest needs no clothing; interest never gets
hungry; interest never gets sick; interest has no family to
support, and needs no almshouse when it gets old; interest
produces nothing, but it consumes everything; it gathers
together the products of labor, making the rich richer and
the poor poorer. Interest produces nothing; all it does is
to transfer the products of industry to the pockets of the
money-lenders, bankers, and bond-holders.
One word more about these bonds: they should never
have been issued; there was no necessity for it. If the
governielnt has the right (and it has) to make every man
enter the army, has it not also the right to take every dollar? Is money more sacred than life? When the government wanted men, it drafted them. Why did it not draft
the money also? When it sent a file of soldiers into the
workshops to look after us, why-did it not send them into
Wall Street to look after the money-bags?  When these
bankers refused to give up their money, they should have
been put into the front ranks, and their money taken to
pay the expenses. Had this just policy been pursued from
the start, we would not now be cursed with this vast goldbearing debt, and a bond-holding, privileged, untaxed aris



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 249
tocracy, that is squeezing the life out of the nation and
people.
Jefferson tells us that "a wise and frugal government,
which shall keep men from  injuring one another, shall
leave them otherwise free to follow their own pursuits of
industry and improvement, and shall not take from the
mouth of labor the bread it has earned, is the sum of good
government."  How far we have departed from this simple
plan of government every man can judge for himself.
Nowhere in the world is there such powerful monopolies;
nowhere in the world is there so rapid a centralization of
wealth; nowhere are the rich becoming more rapidly richer
and the poor more surely poorer, than here in our boasted
land of liberty. Our dearest rights are being stolen fromus by the power of gold. Bonds and banks are the Alpha
and Omega of the devil's alphabet, and unless we arrest
them in their work of ruin, our government will soon be
but the shadow of itself, and our liberty the lingering
memory of a dream.
I ask for what I have said, a careful consideration. I
have considered each question from a labor stand-point as
they affect labor and laboring-men. Let us be true to ourselves, true to our country, and true to the principles that
must prevail in this nation, or it must cease to be the land
of the free. If each man will do his duty in the coming
struggles, we will soon be in fact what we have so long been
in name - a free people.




250   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
EXTRACTS FROM REPORT TO THE TORONTO
SESSION OF THE I. M. I. U.
TORONTO, July 8, 1868.
To the Officers and Members of the 9th Session of the IronMoulders' International Union, in Convention cassembled:
GENTLEMEN: - It again becomes my duty to submit to
your honorable body a report of my official actions. I
shall, therefore, in accordance with the law, proceed to detail, as briefly as possible, the more important events of the
past eighteen months, and make such reconmmendations as
may seem to me calculated to promote the best interests of
our organization.
The Boston Convention left the proceedings and revised
Constitution in the hands of a committee, to be preparec
for publication. The custom, at all previous conventions,
was to leave the printing of these documents in the hands
of the president, who was supposed to be sufficiently honest
and trustworthy to be intrusted with a matter of such importance, and who would be most likely to get them out in
the shortest possible time, so that all the members could
read for themselves what was done by their representatives.
The action of the convention in this matter retarded the
publication of the documents, and seriously injured the
organization by keeping the members in ignqrance of the
laws under which they were supposed to be working, and
to which they were to be held amenable. Within my
official experience, I can think of nothing that caused so
many complaints and so munch dissatisfaction as this delay
in the publication of these documents; and I must here express the desire that in whatever you may do in this matter
at the close of this session, you will have in view the earliest
possible publication of all documents necessary for the successful carrying on of the organization.




BIO:GRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS. 251
STRIKES OF 1867-'68.
It will be remembered that during the sitting of the
Boston Convention, a telegram was received from  Pittsburg, giving notice of a reduction of twenty per cent., and
asking instructions as to what course to pursue; an answer
was returned that the reduction should be resisted. The
men had been out of work for some time; and it was supposed by the employers that their means were exhausted,
and no resistance would be made to a reduction of wages.
I need not detail the circumstances connected with the
strike, but will say that it was one of the most bitter and
protracted strikes we have ever had; it continued during
almost the entire year of 1867, and resulted in almost a
complete victory. I deem it a matter of justice to the
members of No. 14, to say that no strike was ever better
conducted. The law was strictly complied with in all cases,
and the men were ever ready to pursue whatever course'waas
best calculated to ensure success.
As early as October, 1866, it became evident to my mind
that we were about to enter upon a severe industrial prostration, and I began looking around me for the best means
of defence from the threatening storm.
I went to the Boston Convention with my mind fully
made up as to the proper and only safe course to pursue.
In all my conversations with delefates, I endeavored to
show the dangers by which we were surrounded, and to
point out the true policy to be pursued. The last words I
spoke to the convention, previous to its final adjournment,
were words of warning and caution. After the final
adjournment, I consulted with many of the delegates,
especially those from the Ohio Valley, and we parted with
the understanding that the policy pursued should be a
voluntary reduction of prices to seventy per cent. in all




252   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
those places where the advance was 100 per cent. above
the bill of 1861. The first vice-president, representing in
part the whole of the West and Northwest, gave me his
solemn pledge that he would advocate that policy on his
return home. I was well aware of just what was going to
happen. I knew that before the first of February the employers would demand a reduction of wages, and I also
knew that, if it was refused, a long and serious struggle
would be the result. My object was to make a voluntary
reduction of wages before the employers demanded it, and
before they could come together to consult upon the matter.
The combination of 1866, which resulted in the great lockout of that year, had been completely broken up, and a
feeling of estrangement existed between some of them. My
object was to keep them apart, and prevent a new combination, and preserve a good feeling between both parties.
On the 17th of January, the first vice-president wrote
me of his safe arrival home, and of trouble in Louisville.
I also received unfavorable news direct from Louisville.
On the 19th I telegraphed him to go to Louisville immediately, and there receive instructions by mail. I wrote
him full and explicit instructions what to do. For some
reason, unknown to me, he did not reach Louisville until
the 22d. On the 24th, he telegraphed me in these words:
"Bridgeford refuses all compromise; other shops accept
Cincinnati prices." I immediately returned this answer:
"Put the men in Louisville to work at thirty per cent. off,
and return to Cincinnati immediately." Instead of carrying out these instructions, or doing nothing, he got the men
in Louisville to agree to the Cincinnati -bill of prices - a
reduction of about five per cent. - and gave them a solemn
pledge that Union No. 3 would make no reduction; and all
this was done, not only in direct violation of my instructions, but without even asking my advice, or notifying me




BIOGRAPHY OF WIL.LIAM H. SYLVIS. 253
of what had been done. I had already learned of the beginning of trouble in Cincinnati, and determined to go
there. On the 31st of January, I received a telegram from
a secret agent in these words: "Danger of losing everything. O'Brien embarrassed. St. Louis lost. Come, or
order immediately."  I started, and reached Cincinnati on
the 5th of February, and found a communication had
passed between the union and the employers; that the employers had met, formed an association, and adopted the
following preamble and resolutions, which were posted up
in all the shops:
CINCINNATI, OHIo, February 2, 1867.
The past two years' experience having fully satisfied us that
there is no reliance to be placed in the repeated promises made
to us by the "Moulders' Union Association," for the regulation
and equalization of prices East and West, and that certain rules
adhered to by each section of said union are operating to the
decided injury of both employers and employes in the West;
therefore,
Resolved, 1st. That from this date we will allow no dictation
from said union; that we will pay only 40 per cent. above old
prices, instead of 100 per cent.; this reduced price still exceeding prices paid in Buffalo, Albany, and Troy for similar work;
these places coming into direct competition with us in sales.
2d. That we will at all times determine, in connection with
the foreman, the prices that we will pay for new work not on the
price list; adhering to the same rates as fixed for similar work,
without dictation from any shop committee; and that we will be
governed by our interests and judgment as to the character and
number of apprentices we will employ.
WM. RESOR, President.
S. R. BURTON, Secretary.
On the evening of the 7th of February a meeting of
Union No. 3 was held, and after a very free discussion of
the whole matter, a committee of conference was appointed,
22




254   BIOGRAPHY       OF WILLIAM      H. SYLVIS.
with myself as chairman. The following note was sent the
employers:
CINCINNATI, February 7, 1867.
WM. RESOR, President _Employers' Association:
Sir:- Union No. 3 having appointed a committee to confer
with the employers, with a view to effecting a settlement of the
present difficulty, we respectfully ask you to notify us whether
or not you will consent to an interview. If favorable, state
time and place.              Wmi. H. SYLVIS, Chairman.
The following reply was received:
CINCINNATI, February 8, 1867.
Mr. WM. H. SYLYIS:
Dear Sir:  Your communication in regard to the difference
between the Moulders' Union and the employers, asking a conference, has been received.
In a communication written to the Moulders' Union, January
19th, we fully stated the position we occupied, and owing to the
low price of labor in the Eastern cities, and the facilities of
transportation, we must either abandon the prospect of a remunerative and large stove business in the West, for the benefit of
ourselves and our employes, and work against the competition
that would not remunerate for the capital employed, or resist
the oppression, and endeavor to work outside of the union sooner
than sacrifice what we have invested.
You are fully aware that the difference in the prices of moulding is from 60 to 70 per cent. higher here than at the points
above mentioned that come in direct competition with it. As
a single example, we may mention that Eastern stoves are sold
in Columbus, Ohio, and at other points near us, that defy competition from us, although the difference in our favor, as to
transportation, is from 600 to 800 miles.
We believe the cost of living is as low or less here than in the
East, and there is no reason why we should not be entitled to
obtain our labor at the same price, and thus be enabled to compete successfully for the trade that legitimately belongs to the
West.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.      255
We have repeatedly made the same statements by communications and committees of conference of Union No. 3, and always
with the same result, viz., a disbelief in our statements, and an
increase of price.
The reply to our communication of January was an almost
unanimous vote (as we are informed) that no reduction would
be acceded to until they had time to equalize prices.
Having already defined our position fully in the preamble
and resolutions unanimously adopted by us, February 2d, we
see no good to arrive from a discussion by any committee.
Should your committee wish to submit any commnunication or
proposition to us in writing, it will be received and respectfully
considered and replied to.
STEPHEN R. BURTON, Secretary.
In answer to this, the committee agreed to the following,
which was adopted in a joint meeting of Unions Nos. 3, 20,
and 50, previous to being sent to the employers:
CINCINNATI, February 12, 1867,
S. R. BURTON, Esq., Secretary.
Si:- Your letter of the 8th instant was duly received, and
we will answer it as briefly as possible. You say the prices for
labor should be the same in the West as in the East. We think
a difference of 20 per cent. between the East and the West
would be no disadvantage to the employers of the West. Your
argument as to the unfair competition, at present, we admit as
true; rents in the East are at least 50 per cent. less than in the
West, while many of the necessaries of life are higher in the.
West than in the East; and material (coal and iron) is cheaper
in this city than in Albany, Troy, and many other points East.
The statement you make, both in your letter and in your
printed circular, that the interest of the West demands an equalization of prices, we admit as correct; but when you say we
have made no effort to effect such an equalization, we must
differ. You will not fail to remember that when we made an
effort to raise wages in the East, last spring, we were defeated
as to a question of wages by your opposition. You, not us, are




256   BIOGRAPHY       OF WILLIAM      H. SYLVIS.
responsible for the present difference in wages. We beg leave to
submit the following propositions:
1st. The status of the union, so far as your shops are concerned, shall be the same as before the present difficulty.
2d. We will work at 70 per cent. above old prices.
3d. The committee on equalization, appointed by the Boston
Convention, shall report on or before the first day of AMay next.
Should you decide to accept these propositions, please send
reply to 479 Race Street.    WMI. H. SYLVIS, Chairman.
CINCINNATI, February 13, 1867.
Mr. W. H. SYLYIS, 479 Race St., City.
Sir:- Your favor is received and contents carefully considered. We do not, at this time, wish to enter into particulars on
the various speculations contained in your communication, as
the first proposition determining the control of our shops and
business, by the society, precludes the discussion of the communication in the other particulars.
STEPHEN R. BURTON, Secretary.
To this we returned the following:
CINCINNATI, February 14, 1867.
S. R. BURTON, Esq., Secretary.
Sir: -The statements made in our communication of the 12th
instant, were correct answers to the "speculations" contained in
your favor of the 8th. We must again call your attention to
the important fact, that the preamble to your printed circular
of the 2d instant is a misstatement - known to be such by you.
In that preamble you say: "There is no reliance to be placed in
the repeated promises made to us by the Moulders' Union Association for the regulation and equalization of the prices East and
West." At the beginning of last year, we undertook to raise
prices in the East. The work was begun in Troy. We wanted
an equalization of prices, taking the highest shop as the standard, and an advance of 25 per cent. upon the equalization.
This would have given us an advance of 50 per cent. in Troy.
We were obliged to give up the advance, because you made common cause with the Eastern employers in an attack upon the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 257
life of our organization. But for your opposition, prices would
now be fully 50 per cent. above the present standard in Troy
and other points East, and you would have no cause for complaint. And in this case you have made a direct attack upon
the union, and opened our eyes to the fact that a reduction of
wages is not the question. You refuse to discuss the question
of wages, unless we abandon our organization. This we will
never do. We are willing to go before the world upon such an
issue, and the results will depend upon who can pound the
longest. If there has ever been any imposition by shop committees, you had at all times the remedy in your own hands. A
notice to the union would have corrected all abuses.
WAi. H. SYLVIS, Pres. I. M1. I. U., Chairman.
This ended all efforts at negotiation, and the struggle began. It was not until after a most severe struggle that I
succeeded in getting the union to come down to 70 per
cent., and there make a stand. As my determination on
that point was the cause of much hard feeling and severe
criticism, I desire to state my reasons for my actions.
First. I did not believe the 100 per cent. could be maintained, because a voluntary reduction to 70 per cent. had
already been made in Quincy and St. Louis; and while the
reduction might have been restored at Quincy, it could not
have been at St. Louis, for reasons well known to every
gentleman present.
Second. I was in possession of the most positive evidence
that a strong party existed in No. 3, who were opposed to
making a strike to maintain the 100 per cent., and that if a
stand was made on that ground, the union would be divided against itself, which would have resulted in defeat
almost before the struggle began.
Third. Having a struggle before us, it became our duty
to have all the advantages on our side, so far as we could
command and control them. Public opinion is a powerful
22*                   I




258   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
weapon, and had we stood for the 100 per cent., that would
have been against us.
For these and many other reasons, I deemed it madness
to attempt a strike for the 100 per cent. So firm was I in
this conviction, that I determined there should be no struggle, so far as the I. M. I. U. was concerned, until it could
be upon safe grounds.
In my opinion, the strike was prolonged for months after
it could have been brought to a successful termination. For
this, those who had the immediate management of affairs
are responsible. Many of my letters, containing advice,
counsel, and encouragement, were suppressed, and never
read to the union; and up to this hour the then Corresponding Representative (Neall) refuses to give up the correspondence, although called upon by a vote of the union to
do so. It is a most unpleasant task to complain of any one,
but this much I considered it my duty to say.
It is not necessary for me to refer particularly to the
strikes at Covington, California, Dayton, and Louisville,
because the men in each of these places were out under
precisely the same circumstances as those in Cincinnati. I
will say, however, that the strike in each of these places
was well managed, and a continual desire shown to embrace
every opportunity to effect a settlement. Every attention
was paid to pay-rolls and every requirement of the law.
Being impressed with the full force of the struggle that
was about to come, I prepared a " Secret Circular," setting
forth my views in full, and detailing what I considered it
our duty to do; a copy of which was sent to each union,
and a copy of which is herewith transmitted, marked "A,"
and I ask that it be inserted in its proper place in the
printed proceedings, that it may become a part of the
record, because in it is to be found a clear justification of
my course.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.     259
SECRET CIRCULAR.
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE I. M. I. U.
PHILADELPHIA, February 2, 1867.
To the Oqicers and Members of the several Subordinate Unions:
GENTLEMEN: - My object in the issuing of this circular is to
have a very serious talk with all of you. We started together
in this good work years ago, and together we have labored to
the successful building up of an organization far superior to any
other on this continent, and, taking into consideration all the
circumstances, equal to any in the world. Together we have
passed through many trying scenes, and made many sacrifices,
to reach this advanced position; but all the trials through which
we have passed sink into insignificance compared to what is now
before us. Dark; portentous clouds are gathering around us in
every direction, and the future is gloomy enough to create in our
minds the most lively apprehensions. These, indeed, " are the
times that try men's souls." If ever there was a time when we
should reason together, and take counsel against the coming
storm, that time is now. Last year our employers made a direct
assault upon our union; in that effort they expected to drive us
into such a position as would exhaust our resources, demoralize
our members, and break up the great body of our union. The
return of good times, and the wise policy pursued, brought us
complete victory. Although successful at that time, the struggle lhas by no means ended. The attack now comes from a new
and far different direction: fertile in expedients, with plenty
of time to concoct and devise new plans, they have resolved upon
a new system of attack, determined, if possible, to drive us to
the wall before the close of the present year. They believe
that if there is any one thing we will resist more than another,
it is a reduction of wages; and their plan now is to involve us
in a general strike, and break up our union, or a great portion
of it, before the return of good trade. Will we allow them to
do this is now the question. Remember that the strength and
power of our organization does not exist so much in our great




260   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
numbers and our determination to resist at all hazards, as in
our ability to adapt ourselves to all surrounding circumstances.
The giant oak, conscious of its great strength, may stand erect
and defy the blast, but a single stroke of the hurricane may lay
it prostrate upon the earth, and its power of resistance has
passed away forever; while the tiny twig will bend before the
blast to stand erect again when the storm-cloud has passed away.
Are you ready to learn a lesson from this example?  Are you
ready to submit to a temporary reduction of wages to head off
the schemes of those who seek our destruction?  I know full
well the unpopularity of urging such a course, and I expect to
bring upon myself the taunts and jeers of the unthinking by
making these recommendations; but my deep solicitude for the
welfare of our noble organization prompts me to this course. I
am willing to be called a coward, willing to sink into oblivion,
and be utterly forgotten, if by so doing I can save the organization. Before heaven I can say that my motives are pure, and
that I am making these recommendations from a perfect
knowledge of the dangers by which we are surrounded, and
with full confidence in the wisdom of the policy herein set
forth.
I have said that the reduction would be temporary; I say
this, because I look upon a reduction of wages now as a wise
means of defence. A war measure, if you please, only to be
submitted to until the return of good times; then, when the advantage is on our side, we can demand and get an advance. The
reduction should be something like this: in those places where
the advance is 100 per cent. over 1861, let the reduction be 30
per cent., and where the advance is 50 per cent. over 1861,
let the reduction be 15 per cent., and in like proportion
throughout the organization. This would bring us nearer to an
equalization of prices than we have ever been yet. This is not
only a wise measure of defence, but it is a measure of protection
to the men in the Ohio Valley and up the Mississippi. For
some time past a competition, ruinous to the West, has been
going on between the East and the West, the results of which
are now being felt all over the Western country. Work made
in the East is flooding the Western market, while the Western




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     261
shops stand idle for want of trade. Let the men in the West
take a broad view of this matter, and insist upon a reduction
now as a matter of self-protection, and when trade will warrant
it, let them demand of the men in the East an advance of wages,
and insist upon it until it is done.
If this course is adopted, the time is not far distant when
every member will rejoice that it was so. If we cannot pursue
a course of policy sufficiently far-sighted to head off and outflank our employers, then we must take the consequences, and
the responsibilities shall not rest upon me. If the organization
goes down in the coming struggle, I can say that I warned you
of the dangers, and pointed out the road to success, and you
heeded me not. There never was a time when we had so good
a chance to make a master-stroke as now; and if we have the
necessary discipline, good judgment, and moral courage to do it,
we will prove ourselves superior to our enemies, and bring to
our organization a degree of success never before attained.
You are aware that a strike is now going on in Pittsburg
against a reduction of twenty per cent.; it is not the intention
that this circular shall apply to that city. My plan is to maintain peace everywhere else, and fight it out in Pittsburg. The
question may be asked: " Why pursue a different policy with
relation to Pittsburg from that pursued during the great'lockout,' when it was considered wise to keep the men in that city
at work?" I will make it plain. Pittsburg lies at the head of
the Ohio Valley, with a water navigation of many hundreds of
miles, running directly by Cincinnati, and all the manufacturing towns on the Ohio River. During the "lock-out," the
struggle was confined to Cincinnati and vicinity. It was important to keep Pittsburg to work, because of the bearing it
would have upon the issue in Cincinnati and vicinity. With
Pittsburg at work, the towns below could not long remain idle.
The employers made a mistake by not forcing the issue in Pittsburg. We took advantage of that mistake, and won by it.
Now, the tables are turned; they have forced the issue in Pittsburg. They have done this because they believe that to be our
weak point, and expect to break up No. 14 in a short time; the
effects of which would be, in their opinion, the demoralization




262   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM             1I. SYLVIS.
of the union all over the West. They now demand a reduction
of twenty per cent. If on that issue they should succeed in
defeating the union, a further reduction of twenty per cent.
would soon follow. By this means they expect to run wages
down to the standard of 1861 before the middle of the present
year. We should now make Pittsburg the battle-ground, because a reduction of thirty per cent. down the river, with our
present standard at Pittsburg, would still leave that city behind
in prices. If we fight it out in Pittsburg, and lnaintain our
present rate of wages there, we can, on the return of good times,
demand an advance of thirty per cent., and get it, or drive the
trade further West; in either case, there would be no trouble to
get an advance throughout the West.
One of the strongest arguments in favor of carrying out the
policy herein recommended, is the fact that our employers
admit that if we adopt such a course, they are defeated; but, at
the same time, they say we cannot do it, for the reason that we
are not sufficiently well organized to control our members in so
important a matter as a reduction of wages. They urge, that
to resist will involve us in a general strike, exhaust our means,
and destroy the union; and they say that if we do not resist, a
reduction of wages will demoralize our members, destroy confidence in the International Union, and so weaken us that our
power will be destroyed. That they are correct in their first
view, I think no one will question; whether they are correct in
the second point, depends entirely upon ourselves. If we have
not sufficient of manhood and moral courage to adopt a line of
policy looking to our own preservation, and carry it out to the
furthest extremity, without destroying ourselves, then, in my
opinion, we are not worth saving. In fact, it is just this that
should create confidence, and make the union a power it will
never be so long as we rely upon mere brute force to carry our
point.
Again, let me ask you the plain question - are you ready to
stand by your Executive in this emergency, and assist him in
carrying out the policy which he deems necessary for our preservation? Would you rather go on a strike for an indefinite
period, with no money to support you, and the prospect of an




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     263
extremely dull time ahead, than to remain at work at a reduction of wages? By which of the two would you lose the most,
and in which is involved the least danger to the union?
Already there is a reduction of thirty per cent. in St. Louis
and Quincy, and a reduction to Cincinnati prices in Louisville;
while in Cincinnati the bosses demand a reduction to Albany
and Troy prices, and the movement on the part of the bosses
everywhere West is to a reduction. The hour of trial is upon
us, and unless the recommendations herein made are adopted,
and a voluntary reduction proposed by ourselves, we will soon
be involved in a storm, such as we have never heard of in this
part of the world. The greatest dangers by which we were ever
threatened are now upon us. Resistance is sure defeat; a reduction of wages is victory. Give this matter your immediate
consideration. Let no quarrels or hard feelings interfere with
your good sober judgment. Meet the issue like men forced to
retreat in the face of the enemy, and remember that our only
hope depends upon the manner of this retreat. We must take
it as a matter of course, and rely upon the return of times when
we will have them in as close a corner. By proposing a reduction, we will disarm the bosses, and maintain peace on better
terms than we otherwise can expect, and in the end we will not
only save money by it, but, what is of much more importance,
we will save our organization. Report to me your action in
this matter at the earliest possible moment.
Yours, truly,
WVM. H. SYLVIS, President.
NEW CARD SYSTEM.
The Boston session "resolved that the president be
authorized to remodel the card as he may deem    best."
After a thorough consideration of the whole matter, and a
comparison of the card systems in use by various organizations, both in America and Europe, I decided upon the system of numbers now in use. The system is a new one, and
has been attended with some trouble; buti it is now fully
understood, and I am of opinion that it will prove a great




264   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
benefit. It is not near so complicated as the Scotch system,
and yet it accomplishes the same purposes. I think it will
prove all we desire.
EQUALIZATION.
A series of resolutions were adopted at Boston looking to
an equalization of prices in the different parts of the country. On the 2d of May, 1867, a circular was issued in accordance with these resolutions.  Some of the unions
returned them properly filled up, and some did not. The
committee was never called together. It was thought that
it would be incurring a useless expense, as the condition of
trade was such that no good could result from it. But the
strongest reason in my mind, and many others, was that
the Western employers did not receive our efforts to bring
about a more equal standard of wages between the East and
West in a friendly spirit. But instead of lending us their
aid and sympathy, as we had a right to expect they would,
they made a bitter attack upon our organization. Judging
of their opinions by their actions, we must suppose that the
Western employers are and have been opposed to an equalization of prices, unless it be a general levelling down to a
point that will just provide the necessary subsistence.
In 1866, when we attempted to raise wages in the East,
the Western employers made common cause with those of
the East, and the great lock-out ensued. So, in 1867, when
we attempted to effect an equalization throughout the country, a fierce struggle ensued, by which they hoped to totally
destroy our organization. Perhaps the time may come
when employers will have brains enough, justice and honesty enough to admit that moulders have feelings, rights,
and honesty. When that time does come, there will be another opportunity to offer conciliatory measures; until that
time does come, I shall favor a line of policy looking only




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 265
to our own interests without regard to the interests of our
en emies.
NATIONAL LABOR UNION.
I was instructed by the Boston Convention to attend the
Labor Congress, at Chicago, in August, 1867, which I did.
The Congress was well attended, and business of a most important character was done; the most important of which was
the adoption of a Platform of Principles, a copy of which is
herewith transmitted. This document I consider one of the
most important ever issued in any age of the world. It is
the second Declaration of Independence, and contains the
principles upon which must be fought out the great battle
for the emancipation of labor. The proceedings of that
Congress have never been printed, consequently I cannot
present you a copy. The next session of the National Labor
Union will be held in New York City, on the - day of September, 1868, and I would earnestly urge upon you the necessity for selecting a man to represent our union in that
body.
STRIKES.
From my earliest connection with our organization, I have
been opposed to the whole system of strikes, as a remedy
for the evils we suffer, and have favored them only because
I could see no better way, and hoped, by experience, to
discover some plan by which they could be abolished, and
we secure our rights. A strike means open war between us
and our employers, and war means a knock-down argument,
at which both parties are likely to be seriously hurt.
I gave it as my opinion years ago, that we could never
accomplish our complete emancipation from the power and
tyranny of wealthy employers by a simple combination.
This is evident from the fact that we can see no time in the
future when our work will be complete-when we can say
23




266   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
the objects for which we started have been reached, and permanent relief secured.
It is true, the work of combination could go on until a
thorough union was established; but no matter how perfect
that combination might be, permanent security would not
follow. All the wrongs and hardships imposed upon labor
have a cause.  The present unsatisfactory condition of
labor is the effect produced by some great, all-pervading
cause, and the effects cannot be removed without first removing the cause.
Combination, as we have been using or applying it,
makes war upon the effects, leaving the cause undisturbed,
to produce, continually, like effects. If wages are reduced,
combination may force an advance; but they will go down
again, because the cause of the reduction remains. If labor
is deprived of privileges, and forced to submit to insults and
impositions, these wrongs may be removed by combination;
but they will be repeated at the first opportunity; the
cause that produced them once will produce them again.
Under no circumstances can combination bring more than
temporary relief. We may strike this year to force a raise
of wages, and next year we will have to strike to prevent a
reduction. And a hundred other things are continually
coming to pass which furnish cause for strikes - all being
the effects or results of a cause which combination can
never reach.
The cause of all these evils is the WAGES SYSTEM. SO
long as we continue to work for wages, so long will we.be
imposed upon by those who buy our labor, so long will we
be subjected to small pay, poverty, and all of the evils of
which we complain.   Therefore, if we desire permanent
relief, we must strike at the root of the evil; we must adopt
such measures as will strike down the whole system of wages
for labor. We must adopt a system that will divide the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM II. SYLVIS. 267
profits of labor among those who produce them - a system
that will drive the vast army of non-producers - paupers
upon the producers of wealth - into honorable employment
or starvation, for no man has a right to live who does not
produce what he consumes.
When we started this movement, we had but a vague idea
of the work before us. We felt we were the victims of a
heartless tyranny, but just how to escape from it was not so
clear. The most simple means visible was combination,
concert of action, oneness of purpose, the power of numbers. This we adopted, not that we supposed it would
bring permanent relief, but because we considered it the
first step in a great reform movement —because we hoped
there would grow out of it sulch measures as would work out
our complete emancipation - because we expected it would
be a school to educate us for the great work we had to do.
In the year 1866, immediately after the successful termination of the great lock-out, I gave it as my opinion that we
had accomplished all that we could hope for by simple combination. I was fully convinced then, as I am now, that we
had reached the end of all we could do, or hope to do, by
the means we had employed. And I also believed that we
must adopt a new plan of operations, or consign ourselves
to an eternal warfare to maintain our position, with the
prospect of ultimate defeat continually before us.  Like
two armies in the field, we and the employers stood face to
face, each seeking for an opportunity to do the greatest
amount of injury to the other. In good times we would
take every advantage - we would enforce our rules, curtail
the number of apprentices, force wages up as far as possible,
abolish harsh and obnoxious rules, and do many other
things, because we had the power. In dull times the employers would reduce wages, put on apprentices, discharge
men because they were active members of the union, and




268   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
do many other things, because they had the power. During
these times our members would become discouraged and
demoralized, our membership would decrease, and our power
would be destroyed, and it would take us months to build
up again and get ready for another encounter. All this
time our members would be under a heavy tax, and the demoralizing cry for funds to sustain ourselves would be continually heard. I could see no prospect before us but that
of continual trouble and taxation; and I stated in the New
York and Boston Conventions that, unless we could adopt
some plan that would show to our members a reasonable
prospect of ultimate and pelrmanent success, and relief from
strikes and taxation, they would, after a time, become discouraged, give up the fight, and allow the whole thing to
fail. The experience of the eighteen months just closed has
confirmed these convictions, and I came to this convention
with feelings of the deepest solicitude for the welfare of
those whom we have the honor to represent on this floor.
From all parts of our widely extended organization the cry
comes up - something mu1a'st be done; our organization will
fail unless we can see a streak of daylight somewhere in the
future; the exhaustive strikes of the last two years must not
be repeated; and here, upon this floor, with a full and clear
knowledge of the status of our union, and what its requirements are, I re-echo this cry - SOMETHING MUST BE DONE;
and it must be done by this convention. Should we adjourn without such legislation as will restore confidence,
renew hopes, and give a reasonable promise of ultimate and
final success, and freedom from strikes and taxation, more
than fifty unions will return their charters before the close
of 1868.
This feeling of opposition to strikes would not be so
strong, and the dissatisfaction so serious, had all our strikes
been justifiable or unavoidable; but the great body of our




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 269
membership has come to see and understand that the exhaustive and terrible strikes we have had in the past two
and a half years, were wholly uncalled for, unnecessary, and
could have been avoided by the exercise of a reasonable
amount of caution and common sense. They have come to
see that the circulars posted in the shops, which caused the
troubles of 1866, contained nothing but a threat-that the
employers had committed no act -only threatened what
they would do, and that there were no grounds for action
on the part of the unions until an effort was made to put
those threats in force, which, in all probability, would have
never been done. They also very clearly understand, that
had a wise and reasonable policy prevailed in the early
part of 1867, the terrible strikes of that year would have
been avoided, wages would be higher than at present, and
many thousands of dollars would have been saved. They
also know that a large number of smaller strikes were
brought about by hasty and unwise action; and it is a
knowledge of all these facts that has produced the condition
of things we now find, and made it imperatively necessary
that we adopt a new line of policy for the future.
I have dwelt at length, and very plainly, upon this subject, because I desired to give full and candid expression to
my views, and endeavored to impress it upon the minds of
all present that we are in the midst of great and pressing
dangers, and to show you that upon the action of this convention depends the full and final success of our organization, or its speedy downfall.
CO-OPERATION.
The question that forces itself upon our minds, as we
dwell upon the prospect before us is, that if our organization, as it now stands, is a failure, what can we do to make
23*




270   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS.
it a success? My answer to this question, here and everywhere, is - CO-OPERATION.
Twenty years ago I had made myself somewhat familiar
with the principles of co-operation in Europe, and when I
joined this union, it was with the firm conviction that
through our efforts at combination we would succeed in establishing the great principles of co-operative industry, and
ultimately get control of the whole foundry business of the
country, and thereby break down the wages system, become
our own employers, end strikes, and put the profits of our
labor into our own pockets.
When I accepted the presidency, in January, 1863, I did
so with a firm resolve that I would use every means, and
make every sacrifice necessary, to build up a combined
family of moulders on this continent, and through that
combination establish co-operation; and from then to now,
it has been my daily study, how to convince the members
of our unions that in co-operation was to be found their
only hope, and to induce them to take hold of it. It was
a long time before the seeds sown began to exhibit signs of
life.
Immediately on learning of the serious troubles in Albany
and Troy, N. Y., which were the beginning of the strikes
of 1866, I went to Troy with my mind made up to stay
there, if necessary, to start a Co-operative Foundry Company. After a few days' talking, a company was formed, a
charter was secured, a location was fixed upon, and the
buildings pushed rapidly forward, and, long before the end of
the year, one of the most complete foundries in the country
was in successful operation. It is now one of the most solid
and successful concerns in the country. In November of the
same year, a company was organized in Albany, and the
shop put in operation early in 1867. They have been eminently successful; they have two shops, and have, or soon




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           HI. SYLVIS.    271
will have, one hundred and thirty moulders at work, which
places them among the largest foundry establishments in
the land. I refer particularly to these two companies,
which were organized in 1866, because they were the beginning of a new era in our trade. Since then, there have been
two more shops started in Troy, one in Rochester, two in
Cleveland, one in Chicago, one in Quincy, one in Louisville,
one in Somerset, and one in Pittsburg, making eleven in all.
All of these that have been in operation long enough to furnish a test, are, completely successful. Besides these, a
number of companies are in course of organization, and
many more being talked about. The system seems to have
taken a deep hold upon our members generally, and, with
the proper encouragement, will soon spread itself all over
the land.
I desire to call your special attention to the Pittsburg
enterprise. Early in the summer of 1867, when it became
evident that our strikes were going to continue throughout
the year, and perhaps terminate unfavorably, I began considering the expediency of organizing a Co-operative Foundry Company, under the direct supervision of the I. M'. I. U.
The subject was a very important one, because it would be
the first effort ever made to establish co-operation upon so
broad and liberal a basis, in the world, and because, if undertaken and failure should follow, it would retard the cooperative movement for years to come. Having implicit
faith in the correctness of the principle, and a firm conviction that, unless such a movement was begun, defeat and
disaster would come sooner or later, I, on the 16th of August,
1867, issued a circular, making a brief argument in favor
of the movement, and setting forth the following plan:
1st. This Association to be known as the " International Cooperative Foundry Association, of Pittsburg, Pa."
2d. The capital stock of the Association shall be one hundred




272   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.
thousand dollars, to be divided into twenty thousand shares, at
five dollars each,
3d. No individual or union shall hold over four hundred
shares, or two thousand dollars.
4th. The Association shall not be bound to redeem any share
of its capital stock within two years from the date of subscription, and in no case without three months' notice.
5th. Whenever a shareholder desires to sell or transfer his
stock, he shall first offer it to the union of which he may at the
time be a member; and in no case can stock be sold or transferred to any person not a member of a Moulders' Union, without the consent of the Board of Directors.
6th. No shareholder can have more than one vote on any
question.
7th. Five per cent. of the actual profits, after paying all expenses, shall be set aside as a sinking-fund, upon which to draw
in case of an emergency. But said sinking-fund at no time to
exceed ten thousand dollars.
8th. Fifteen per cent. of the profits (after deducting the five
per cent. for the sinking-fund) shall be divided among the shareholders, in proportion to the amount of stock held by each, as
interest on capital.
9th. The balance of profit shall be divided among the shareholders employed by the Association in proportion to the amount
of wages earned by each, as interest on labor.
10th. The unions in Pittsburg, or their members, must subscribe for at least five hundred shares.
11th. The annual meeting of the stockholders will be held on
the first Monday in February, of each year, in the city of Pittsburg, at which meeting a President (who shall be Superintendent,) Secretary, Treasurer, and a board of thirteen Directors
shall be elected.
12th. The President and Treasurer of the I. M. I. U. shall be
members of the Board of Directors, to. represent the interests of
the shareholders who cannot attend the annual meeting.
13th. Subscriptions for shares shall be paid to the Treasurer
of the local Union to which the subscriber may belong, to be
held by him until called for by the Treasurer of this Association.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 273
This plan was decided upon after long and anxious
thought. It was to be an experiment never before tried by
the workingmen of any country, and upon its success or
failure hung the fate of many of the brightest hopes I had
ever indulged.
While the response to this call was not all that it might
have been, yet it was much more than I had reason to expect. Times were exceedingly dull; at least one-half of our
membership were out of work, and the prospect of a terrible winter was before us. Besides this, we had on hand the
severest strikes we had ever been called upon to support.
Nearly the whole of our membership was very poor; still
the movement progressed, and on the 2d of October a permanent organization was effected, and the work of erecting
buildings, etc., begun. On the 20th of January, 1868, a
charter was procured from the State of Pennsylvania, and
everything was in a legal shape. A Constitution and ByLaws were adopted, based upon the thirteen rules above
given, a copy of which is herewith transmitted.
The shop is now in running order, the first " cast" having been made on the 18th of May last. Everything about
the establishment is of the most complete character. The
moulding-floor is 100 by 120 feet, with a self-supporting
roof, and is the finest moulding-floor in America. Thus
far everything has been managed in a manner eminently
successful. There has never been put up, in this country,
a foundry capable of holding fifty moulders, with everything complete for running it, at so small a cost.
I do not deem it necessary to give a detailed statement
of the present standing and prospects of the association.
The treasurer and secretary are now on this floor, and have
prepared, with a view of submitting it to this body, a full,
detailed report of everything connected with the establishment. This report will show the aggregate cost of the shop,
S




274   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
as it now stands, the number of shares subscribed for, the
amount of money received from subscriptions to stock, the
debts of the association, and all its present wants; and they
are prepared to give any information concerning their shop
to all who desire it.
This is the most important movement ever undertaken,
and I ask for it a very careful and candid consideration,
believing, as I do, that the adoption of this plan, and its
general application throughout our jurisdiction, will soon
relieve us from all our present embarrassments, and bring
final and permanent relief.
From the foregoing remarks upon strikes and co-operation,
you will not fail to see that I am in favor of incorporating
the principles of co-operation, as embodied in the rules above
given, into our organic law. I believe the time has come
when we should abandon the whole system of strikes, and
make co-operation the foundation of our organization, and
the prime object of all our efforts.
Nine years ago, almost to a day, this union was organized. After a fierce struggle, vast labor, and many and
great sacrifices, we have succeeded in building up the finest
organization of laborers on this continent, and as good as
any in the world. By it we have maintained a higher
standard of wages - established a feeling of friendship and
brotherhood throughout the land -broken down old prejudices and jealousies - established acquaintances highly
beneficial to all - raised the social and moral standard of a
large portion of our members - taught many of us to place
a higher estimate upon true manhood and self-reliance —
and done much in helping our fellow-laborers in other departmeuts of industry to push along the great work of
reform. All must agree that we have done much. But it
was not to accolmplish these things that we started in this
movement; these are only the natural results of a move



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM EI. SYLVIS. 275
ment made to accomplish a much higher object. We are
the victims of a soulless money power - of a false social
system - of a heartless tyranny. We desired to free ourselves from these; we saw the thousands of little streams of
wealth put in motion by our labor wending their way into
the pockets of a few men; we desired to change the course
of these little streams, that they might flow into our own
pockets; we desired to work out our complete emancipation
from that power which compelled us to toil eternally without a recompense. These were the primary objects for
which this union was organized nine years ago. Have we
accomplished these objects?  To this there can be but one
answer - no, we have not. So far as reaching the point
started for is concerned, our organization stands to-day an
almost total failure. True, we have made a nine years'
journey on the way, but we have now reached a point where
the road makes a short turn to the right, and on a fingerboard we see the word- CO-OPERATION. This road is a
broad, straight, and well-made highway, and leads to prosperity, success, and happiness; while directly ahead, in the
direction of the road we have travelled for nine years, is a
small, crooked, thorny path, leading to a wilderness of perplexities, trials, and difficulties. Which of these will we
choose?  This is a question that must be answered by this
convention.
In closing this important part of my report, let me express my firm conviction that, if we continue on in the future as we have done in the past, long before the end of
another nine years this organization will cease to exist, or,
if it lives at all, it will be only in name, and upon the
memories of the past; and, in giving expression to this conviction, I am but reiterating the settled opinion of threefourths of our members.




276   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.
EIGHT HOURS.
The agitation of the eight-hour question was very great
during the greater part of 1867, and several organizations
became involved in strikes to enforce it. Some of our
unions were unfortunately drawn into those troubles. The
strikes to enforce the eight-hour rule, whether in our owr
unions or others, were entered into against my earnest protest. While I am in favor of the eight-hour system, I have
always held it to be unwise and eminently foolish to undertake to enforce the system by strikes. What we want is
agitation, education, and legislation. Convince the people
that it is right, and then demand the necessary legislation.
If our representatives refuse to give it to us, turn them out
and put somebody in who will. The universal adoption of
the eight-hour system is only a question of time. If we
want it, we can get it.
ANNUAL SESSIONS.
I would again call your attention to the very important
subject of extending the time between our sessions. You
are aware that as early as 1864, I favored the holding of
our sessions but once in two years. No action was taken
on the recommendation until the Boston Convention, when
the term was extended to eighteen months. This action of
the Boston session was a very wise measure. Had the
time of meeting not been changed from January to July,
it would have been impossible to have held a session last
January, for the reason that there could not have been
raised money enough to pay the expenses, and nearly all
of the unions were too poor to send delegates. In view of
these fcits, it is a very fortunate circumstance that the time
of meeting was changed. But, aside from this, there are
very strong reasons why we should meet but once in two
years, the strongest of which is that of economy. It will




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 277
cost very near as much to hold one convention as it will to
pay the necessary expenses of the union for two years.
Thus, it would be a very great saving in money. Besides
this, we have too much legislation when we meet every
year. It is an old saying, and as true as it is old, that the
world is governed too much. We have been governed too
much. Let us abate it by one-half, and if we do not succeed, we can go back to annual sessions. The amount to be
saved is certainly worth the experiment.
BENEFICIAL FEATURE.
The question of incorporating a benevolent feature into
our organization has been prominently before the unions for
a long time. In 1866 a committee was appointed, who,
after much labor, made out and submitted to the Boston
session a report containing a comprehensive plan for putting a beneficial feature into operation, and making certain
necessary recommendations. This report was read in the
convention, and referred to the committee of the whole,
where it was debated with considerable interest; the committee rose, reported progress, and never sat again; consequently the whole thing was killed. I was surprised at this
disposition of it. The measure had many warm friends, or,
at least, I supposed it had; but not one of them made an
effort to have the matter finally and properly disposed of.
It was my desire that the report of the committee be
adopted by the convention, and referred to the subordinate unions, to be by them  adopted or rejected; and
in case it should be adopted by two-thirds of the unions,
it should become a law; but as it was allowed to stick in
committee of the whole, I supposed it was considered a matter of minor importance. I find a large number of our members are in favor of some plan by which men who are out of
work, either by sickness, discharge, or inability to get work,
24




278   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
can receive some benefits. The whole matter is an important one, and I ask for it a careful consideration.
In closing this report, let me again call your attention to
the important business that will come before you. There
never was a time when we were surrounded by so many
dangers as now, and the worst feature of these dangers is
that they are within our organization. We have very little
to fear so long as all our trials and dangers come from the
outside, and we can present a united front to whatever opposition we may meet; but a house divided against itself
cannot stand. Let our business here be to remove dissensions, jealousies, prejudices, etc., and bring about a universal
feeling of brotherhood. Let us bring to the consideration
of every question a determination to do what will be for the
best interests of the whole organization; remembering that
if we fail to heal all our differences, and restore harmony,
and bring confidence and unity to the union, we will admit
ourselves incapable of self-government, and upon our heads
must rest the responsibilities of whatever may happen.
I am no alarmist. The dangers I have tried to point out
to you are not creatures of my imagination, but real, tangible facts, and we must meet them. The legislation I have
recommended is the result of long and careful consideration,
and founded upon what I believe to be the wish of a large
majority of our members. Should you, in your wisdom, decide upon some other means to overcome our present troubles, let it be sufficiently broad and comprehensive to embrace the whole union, and it must point to a time when we
will be permanently secure. Any legislation short of this,
will only aggravate the matter, and lead to speedy and disastrous defeat.
WM. H. SYLVIS, President I.. I. U.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 279
A SPEECH       OF RECEPTION TO SENATOR
SPRAGUE, AT      THE   CONTINENTAL       HOTEL,
PHILADELPHIA, WITH         MR. SPRAGUE'S REPLY.
MR. SYLVIS'S SPEECH.
SENATOR SPRAGUE: In tendering you the compliments
of a serenade, the working-people of this city are moved
by no ordinary motives. We have read. your late speeches
with lively satisfaction, and recognize in you the only man
who has had the wisdom, moral courage or honesty to stand
up boldly in the United States Senate on the side of the
people. When men in the humbler walks of life raise the
cry of danger and reform, the cry of "demagogue" is
raised, followed by perecution, and every means known to
tyrants for stilling the murmurings of discontent. But
when senators speak, the " hush policy " cannot be applied.
The people will hear: they have heard you, and indorse
every word you have spoken. It is true the cry of " ambition" has been raised against you, and all the curs, large
and small, are barking at your heels. But the people - the
millions of mechanics, laborers, farmers, manufacturers, and
merchants - are at your back to drive the curs away.
A subsidized press in the interests of the moneyed power
call you ambitious and dishonest. We do not stop to ask
or answer such questions. It is enough for us to know that
you are right. Knowing this, we will sustain you to the
end.
These people whom I represent - these millions of producers who are sending you words of encouragement from
all parts of the country -are the " malcontents, disorganizers," and persons who, like Micawber, are "waiting for
something to turn up," referred to by the Washington Republican.




280  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
They are the people who, by their energy and industry,
have developed the resources of our country, fought our
battles, and placed us in the front rank of nations. These
are the " malcontents" who are " waiting for something to
turn up," that will give profitable employment and stability
to commerce and industry.
The " National Labor Union," of which I have the honor
to be president, is an organization extending to every corner
of the country. Our object is, and has been, to make war
upon a moneyed power that is corrupting every channel of
legislation, and making the people tributary to it. We
believe that our institutions and liberties are in much more
danger now than in the darkest hours of the rebellion. A
moneyed aristocracy-proud, imperious, and dishonest-has
grown up in our midst. This aristocracy, few in numbers,
of vast wealth, controls the financial policy of the government, and through the money controls the government
itself. This power is blasting and blistering everything it
comes in contact with. The policy of the government has
been such as to draw hundreds of millions of dollars from
productive industry, and lock them up in non-productive
investments.
The rate of interest on money is so high that but few
branches of legitimate business can use it; by it labor is
robbed —all wealth is being gathered together in large
piles - the rich are becoming richer, and the poor poorer.
Thousands of workingmen are without profitable employment, general despondency everywhere exists, and there is
no confidence in the future. Extravagance on the one
hand, and abject poverty on the other, has filled the land
with crime, and national demoralization is the result.
Vast accumulation of wealth in individual hands has
ever produced the extremest poverty among the many;
corruption, decay, and final ruin are sure to follow. The




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 281
Roman Republic fell when government and people became
corrupt. The stability of our government must rest upon
the virtue and intelligence of the people. No republican
government can long exist after the abandonment of sound
moral principle. Money and monopoly, with the power
they give to the few, are dangerous elements in a free government; and it is against these that we and you, sir, are
making war; and we congratulate you upon the brave and
manly words you have spoken in defence of the rights of
the people. Go on with the good work. Let this monster
squirm and shake its forked tail; let the dogs howl and
show their teeth. The people are with you, and will be
with you to the end.
The remarks of Mr. Sylvis were well received, and at
their conclusion Senator Sprague stepped forward, amid
the most tumultuous greetings, and spoke as follows:
SPEECH OF SENATOR SPRAGUE.
I thank the Union Labor men, and their fellow-citizens
of Philadelphia, for this exhibition of their approval of the
words I have uttered'in their behalf.
Where, away from the national capital, could I better
reiterate those words, and where better pledge myself to a
continuance in the course I have adopted, in the interest
of the nation and the people, than on this sacred spot, under
the shadow of Independence Hall, where were gathered
those noble patriots who, by their immortal declaration,
hurled their grand words of defiance at monarchical power,
and, by a steady and courageous adherence to their great
principles and purposes, gave self-government and a nationality to a brave and heroic people?
What better hour than this to associate that grand idea
which gave birth to a nation with one no less grand, and
equally sure of consummation, which alone can preserve
24*




282   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
and perpetuate a nation - the idea of consolidating and so
operating the accumulated debt, wealth, capital, and currency of the government, as to antagonize, check, and regulate the power and despotism of private and associated
capital, a vitiated partisan press and secret caucus dictation?
These designated and combined agencies have waxed fat
and strong throughout our vast domain, and in their operation and effect on the business interests and social condition
of the masses of the people have become far more vicious
and oppressive than the worst form of British tyranny was
ever likely to have been.
On this subject there is nothing to conceal, nothing of
local or sectional interest. What is for the benefit of the
workingmen of Pennsylvania will be of equal advantage to
the workingmen of South Carolina, Kentucky, New York,
New Jersey, Rhode Island, New England, and the great
VWest and Southwest. All will stand on common ground.
The principle enunciated and the grievance recited by
the Declaration of Independence, unheeded, unredressed,
proved messengers of destruction, devastation, and war.
Those I propose, once in operation, whilst reforming unnumbered abuses and corruptions, will result in establishing
permanent peace and prosperity throughout the land.
As a salutary warning, let those who wield and control
the resources of the country in the interest of the few, be
not unmindful of the historic character of that latent pozwer
always residing in the people, which, when their reasonable
demands are met with ridicule and resistance, invariably
wields the torch and axe with irresistible force to accomplish desired reforms.
From all quarters the acknowledgment comes up that
Sprague has uttered some unquestioned, wholesome truths,
and I am constantly congratulated for brave words bravely
spoken.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 283
Has truth, then, become the exception, not the rule?
Does it require an extra amount of principle and courage
to tell the truth? Is not all I have claimed proven true,
when one cannot speak the truth to his peers and the people
without creating such criticism and remarks? How low in
our own estimation must we have sunk, when we are obliged
thus to speak and feel!
What food for reflection and regret when plain truths
plainly spoken, clear propositions broadly enunciated, instead of being met manfully, with frankness, fairness, and
well-sustained opposite views and arguments, only bring
forth defamation and threats, ridicule and revilings.
Labor and the workingman are the corner-stones and
foundation of society. If broad, massive, and secure, the
superstructure of governments, religious creeds, education,
and business, standing on a firm basis, and are built on the
rock. All else forms but a shifting, sandy foundation,
changing and unsteady, finally tottering to the ground, covering all in one common ruin.
For the consideration of the people of Pennsylvania, I
declare that by the plan I advocate there will certainly be
secured a reduction in the cost of money, production, and
living. If this prove true, then I add, indefinitely, to that
protection of house capital and labor, which will enable
you to develop to their fullest extent the untold resources
of the Keystone State.
Gentlemen, as I do not propose to inflict a speech upon
you, I will not detain you longer. Again thanking you
for your kindness and consideration, I bid you good-night.
Throughout the delivery of the address the senator was
frequently interrupted, and cheer upon cheer was given
for the Rhode Island advocate of the interests of the workingmen. Music by the band concluded the pleasant ceremonies of the evening, and the senator, upon retiring, was




284   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS.
taken by the hand and warmly congratulated. His remarks were attentively listened to and appreciated by the
large audience present.
PLATFORM OF PRINCIPLES OF THE NATIONAL
LABOR UNION,
ADOPTED FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1868.
WE hold these truths to be self-evident: that all people
are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights; that among them are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these
rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed.
That there are but two pure forms of government-the
Autocratic and the Democratic; under the former, the will
of the individual sovereign is the supreme law, under the
latter, the sovereignty is vested in the whole people,-all
other forms being a modification of the one or the other of
these principles, and that ultimately one or the other of these
forms must prevail throughout all civilized nations, and it
is now for the American people to determine which of those
principles shall triumph.
That the design of the founders of the republic was to
institute a government upon the principle of absolute inherent sovereignty of the people, and that would give to each
citizen the largest political and religious liberty compatible
with the good order of society, and secure to each the right
to enjoy the fruits of his labor and talents; that when laws
are enacted destructive of these ends, they are without
moral binding force, and it is the right and duty of the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 285
people to alter, amend, or abolish them, and institute such
others, founding them upon the principles of equality, as to
them may seem most likely to effect their prosperity and
happiness.
Prudence will indeed dictate that important laws long
established should not be changed for light and transient
causes; and experience has shown that the American people
are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than
to change the forms and laws to which they have been
accustomed. But when a long train of legislative abuses,
pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to
subvert the spirit of freedom and equality upon which our
institutions are founded, and reduce them to a state of servitude, it is their right, it is their duty, to abolish such
laws, and provide new guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient suffering of the wealth-produc;ig
classes of the United States, and such is the necessity
which constrains them to put forth an organized and united
effort for maintaining their natural rights, which are imperilled by the insidious schemes and unwarranted aggression of unscrupulous bankers and usurpers by means of
unwise and corrupt legislation.
We further hold that all property or wealth is the
product of physical or intellectual labor employed in productive industry and in the distribution of the productions
of labor. That laborers ought of right, and would, under
a just monetary system, receive or retain the larger proportion of their productions; that the wrongs, oppressions,
and destitution which laborers are suffering in most departments of legitimate enterprise and useful occupation, do not
result from insufficiency of production, but from the unfair
distribution of the products of labor between non-producing
capital and labor.
That money is the medium of distribution to non-producing capital and producing labor, the rate of interest de



286   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
termining what proportion of the products of labor shall
be awarded to capital for its use, and what to labor for its
productions; that the power to make money and regulate
its value is an essential attribute of sovereignty, the exercise of which is, by the Constitution of the United States,
wisely and properly granted to Congress; and it is the imperative duty of Congress to institute upon such a wise and
just basis that it shall be directly under the control of the
sovereign people who produce the value it is designed to
represent, measure and exchange, that it may be a correct
and uniform standard of value, and distribute the products
of labor equitably between capital and labor according to
the service of labor performed in their production.
That the law enacting the so-called national banking
system is a delegation by Congress of the sovereign power
to make money, and regulate its power, to a class of irresponsible banking associations, thereby giving to them the
power to control the value of all the property in the nation,
and to fix the rewards of labor in every department of industry, and is inimical to the spirit of liberty, and subversive of the principles of justice upon which our Democratic
Republican institutions are founded, and without warrant
in the Constitution; justice, reason, and sound policy demand its immediate repeal, and the substitution of legaltender treasury notes as the exclusive currency of the nation.
That this money monopoly is the parent of all monopolies-the very root and essence of slavery- railroads,
warehouses, and all other monopolies, of whatever kind or
nature, are the outgrowth of and subservient to this power,
and the means used by it to rob the enterprising, industrial,
wealth-producing classes of the products of their talents
and labor.
That as government is instituted to protect life and secure
the rights of property, each should share its just and proper
proportion of the burdens and sacrifices necessary for its




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVI8.              287
maintenance and perpetuity; and that the exemption from
taxation of bank capital and government bonds, bearing
double and bankrupting rates of interest, is a species of
unjust class legislation, opposed to the spirit of our institutions, and contrary to the principles of sound morality and
enlightened reason.
That our monetary, financial, and revenue laws are, in
letter and spirit, opposed to the principles of freedom and
equality upon which our Democratic Republican institutions are founded; there is in all their provisions manifestly
a studied design to shield non-producing capital from its
just proportion of the burdens necessary for the support of
the government, imposing them mainly on the industrial,
wealth-producing classes, thereby condemning them  to
lives of unremunerated toil, depriving them of the ordinary
conveniences and comforts of life, of the time and means
necessary for social enjoyment, intellectual culture, and
moral improvement, and ultimately reducing them to a state
of practical servitude.
We further hold that while these unrighteoust lawS of
distribution remain in force, laborers cannot, by any system
of combination or co-operation, secure their natural rights.
That the first and most important step towards the establishment of the rights of labor, is the institution of a system of true co-operation between non-producing capital and
labor. That to effect this most desirable object, money -
the medium of distribution to capital and labor - must be
instituted upon such a wise and just principle that, instead
of being a power to centralize the wealth in the hands of a
few bankers, usurers, middlemen, and non-producers generally, it shall be a power that will distribute products to
producers in accordance with the labor or service performed
in their production —the servant, and not the master of
labor. This done, the natural rights of labor will be secured, and co-operation in production and in the distribu



288   BIOGRAPHY      OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
tion of products will follow as a natural consequence. The
weight will be lifted from the back of the laborer, and the
wealth-producing classes will have the time and the means
necessary for social enjoyment, intellectual culture, and
moral improvement, and the non-producing classes compelled to earn a living by honest industry. We hold that
this can be effected by the issue of treasury notes made a
legal tender in the payment of all debts, public and private,
and convertible, at the option of the holder, into government bonds, bearing a just rate of interest, sufficiently
below the rate of increase in the national wealth by natural
production, as to make an equitable distribution of the
products of laborbetween non-producing capital and labor,
reserving to Congress the right to alter the same when, in
their judgment, the public interest would be promoted
thereby; giving the government creditor the right to take
the lawful money or the interest-bearing bonds at his election, with the privilege to the holder to reconvert the bonds
into money, or the money into bonds at pleasure.
We hold this to be the true American or people's monetary system, adapted to the genius of our Democratic Republican institutions, in harmony with the letter and spirit
of our Constitution, and suited to the wants of the government and business interests of the nation; that it would
furnish a medium of exchange, having equal power, a uniform value, and fitted for the performance of all the functions of money, co-extensive with the jurisdiction of
government. That with a just rate per cent. interest on
the government bonds, it would effect the equitable distribution of the products of labor between non-producing
capital and labor, giving to laborers a fair compensation
for their products, and to capital a just reward for its use;
remove the necessity for excessive toil, and affbrd the industrial classes the time and means necessary for social and
intellectual culture.  With the rate of interest at three




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     289
per cent. on the government bonds, the national debt
would be liquidated within less than thirty years, without
the imposition or collection of a farthing of taxes for that
purpose. Thus it would dispense with the hungry horde
of assessors, tax-gatherers, and government spies, that are
harassing the industrial classes, and despoiling them of their
subsistence.
We further hold that it is essential to the happiness and
prosperity of the people, and the stability of our Democratic Republican institutions, that the public domain be
distributed as widely as possible among the people -a land
monopoly being equally as oppressive to the people, and
dangerous to our institutions, as the present money monopoly. To prevent this, the public lands should be given
in reasonable quantities, and to none but actual occupants.
We further hold that intelligence and virtue in the sovereignty are necessary to a wise administration of justice,
and that as our institutions are founded upon the theory
of sovereignty in the people, in order to their preservation
and perpetuity, it is the imperative duty of Congress to
make such wise and just regulations as shall afford all the
means of acquiring the knowledge requisite to the intelligent exercise of the privileges and duties pertaining to sovereignty, and that Congress should ordain that eight hours'
labor, between the rising and setting of the sun, should
constitute a day's work in all government works and places
where the national government has exclusive jurisdiction;
and that it is equally imperative on the several States to
make like provision by legal enactment. Be it therefore
unanimously
Resolved, That our first duty is now to provide as speedily
as possible a system of general organization in accordance
with the principles herein more specifically set forth, and
25                   T




290   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
that each branch of industry shall be left to adopt its own
particular form of organization, subject only to such restraint as may be necessary to place each organization
within line, so as to act in harmony in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the whole, as well as each of the parts;
and that it is the imperative duty of each individual, in each
and every branch of industry, to aid in the formation of
such labor organizations in their respective branches, and to
connect themselves therewith.
CO-OPERATIVE.
Resolved, That in co-operation, based upon just financial
and revenue laws, we recognize a sure and lasting remedy
for the abuse of the present industrial system, and that,
until the laws of the nation can be remodelled so as to recognize the rights of men, instead of classes, the system of
co-operation carefully guarded will do much to lessen the
evils of our present system. We, therefore, hail with delight
the organization of co-operative stores and workshops, and
would urge their formation in every section of the country,
and in every branch of business.
WOMAN S LABOR.
Resolved, That with the equal application of the fundamental principles of our Republican Democratic government, and a sound monetary system, there could be no
antagonism between the interests of the workingmen and
workingwomen of this country, nor between any of the
branches of productive industry, - the direct operation of
each, when not prevented by unjust monetary laws, being
to benefit all the others by the production and distribution
of the comforts and necessaries of life; and that the adoption, by the national government, of the financial policy set
forth in this platform, will put an end to the oppression of




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS. 291
workingwomen, and is the only means of securing to them
as well as to workingmen the just reward of their labor.
Resolved, That we pledge our individual and undivided
support to the sewing-women and daughters of toil in this
land, and would solicit their hearty co-operation, knowing,
as we do, that no class of industry is so much in need of
having their condition ameliorated as the factory operatives,
sewing-women, etc., of this country.
CONVICT-LABOR.
Resolved, That we demand the abolishment of the system
of convict-labor in our prisons and penitentiaries, and that
the labor performed by convicts shall be that which will
least conflict with honest industry outside of the prisons,
and that the wares manufactured by the convict shall not
be put upon the market at less than the current market
rates.
IMPROVED DWELLINGS FOR LABORERS.
Resolved, That we would urgently call the attention of
the industrial classes to the subject of tenement-houses and
improved dwellings, believing it to be essential to the welfare of the whole community that a reform should be effected in this respect, as the experience of the past has
proved that vice, pauperism, and crime are the invariable
attendants of the overcrowded and illy-ventilated dwellings
of the poor, and urge upon the capitalist of the country
attention to the blessings to be derived from investing their
means in the erection of such dwellings.
INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT.
Resolved, That the formation of mechanics' institutes,
lyceums, and reading-rooms, and the erection of buildings
for that purpose, are recommended to workingmen in all
cities and towns, as a means of advancing their social and
intellectual improvement.




292  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          I. SYLVIS.
REMEDY FOR INSUFFICIENT WORK.
Resolved, That this Labor Congress would most respectfully recommend to the workingmen of the country that,
in case they are pressed for want of employment, they
proceed to become actual settlers; believing that if the industry of the country can be coupled with its natural advantages, it will result both in individual relief and national
advantages.
Resolved, That where a workingman is found capable and
available for office, the preference should invariably be
given to such person.
ADDITIONS TO THE PLATFORM, ADOPTED BY THE NATIONAL
LABOR UNION SINCE 1868.
Resolved, That the claim of the bond-holders for payment
of it- gold of that class of indebtedness known as 5-20
bonds, and the principal of which is legally and equitably
payable in lawful money,-is dishonest and extortionate;
and hence we enter our solemn protest against any departure from the original contract, by funding the debt in long
bonds, or in any increase of the gold-bearing and untaxed
obligations of the government.
Resolved, That justice demands that the burdens of the
government should be so adjusted as to bear equally on all
classes and interests; and that the exemption from taxation
of government bonds, bearing extortionate rates of interest,
is a violation of all just principles of revenue laws.
Resolved, That Congress should modify the tariff so as to
admit free the necessaries of life, and such articles of common use as we can neither produce nor grow; also to lay
duties for revenue mainly upon articles of luxury, and
upon such articles of manufacture as (we having the raw
material in abundance) will develop the resources of the
country, increase the number of factories, give employment




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.             293
to more laborers, maintain good compensation, cause the
immigration of skilled labor, the lessening of prices to
consumers, the creating of a permanent home-market for
agricultural products, destroy the necessity for the odious
and expensive internal taxation, and will soon enable us
to successfully compete with the manufacturers of Europe
in the markets of the world.
Resolved, That the public lands of the United States belong to the people, and should not be sold to individuals,
nor granted to corporations, but should be held as a sacred
trust for the benefit of the people, and should be granted,
free of cost, to landless settlers only, in amounts not exceeding 160 acres of land.
Resolved, That the treaty-making power of the government has no authority in the Constitution to " dispose of"
the public lands without the joint sanction of the Senate and
House of Representatives.
Resolved, That as labor is the foundation and cause of
national prosperity, it is both the duty and interest of the
government to foster and protect it. Its importance, therefore, demands the creation of an executive department of
the government at Washington, to be denominated the Department of Labor, which shall aid in protecting it above
all other interests.
Resolved, That the protection of life, liberty, and property
are the three cardinal principles of government, and the
first two more sacred than the latter; therefore, money necessary for prosecuting wars should, as it is required, be
assessed and collected from the wealth of the country, and
not be entailed as a burden on posterity.
Resolved, That we are unalterably opposed to the importation of a servile race, fur the sole and only purpose of
tampering with the labor of the American workingmen.
Resolved, That the rights and interest of all useful in25 *




294   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
dustries are unitary, and, to be successful, must make common cause against their common enemies - unprincipled
*capitalists, dishonest legislators, and all monopolists of the
products of human labor.
Resolved, That we cordially invite and entreat all classes
of workers, common, agricultural, and skilled laborers, and
all persons who sympathize with our efforts to protect and
improve the condition of the producing - classes, to unite
heartily with us in placing in office men who truly represent the substantial interests of the whole country.
Resolved, That we view with apprehension the tendency
to military domination in the Federal government; that
standing armies are dangerous to the liberties of the people;
that they entail heavy and unnecessary burdens on the
productive industries, and should be reduced to the lowest
standard.
Resolved, That the Union was sustained in the late struggle by the working-classes, the citizen-soldiers of the republic, who, when the battle was over, returned to the private
walks of life and the productive industries, whereby the
expenses of the war are being paid, the government supported, and the wealth of the country increased; that the
officers of the army who receive the highest pay and do
the safest work, get all the honors and the highest pensions;
do the least and get the best accommodations, and are now
clamoring for positions which are sinecures, resisting the
efforts to retire the surplus and to reduce their pay, demanding the continuance of a standing army beyond our
necessity; and that all this shows that patriotism is in the
people, ambition and plunder in the officers, injustice and
ingratitude in the government.
Resolved, That we recognize in agricultural labor the
base of all our supplies; and this interest is second to no
other; and that we specially and heartily invite the farmers




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 295
and workingmen to unite with us in our efforts to improve
ourselves and the country.
Resolved, That what we call common or unskilled labor
is an essential and indispensable element of support and
wealth, and we cordially invite its co-operation in our efforts
to improve the condition of the productive classes.
Resolved, That inasmuch as both the present political
parties are dominated by the non-producing classes, who
depend on public plunder for subsistence and wealth, and
have no sympathy with the working millions beyond the
use they can make of them for their own political and pecuniary aggrandizement; therefore, the highest interest of our
colored fellow-citizens is with the workingmen, who, like
themselves, are slaves of capital and politicians, and strike
for liberty.
Resolved, That the Indian has the same normal rights as
any other type of the people; that he has an original and
inalienable right to maintain his tribal condition; and that
any attempt on the part of government to force on him an
unwilling citizenship is grossly unjust, and a blow at individual liberty.
Resolved, That the management of our Indian affairs is
wasteful, abortive, and destructive of its own objects, and
demands an immediate and radical reformation.
Resolved, That women are entitled to equal pay for equal
services with men; that the practice of working women and
children ten to fifteen hours per day, at starvation prices, is
brutal in the extreme, and subversive of the health, intelligence, and morality of the nation, and demands the interposition of law.
Resolved, That we reaffirm our position in favor of the
necessity and justice of the reduction of the hours of labor
as well as the obligation of all able-bodied persons to contribute to useful labor an equivalent for their support.




LETTERS.
NATIONAL DEBT, BANKS, CURRENCY, BONDS,
TAXATION, AND PUBLIC LANDS.
PHILADELPHIA, January 17, 1868.
GEORGE BABER, Esq.,
Editor Evening Advocate:
There are several questions of vital importance to the
workingmen of the country, that must come prominently
before Congress during its present session, and will demand
a large share of public attention hereafter.
It is a matter of the highest importance that the industrial classes should discuss and fully understand the relation
that each of these questions holds to labor, that they may
be prepared to vote for their own interests, and so dispose.
of each particular question as to secure to industry its
rightful dues.
Believing it to be the duty, as well as the right, of every
workingman to express his sentiments upon all matters of
general importance, I propose to give your readers the conclusions I have reached after a careful consideration of some
of the great questions now before us. I do this the more
freely because I have been requested to do so by many
friends in all parts of our State.
The contest that is now stirring up the people from one
cnd of the country to the other is simply a struggle between
296




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYL VIS. 297
the productive powers of the nation and a powerful moneyed
aristocracy. And if, in this contest, the people are defeated,
it will be because they deserted their own standards, and
went over to their enemies. With these remarks by way of
preface, I shall proceed directly to the questions before us.
NATIONAL BANKS.
The point upon which Mr. Jay Cooke rested his strongest
arguments, in his recent letter defending the national banks,
was, that these banks were "the great, necessity of the government."  Some deny this on the ground that there was a
sufficiency of greenback currency previous to the creation
of the banks; but they comprise only the small class who
have money to lend at two or three per cent. a month. If
more money was needed - and I think it was - greenbacks
could have been issued, and they would have given us a
much better currency, and, at the same time, saved many
millions of dollars, paid to these banks, all of which the
people must pay in the shape of taxes!
It is claimed that the national banks should not be disturbed, because they furnish a safe currency. And why safer
than that of the old State banks? Simply because it has
the indorsement of the government.  But have not the
greenbacks the same indorsement, besides being a legaltender, and non-interest bearing?
Again, we are told that, by the creation of the national
banks, the government obtained an immediate loan of
$300,000,000.  This a very great mistake.  It is well
known to all who have made this question a study, that, for
the first year after the adoption of the national bank system, not more than $40,000,000 of government bonds were
purchased from the United States Treasury, and most of the
few banks that did adopt the new system, during the first
year, had on hand a sufficient amount of bonds, which they




298   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
handed over to the treasurer for currency; and where new
banks were organized, it was done in nearly all cases by
men who already held large amounts of government bonds.
It was nearly two years before the system was generally
adopted, and not more than fifty or sixty millions were
ever talcen by the national banks; and this amount, being
spread over a period of two years, what becomes of the immediate loan of $300,000,000?
The defenders of these banks tell us that to discontinue
them would be a violation of contract. There can be no
truth in this, for the bill creating them provides that "Congress shall have power at any time to alter, amend, or repeal
this act," viz., the act making them. And for the privilege
of having these banks, the laborer-the productive power
of the nation —must pay not far from one hundred millions
of dollars annually in taxes! There is no necessity for
these banks; there never was a necessity for them; and,
therefore, every workingman in the land, independent of
party ties, should demand the recall of the national bank
currency, and the issue of greenbacks in its stead. This
brings us to the consideration of a proper national currency,
and a remedy for the present distressed condition of the entire country.
NATIONAL CURRENCY.
In my opinion, we want
First. - No contraction of the currency.
Second. - Legal - tender notes - greenbacks - to be declared lawful money for the payment of all debts public and
private, and to remain the legal currency of the country for all
tiome. As has been well said, " It is the duty of the government to institute and regulate the medium of exchange; but
that this duty has been imperfectly performed, appears from
the fact that, where specie is made the only tender in pay



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS. 299
ment of debts, neither the government nor the people have
had nor can have any adequate control over it."
Capitalists control the money, and, through the money,
control the government. The defective character of the
present monetary laws further appears from the variations
in the rates of interest on government stocks perfectly secured at all times, but constantly fluctuating in value. If
a government cannot secure a uniform value to money for
its own use, how can it be said to regulate the currency of
the country? It is impossible to secure to labor its earnings,
under a system by which the government and the people are
made to depend upon a few capitalists who furnish the medium and standard for the distribution of the productions
of labor. The system, however, above proposed, can be put
into operation to the very great advantage of all the people,
without consulting capitalists, bankers, or brokers.
Third. - The country needs the unconditional repeal of
the law authorizing the national banks, the calling in
of the whole national bank currency, and the issuing of
$700,000,000 of greenbacks to take its place. This, with
the amount of greenbacks now in circulation, would give
the country a little over one thousand millions of greenbacks as a circulating medium, which, apportioned among
the people, per capita, would be about thirty dollars to each
individual, which is just about equal to the apportionment
in France and England. We need a little more than
France and England do, owing to the greater extent of our
country, and the scattered condition of our population.
Fourth. —The redemption of the five-twenty bonds, as
they fall due, in greenbacks, or at the option of the holder,
in other bonds, at one per cent. interest, convertible at the
pleasure of the holder into greenbacks.
Fifth. - Holders of greenbacks to the amount of $50 to
be entitled to receive bonds as aforesaid at their pleasure.




300  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM I. SYLVIS.
Sixth. - That neither gold nor greenbacks be permitted
to accumulate in the treasury beyond the immediate wants
of the government, the surplus to be applied to the payment
of the national debt.
Using the language of the Hon. Samuel F. Cary, I hold
that "a currency constantly fluctuating in value, by varying rates of interest, is no more suitable as a medium of exchange than an elastic yard-stick is fit for a measure of
cloth. Justice requires uniformity of value." A currency,
to be of uniform value, must be limited only by the wants
of business. Any monetary system that will give us too
much money at one time, and too little at another, is not
sound, and should be discarded. So long as gold and silver
are our legal currency, so long will our whole monetary
system be controlled by capitalists- a few rich men. And
while such is the case, "fluctuation," "expansion," "contraction," "financial panics," &c., with all their attending
evils, will continue to curse the land.
With a currency such as is here proposed, all these evils
will be avoided, because there can never be too much nor
too little money, if regulated by the needs of the country.
Supply and demand will at all times determine the amount
of the circulating medium. When money should be abundant, it would be absorbed by the government in its bonds;
and, when scarce, and in demand, the bonds would be converted into greenbacks.
The government should issue all the currency, with
branches wherever the demands of business required them,
the money to be loaned to the people direct on real estate
security, and the rate of interest should be just what it
would cost to furnish the currency, say one per cent. With
this system, the occupation of bankers and brokers would
be gone, and society would be freed from one. of the greatest curses that was ever inflicted upon the body politic.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.             301
Labor would receive its just reward, and stability, peace,
and plenty would bless the land. At present, our currency
rests upon a specie basis. When that basis is gone, the
currency is worthless. That basis is comparatively small
in quantity, easy of transportation or concealment, and,
therefore, at the mercy of speculators. Under the proposed new system, the land of the country would be the
basis of the currency; greenbacks would represent real
value-would rest upon land; that can neither be concealed, shipped from one section to another, nor taken out
of the country.
As has been clearly stated, the question to be settled
then is this: " Can a currency be founded entirely of paper,
which will buy the productions of labor as readily as gold
and silver coins; not whether a silver spoon can be made
out of a paper dollar, or whether a gold watch-case can be
made out of a ten-dollar greenback as well as it can be made
out of an eagle? We do not want money to make utensils
and ornaments. We want money for a medium of exchange.
After having made these provisions, let us reduce the
interest on the whole of the national debt to three per cent.,
the difference between three per cent. and the interest now
paid to be set aside as a sinking-fund, for the payment of
the national debt as fast as possible.
I am well aware that the proposition to reduce the interest on the national debt will be met by the bond-holders
with the plea that the government has no right to do such
a thing. The right to reduce the interest could be sustained, however, by numerous precedents; but, as precedent
is but a poor argument, at best, I shall rest my demand, for
a reduction of interest, upon the broad plea of justice to the
industry of the country. Any rate of interest over three per
cent. is a direct robbery practised upon the producers of
weialth.
vv36t 




302  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
Is it not a well known fact, that, when money is plentiful, and interest low, the country is prosperous, and labor
fully employed? And when money is scarce, and interest
high, prostration and idleness are the sure result. When
money is worth two and three per cent. a month, brokers
and bankers get rich, and workingmen starve!
NATIONAL DEBT.
The interest-bearing debt of the United States is about
$2,500,000,000, upon which the interest value, in currency,
is about $225,000,000. By reducing the rate of interest to
three per cent., we would save at the end of one year nearly
$150,000,000, to place to the credit of the sinking-fund, for
the redemption of the national debt.
Thus, by constituting from a portion of the present rate
of interest a sinking-fund for the payment of this national
debt, the whole debt might be ultimately paid, without any
other provision.
But I believe it to be the duty of the government to pay
off the debt as rapidly as possible, and, therefore, I recommend the calling in of the national bank currency, and
the issuing of $700,000,000 in greenbacks, with which to
take up a like amount of five-twenty-bonds about due.
This would wipe out more than one-fourth of the interestbearing debt at once, and relieve the labor of the nation of
nearly $50,000,000 of taxes, besides furnishing a better
currency, and relieving the country of one of the worst
monopolies ever imposed upon any people.
I am no believer in the new idea promulgated by Jay
Cooke, that "a national debt is a national blessing," and
that "the funded debt of the United States is, in effect, the
addition of $3,000,000,000 to the previously realized wealth
of the nation- it is $3,000,000,000 added to its available
capital. To pay this debt would be to extinguish the capital,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 303
and to lose this wealth would be an inconceivably great national
misfortune."  That is, the more a man is in debt, the richer
he is.
We are told that "to pay this debt would be to extinguish
the capital; " that is, if a man pays his debts, he wastes his
money! This is not a very moral view to take of the subject of debts; but, aside from its immoral tendencies, there
is no truth in it as applied to our national debt. If it were
possible to pay off the national debt in one day, it would at
once relieve the country of the entire load of taxation, except what would be necessary, in addition to the receipts
from customs, to pay the current expenses of the government. Surely this would not be a very serious loss to anybody, except to the bond-holders. At present, hundreds of
millions of capital are withdrawn from the industrial pursuits, and tied up in government bonds, which, at present
rates, afford to the holders about ten per cent., besides relief from all the cares, troubles, and risks of doing business. Pay off the national debt, lift this load of taxation
from the people, and give the country a cheap, safe, uniform, and abundant currency, and, instead of the nation
losing $3,000,000,000 of capital, instead of the universal
prostration of business, and a degree of privation and suffering among those who toil, such as we have not had for thirty
years, we should behold cultivation extending, the arts
flourishing, the face of the country improving, our people
fully and profitably employed, the public countenance exhibiting tranquillity, contentment, and happiness, a ready
market for all the surplus productions of our industry, innumerable flocks and herds browsing on ten thousand hills
and plains, our cities expanding, whole villages springing
up, as it were, by enchantment, our exports and imports increasing, our tonnage, foreign and coastwise, swelling and
fully occupied, and our rivers animated by the perpetual
thunder and lightning of countless steamboats.




304  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
GREENBACKS.
The bill by which the five-twenty bonds were authorized,
says that they shall be paid in lawful money. Greenbacks
are lawful mbney. And Mr. Stevens tells us that when
" the bill for the issue of the five-twenties was on its final
passage, the question was expressly asked of the chairman
of the Committee of Ways and Means, and as expressly
answered by him, that only the interest was payable in coin."
Other members of Congress have expressly stated that they
voted for the bill with the understanding that the principal
should be paid in greenbacks. They who insist upon the
payment of these bonds. in coin, have no better argument
than that there is an implied promise to pay them in gold.
This is no argument at all. It is clearly shown that the
ten-forties are made payable in gold by the law creating
them. Why should there be an express promise in one case,
and an implied promise in the other? On this subject,
George H. Pendleton very pointedly says:
" It is said that those who purchased these bonds believed
they were to be paid in gold. I cannot aver, my friends,
that they did not believe it, but I do aver that they had no
reason to believe it. The law was open to their inspection,
and was plain. They knew well that the government of
the United States paid every other debt that it owed, except only the interest upon the bonds, in legal-tender notes.
They knew that they themselves discharged every debt that
they owed in legal-tender notes.  They knew that they
themselves, when they bought these bonds, paid for them
in legal-tender notes, and they had no reason to believe
that an exception would be made in their case alone."
It seems to me to be very clearly settled that there is no
legal obligation to pay these bonds in gold. But there are
those who insist that there is a moral obligation.
If greenbacks are good enough for the people, are they




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 305
not good enough for the bond-holders? For instance, Mr.
Jones has bonds to the value of $100,000; he owes a like
amount to sundry persons; the people pay taxes to the
government in gold, or its equivalent; the government
pays Mr. Jones in gold, and he pays his debts in greenbacks, realizing by the operation $40,000. He paid for
these bonds in greenbacks, at the rate of about sixty cents
on the dollar; or, in other words, he paid $60,000 for what
he now gets $100,000, thus realizing $40,000 more, making
$80,000, besides six per cent. interest in gold, while he held
the bonds, in all about $125,000, or a clear profit of $65,000
in five years. Is there any injustice to Mr. Jones in this?
But the bond-holders tell us that they came to the aid of
the government in a critical moment, and made sacrifices
to save it, by furnishing the sinews of war; that the government would be ungrateful not to pay them in gold!
Let us see how the case stands when we look at it from the
workingmen's stand-point. Bond-holders paid the government sixty cents on the dollar, and received credit for one
hundred cents. They tell us that there was a great necessity existing- the government could not have carried
on the war without their money. I admit the necessity,
but I do not forget that they, taking advantage of that
necessity, made the people pay very dear for the accommodation. But was not the labor of the workingmen who
built the steamboats, and, by their incessant toil, supplied
the material of war, just as necessary as money? and were
they not paid in greenbacks? were they not as much
entitled to payment in gold as are the bond-holders? and
was there not as great a necessity for soldiers as for purchasers of bonds? and were not the men who did the fighting paid in greenbacks, and a very small quantity of them
at that?
Go ask the tens of thousands of poor widows doomed to
26                 U




306  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
poverty and toil who made the sacrifices.  The government, when paying a pension - a mere trifle —to the
widows and orphans of our dead soldiers, pays them in
greenbacks. Are the claims of the bond-holders to payment in gold better than theirs? Go visit the battle-fields,
and tread among the little hillocks beneath which sleep
thousands of brave men who had no money to buy bonds,
but who left their wives and their little ones to go to the
front and die for their country, and ask yourselves who
made the greatest sacrifices for the nation?  They were
paid in greenbacks; and are the claims of the bond-holders
to gold better than theirs?
The man who lost his life in battle made a vastly greater
sacrifice than the whole national debt would be, were it all
given to the government as a free donation.  The crippled
soldier gets a pension; but he gets it, I repeat, in greenbacks,
and never thinks of asking gold. If all the bonds in existence were gathered in a pile and consumed by fire, and the
bond-holders consumed with them, the sacrifice would be
but as a drop in the ocean compared with the sacrifices
made by the workingmen of the nation.  They did the
actual work, did the fighting, won the victories, saved the
nation, and are now paying the taxes necessary to pay the
bond-holders! The workingman who went into the army,
and served four years, received in wages $864. To do so,
he gave up a job worth, say $2 a day, which for four years
would be, say $2,000, making a net loss of $1,136. There
would be much more justice in his demanding the payment
of this loss than there is in the bond-holders' demand for
gold at the existing premium rate. In fact, there exists no
moral obligation to pay these bonds in coin.
The bond-holders are few in numbers compared to the
laboring masses; but they constitute a powerful and dangerous moneyed aristocracy - an aristocracy dangerous to




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 307
the rights and liberties of the people, and opposed to the
very spirit of a truly popular government. The result is,
we see a war of interests —the people against monopolies.
And this war can never end until, by our power at the
ballot-box, we shall have voted them out of existence.
The great industrial classes of this State and of this nation
must take hold of these questions with a firm grasp, and
resolve to vote for no man, and to act with no party, that
will not openly and honestly stand upon the labor platform,
viz., a speedy payment of the national debt, equal taxation, opposition to all monopolies, a sound currency, and
one kind of money for all the people.
TAXATION.
The opponents of a paper currency, and those favoring
contraction, tell us that the present high prices of all the
necessaries of life, and the wide-spread stagnation of business, are due to an inflated currency.
Another class tells us that the present condition of things
is due to speculation and over-production; while others lay
it to a defective tariff system. Now, while I am willing to
admit there is some truth in all of these reasons, and much
in some of them, I do not think that we can find the true
cause in any of them.
Next to a false money system, our system of internal
taxation may be looked upon as the great cause of the
present dull times. To these two things alone can we look
for all our troubles.
The sum required to meet the ordinary expenses of the
government for 1866, including the interest on the public
debt, was $551,000,000, and the income from all sources
was over $600,000,000, which imposes on each individual a
higher rate of taxation, perhaps, than is paid by any other
people on the globe. Divided among the people, it would




338   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
be over $17 to every man, woman, and child in the country. In England the rate is $11, in France $8, and in
Austria $5.
To make it clear to the mind of every workingman, -and
it is for such that I am writing, -I will try to show just how
this taxation is levied, and why it is unjust. For instance,
the duty on a pound of coffee, when it is imported into
Philadelphia, is five cents per pound (all coffee is imported);
this is added to the price. The wholesale dealer must pay
a license to do business; when he buys, and the bill is receipted, it must be stamped; if he gives a check on the
bank, that must be stamped. A dealer in Pittsburg goes
to Philadelphia and buys some of this coffee; he, too, must
pay a license. A part of his fare over the road is tax.
When he pays for his coffee, the receipt must be stamped.
A part of the freight to Pittsburg is tax; and the freight
bill must be stamped. A part of his fare home again is
tax. The fare and freight are raised because everything is
taxed. Well, a merchant in Brownstown goes to Pittsburg
to buy goods; he buys some of this coffee brought from
Philadelphia, and takes a bill, which must be stamped; and
he, too, must pay a license; and a part of his fare both
ways and the freight on his goods are tax. The importer
in Philadelphia and the merchants in Pittsburg and Brownstown must pay higher rents because everything is taxed,
and all these taxes are added to the price, and paid by the
consumer; and hence we are paying fifty cents a pound for
coffee that we used to get for fifteen cents!
It has been demonstrated by publishers that books pay
some fifteen separate taxes before they reach the reader.
This unjust system is the same in its operations throughout
all the ramifications of industry. The hat on your head,
the boots on your feet, the clothes on your person, the food
you eat, the tea and coffee you drink, the pot it is cooked




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAMr H. SYLVIS. 309
in, the cup you drink it out of, the implements on your
farm, the tools you work with, the paper upon which you
write, the pen and ink you use, the papers and books you
read, the furniture in your house, the gas or oil you burn,
the coal you consume, the stove you burn it in, the medicines you take, the tobacco you smoke, the pipe you smoke
it in, the match you light it with, the dishes on your table,
and all you eat off them -all, all are subject to the same
unjust system of accumulated taxes, and all are paid by
the consumer. This system is so adjusted that the tax is
virtually apportioned per capita among the people. The
poor man, with a family of six, pays as much tax in the
prices he pays to feed and clothe them as his neighbor
worth his millions, with a family of equal numbers. There
are a hundred poor men to one rich man. So it is easy to
see who pays the taxes. The accumulated labor of the
country pays nearly the whole of the taxes, while the accumulated capital of the country is almost entirely exempt.
We have a national debt of $3,000,000,000 held by a comparatively few individuals. Nearly the whole of the capital thus held is free from taxation, and yet nearly every
branch of industry is paralyzed in a time of general peace.
To these two causes, viz., a false money system and a system
of internal taxation without a parallel in the history of the
world, must be ascribed the present deplorable condition
of every branch of toil.
A hundred millions of gold, and nearly forty millions in
greenbacks, lying idle in the vaults of the United States
treasury, and one thousand millions more locked up in
bank vaults and the safes of corporations or individuals,
with seven hundred millions of paper money resting upon
a basis as uncertain and shifting as the sands upon the seashore -with all this money in the country (nearly or quite
two thousand millions of dollars), we hear the cry every



310   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
where in the land: " Money is scarce."  There is no money."
" The mills, the foundries, the factories must stop for want of
money;" and interest ranging from ten to thirty per cent!
The total amount of money in the country bearing the
stamp of the United States or State governments, if divided
equally among all the people, would give to every man,
woman, and child about seventy dollars; and yet we see
one-half the entire population without money to buy bread
from day to day, many of them living on credit or public
or private charity, three-fourths of the other half holding
a very small portion of the whole currency, and the other
fourth, or one-eighth of the whole population, holding the
balance. I suppose that of the two thousand millions of
money now in the country, nineteen hundred are in the hands
or under the control of two million persons, out of a population of thirty-five millions! Truly, our present monetary
system is as a house built upon the sand. We have a country that may truly be called the garden of the world.
With agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial resources superior to any other portion of the globe, blessed
by Providence with every element necessary to the highest
success, prosperity, and happiness attainable by man; and
yet, in the midst of all this, want fills the whole land;
millions of men are forced into idleness, denied the' sacred
right to toil, and compelled to beg or starve. What a sad
commentary upon the intelligence of American legislators!
Taxation in any form is obnoxious, but of all the systems
that curse the workingmen of the world ours is the most
odious. From these false systems there is but one way of
escape; let every workingman resolve to use his power at
the ballot-box.
REPUDIATION.
The efforts to fasten the odium of repudiation upon those
who favor paying the five-twenties in greenbacks, and the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 311
withdrawal of the national bank currency, are so transparent
that it seems like a waste of words to refer to it at all.
The cry of repudiation is raised by the bond-holders and
their friends, and is done for no other purpose than to blind
the people, and assist themselves in getting gold! I am in
favor of paying every dollar of the national debt. All
we ask is that this debt, which is the debt of the people, be
paid in the same kind of money that the people must take.
We are willing to give one hundred cents on the dollar in
payment of this debt, although it cost the bond-holders but
sixty cents on the dollar; but we want to give it in the
same kind of money with which these bonds were purchased.
While we receive pay for our labor in greenbacks, we do
not think it just that we should pay taxes in gold. In this
cry of repudiation there is neither truth nor sense. There
are those, however, who do favor open repudiation. With
such, workingmen have no sympathy. At the same time,
the least said about it the better for the bond-holders, because arguments can be used in favor of it - such as would
raise a storm against which all the wealth of the bondholders could not successfully contend. Let them take a
friendly warning, and cease their unjust and senseless cry,
or repudiation may come.
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
The proper disposition of the public lands is a subject
of vital importance to the workingmen of the nation. No
republican government has withstood the blighting and
withering influences of land monopoly. History demonstrates this at every turn. In the ownership of the soil
lies the foundation of manhood, independence, liberty, and
civilization. In the first stage of her existence, with " lands
to all," Rome prospered, and rose to the zenith of her glory;
while, in the second phase, "lands to the few" was the




312   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
cause of her total destruction. Lord Bacon says: "Let
States take heed how the landed aristocracy, multiply, for
thus is the dignity of the people lost, and serfdom established."  Aristotle says: "When the lands become concentrated in the hands of the few, the balance of power in a
commonwealth is destroyed, and is an occasion of sedition,
which ends in monarchy, to prevent which confiscation had
been adopted in several of the States of Greece; but it
were better to prevent the growth of such an evil rather
than, when it has got head, to seek the remedy."  Machiavel says that "he who goes about making a commonwealth
where the lands are owned by the few, unless he first
destroys them, undertakes an impossibility, and he who
attempts.to destroy a commonwealth where the condition
of the people is equal, shall never bring it to pass."  John
Adams says: "The lands of New England were generally
in the hands of the people, but the policy of the British
politicians was to change this by putting the titles to the
lands in the hands of a few aristocrats, as fixing a firm
foundation for their form of government."
John Bright tells us " that one-half of Scotland is owned
by twelve persons, and one-half of England by one hundred
and fifty persons." Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson have told us that "every citizen should have an interest
in the soil;" that "the lands should not be sold;" that
"there is no power, in the Constitution by which special
land grants can be made."  And Sir Edmund Burke tells
us that "the only interest which the government can have
in the public lands is in securing their early occupation and
settlement." Thus we find the opinions of the greatest men
recorded against land monopolies.
Wherever we find the land in the hands of the few, we
find the masses of the people reduced to poverty and want;
and wherever we find the rights and privileges of the peo



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVlS. 313
pie equal, and the land divided fairly among all, we find
prosperity, contentment, and happiness. In England and
Scotland the lands are held by a very few persons; and yet
these countries are densely peopled, and the toiling millions
constantly seeking an outlet. Thousands of acres of the
finest land are uncultivated. Wheat and corn are imported,
and thousands of people die of hunger and want annually.
Look at Ireland. Cast our eyes in whatever direction we
may, and nowhere can we find such a poverty-stricken, heartbroken people, as the Irish are. Poverty and wretchedness
are their daily companions, from which they are fleeing, as
men flee from pestilence and death. For three hundred
years, the Irish people have groaned beneath the blighting
influences of land monopoly and aristocratic government.
Every effort of this great but unfortunate people to shake
off the deathlike grasp of these monsters has been met by
confiscation, banishment, and death, until now we find the
whole of the land in the hands of a few individuals of professed loyalty to the British crown - most of whom do not
even live in Ireland; while the people, to whom the land
rightfully belongs, have been literally driven from the soil,
and forced to a condition of servitude. English statesmen
are seeking a remedy for discontented Ireland, but itil to
find it; and yet the problem is easily solved. Let them
destroy this monster, Land Monopoly; repeal unjust laws,
divide the land equitably among the people, and cease to
treat the Irish people as a nation of slaves, and there will
be no more of Fenianism and its consequences.
But, monstrous and pernicious as are the land monopolies
of England and other portions of Europe, they are as nothing compared to the landed aristocracy rapidly building up
in the United States.
It is but a few years since Congress began the work of
giving away the people's inheritance, and already near TWO
27




314 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
HUNDRED MILLIONS OF ACRES have been granted to railroads
and other monopolies. The land thus given away from beneath the feet of the masses, equals in extent Virginia,
Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, with more than fifteen millions of acres left, which alone would give to each head of
a family, in Pennsylvania and New York, about sixteen
acres; or, taking the whole two hundred million acres, it
would give to every head of a family in the United States
about forty acres, the whole being in extent of territory
about equal to England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France,
and Belgium, whose present population is about 75,000,000.
The land thus taken from the people, without their consent,
and without the shadow of a right in the Constitution, would
make an empire capable of sustaining a population of three
hundred millions of people.
These statements will serve to show workingmen the
enormous extent and power of land monopoly in the
United States. Land, like air and water, was given to man
as a free gift. God did not sell it, but gave it for the use
of all his children. He never intended that the ownership
of the soil should be vested in a few persons, and the many
denied a habitation. As air and water are free to all, so
also should land be. The improvements upon a piece of
ground should give the person who put them there the right
to use the ground. There being no ownership in the soil,
it could not be sold. The sale of the improvement should
convey to the purchaser the right to use the land, and no
man should be allowed to hold more land than he could
properly cultivate. All land should be held by the government for the use of the people, to be given to whomsoever
would improve and cultivate it. The credit of the government, and the currency of the nation, should rest upon every




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 315
acre of the soil. But as these ideas will be looked upon as
utopian, I will pursue the point no farther now.
The question before us is the distribution of the lands
now held by the government in trust for the people. The
government has no right to dispose of these lands except to
actual settlers. The object of Congress should be to people
the lands as rapidly as possible; but instead of adopting a
policy that would secure this end, they have actually prevented their settlement to a very great extent. As an illustration, we will take the grants made to the Illinois Central
Railroad. Two million five hundred thousand acres were
given to this company. Of that number, over fifteen hundred thousand acres have been disposed of at frolm six to
twenty-five dollars an acre. Taking ten dollars as the
average, we find the huge sum of $15,000,000. Although
the company has not, and never did' have, one dollar invested in these lands, yet they sell them to be paid for
in instalments, so much each year, and add six per cent.
interest, principal and interest to be paid in advance. From
this six per cent. interest, the use of the money paid in advance, and the forfeits of money and improvements, they
have realized about $4,000,000 more. This would make
$19,000,000. They have one million acres yet to sell, and as
this land will be worth more because of the improvement
of that already sold, it will average, say twelve dollars per
acre. This would be $12,000,000. Add to this the interest, use of money, and forfeits, and it is a safe calculation
to say that the company will realize at least $35,000,000.
These two million five hundred thousand acres at government price (one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre) would
be three million one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, leaving a balance in favor of the company, and against
the people, of $31,875,000 - a tax paid by the purchasers
of these lands to this railroad company and land monopoly.




316  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          HI. SYLVIS.
Had these lands been sold to actual settlers at government
price, and the proceeds pledged to the company, or, what
would have been still better, had Congress appropriated to
the company the sum of $3,125,000 (if they must give away
something), and given the lands in small parcels to actual
settlers, we would see to-day, instead of the 25,000 people
now upon these lands, a population of at least 100,000.
The policy of the government is just the reverse of what
it should be. Instead of giving the land to railroad companies, it should be given to the people, who would build
the roads themselves. Had the 2,500,000 acres given to
the Illinois Central been given to actual settlers, in parcels
of not less than forty nor more than one hundred acres, and
the $3,125,000 been given to poor but deserving workingmen, to assist them in getting to the land and getting a
start on it, every acre of that land would now be occupied
and under cultivation, sustaining a population of at least
200,000 thriving, industrious, and happy people, and they
would have had a railroad, built by themselves, taking to
market the products of their labor at half the present rates
for freight, and doing ten times the business done by the
present road.
I have selected the Illinois Central to illustrate how this
thing is done, and the same statement will hold good as applied to all other grants to railroad companies, other corporations, and individuals. Enough, however, has been said
to show to every workingman the extent of the injustice
that has been thus practised upon the industry of the
country.
WHAT WE WANT.
We now want:
1. A new department at Washington, to be called THE
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, the head of said department to be
called the Secretary of Labor, and to be chosen directly




BIOGRAPHY OF WIL,LIAM H. SYLVIS.            317
from the ranks of workingmen. To this department should
be referred all questions of wages and the hours of labor in
the navy-yards and all other government workshops, the
registry and regulation of trades-unions and co-operative
associations, the disposition of public lands, and all other
questions directly connected with and affecting labor.
2. The unconditional repeal of all laws bearing upon
the disposition of the public domain.
3. The adoption of a plain, unvarnished law for the giving away of the public lands to actual settlers in parcels of
not less than forty nor more than one hundred acres, no
man being allowed to hold in his own name, the name of
his wife, nor any other name, more than one tract.
4. Every man taking up land to be required to proceed
to live upon, improve, and cultivate it within one year, or
forfeit his claim.
5. Appropriations to be made from the United States
Treasury to assist workingmen who desire to locate upon
the public domain, but who are destitute of the means to
do so.
6. No grants of public land to be made to railroad companies or to other corporations, nor to individuals, except
actual settlers, under any circumstances, nor for any purpose.
7. All lands granted to railroad companies or other corporations, or individuals, remaining unoccupied and uncultivated at the end of five years from the date of said grant,
to revert back to the government, and be sold at government price ($1.25 per acre), the proceeds to go to the person or persons to whom the grant was made. This provision
should apply to all grants that have been made.
8. All uncultivated lands held by grant of Congress, by
any person or persons, shall pay a tax of ten cents per acre
into the treasury of the United States until said lands are
cultivated, or have reverted to the government.
27- 




318   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
9. All uncultivated lands now held by grant of Congress,
by any person or persons, shall be immediately placed in
the market at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre.
Anticipating the opposition that will be made to the
proposition to give the public lands away, and pay the expenses of the poor workingmen who desire to move upon
and cultivate these lands, upon the ground that they cost
the government something, I will answer, that whatever
these lands did cost for surveys, etc., came out of the public
treasury; and all the money that is or ever was in said
treasury was put there by the labor of the country. The
lands belong to the people, were paid for by the people,
and the people have a right to enjoy them without paying
for them a second time. And, all things considered, the
proposition to assist the very poor in getting to these lands
is a very modest one. We only ask that a very little of the
taxes paid by labor be returned to those who paid it, while
hundreds of millions are being appropriated for other purposes. And we declare the Freedmen's Bureau to be a stupendous fraud upon that portion of the labor of the country
that has produced nearly all the wealth, paid most of the
taxes, and preserved the life of the nation.
The hundreds of thousands of honest, industrious workingmen, who, through bad legislation, are now out of employment in the manufacturing districts and large cities,
and who are now suffering all the horrors of extreme poverty, do not ask to be fed and clothed out of the public
treasury. All they ask is an opportunity to feed and clothe
themnselves.
CONCLUSION.
Let Congress adopt a law embracing the foregoing propositions, and the agricultural interests of the nation will
largely increase; the surplus population of our overcrowded
cities will be drawn off; crime will rapidly disappear; rents




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 319
and all the necessaries of life will be cheapened; many of
our prisons and almshouses can be turned into agricultural
colleges; the aggregate wealth of the nation will be largely
augmented; the ability of the people to pay taxes will be
vastly enhanced, and the untilled wilderness will blossom as
the rose!
WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
THE EIGHT-HOUR LAW.
CONGRESS had enacted a law making eight hours a legal
day's work in government workshops, arsenals, navy-yards,
etc.; but the pressure of those who feared that this dreaded
eight-hour principle would spread, was sufficient to induce
the secretary of the navy, and other government officials, to
misinterpret the intention and the wording of the law, by
deciding that the reduction of the hours of labor to eight
per day was intended to be followed by a reduction of
twenty per cent. in wages. Mr. Sylvis was a firm believer
in the eight-hour principle, and had been among those most
active in securing the passage of the law alluded to; and
when Attorney-General Hoar rendered his decision sustaining Secretary of the Navy Borie's interpretation of that law,
by which the wages of government employes were cut down
one-fifth, he grew naturally indignant, and wrote to Mr.
Hoar, plainly telling him that he had done the workingmen
who had asked the passage of the eight-hour law, the members of Congress who voted for it, and the people it affected,
a gross injustice. Mr. Hoar was evidently somewhat nettled
to be thus "bearded in his own den," and answered Mr.
Sylvis, accusing him of misunderstanding his decision. But
Mr. Sylvis was not the man to yield in an argument when




320  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
right was so plainly on his side, even though his antagonist
was an austere attorney-general of the United States. He
again wrote to Mr. Hoar, this time such a letter as indicated
that the writer meant just what he said, and, not having
taken the position he did without due consideration, was in
no mood for abandoning it. We give the correspondence entire, feeling sure that it is well worthy of the room it occupies, and will reflect no discredit upon the one of the parties
to it in which our readers are most interested.
PRESIDENT SYLVIS TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL HOARREVIEW OF HIS DECISION.
OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION,
PHILADELPHIA, May 3, 1869.
E. R. HOAR, United States Attorney-General.
SIR: —Your late " opinion," giving a construction to the
eight-hour law, approved June 25, 1868, has caused considerable excitement and much inquiry throughout the
country. You say the effect of the law reducing the hours
of labor was to reduce the wages. I have given this matter
a very careful consideration, with an earnest desire to arrive
at the truth; but I have failed to find a single justification
of your course. I have read, very carefully, the debates in
both houses of Congress, while the bill was under consideration, and I can find nothing upon which to base the opinion that the reduction of hours was intended to work a reduction of wages. It seems to me that some respect should
be paid to the INTENTION of those who, from all parts of
the country, petitioned for the passage of the eight-hour
law, and those who advocated the bill and voted for it.
Among the millions of workingmen throughout the country, who have discussed this question, and asked for the
passage of an eight-hour law, not one can be found who




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYIVIS.    321
intended or believed a reduction of wages would follow a
reduction of hours. We have further the most positive evidence that not one, in either house, who voted for the bill,
intended a reduction of wages; and when we turn to the
opponents of the bill, we find that even they did not expect
a reduction of wages would follow its passage. The speeches
of Sherman, Fessenden, and others, show that the ground of
their opposition was because the effect of the bill would be
to shorten the day and not the wages, thus discriminating
in favor of government employes and against those in private employment, which they held would create an antagonism between the government and private employes, and
between the workmen employed by the public and private
employer. So fully'convinced was Mr. Sherman, the champion of the opposition, that this would be the result, and so
anxious was he either to kill the bill or destroy its effect,
that he offered the following amendment:
"And, unless otherwise provided by law, the rate of wages
paid by the United States shall be the current rate for the same
labor for the same time, at the place of employment."-Page
3424, Congressional Globe.
This amendment was ably debated by both sides, and defeated by a vote of 24 to 15. If, as you say, the bill as it
passed the house would work a reduction of wages as well
as a reduction of hours, where was the necessity for Mr.
Sherman's amendment; and on the other hand, if the senate
intended to reduce wages as well as hours, why did it not
adopt the amendment?   The defeat of this amendment
furnishes the most positive evidence that the senate did not
intend there should be a reduction of wages.
As a still further evidence of this fact, we find that immediately after the passage of the bill in the senate, Mr. Sherman
suggested that "the title of the bill ought to be changed to
V




822   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
read, "A bill to give to government employes twenty-five per
cent. more wages than employes in private establishments
receive."  This facetious proposition of the senator was
laughed at. As a still further evidence that the house did
not intend a reduction of wages, we havee the fact before us
that the house, just before its final adjournment, unanimously adopted a resolution attesting the fact that a reduction of wages was not intended to follow the passage of the
law.
I think I have said enough to prove that the friends of
the eight-hour bill never intended a reduction of wages
should follow its passage.
In your opinion, you place great stress upon the assertion
that Congress failed to repeal the Act of December 21,1861,
as amended July 16,1862, which reads,"That the hours of labor and the rate of wages of employ6s
in the navy-yards shall conform, as nearly as is consistent with
the public interests, with those of private establishments in the
immediate vicinity of the respective yards, to be determined by
the commandants of the navy-yards, subject to the approval and
revision of the secretary of the navy."
And you have labored hard to impress the President and
the Cabinet with a sense of your position. So weak is your
position on this point that the whole country ridicules it,
and believes you have resorted to it simply as a subterfuge
to maintain a position utterly untenable by any honest
course of reasoning.
That the eight-hour law does repeal the Act referred to,
there is not the least doubt in the mind of any candid man.
The eight-hour law as it stands, reads,"That eight hours shall constitute a day's work for all
laborers, workingmen, and mechanics now employed, or who
may be hereafter employed, by or on behalf of the government




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 323
of the United States. AND THAT ALL ACTS, AND PARTS OF
ACTS, INCONSISTENT WITH THIS ACT, BE AND THE SAME ARE
HEREBY REPEALED."
"Shall constitute a day's work."  Does this mean what
it says, or is there a hidden meaning, invisible to everybody
but yourself? If it means what it says, then it simply fixes
the length of the day. Under the old law, the length of the
day was to be measured by the standard outside of government shops, and the wages to be the same as in outside
shops. Neither the employes of the government, nor those
outside, worked by the hour, but by the day, and the length
of the day and the wages were to be the same. The eighthour law reduces the length of the day, but is silent on the
subject of wages. It simply strikes out that part of the Act
of July 16, 1862, which refers to the hours of labor, leaving
the standard of wages for a day's work remain as before.
" Shall constitute a day's work," not four-fifths of a day's
work, measured by the day in private shops, as you would
have us believe, but a DAY'S WORK, the wages to be the
same as before for a day's work.
But we can sustain our construction of the law upon
other grounds. The government in its past policy has at
all times recognized and indorsed our view of this question.
When Mr. Van Buren issued his order making ten hours a
day's work in all government workshops, no reduction of
wages followed, although most employes in outside establishments worked eleven and twelve hours. Again, in October,
1866, the hours of labor in the government printing establishment at Washington were reduced to eight, and an advance of wages made at the same time. I might call your
attention to several other cases bearing directly on this
point, but I think enough has been said to fully sustain my
position.
It is a sad spectacle- in a country like ours - to see the




324   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
legal adviser of the President yielding to the demands of a
few men to defeat the will of the people, as expressed by
their representatives. There seems to be no desire on your
part, nor am'ong your superiors at Washington, to do anything for the people. Congressmen and Senators can raise
their wages with impunity. Men in government employ,
whose daily labor does not average six hours, get large salaries, and no fault is found. Swindling railroad corporations, land-rings, gold-rings, whiskey-rings, bond-holders'
rings, and the representatives of all other kinds of swindles,
can receive kind words and special privileges, but workingmen must be insulted and,take back seats. Eight thousand
dollars a year, to say nothing of perquisites, are not too much
for a Cabinet officer, but six hundred dollars are enough for
a workingman. The President gained the popularity which
put him where he is by the hard knocks of the workingmen of the nation upon many a hard-fought battlefield;
but now he and his advisers are ready to kick away the
ladder by which they reached their present high positions.
We still hold the ballot in our hands, and by a judicious
use of it we can ultimately gain what is justly due us, but
now withheld by those placed in official positions by our
votes.                               W.. SYLVIS.
WASHINGTON, May 18, 1869.
MY FRIEND:- From the tenor of the letter which you
addressed to me on the 13th, I am led to conclude that you
have never read my opinion to which your letter refers -
certainly you do not understand it, as the second sentence
in your letter is exactly contrary to fact.
Will you allow me to express a hope, as I have not the
pleasure of your personal acquaintance, that in the progress
of time you may become, if not wiser, at least less abusive.
Your obedient servant,
E. R. HOAR.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS. 325
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL LABOR
UNION.
OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION,
PHILADELPHIA, May 21, 1869.
E. R. HOAR, United States Attorney-General.
SIR: - Your note acknowledging the receipt of my letter
of the 3d inst., is received. You have adopted the easiest
way in the. world of replying to an unanswerable argument, namely, by throwing yourself upon your dignity,
and telling me I never read your opinion, and did not know
what I was talking about. But let me assure you, sir, that
I am not to be silenced in that way. It was not my intention to be " abusive;" but if anything I said hit you, or hurt
you, the fault was not mine, for my remarks were intended
for where they belong. It seems to me that your note of
the 18th places you in a very ridiculous position. You say,
"The second sentence in your letter is exactly contrary to
the fact." Now the second sentence in my letter reads,
"You say the effect of the law reducing the hours of labor
was to reduce the wages." You say that this assertion of
mine is "exactly contrary to the fact."  Do you mean by
this that your "opinion" was against any reduction of
wages. I charge you with having decided IN FAVOR of a
reduction of wages. You say that " is exactly contrary to
the fact." " Exactly contrary " to what I said would be that
you decided AGAINST a reduction of wages. If this be true,
if your " opinion " was against a reduction of wages, because
of a reduction of hours, then Secretary Borie's order is in
direct conflict with and in direct opposition to your legal
opinion.
But what are the facts in the case? Secretary Borie
issues an order reducing the wages of employes in the government workshops twenty per cent., because of the reduc28




326   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          HI. SYLVIS.
tion of the hours of labor from ten to eight. This action
was protested against, and the question was referred to you.
Your "opinion" sustained the action of Secretary Borie,
and the order of the secretary reducing wages stands to-day
unrevoked. Either the order of the secretary "is exactly
contrary" to your opinion, or your opinion "is exactly
contrary" to your letter to me. If your statement to me
is true, then the order of the secretary reducing wages is
contrary to law; and if said order is not contrary to law,
then your statement to me that my assertion was " exactly
contrary" is not true.
" Will you allow me to express a hope, as I have not the
pleasure of your personal acquaintance, that in the progress
of time you may become, if not wiser," at least more consistent.
Yours truly,            W. H. SYLVIS.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION
TO PRESIDENT GRANT.
OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION,
PHILADELPHIA, May 27,1869.
To His Excellency U. S. GRANT, President of the United States.
SIR: -When the attorney-general, adversely to the interests of those intended to be benefited by the enactment
of the eight-hour law, decided that under it workmen employed in the government shops are entitled to but fourfifths of a day's pay for what that law constituted a full
day's work, we almost despaired of securing justice until
after the reconvening of Congress; but your proclamation,
under date of 21st instant, has pleasurably disappointed us.
Though this is prepared as a letter of thanks, we do not
feel it a duty to accord express thanks to government officials, who, in rem.embrance of their obligation, faithfully




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM Hl. SYLVIS.             327
interpret or administer the law. We regard government
officials as public servants, selected because of their honesty,
sagacity, wisdom, and affection for the country, and an equitable execution of the law as a duty, to the faithful performance of which they have made a solemn pledge, and not
as a favor meriting special thanks. The proper discharge
of a pledged duty is certainly incumbent upon the servant
of the public equally as upon him who occupies the same
relation to the individual, who is meritedly punished for an
improper, though not specially thanked for a proper, performance of his pledged or implied promise.
The history of our country during the past several years
has proven, however, that the faithful fulfilment of official
pledges, the rigidly honest construction and administration
of law, is not the rule but the exception; so that it has become customary to especially thank officials when, in a moment of aberration, they condescend to equitably legislate,
administer, or interpret.
In your inaugural address to the country, you pledged
yourself to the enforcement of all laws just or unjust, which
you very properly told us were enacted for the government
as well of those who opposed as those who favored them -
and by reason of that pledge we had a right to expect just
such an order as was contained in your proclamation of the
21st inst. But you will pardon us, sir, if we say, that, accepting official conduct during the last few years as an index of that to come, we seriously doubted that, in the face
of the attorney-general's very learned opinion, you would
render to the laborer of the nation - we say of the nation,
for a mighty principle is involved - that which the eighthour law has declared to be their due.
But your order came, and coming unexpectedly is doubly
welcome, and we experience augmented pleasure in thinking you for it.




328   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
We plain people believed the provisions of the law to be
plain enough. Their being so, perhaps, accounts for the
egregious error committed by your learned legal adviser in
his interpretation of them. Your practical mind divined
its intent; while to his acumen - the accumulated wondrous
wisdom of years of varied experience-it was an occult problem, from the solution of which he emerged defeatedwhich was worse for his legal reputation than for his material condition, seeing that he is still your attorney-general.
My position, as official head of the National Labor Union,
has brought me into contact with many " malcontents," who,
deeming that the government deals inequitably by them,
attribute it to too much law and a superabundance of lawyers. Whether they are correct or not, they seem determined to combat from that position, and their ranks are
numerous. Their success or defeat, the progress of time
alone can develop; but a multiplication of instances wherein (as in the one that has just passed into history) the learned
decision of a self-puffed lawyer is compelled to give way to
the unvarnished rendering of a practical citizen unread in
Blackstone and unversed in the technicalities of Coke or
Littleton, will make the former extremely probable.
If thanks are due for simple justice, the National Labor
Union thanks you for your order.
Trusting, sir, that your actions throughout your official
term may be gauged by the rule of justice that impelled
you to treat Mr. Hoar's opinion with the indifference its
utter silliness deserved, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,                       W. H. SYLVIS.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 329
THANKS TO SENATOR WILSON.
OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL LABOR UNION,
PHILADELPHIA, April 27, 1869.
HON. HENRY WILSON, United States Senate.
DEAR SIR: —Your efforts in behalf of the Eight-Hour
Law, and your able and timely letter on the proper construction of said law, render it incumbent upon me to officially and specifically thank you in behalf of the National
Labor Union, of which I have the honor to be the representative head. The construction put on said law by
Secretary of the Navy Borie - with the advice of AttorneyGeneral Hoar-is so manifestly unjust and contrary to
the intent of the majority who voted for it, that, if persisted in, it will place Secretary Borie in the rather equivocal position of asserting that those who framed and adopted
the law did not know its intent and purpose, whilst your
letter proves conclusively that those who voted for the bill
did so with the full understanding that eight hours were to
be a legal day's work, WITHOUT A REDUCTION OF WAGES.
Yours truly,                    W. H. Sy1rIs.
LETTERS FROM THE SOUTH.
RICHMOND, Feb. 11, 1869.
ON the afternoon of the 6th inst. we took leave of our
little family, —a sad task for any true man,-and took
the cars for Wilmington, Del., where we met some thirty
or more friends in a cosy room waiting our arrival. After
a very interesting meeting of more than three hours, and a
free interchange of views, a committee was appointed to make
arrangements for a nmass. meeting, to be addressed by Mr.
Trevellick, and to take the preliminary steps for the forma28*




330 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
tion of a labor union. Mr. Samuel J. Wood is the member
of the National Executive for the -State of Delaware, and
it is to be hoped the work will go on well from this time
forward.  After the meeting we started for Baltimore,
where we arrived at four o'clock Sunday morning. We
passed the day in resting both body and mind, and in the
evening we went to church, and were entertained by a very
able and interesting missionary sermon. The greater part
of the next day we spent in a most pleasant and profitable
manner with our old friend, General Duff Green. Mr.
Green is a most remarkable man; though almost at the
close of a long and eventful life, his mind is as clear and
active as ever. His head is a vast storehouse of knowledge
gathered from a close relation to and connection with the
political affairs of the country for more than fifty years.
He is preparing a most able and exhaustive article on
" money " and finances. He intends it as a memorial to
Congress, and a defence of the money plank of the platform of the " National Labor Union."  While he does not
go over the ground taken by Cary and Butler, he reaches
the same conclusions. His argument in favor of a paper
currency, and our convertible and reconvertible plan, is
powerful, and bears every impress of a giant mind. After
leaving friend Green, we called at the shop of the Co-operative Carpenters, and had a chat with our friend Cather.
In the evening he very kindly took us to a meeting of the
Carpenters' Co-operative Society, where we were introduced
to quite a number of those present, who had met for the
purpose of paying their weekly instalments. This society
is founded somewhat upon the plan of a building society,
and is in a very flourishing condition. We were so much
pleased with what we saw of it, that we shall, some day,
refer to it at length, and give our readers the benefit of their
plan of operations,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 331
After a social talk with the carpenters, we attended a
_ineetgoQf moulders. There was a joint one of Unions
Nos. 19 and 24, and such non-union men as saw fit to attend.
Of this meeting we will not speak particularly, as we met
our attentive correspondent there, who, we suppose, will
give our readers the benefit of what he saw of a public
nature, and of what was private of course we cannot speak.
Union No. 24 is a reorganization of an old union, just made.
As we never found better material for a union, we expect
to find No. 24 at the head of the heap. No. 19 is in a
flourishing condition, and we will be disappointed if her
future is not far ahead of her past. There is in Baltimore
a considerable number of the animal called ".scab," besides
some of the weak-kneed sort who get shaky in the joints
when the "boss " frowns. It is hoped, however, that many
of these "critters" will turn from their evil waysjoin the
union, and live an honorable life the rest of their days.
From Baltimore we went to Washington, where we had
the pleasure of meeting our old friends Whaley, Cary,
Cavis, Puett, Day the irrepressible, Maguire, and several
others. About noon we wended our way to the capitol,
and through the kindness of General Cary were admitted to
the floorQft.ehofuse, where we witnessed a portion of the
ceremony of counting the electoral vote. After exhausting
our patience and much of our strength, we withdrew in
disgust at the farce being enacted or performed by the
assembled swindlers of the nation. We supped with friend
WVhaley and his good family, and at seven in the evening
bade adieu to that sink of national iniquity - Washington,
and started for this city, where, after a very slow ride by
water and rail, we arrived at 4 A. M. yesterday.
This being our first visit to Richmond, we will give it and
the surrounding country a careful consideration, and give
our opinions and impressions of what we see in our next.
W. H. SYTYI8.




332   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
WILMINGTON, Feb. 13, 1869.
Our previous letter was from Richmond, Va., and we
closed it by a promise to give our impressions of that city.
First, we will state that on the evening of the 11th inst.,
we attended a meeting of Iron-Moulders' Union, No. 128.
The meeting was quite large, and a very deep interest was
manifested by all present. We feel sure that very good
results will come from that meeting, and that before long
No. 128 will stand in the front rank of first-class unions.
We found as good men in Richmond as it has ever been our
pleasure to meet anywhere; in their hands the union is safe.
The union had delegated our old friend, its worthy treasurer,
Mr. James Kendlar, to meet us on our arrival, and show us
the sights; we therefore spent the most of the 11th in looking over the city. We first visited the several foundries,
and was pleased to find trade good in all. The only drawback is low wages. Times have been so hard, and work
and money so scarce since the close of war, that wages have
been kept down; if the present good trade continues, there
will be a chance for a raise. We found one shop where
there was no admittance. The name of the firm is Ellenger & Edmond. If any one desires to see a person in their.
employ,-they must make application at the office, the person
is sent for, and " docked " for the time he remains out. We
mention this by way of a free advertisement for said firm.'
After " doing" all the foundries, we visited the State
House, from the top of which we had a very fine view of
the city and the surrounding country. The location of the
State House is very fine, and the grounds about it have
at one time been beautiful; but, like the house, they are
in a very dilapidated condition. In the State House, but
not in use, we saw what to us was a curiosity, in the shape
of a heating-stove made in 1770, ninety-nine years ago. It
is called the Buzaglo, but we could find nothing about it to




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 333
indicate where it was made. Its shape was simply three
square boxes set one upon another, the lower box being the
largest, the second smaller, and the third still smaller; the
boxes being connected by flues, and the fire being mlade in
the lower box, which would take about a four-foot stick of
wood. Its height was about eight feet, and every plate and
piece about it had been moulded in " open sand," a term
every moulder will understand.
We next visited the State prison, which, like everything
else we had seen, was in a shocking bad condition. Such
dirty.yards and upsidedown workshops, we never before
looked upon. Aside from the filthy grounds and confused
condition of things generally, the institution seemed to be
well managed. A considerable amount of mechanical work
is done, and quite a large amount of it for contractors, who
pay the State fifty cents a day for the labor of the convicts.
This work, furniture, etc., is sold in the market in competition with the work of honest men, the tendency of which is
to reduce wages for the same kind of work outside of the
prison to fifty cents a day. We believe that there are no
moulders in that prison, but we know of some who ought
to be there. After leaving the prison, we went to see that
huge swindle upon the honest workingmen of the country
known as the "Freedmen's Bureau."  The officer in charge
kindly invited us into the institution, where we had an opportunity to see the inside of the machine. A large number
of people received "rations" while we were there; one
quart of "soup " and a pound of corn-bread were served
out to each one. We were invited to taste the soup, which
was pronounced "excellent;" but as we espied a huge specimen of a "freed man," with his sleeves rolled up, stirring
the soup with his arm in up to the elbow, the sweat running
down his arm and his face, and a suspicious-looking drop
hanging on the end of his nose, which might not drop out



334   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
side, we very politely declined "tasting."  The officer in
charge of the books informed us that, on the day previous,
rations had been served to 2163 persons, 89 of whom were
white, mostly women and children. As we had heard many
stories about these people who are thus fed at the public
expense, while other men must work for a living or starve,
we made many inquiries, and learned that hundreds of ablebodied men had come in from the country to get rid of work,
and live from the "Bureau."  Hardly a day passes but men
are in from the country in search of hands to work on
farms, chop wood, etc., and cannot get them. One man
wanted forty hands to chop wood; after much trouble, he
succeeded in getting ten; half of them ran away before the
end of a week, the balance remained until they got their
week's pay, and then left. In every direction men are wanted
to work at all kinds of work, but they prefer to remain in
Richmond, and live at the expense of the tax-payers. The
idea that one class of workingmen shall be fed at government expense, while others must work or starve, is preposterous-it is a swindle; an outrage practised by government, that no people should stand. We go for " smashing
the Bureau," and making these lazy loafers work for a living, as other men do.
The amount of damage done by the 1brning of Richmond
at the time of the evacuation, cannot be realized without
seeing it just as it is. The city is slowly recovering, but it
will be a long time before it is as it once was. The location
is a very fine one for a beautiful city. Richmond will never
have any commercial importance, but the time is not far distant when it will be one of the first manufacturing cities in the
country; for this its location is all that could be desired. Running along its whole front is one of the finest water-powers
in America running to waste. What is wanting is money,
labor, energy, and enterprise; all these must come there




BIOGRAPHIY OF WILLIAM EH. SYLVIS.           335
from other sections: there are none among the people of Richmond. Back of Richmond, towards the mountains, there
is one of the finest countries in the world, unsurpassed for
wheat, corn, tobacco, fruit, and every description of agricultural production, and vast deposits of iron-ore and coal are
found along the eastern slope of the mountains, within convenient distance. Railroads are being opened up, and all
this vast wealth will become tributary to Richmond, as a
great manufacturing city. Besides this, the day is not far
distant when the greatest commercial city on the Atlantic
coast will be located where Norfolk and Portsmouth now
stand, at the mouth of James River. Here are Hampton
Roads and Lynn Haven Bay, constituting the finest harbor
on the Atlantic coast, if not in the world. Two lines of
railroads and canals are about to be built, which will connect Norfolk with the great West; the one running to the
southwest connecting with the Mississippi by the Tennessee
River, and with the Gulf of Mexico by the Mobile River.
The main line of this route will be both by rail and water
to the Mississippi, and will constitute the eastern division
of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which will place Norfolk
nearer to San Francisco than New York is, and by a route
uninterrupted by ice or snow. This route is destined to become the most important of all the Pacific routes.
The other line will connect by rail and water with the
Ohio River, 401 miles from Norfolk. This will place
Omaha about fifty miles nearer to Norfolk than to New
York, and grain can be loaded at any point on the Mississippi or Missouri Rivers, and landed at Norfolk without
breaking bulk. It may be said that the same can be done
to New York by a canal from the Mississippi River to Lake
Michigan; but the distance'is much greater, and for at
least five months in the year that route is closed by ice.
This south-western route from Norfolk will connect with over




336  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS,
16,000 miles of navigable rivers, and more than 21,000
miles of railroad in the Mississippi Valley. By this route
grain will be sent to Norfolk much cheaper than to New
York. Estimating upon present rates, the saving would be
sixteen cents a bushel cheaper than by the Pennsylvania
Railroad; twenty-three cents by the Baltimore & Ohio
Road; and an average of twenty cents a bushel cheaper
than on present roads, on every bushel raised in sixteen
States. These sixteen States produced in 1866, 1,090,000,000
of bushels. This would be a saving of $218,000,000 in a
single year.
But, lest I weary the reader, I will drop this subject.
Whatever others may think of it, we are convinced that
Norfolk will one day be the greatest commercial city on the
Atlantic coast; and as Norfolk grows in commercial importance, Richmond will grow as a manufacturing city.
We left Richmond on the 12th inst., and reached here
on the 13th. This city is built upon a sand-hill, and is in
a very dilapidated condition. The people move about as
if their only desire was to while away the time -to see how
long it would take to go from one place to another. The
city is completely under the control of the negro; there is
no money, consequently no business, no enterprise. All
men are idle because there is nothing to do. The_ rate of
interest is so high that business men cannot pay it; and the
financial policy of the government is to furnish Wall Street
with money to speculate upon,' while the industry must languish and die, and workingmen must starve and go naked,
as plenty of them do in this country.
There is a vast timber country back of this, and this city
should be one of the best lumber and turpentine markets
in the world.
Since here, we have had a very interesting meeting of
those connected with the Labor Union, We find soine-of




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM II. SYLVIS. 337
the very best kind of men here, and never met with a
more cordial welcome anywhere. We conversed with a
number of intelligent negroes, who were present at the
meeting; they expreessed -'1th em`selves well pleased with our
views, and in a short time there will be a second Labor
Union in this city, composed exclusively of colored men,
If we can succeed in convincing these people that it is their
interest to make common cause with us in these great national questions, we will have a power in this part of the
country that will shake Wall Street out of its boots.
W. H. SYLVIS.
AUGUSrA, GA, A., Feb. 19, 1869
WE left Wiliming-ton, N. C., on the morning of the 14thl
inst., and reached Columbia, S. C., the same evening, distant one hundred and ninety-six miles. Columbia is the
capital of S, C., and before the war was considered the most
beautiful city in the South. Four years ago, this month,
General Shermaan's army passed through Columbia, and
almost totally destroyed the city; over one thousand three
hundred houses were burned, the only buildings left standing were a few of little account in the outskirts of the city.
Although four years have elapsed since "grim-visaged war
has smoothed his wrinkled front," the city may still be
termed a mass of ruins. Some new buildings have gone up,
and some are going up; but the place is recovering very
slowly. We spent two or three hours in looking over the
grounds of the State House, and through the building. The
building was commenced several years before the war; work
was suspended when the war broke out, and the building
left in an unfinished condition. It is not a very large structure; but if finished according to the original design would
be one of the most handsome in America; over $3,000,000
had been expended on it when work was suspended; the
29                 W




338   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
material, South Carolina granite, Italian and Tennessee
marble. We counted six places where shot or shell had
struck the western end, and the heat of a burning building
somewhat damaged the.southwest corner, but the main building is very little damaged.  The damage done was to a
large amount of finished material lying under the sheds in
the yard, all of which was destroyed by the heat from the
burning sheds.  Considerable pains seem to have been
taken to render useless all the costly material and machinery
in the yard.
The location of Columbia is the most beautiful we have
ever seen in any part of the country, the climate is all that
could be desired, and is surrounded by a country that will
produce almost everything the heart of a man could wish
for. The river running along its western side furnishes as
fine water-power as can be found. We understand Governor
Sprague, of Rhode Island, has purchased this water-power,
and intends erecting cotton-mills. When capital takes advantage of this water-power, Columbia will become an important city. From Columbia we went to Charleston, where
we remained two days, the first day we spent in doing business, and in visiting the several foundries, and looking over
the city.
Charleston presents the saddest sight it has yet been our
lot to look upon. The great fire of 1861 swept clear across
the city, from northeast to southwest, burning the heart
entirely out; and it remains in almost that condition today. We walked over the greater portion of the city, and
saw but one building in course o' erection; on this, the only
men we saw were some half dozen bricklayers. I could best
describe the appearance of the city by saying that it looks
as if the people had all moved out, antd returned after an
absence of five years, to find grass growing in the streets,
and moss and mould gathered upon the houses. There




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.     339
seems to be but little business, and many idle people. On
the second day, we went out to see Fort Sumpter, which is
simply a mass of ruins, made up of brick, granite, sand, and
oyster shells. We went out in a small boat managed by
two negroes, who did not understand their business, and
were afraid to run any risks. The wind sprung up to a
stiff breeze, and we could neither coax, scare, nor buy them
to take us to Morris and Sullivan's Islands, Fort Johnson,
and other places of interest; so, much against our will, the
boat was headed for Charleston, distant five miles in a straight
line. As rie had to sail directly against a sharp wind, a
strong tide running out, a very rough sea, and two men who
knew little more about a boat than two mules, we had a
very serious time of it. We came near upsetting several
times, and were finally obliged to turn in and help work the
boat ashore. When we reached the wharf, we were tired,
hungry, and completely soaked with salt water.    The
foundry business is slowly reviving in Charleston, and we
succeeded in reorganizing Union No. -.     There is a
Mechanic's Union- a union of all trades in that citywhich is quite strong, and bids fair to accomplish much
good. There is also a very successful co-operative grocery
store, which has been in operation nearly one year. They
started with less than 8900, and their present capital is
$10,000. The store is large and well stocked, and managed
with good ability. The Constitution provides:
SECTION 1. " This Association shall be titled the Palmetto
Pioneer Co-operative Association."
SECTION 2. "The business shall be conducted strictly on
cash principles."
The capital stock is five hundred shares, of $260 each,
payable in instalments of one dollar per week, and all
profits are credited to shareholders on account of stock.
After each stockholder shall have to his or her credit, from




340   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
the weekly payment of one dollar and the profits standing
to his account, $260, payments will stop, and dividends
will be paid in cash. Each stockholder has but one vote,
and no person can hold more than one share; one-third of
profit is paid to capital, and two-thirds to shareholders on
account of purchases made. Two hundred and nineteen
shares of stock have been sold. The plan is a simple one,
and we believe a very good one.
The number of mechanics in Charleston is very small;
but the work they are doing shows them to be good men,
and'far ahead of the meehanics of many other cities, where
the chances to get on well are much better.
Last evening we took the cars for this point, where we
arrived at half-past six this mornling, eleven hours to travel
one hundred and forty miles. This is a very fine city; the
streets intersect each other at right angles, and are very
wide, and well shaded with fine big trees. We have not
yet looked about the city, therefore cannot speak of it.
This place is, by the way we travelled, nine hundred and
sixty-eight miles from Philadelphia, and the fare for the
whole distance very near six cents a mile. Financier tell
us that where money is plenty, everything is high; and
where money is scarce, everything is cheap. That assertion
does not hold good in this country. We never saw so little
money; indeed; there is no money in these parts, and it cannot be got. And everything is high: six cents a mile railroad fare; ten cents to ride in the street-cars in the cities;
twenty-five cents for a shave; twenty-five cents to get your
boots blacked; twenty-five cents for a glass of lemonade;
twenty-five cents for a drink of whiskey, but as we do not
drink it, we are not interested-in the prices of that article;
ten cents for a newspaper; 84 a day for board in almost any
kind of a hotel; and all other things in proportion. We
have not said anything yet about the state of the South,




BIOGRAPIHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVIS. 341
socially and politically. We think it best not to until we
have gone over the whole South, and from the people get
their views, learn their wants, and see Southern life in all
its phases. We are keeping our eyes and ears both open,
and we are conversing with men in all the walks of life,
white and black, and we promise the readers of the Advocate that, when we have gone over the country and made
a thorough examination of everything, we will give them a
true account of things here as we see them, and our opinions
of the situation. The National Labor Union is but little
known in this country, but-everybody we come in contact
with is delighted with it.  Careful management, and a
vigorous campaign, will unite the whole laboring population
of the South, white and black, upon our platform. The
people down here will be a unit on the great money question, because everybody is poor, and ours is a war of poverty
against a moneyed aristocracy.         W. H. S.
MOBILE, March 8, 1869.
ON the evening of the 26th of February, we had a very
good meeting of the moulders of Atlanta, Ga., and succeeded
in reorganizing the union. We met some first-class men,
and we have no doubt the union will go on uninterrupted in
the future. A want of a proper understanding as to the
objects to be accomplished, and the good that has been
done, with dull times and no work, had been the cause of
the suspension. From Atlanta, we went to Columbus, Ga.,
distant one hundred and'fifty-six miles south. Here we
found Moulders' Union, No. 174, in a flourishing condition,
and business slowly reviving. The Columbus Union is
among the best in the country. Though surrounded by
many difficulties, the members have done their duty faithfully. Their corresponding representative deserves the
thanks of all good men.
29 




342   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
Columbus, Ga., is a very pretty city, located on the eastern bank of the Chattahoochie River, which is navigable to
this point at all seasons. Directly in front of the city, and
for a considerable distance above, the river forms one of the
finest water-powers we have ever seen. Columbus will some
day be one of the first manufacturing cities in the South.
There are now three cotton-mills there in very successful
operation, and others are being built. It is in the midst of
a fine cotton-growing country. The raw material can be
delivered at the mills from first hands - directly from the
planter to the manufacturer - without an army of middlemen to feed at the expense of the planter, the manufacturer,
and the consumer.
The city bears the marks of the burning given it by the
Federal troops under General Wilson. Just previous to
the surrender, a large amount of private property was destroyed, which has not been rebuilt. Augusta, Macon, and
Columbus are three very important cities, as they furnish
sufficient water-power to spin all the cotton grown in
Georgia.
Our esteemed friend, Thomas Casey, First Vice-President
of the International Union, met us at Columbus on the day
of our arrival, and remained with us until the 2d, when
in company we left for Montgomery, Ala., distant ninety-six
miles west, on the Mobile River. Here we found an oldfashioned welcome from as good a set of men as we have ever
met; there are not many of them, but they are the right
sort. Union No. 154 stands, and always has stood, in the
front rank. On the evening of the 3d, we were called
upon to speak at a mass meeting, gotten up for the purpose
of using us. The night was an extremely bad one; the rain
came down in torrents, and but few could get out. We
talked of the benefits of trades-unions, co-operation, the
National Labor Union, etc., and the people seemed much




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.     343
interested. On the evening of the 4th, we attended a meeting of the " Montgomery Mutual Building and Loan Association;" itwas the first regular meeting, and we thought
they had things considerably "mixed."  We do not like
their plan; in fact it is not co-operation, as we understand
the term. The par value of the shares is $200, payable in
monthly instalments of $1; the money is sold to the highest bidder: thus far it is all right. The number of shares is
limited to four thousand, and no man can hold more than
two hundred shares; and every share has one vote, and any
shareholder can vote his whole number of shares by proxy.
In this it is all wrong. Eleven men can hold two thousand
two hundred shares, and the other one thousand eight hundred may be divided among two hundred; yet the eleven
men could outvote the two hundred men by a majority of
two hundred of all the votes. Here is too much chance for
the big fish to eat the little ones. The result will be a failure, so far as helping the helpless is concerned.
During our stay in Montgomery, friend Casey remained
with us, and took all pains to show us the sights. We visited the court-house, where, for the first time, we saw a
"mixed " jury, nine blacks and three whites; from the verdict rendered, we concluded it was a " mixed" jury. The
case on hand was that of a villanous-looking loafer, charged
with arson. He keeps the lowest kind of a negro dancehouse, where he dispenses bad whiskey and other refreshments. There was no doubt as to his guilt, but he belonged
to the right side, and was acquitted. The judge failed to
make the jury comprehend the meaning of "arson," or of
circumstantial evidence. This is the way justice is dispensed in this part of the world. The readers of the Advocate have often heard of what are known in the South as
"carpet-baggers." There are many bad stories told of these
men that are not true. Many of them are good men, and




344   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
are esteemed. and respected by all the people here; but there
are many bad ones. We met two of them in Montgomery;
one of them, a fellow by the Lname of Barber, from Saratoga,
N. Y., is sheriff of Montgomery County. He is a man without brains, education, or character. He is a common drunkard, and his looks stamp him as a common blackguard, and
excludes him from all respectable society. The other is
John C. Keffer, from Philadelphia, Pa., who is Commissioner of Internal Improvements, a man that could not get
a position as engineer of a train of night-carts at home. He
came down here a practical adventurer, destitute of brains,
honor, or honesty, and by worshipping his superiors- negroes- he obtained position. He has a family of daughters, who entertain young negro gentlemen in their parlors.
It is just such low scoundrels as this Barber and Keffer, that
has been the cause of so much bad feeling between the two
sections of our common country; and one of the very best
evidences to be found, that there is no such organization as
the Ku-Klux Klan, and that the people are orderly and
well disposed, having patience, charity, and sincerity, desiring peace and harmony, is the fact that such scamps are
permitted to live here unmolested.
Montgomery is a very pretty city, well located upon high
ground, and surrounded by a good country. Before the war,
it was a very rich and fast place. At present, like all other
Southern cities we have yet seen, money is scarce, rents and
provisions high, business dull, and the people apparently
broken down in confidence and spirit.
From Montgomery we went td Selma by water, distant one
hundred and ten miles west. We remained in Selma but a
short time, and found business very dull; but the journeymen moulders were at work, though the prospects are not
very good. The city is located on a bluff; but the country
around it, in every direction, is flat and swampy. The city




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 345
is too sickly to amount to anything as a manufacturing
place; still, it is quite an important point as a railroad centre, and will one cay be a great shipping-point for the iron
and coal of northern Alabama.
On Saturday afternoon, the 6th inst., we embarked upon
board the steamer C. W. Dorrance, Capt. B. Meaher, for
Mobile, distant four hundred miles by water, nearly due
south, where we arrived at 10 A. M., Monday morning.
The Dorrance is a first-class boat, and Capt. Meaher is one
of the very best types of a " fine old Irish gentleman." He
is a man all over, six feet four inches high, weighs two hundred and forty pounds, well built, with a great big head
filled with a large store of good common sense. He belongs
to that class known the world over as "a good fellow." If
any of our readers stray clown this way, let them hunt Capt.
Meaher, and they will find a friend. Of this place we will
speak in the future.                     W. H. S.
MEMPHIS, TENN., March 22, 1869.
WE wound up our last letter with our arrival at Mobile,
and since then we have been so much occupied with the
business of our mission, as to make it impossible to write
previous to reaching this point, and even now we can only
hurry over the field we have travelled.
We found considerable business in Mobile, and quite a
fine city. Our old friend and shopmate Lineham, Corresponding Representative of Moulders' Union, No. 137, remained with us during our stay in that city, and very
kindly took us to all the places of interest in and about the
place.
We went out to Whistler, six miles from the city, where
the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company have their shops.
It was raining very hard at the time, and we had but little
opportunity to see the place. The impressions we formed




346   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
were not very favorable, and we failed to gee why the shops
were located there. It looks to us as if the interests of the
company, and the health and convenience of the workmen,
were sacrificed for the sake of cheap ground upon which to
build. Perhaps the company thought by isolating the workmen from the rest of the world, they would not be troubled
so much by those odious institutions known as "tradesunions," which have become a terror to all evil-disposed
and tyrannous capitalists.  Whatever their object may
have been, they have failed. The Iron-Moulders' Union,
which has become such a monster in size and strength
within a few years, is gradually reaching out its arms into
every nook and corner of the land; long ago found its way
even to Whistler, and some of the very best members of
that organization are to be found there. We had the pleasure of shaking these men by the hand, and wishing them
God speed. Union No. 137 has had a hard struggle; but
it has lived through it all, and is now one of the very best.
They have a shell-road running along Mobile Bay for
several miles that is one of the finest drives we have ever
seen. We fancy it to be a magnificent place in the warm
summer weather. Mobile will never be a great city until,
by artificial means, a good entrance and a good harbor can
be provided, which we think will never be clone. From
Mobile we went to New Orleans by water, distant 190 miles.
We remained in that city four days, and in that time went
pretty well over the whole place. After visiting every foundry, and talking to nearly every moulder (fifty or sixty,)
we succeeded in getting -about a dozen to attend a meeting,
and after much talk we succeeded in re-organizing the union,
which had been suspended for some time. We sincerely
hope there will be no further suspension, as we have found
no place where a union is so much needed, and, with a very
few exceptions, we found the moulders the most miserable




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 347
set of creatures we have met in the whole land. Morally,
socially, and intellectually, they are a long way below the
standard. Our only hope is in the few good men we found
among them; they may improve soon and rapidly. New
Orleans is a great city; in some respects the greatest in the
country, if wickedness can be called greatness. But it is a
great city in point of commercial importance, and one day
it will be the metropolis of America.
The great drawback to its progress- is its unhealthy location. The ground upon which it is built is very flat; indeed, it is a basin, and in many places lower than the M'ississippi River on the one side, and Lake Pontchartrain on the
other. The water runs back from the river, and this makes
a good healthy drainage almost impossible. The distance
from the river to the lake is about seven miles, and there
are two or three canals cut from the lake almost to the
river. These carry off most of the drainage of the city,
while the balance finds its way to the swamps, or is taken
up by the atmosphere and breathed by the people. But
New Orleans can be made quite a clean and healthy city.
A channel must be cut, and the whole body of the Mississippi River turned into the lake. This will lower the water
in the channel below the turn-off, and give a good drainage
to the whole city. It will also avoid the difficult passes
and dangerous sand-bars at the mouth of the river, and
give a safer and shorter passage to the gulf. This is a bold
and gigantic work, but it must and will be done; and the
quicker the people stop speculating about and spending
money upon a system or systems of drainage that can never
accomplish the object sought, the better it will be for all.
We will not attempt a description of what we saw in that
city: we have neither the time nor the space. It was very
refreshing to read' of snow-storms and the thermometer
marking zero and below that in the North; and then walk




348   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
out in the streets and see ladies dressed in spring goods,
orange-trees with ripened fruit, green peas, ripe strawberries, and the most tender flowers. We enjoyed it, because
to us it was a strange sight for the first of March.
From New Orleans we went to Vicksburg, Miss., by water,
a distance of 400 miles. Reaching that city, our first duty was
to find out the amount of foundry business done. We found
two shops, one employing one moulder - a white man -
getting $3 per day, the other employing one moulder —
a black man - getting $2 per day; trade very dull. Comment is unnecessary. Take it all in all, we consider Vicksburg the meanest place we have found in the whole country, except, perhaps, Crestline, Ohio. The ground upon
which the city is built is a series of high bluffs and deep
gullies. The country around is good. From the top of one
of the highest hills at the upper end of the city, the view
looking west is very fine.
From Vicksburg we went to Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, distant 45 miles east. Jackson is a very pretty
little town, but of no importance at all.  There is no
foundry there of any kind, and very little of anything in a
mechanical line, or indeed in any other line.
From this point we went to Water Valley, Miss., distant
142 miles north. This is quite a busy place, made so by
the railroad-shops there located. We found our old friend
John R. Iserall hard at work, and as sound a man as ever.
Here-'we had the pleasure of organizing the first and only
moulders' union ever in Mississippi. Long may it live.
It is in good hands, and, though small, will be a success.
From thence we came to this city by way of Grand Junction, distant 120 miles.                  W. H. S.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          I. SYLVIS. 349
TO THE READERS OF THE ADVOCATE.
THE undersigned having associated himself with Mr. A.
C. Cameron as one of the publishers and proprietors of the
Workingman's Advocate, it may not be out of place to bow
to the readers of the Advocate, and make a "little speech."
At no time within the history of the Labor Reform movement in this country has the need of a first-class paper,
devoted to the reform movement, been so keenly felt as
now; and it becomes the duty of every man to contribute
what he can to the building up of such a paper. Seeing
and feeling this great need, and being willing to contribute
our share to the desired end, we have joined hands with
Mr. Cameron, not because of any want of energy and ability on his part, nor of any superior advantages upon-our
part, but upon the principle that in a multiplicity of heads
there is wisdom. The Advocate being the official organ of
the National Labor Union, of which we have the honor to
be president, we believed that, by bringing the two into
close relationship,-we could so co-operate as to very largely
increase the usefulness of each.
While we shall endeavor, by every means within our
power, to strengthen the hands of Mr. Cameron, and increase the circulation and usefulness of the Advocate, we
shall endeavor to use that paper as a means for disseminating our ideas among the masses of the people, and building up the National Labor Union.
Our most earnest desire and highest ambition is to see
the greatest success of the Labor Reform movement, and we
shall lose no opportunity to push along the good work. We
have been actively engaged in the labor movement for
many years, and it has always been our aim to assist the
toiling masses in every effort to raise themselves from a
30




350   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
condition of dependence upon capitalists. We have been,
and will be, an earnest advocate of trade-unions among all
branches of laborers, and of the principle of co-operation
in every form by which it can be applied to productive
industry and the distribution of wealth.
Whatever experience, knowledge, or ability we may have,
shall be devoted to this reform movement; and while we are
willing to make any and all sacrifices necessary to accomplish the objects in view, we expect the readers of this to go
to work at once and do all they can to increase the circulation of our paper, and thereby increase our ability to serve
the cause.
WM. H. SYLVIS.




ESSAYS.
WHAT IS MONEY?
[THESE articles first appeared in the Workingman's Advocate, of
Chicago.]
What is money? is a question so frequently asked, especially by workingmen, and so many different answers have
been given, all based upon the idea that gold is the only
material out of which money can be made, that I have determined to add one more answer to the long list.
In taking up this question, I do not expect to present
any new idea, or to say anything new. My only object is
to present the matter in a plain, common-sense light; and
in doing so, I shall use such arguments and illustrations as
will be easily understood by every one who reads. What I
have to say will be the plain words of a workingman addressed to workingmen.
Money made of gold is a monarchical and aristocratic
institution. Kings adopted it as a sure means of keeping
the people in subjection, by taking from them all power to
control or in any way interfere with the currency. Princes
and nobles were created - special privileges were bestowed
upon a few; these few were rich, and were of course interested in maintaining the king's money. Thus the king,
with his well-fed few, succeeded in robbing the masses,
keeping them poor, ignorant, and wholly dependent.
351




352 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
When our ancestors ran away from Europe to escape religious persecution, they came here and set up for themselves; unfortunately for us, they did not leave behind them
their prejudices and false notions on many of the most vital
points in the sciene of government.
Reared amid the hardships and dangers of a new continent - separated from  the "parent government" by a
great ocean-thrown upon their own resources, they learned
lessons of self-reliance and ideas of self-government that
served them well when the struggle for independence came,
and for the change in civil government about to take place.
It was left for them to present to the world, for the first
time, a self-formed government, whose basis was the equal
rights of man, civil equality, and common privileges, and
whose end was to be the general prosperity, virtue, and
happiness of the people. Independence gained, it was
natural that joy and satisfaction should be inspired, upon
having escaped some of the oppressions of European systems, without feeling much curiosity to ascertain whether
the new government was actually so founded as to secure
the happiness of the many instead of ministering to the benefit of the few. This could only be learned after a considerable experience, and after that class out of which came
bankers, brokers, bond-holders, usurers, and other plunderers of labor, had time to find out and take advantage of
the weak places in our system of government.
This point was soon reached, and then began that scramble for wealth and power that has resulted in creating
among us a moneyed aristocracy that is fast sapping the
foundation of our government, and destroying the liberties
of the people.
It is true that, compared with the wretched population
of despotic Europe and Asia, the people of this country,
even under existing unjust relations of man to man, enjoy




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 353
many things not common to the people of other countries.
But comparative superiority may still be a condition fraught
with much misery to the human family, and not less repugnant to benevolence than revolting to justice. Even in
Europe and Asia, this superiority forms the boast of one
nation over another, throughout the long-continued chain
of comparative wretchedness among the great mass of the
population.
We might run without end through a scale of comparative physical misery and enjoyment, and corresponding
moral dignity or degradation, and never attain a principle
of justice to reconcile ourselves to a wrong and oppressive
system from such examples.
The question is not what people endure the least misery,
but which enjoy the most happiness and real comfort; and
having found that point, we are irresistibly forced to
another, based upon the susceptibility of the social compact
to yield the full amount of happiness to the mass of the
people, and to inquire into the reason why this object is not
accomplished by our institutions, when it has been so bountifully provided for by a paternal Providence.
The slightest observation will satisfy the most obstinate
mind that nature has abundantly supplied the industry of
man with the means of universal comfort. We behold it in
every form of luxury-every object of magnificenceevery refinement of pleasure - every waste of riot and sensuality-every monument of pride —every display of
vanity- every gorgeous decoration of wealth, power, and
ambition. We behold the proof in the lordly millionnaire,
tortured on his sick-couch by agonies of repletion, while
the laborer famishes at his door. We behold it in the luxurious capitalist, swelling with the pride of pampered opulence, while the hearts of those who labored to produce his
wealth, shiver and faint with misery and want, or drag out
30*                 X




354   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
a protracted life of endless toil. What God has spread
before us as the reward and property of him whose labor
shall bring it into use, government-unjust, despotic, proud,
all-grasping government-has ordained shall belong to those
who never labor, and for whose exclusive benefit the laborer
shall toil forever. Thus do human institutions, founded on
tyranny, or turned from their original principles of justice,
destroy the beneficence of heaven, robbing the poor and
giving to the rich.
Thus do we find our boasted institutions of equal rights
to be the merest skeleton of liberty, which by their letter
declare that equal rights and privileges shall be guaranteed
to all, but by their operation create aristocracy, special privileges, extortion, monopoly, and robbery.
Such are the defects of organic law, practical government,
and property, which are thrown as obstacles in the path of
the workingman.
The great mistake made by the founders of our government was in retaining the king's money, - in ingrafting
into our republican institutions monarchical and aristocratic ideas of currency and finances,- in setting up, in
our temple of liberty, the golden calf. But the time has
come when this idol shall be removed.
Fellow-workingmen, prepare for the fight. The world's
greatest revolution is now at hand.
My first article was general or preliminary, intended
to show, First, that money made of gold was a kingly,
despotic invention. Second, that it has been continued in
use because it provided the surest way to rob the many for
the benefit of the few. Third, that it was the most dangerous element of despotic governments ingrafted into our
republican institutions; and, Fourth, that its use is wholly
incompatible with the spirit of our form of government,
and has entirely subverted the designs, intentions, and
desires of the authors of our Constitution.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.               355
We come now directly to the subject: " What is money?"
Kellogg says that money has four properties or powers.
First, to represent value. Second, to measure value. Third,
to accumulate value by interest. Fourth, to exchange
value.
As a discussion of either one of these four powers would
involve a partial discussion of all, and prolong the discussion, I shall consider them in a general way, giving the
greatest prominence to interest, and the material of which
money should be made.
Money is the measure of value, and the rate of interest
fixes the standard of measure; therefore, the standard
should be the same everywhere. Government has decreed
that sixteen ounces shall make a pound, and thirty-six
inches will make a yard. Suppose Congress should repeal
this law, and say that the people in each State or city shall
have the right to regulate these matters to suit themselves,
what would be the result?   We would soon have yardsticks and pound-weights of various capacities.  There
would be just as much reason and justice in this, as there
is in allowing everybody to fix a measure of value to suit
themselves. The necessity for uniformity in weights and
measures is no greater than for uniformity in the rate of
interest; but it is said that a uniform rate of interest cannot
be maintained, no matter what the law may be. That this
is true under our present monetary system, I freely admit;
because bankers and brokers monopolize the lending of
money. The law of Pennsylvania says that six per cent.
shall be legal interest; and yet it is impossible to borrow
money at that rate, because Congress has fixed a higher
rate, and because the business money-lending is confined to
a few persons, whom neither the law of the State nor the
law of conscience can control. All borrowers must go to
them; therefore, they can fix their own terms; that is, they




356   BIOGRAPIHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS.
make their own measure of value, which amounts to the
same thing as if it was cloth they were selling, and had the
making of their own yardstick.
" The government reserves the right to fix the length of
the yard, the weight of the pound, the size of the bushel,
and the value of the dollar. Money is the public measure
of value, and the government is bound to make it just and
uniform, that it may correctly determine the value of all
commodities. Measures are definite quantities of length,
weight, size, and value. The pound-weight, yardstick, and
bushel are measures of quantity, and the dollar or money
is the measure of value."
"When the yardstick measures cloth, it does not determine its own length, and when money measures property,
it does not determine its own value."  The law fixes the
length of the one and the value of the other. To alter the
length of the yardstick is a high crime, and subjects the
person guilty of it to severe punishment, while the power of
the dollar to measure value can be altered with impunity;
and yet the fraud practised upon labor is a thousand times
greater than would be the shortening of weights and measures at the option of every seller in the land. "The government reserves the right to fix the measuring power of the
dollar to bankers, brokers, and other gamblers."
The man who will interfere with the measure of value is
just as guilty of crime as he who defrauds his customers by
light weights and short yardsticks.
One of the most silly and absurd notions of the day is
that each State should have the right to give to money a
legal standard-to fix a legal rate of interest. The government should issue all money, giving to every dollar the
same legal value - the same power to measure value in all
parts of the country. Money, properly considered, can in
no case be an article of barter and sale. It was never insti



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 357
tuted to be bought and sold; its only functions are to buy
and sell the products of labor. The laborer does not buy
money, but he sells his labor for money. The farmer does
not buy money, but he sells his wheat for money. The
manufacturer does not buy money, but he sells his wares
for money; and the consumer buys what he wants with
money; thus is money simply a medium of exchange. The
making of money an article of commerce is a prostitution
of the currency of the country, and. is simply legalized
robbery.
A false monetary system, and the unwise financial policy
pursued by the government from the beginning of the war to
the present time, has built up a moneyed oligarchy such as
the world never saw; and the whole nation is completely
under its control. Congress has so legislated as to fix a
standard of value, or a rate of interest that is absolutely
ruinous -six per cent. in gold is about nine per cent. in
greenbacks; and the bonds being exempt from taxation,
and considering all other things to their advantage, we find
that the rate of interest is fully thirteen per cent. If this
was really the fixed standard, it would not be so bad; but it
is only the rate below which it cannot go; but it goes far
above that nearly all over the country.
Money was instituted by the government for no other
purpose than to be a measure of value and a medium of
exchange. We see that the law in nearly every State recognizes this principle by fixing some legal rate of interest;
and the government has recognized it by fixing six per cent.
in gold as the legal standard. These legal rates are not
uniform; and if they were, it would make no difference,
because the whole matter of interest, and everything connected with money, is in the hands of a few persons, whose
only study is how best to bring to themselves the wealth
produced by the labor of the nation. They rob alike the
government and the people.




358 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
The Constitution of the United States declares that Congress shall have power to coin money and regulate the power
thereof, and of foreign coin, and to fix the standard of
weights and measures.
Congress has definitely fixed the length of the yard, the
size of the bushel, and the weight of the pound, but it has
not fixed the value of money. Under our present monetary
system, the value of money is no more fixed by congressional action than is the price of coal, iron, or any other
article of commerce.
Money is the legal standard of value. The rate of interest fixes the value of money. Its value is no more fixed
by the quantity or quality of its material, than the size of
the bushel is fixed by the quantity or quality of its wood.
It would be thought unwise or unjust, if Congress should
provide that the yardstick should be made of a rare and
costly material, and to authorize a few merchants to regulate its length; and yet it would not be half so injurious to
the public good as to empower a few bankers and usurers
to regulate the value of money. In the former case, the
merchant would be brought face to face with the purchaser,
the fraud would be seen, and the buyer would have the
means of self-protection; while in the latter case, the power
operates silently and unseen, and the oppressor is seldom
brought in contact with the injured party.
The rapid centralization of the property of the nation
into our large cities, and into the pockets of the strictly
non-producer, is plain to every mind. The wealth-producing classes have sought to avert this evil, and better their
condition, by almost every means but the true one. Laborsaving machines have been invented to increase production,
and every possible means of improving the, quality of the
various productions of the soil and labor have been introduced, and new avenues of transit have been multiplied to




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 359
cheapen transportation, but all to little or no avail. These
classes are still compelled to toil on in comparative poverty
- the increase in production, the improvement in quality,
with the increased means of transportation, have but
tended to augment the wealth of the few and impoverish
the many.
With the present accumulative power of interest, there is
no more chance for the laboring-classes to gain their rights
by combining their labor to increase production, than there
would be hope of success in combining their labor to reverse
the course of the rivers, and make them run to the tops of
the mountains, and pile up their waters on the summits.
The law of gravitation, in the latter case, would not be
more sure to overpower all their labor and frustrate all their
plans, than the present governing power of interest on
money is sure to gather up the increased production and add
it to the wealth of the capitalist. The fault is in the law
which governs the distribution of property; and combinations to increase production would no more effect any general change in the distribution, than combinations against
law of gravitation would effect a change in its general
governing powers. The evil is legislative, and the remedy
must be legislative, or something worse.
It was my intention, in the beginning, to have finished
this subject in three articles, but I have found it impossible
to do so to my own satisfaction. I must, therefore, ask the
indulgence of the reader; if I grow tedious, and if these
articles are extended beyond what may seem necessary, it
must be attributed to an earnest desire to make the whole
matter plain to the understanding of every reader.
The power of money to accumulate value by interest is
a vast power; so great, indeed, that it is hard to bring it
into such proportions as to be easily understood by ordinary
minds. When we begin to talk of thousands of millions,




360  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
and billions, etc., the mind of the workingman, who but
seldom has more than a week's wages to count over, becomes
bewildered, and he don't care to listen. I have already said
that interest acts like the tax-collector; it gathers up the products of labor - taking them from the laborer and giving
them to the capitalists. Money loaned at ten per cent. will
double in seven years, three months and five days; at nine
per cent. in eight years and fifteen days; at eight per cent.
in nine years and two days; at seven per cent. in ten years,
two months and twenty-six days; at six per cent. in eleven
years, ten months and twenty-one days; at five per cent. in
fourteen years, two months and thirteen days; at four per
cent. in seventeen years and eight months; at three per
cent. in twenty-three years, five months and ten days; and
at two per cent. in about thirty-five years. The average
rate of interest for seventy years has been about eight per
cent. per annum. At the beginning, property was more
equally distributed than it is now. We will suppose oneeighth of the population to have owned one-fourth of the
value of the property, and to have loaned it on interest, or
rented their property at this rate; collecting and reloaning
the interest annually for the seventy years, the amount
would be $54,639,310,632, or over three times the amount
of the value of the whole property of the nation in 1860.
Now, cannot the simplest mind see something wrong in
this? The rate of interest amounting, in seventy years, to
more than three times the value of all the property in the
nation. All that labor produced went to the capitalistsa few men —all non-producers, and this balance of interest
over production is a lien upon labor-productive labor,
physical labor- a vast load of debt heaped upon the backs
of the toiling millions - a mortgage upon the bone and
muscle of the nation - the very heart's blood of the workingman is mortgaged from the cradle to the grave.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 36
Had the rate of interest been three per cent. instead of
eight per cent., it would have amounted, in seventy years, to
$1,980,000,000, or less than one-twenty-seventh part of the
amount at eight per cent. Thus, it will be seen that, at
three per cent., labor would have retained over seven-eightMs
of all it produced; while at eight per cent., capital got over
three times the value of all the property in the nation, besides ALL that labor produced. This seven-eighths, which
would have been labor's share, would have been divided
among the producers in the shape of wages, and every
workingman in the nation could be in possession of a comfortable home, and in circumstances entirely independent.
We would have no Vanderbilts, Drews, Astors, Stewarts,
Belmonts, and Cookes, worth their hundreds of millions, and
exercising an influence and power over the government and
people such as was never before known since creation, while
the dismal cries of poverty-stricken labor, shivering with
cold and hunger, come up from every part of the land.
Just think of it, fellow-workingmen, there are ten men in
the city of New York whose combined wealth is over three
hundred millions of dollars, and in the same city there are'
over one hundred thousand workingmen and women whose
daily wages do not bring them the commonest necessaries
of life, and during last winter many honest, industrious
workingmen and women were compelled to apply for public
or private charity to keep themselves and their loved ones
from starvation, and many died from want of proper food,
clothes, and shelter. While these ten men were worth millions, there were nearly 63,000 paupers supported by the
city of New York during the year 1867, and a much
larger number during 1868. Let it be remembered that a
large proportion of these poor people, called " paupers " by
newspapers and officials, are honest workingmen and women,
the profit of whose toil goes to make up the fortunes - the
31




362   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SE uVIS.
millions -of the few whose costly equipageb jostle the
starving mechanic in the same street.
Nowhere in the world is so high a rate of intecest maintained; nowhere in the world is labor more completely under the control of the money power; and nowhere in the
world is all wealth so surely and so rapidly concentrating
in the hands of the few, as in the United States.
It is a first principle that no man can become rich without
making another one poor, and that all accumulations of
great fortunes necessarily produce poverty somewhere. The
course is plain. It is not in the power of man to produce
a sum of labor so immense as to make every one rich, but
he does produce enough to make all comfortable. If some,
therefore, acquire large fortunes from'the pile produced by
labor, it must leave others without any. To make this still
plainer, we will suppose there are one hundred men whose
combined or aggregate production is $100,000; an equal
division would give to each one $1,000. If one of these
men got one dollar more than his share, ninety-nine would
get less. But suppose ten of them got $5,000 each, then
there would be but $555.55 apiece for the other ninety; but
if twenty of the ninety take $2,500 each, then seventy
would be left without any. A truth so plain requires no
further demonstration.
Wealth, seated in the midst of her golden paradise, often
sends her attendant, false benevolence, among the wretched,
who are famishing from hunger and cold, to exhort them to
economy and temperance; or, alarmed by their cries of anguish and suffering, she gathers the poor into almshouses,
and eases her conscience by feeding them upon offals, and
selling their dead bodies to the dissecting-rooms to defray
a portion of the expense. The most pernicious character
in society is the miser —the accumulator-.the man who
will gather up the productds of labor beyond his needs; the




BIOGRAPHIY OF WI LItM H. SYLIS.               363
man who steals from honest toil and leaves the toiler to
starve. He is one of the moral extremes that meet us on
the verge of misery, worthlessness, and non-production.
The accumulator is a tyrant, whose every step inflicts anguish, crushes the heart, or slays his victim.
I am frequently asked by workingmen, what has the
question of interest to do with us? we are not borrowers,
neither have we money to lend. The natural increase in
the wealth of the nation in seventy years is less than four
per cent.; that is, the aggregate wealth of the nation increasWl at the rate of four per cent. annually; then it follows that any rate of interest above four per cent. is direct
robbery upon labor, and is running the nation in debt.
While the increase in wealth is at the rate of four per
cent., interest has averaged at least eight per cent. for seventy years. But if we take the last six years, we will find
that the increase in wealth has not been over three per
cent., while the rate of interest has averaged fully fifteen
per cent.; making an actual loss to productive industry of
twelve per cent. Right here the question may be asked,
how can this thing called interest consume more than is
produced? the answer is plain. The three per cent. consumes all that is produced, after feeding and clothing the
producers; and the twelve per cent. is a lien upon future
labor. It is a mortgage upon the productive industry of
the country.
That this may be clearly understood, I will put it in another form. I have said that three per cent. is a lien upon
present labor. That is, if a man has an income of $3,000 a
year, and spends $15,000, how long will it be until he is
bankrupt?   He is running behind at the rate of $12,000 a
year, providing his debts are such as bear no interest; but if
they. are interest-bearing debts, the matter is still worse.
This, I think, will make it perfectly clear to every workinvmlin.1




364   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
Interest acts like the tax-gatherer; it enters into all
things, and eats up the profits of labor. Labor marries a
wife and supports a family. Labor needs food, clothing,
and rest. Labor works six days out of every seven, and but
ten hours out of every twenty-four. Labor gets sick, and
has doctor-bills to pay. Interest works twenty-four hours
in a day and seven days in a week.  Interest needs no
clothing. Interest never gets sick or tired. Interest has no
family to support, and needs no almshouse when it gets
old. Interest produces nothing, but consumes everything;
it gathers together the products of labor into largeheaps,
making a few rich and many poor. Labor erects a house,
and then pays from ten to one hundred eper cent. for the
privilege of living in it. Labor produces bread, and then
pays from ten to five hundred per cent. for the privilege of
eating it; every dollar labor can raise goes for interest;
labor remains poor and the Shylocks become rich. Interest
produces nothing. All it does is to transfer the products of
labor to the pockets of the money-lenders, bond-holders, &c.
While this question of interest is the most important of
all the questions connected with the political and social
relations of the people, yet it is less understood, perhaps,
than any other. The poor man, while he toils from year to
year, but little dreams that it is interest that is robbing him
of all he produces.
This matter of interest is the source of all our financial
panics and business prostrations. The man who spends
more than his income will go to the wall sooner or later,
and a nation that spends more than it produces must break
down.   No nation on the globe ever did or ever can
carry a rate of interest above the natural increase of the
national wealth without coming to financial ruin. The
manufacturer, the farmer, the mechanic, and the common
laborer, each run in debt, each dependingupon future labor




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM- H. SYL'IS. 365:
to make up present deficiencies. A vast system of credits is
built up throughout the land. The money-lenders, and the
whole horde of bankers, speculators, and gamblers, are day
by day accumulating additional liens upon the productive
powers of the nation. This condition of things lasts for
about ten years, when labor breaks down under the enormous load. Its resources are exhausted; the rate of interest
can no longer be paid; the creditors begin to crowd the
debtors; a "money panic" ensues, and financial ruin sweeps
over the country, prostrating everything before it; hun.
dredszf millions' worth of property change hands at great
sacrifices - debts are settled at a small percentage on the
dollar - bankrupt laws are enacted - we become a nation
of individual repudiators, and there is a general balancing
of accounts, which simply means transferring all there is from
labor to the pockets of the money-lenders and financial
gamblers.  The bottom  is reached; a lull takes place,
labor renews its energies for a new start, only to have the
same operation repeated over again. And this same operation has been repeated about every ten years, ever since we
have been a nation, and will continue to be repeated so long
as we are cursed by our present monetary system.
The manufacturer, the farmer, the business man of any
kind, needing money, must pay from ten to thirty per cent.
for the use of it. In many cases the profits of his business
are less than the rate of interest demanded. To borrow
would be ruinous; therefore his business must languish, or,
what is very frequently the case, a reduction of wages is
made. This reduction does not always, as is supposed, go
into the pocket of the employer, but into that of the moneylender. Thus do employer and employs suffer from this
system of legal robbery called interest on money.
I have already said that Congress has, by a violation of
the Constitution, delegated the power to fix the value of
31 *




366   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
money to a few bankers, brokers, and usurers. It is true,
that Congress has fixed a rate of interest on its bonds- six
per cent. in gold or about nine per cent. in greenbacksconsidering that they are exempt from taxation, and have
certain other special advantages, the rate is very nearly
thirteen per cent. This may look to many as if Congress
had fixed the rate of interest which determines the value
of money, and it may be said that the fact that this does not
control the rate of interest is a sufficient answer to my argument. That this does not control the rate of interest is evident from the fact that the usual or average rate is far above
thirteen per cent. Would it be otherwise, if the rate of interest on the bonds was but three per cent.? While the
average rate of interest would be less than now, the system
would remain the same, for the reason that while Congress
says that one hundred cents shall make a dollar, it has allowed a few men to monopolize the lending of money, and
to fix their own measure of value. To these all borrowers
must go, because there is nowhere else they can go.
By reason of speculation in gold, and the high rate of interest maintained, a very large proportion of the whole currency of the nation is centralized in the great commercial
centres of the East, leaving the West and South without
money to do business. While money is worth from thirteen
to twenty-five per cent. in Philadelphia, New York, Boston,
and other points East, it is worth much more West and
South; indeed in many places it is not to be had at all. In
many of the manufacturing and mining districts of the interior there has been an almost universal return to the old
order system; and private scrip, such as due bills, &c., is
made to answer as currency. Why? Because the profits of
business are less than the rate of interest on money; and because men cannot borrow money, they are compelled to do
without it- to provide their own currency, or close up alto



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLYIS.     367
gether. In many instances, the employer, to keep his works
going, must borrow money, and must pay more interest for
the use of it than his return in profit; to save himself, he
reduces wages; the workmen, not being able to see where the
true difficulty is, go on a strike —the works are closed, and
employer and workmen go to ruin together.
"Money creates no wealth; it only gathers up and appropriates to its owner things already produced."
Money is not wealth; it only gives to its owner power
over the productions of labor. Wealth is accumulated
labor. Money creates nothing, and has no value whatsoever
to its owner, except as he exchanges it for what labor produces. A man may have a million of dollars, and be very
poor; if he keeps it in his possession, he will starve, he
will be destitute of food, clothing, and shelter. Money has
no value, only as we part with it for something we need.
This is, of course, plain to every mind.
A centralization of wealth is a centralization of power.
When the few possess themselves of everything, and the
many are reduced to that condition of dependence when it
is compulsory to work or starve, then it is that the power
of wealth and the rule of the few is absolute.
The most pernicious effect of wealth is, that it hardens
the heart, blunts the sensibilities, deadens the conscience,
deforms the moral nature, and makes a tyrant of its possessor.
For money, men sacrifice domestic comfort, health, character, and even hazard life itself. For it, they are guilty
of fraud, deception, and robbery. For money, they sacrifice friendship, gratitude, natural affection, and every holy
and divine feeling. For money, man becomes a creeping,
crawling, miserable thing, instead of walking upright, as
God intended he should. Mammon and manhood are in.
compatible.




368   BIOGRAPH Y OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
When wealth accumulates in the hands of the few, the
spirit of vindictiveness - a desire to rule, to get more, to
reduce labor to a condition of vassalage, and to make pliant
tools and helpless, obedient slaves of all who toil at physical labor - develops itself more and more, and widens the
breach between the rich and the poor. As the one goes
up, the other must go dowvn.  The one feels secure in
its power, the other grows restless under fraud and persecution.
Here is the fountain from which flow all the social eruptions that blacken the body politic. Here is the cause of
all strikes and revolutions. So tight has the hold of these
money-changers upon the industry of the country become,
that we will find it a hard job to shake them off. We must
not waste our time in parleying, in trying to coax them to
let go, or thinking we can frighten them away. All this
has been tried. There is but one way left. We must take
them by the neck with a grasp like a vice, and squeeze the
life out of them.
There are but two ways by which this can be done. The
first is by our power at the ballot-box: we can vote them
out of existence, if we will. If we fail to do this, they
will continue to suck at our vitals until, in a fit of desperation, we cut their heads off with the sword.
If, out of the vast wealth we produce, we are to receive
but a miserable subsistence, and no prospect before us but
eternal toil, and starvation or an almshouse in old age; ii
the ballot-box is not a sufficient remedy for these evils; if
a few men will appropriate all to themselves, while labor
toils and starves, then the time will come when an outraged
and enslaved people will rise in their physical power, and
force a more equitable division of the products of their labor
by other means than a lower rate of interest.
What we want, and what we propose to have, is a general




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS. 369
levelling up. I do not mean by this that we desire to pull
anybody down, not even if they are up with a rope around
their necks-as a considerable number of them ought to be;
but we do desire and intend to get up.
The work of accumulation on the one hand, and degradation on the other, must stop. The millions of little streams
of wealth, put into motion by our hands, must find their
way into other and a larger number of pockets. We have
no desire to disturb any man in the possession of what he
now has; we are willing the thieves shall escape with their
plunder; but we say the work of plunder must stop. This
is what we mean by a levelling up; and this levelling up
must be effected by a lower rate of interest, and an entire
change in our monetary system. This change we will have
by one means or another. The bleeding operation has been
going on long enough; the patient is tired of it, and demands
that it be abandoned. We are for a peaceable solution of
this problem; but if there must be blood-letting, it shall be
on the other side.
Confiscation or organism is no part of our plan; but it
does not require a very great stretch of the imagination to
picture the lamp-posts in Wall Street ornamented with the
bloated carcasses of the money-shavers, gold gamblers, and
land-sharks, who are robbing the government and the
people. Labor is forced into an unnatural and degrading
position.. It is at the bottom of the hill instead of at the
top. The products of labor are sifted like corn through a
ladder-labor gets what sticks to the rungs. Out of this
unnatural position we desire to get - through the ballotbox, and by peaceable means, if possible; but we mean to
get out, even if to do so involves the cutting off of a few
heads. If this is a digression from the subject, I ask the
reader's pardon.
Up to this point in the discussion of this question, I have
Y




370   BIOGRAPHY OF WIILLIAM II. SYLVIS.
dwelt almost entirely upon the power of money to accumulate value by interest. Having, I trust, made this part of
the subject clear to every reader, I shall now offer a few remarks on the " material" of money.
The reader will remember that I have already said that
only the precious metals are fit to make money with is a
fallacy, and has been adhered to by those who have taken
upon themselves the management of financial affairs, for no
other reason than because it furnished the surest and most
secure means of controlling and enslaving the productive
industry of the world.
For the first time in the history of civilization, we find a
wide-spread and earnest effort in favor of a currency made
exclusively of paper; and it is not surprising that these efforts have been opposed by many workingmen. We have
all been educated to the idea that money could only be
made of gold. In fighting this battle against the centralizing power of " gold money," and against the whole monetary system as it now exists, we have to combat the accumulated prejudices of thousands of years, a vast amount of
ignorance and indifference, besides the combined power of
the worst moneyed aristocracy in the world.
There are very few men, outside of those who control
financial affairs, who have given the subject of money any
consideration, and all who have written upon it have viewed
it from a gold stand-point.
Workingmen, as a general thing, have given the matter
no attention whatever. They have taken it for granted
that the subject was so deep and mysterious as to be entirely beyond their reach. They have supposed that only
men educated in all the arts and mysteries of financial problems could handle it; therefore they have given it the goby, allowing bankers, brokers, and other swindlers to do
their thinking for them.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVIS. 371
One hundred and fifty years ago, Bishop Berkeley wrote
a pamphlet called the Querist, in which he took strong
ground against gold, and in favor of paper money. So fierce
was the denunciation of his work and of himself by the
wealthy, and so ignorant and indifferent were the workingpeople, that his little book soon became obsolete, and for
nearly a hundred years the idea slept: men who entertained
the same idea were not bold enough to proclaim it. It was
not until the great work of Edward Kellogg made its appearance that any definite shape was given to it, or that men
began to study and comprehend it. This work made a deep
impression on the minds of a few men, while the many cast
it aside, and the newspaper press almost universally denounced it as the production of a lunatic. In 1864, Hon.
Alexander Campbell, of Illinois, issued a pamphlet called
the "Free American System of Finance," which was a
powerful defence of the Kellogg theory of money. This
work was widely read in the West, and made many converts.
During the winter of 1865, Mr. Kuykendall, of Illinois,
introduced a bill in Congress, providing for a national currency to be exclusively paper, and made a very able speech
on it. These were widely circulated, and did good work.
In 1868, Mr. Cary, of Ohio, the only workingman's Congressman ever elected, presented a bill looking to the same
end, and made a powerful speech upon it. These, too, were
scattered broadcast over the country.
In the meantime, others had taken up the subject, and it
began to make slow but certain progress. It was left for
the 2National Labor Union, at its second session, August,
1867, to be the first public body to adopt it, and proclaim
it to the world as the central idea of their platform and organization. So rapidly is this idea of a people's money
being spread, and so deep is its hold upon the people, that
its enemies — all who are interested in swindling labor —




372   BIOGRAPIHY OF WILLIAM        H. SYLVIS.
are becoming alarmed, and beginning to denounce it. This
is the point we have long been desiring to reach, knowing
very well that just so soon as a fair hearing could be had,
our ideas would prevail.
The accumulation of a vast public debt, and a system of
taxation the most odious in the world, with a national bank
monopoly, and the gigantic swindles going on in all parts
of the country,'even in the treasury department at Washington, have opened the eyes of the people. Workingmen
are taking hold of the question, and find it no difficult matter to unlock the whole mystery, and are astonished to learn
how they are being swindled, and wonder why they never
discovered it before.
Just now the world is being agitated by a cry for an international currency. The wise men who arrogate to themselves the right to do our thinking on financial matters,
have not condescended to tell us what this cry means, nor
do I believe one of them could give a satisfactory explanation if put upon the witness-stand. They might tell us that
it meant a money that would go in all countries at a fixed
value. But as the world has, and always did have, such a
currency, there is neither sense nor reason in the cry or the
explanation. Bullion- gold in the lump —has always
been an international currency. That it may be improved
upon, I admit; and the best way to improve it is for the
world to make its money out of paper, and reduce gold to
an article of merchandise.
When we talk of an exclusive paper currency, the question is asked, " How are we to settle balances of trade, and
what are men to do who desire to travel in foreign countries
where your paper money would not pass?"
Balances of trade are never paid with money. If, in our
dealings with England, we find, at the end of the year, a
balance against us of $50,000,000, this balance is paid with




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.             373
gold, but not with money. They take our gold coin at its
weight, without any regard to the legal stamp upon it; and
they would much sooner have gold bars than gold dollars.
By establishing paper money, we would in no wise alter
our manner of doing business with other countries. As
money does not in any way enter into our foreign dealings
now, it would not then. As all business between us and
foreign nations is now carried on by a simple exchange of
commodities, so it would be then. We export cotton, corn,
and wheat, and import sugar, coffee, and cloth; that is, we
trade the one for the other. If we get more than we give,
we settle the balance with something else. If they want no
more of the produce of our farms or workshops, we give
them the production of our mines-iron, copper, lead, silver,
or gold; and when they take our gold it is no more money
than is our wheat; the quantity of wheat they take is measured by dollars, so is the quantity of gold. If our merchants desire to settle balances with gold, let them buy it,
as they do cotton and corn. If our people desire to travel
in foreign countries, they will do just as they must do nowsecure a sufficient amount of gold, which they will convert
into money that will pass where they are going.
But we are told that to establish a paper currency, will
be to undo the experience of six thousand years, and go
back upon every established principle of political efonomy.
Well, suppose it is. If men have worshipped a golden idol
for six thousand years, is that a good reason why we should
continue it? If the people have been robbed, and kept in
poverty end wretchedness for six thousand years, is that a
good reason why they should still permit it? If gold is the
god that has always ruled and ruined in despotisms, is that
a good reason why it should do so in a republic?  We
think not. Therefore the cry, Down with this false god;
cleanD out Wall Street and the treasury department, as Christ
32;.




374   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
cleaned out the temple, and let the betrayers of the people
do as did Judas their illustrious predecessor - go and hang
themselves.
Must we stick to gold because all the theories of political
economists are built upon it?  We think not. This is an
age of reform; this is a time when old things are pulled
down, and new things are built up; and if the " established
principles " of political economy are wrong, and are in the
way, they must come down.
The whole system of political economy, from beginning
to end, is an apology for tyranny, and the whole tribe of
political economists are humbugs; they are such because
they have humbugged the people, and at their head standsc
the prince of humbugs, John Stuart Mill.
I desire to show how the flow of gold from tle United
States has affected the currency.
In 1855, there were $90,000,000 of gold in the Bank of
England, and the rate of interest fell to four per cent. By the
close of 1856, the amount of gold in said bank had fallen to
less than $50,000,000, and the rate of interest rose to seven
per cent. Immediately, gold began to flow towards England. In 1857, the amount of gold in the Bank of England
fell to $35,000,000, and interest rose to ten per cent. -the
highest point ever reached. Within a very short time,
over $30,000,000 of gold left New York. This thirty millions of gold had been the basis of at least one hundred and
twenty millions of State bank paper, besides many millions
of commercial credits.
This sudden departure of gold unsettled all financial
arrangements; credits and value were alike disturbed; confidence was destroyed; a panic seized the people, and a run
on the banks commenced. "The regular discount of bills
by the banks had mostly suspended, and the street rates for
money, even on unquestioned securities, rose to three, four,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM I-I. SYLVIS.           375
and even five per cent. a month. On ordinary securities of
merchants, such as promissory notes and bills of exchange,
money was not to be had at any rate."  The Commercial
Agency of New York reported the debts of the country
merchants to be two thousand two hundred and eighty-two millions of dollars, and the debts of the whole country to be
over twelve thousand millions of dollars,- a sum four times
greater than our present national debt. This vast system
of credits and utter financial rottenness was the result of a
vicious system of paper money - " wild-cat "- based upon
gold, and its offspring, a high rate of interest. With such
a load of accumulated debt piled upon the back of productive industry, it only required the first brick to fall to knock
down the whole row.
I have said that the sudden departure of $30,000,000
of gold took away the basis at least of $120,000,000 of
bank paper. The holders of these notes were swindled.
The notes purported to be the representatives of money,
when, in fact, they represented nothing. They rested upon
gold; the gold was taken away, and the whole structure
fell to the ground, involving the whole industry of the
country in disaster and ruin. The same thing was repeated
in 1861, when the amount of gold in the Bank of England
fell to less than $60,000,000, and the rate of interest rose
to eight per cent. It was not until the adoption of the greenback law, in 1862, that relief came. Immediately on the
passage of that law, confidence was restored, new life and
energy were infused into every department of industry, and
although involved in a gigantic war, the people started upon
a period of prosperity without a parallel in the history of
the nation.  This high degree of prosperity was the
result of a partial divorce of'the government from gold
money.
The government's necessities compelled Congress to adopt




376  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
the greenback law. Our armies were in the field, but there
was no money to feed and clothe them. Congress asked for
money, and instantly the vault-doors of the banks were
closed; the patriotic and Christian bankers hid away their
gold, and left our soldiers to shiver and starve, and the
industries of the country were almost entirely suspended.
Not only had inactivity paralyzed the nation, but a feeling
of alarm, bordering on despair, was rapidly taking hold of
the people; and the more urgent became the necessity, the
-tighter did these patriotic and Christian bankers draw the
strings of their money-bags. To save the life of the nation,
Congress was compelled to make a new money.
The great mistake made was, that the greenbacks were
made payable in gold; they should have been separated
entirely from gold, and made money absolutely. The perpetuity of the government should have been their cornerstone. Upon their face should have been written: " This is
the money of the United States, and is receivable for all
debts, public and private."  But, unfortunately, Congress
made two kinds of money-one for the government and one
for the people. It made gold-its worst enemy —the
corner-stone of the greenback; and it made two classes of
debts, one payable in gold and the other in greenbacks.
Immediately there began a war between greenbacks and
gold; and just as soon as the war closed, there began a
cry from Wall Street - that den of thieves - for a return
to specie payments. This cry was taken up by bankers
and brokers all over the country. Pretty soon it was given
out that the Supreme Court would declare the greenback
law unconstitutional. But for this, there would have been
no pause in the prosperity of the country. If, in 1867, the
sudden flow of gold out of the country caused the panic
of that year, why did not the same result follow in 1866,
when the rate of interest in the Bank of England rose to
ten per cent., and large amounts of gold left the country?




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS. 377
All will remember that in the latter part of 1866 we had
a general prostration of trade, from which we have not yet
recovered; but we had no real panic. Why this difference? It was because we had got rid of the local or State
banks. Previous to 1857, we had a paper currency based
upon gold, and issued by irresponsible parties; and when in
that year it was discovered there was no gold to redeem
this " wild money," the paper became suddenly worthlessa market-basketful would not buy a breakfast. The gold
having disappeared, and the paper being good for nothing,
the country was without any money at all; and for nearly
five years the nation was involved in utter financial ruin,
and want, misery, and squalid poverty stalked through the
land. If these results did not follow a suspension of specie
payment in 1862, nor at any time since, it was because our
greenbacks were issued by the government. They rested
upon a foundation stronger than gold -they remained
good when there was not a dollar of gold to be had. In
this fact we have a more powerful argument in favor of a
paper money based upon the credit of the government, and
entirely separated from gold; for, even though they were a
promise to pay in gold, the absence of gold did not destroy
their value.
The greenbacks carried us safely through the war, and
saved the life of the nation; and, after the close of the war,
nothing saved us from such financial ruin as the world
never saw, but our greenbacks. And had Congress separated them from gold entirely, and given us enough to do
the business of the country, the industrial and commercial
interests of the nation would have remained undisturbed.
In these instances of a sudden flow of gold out of the
country, and the fact that for a long time past there has
been more gold going out of the country than was produced
or being brought into it, we find the strongest argument
32 *




378   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
against gold as a material for money. If our money was
all made of paper, and gold was reduced to a simple article
of commerce, the same as iron, wheat, cotton, corn, etc., the
Bank of England might raise her rate of interest to fifty
per cent., and every ounce of gold in the country might
be taken away, it would have no effect whatever upon our
country.
The advocates of a metallic currency, or " gold money,"
tell us that the material out of which money is made must
have a value within itself equal to its legal value. That is,
a twenty-dollar gold piece must weigh enough to make its
commercial value as gold as much as its legal value in money, so that if the legal stamp were removed, it would still
be worth twenty dollars. This, they tell us, constitutes the
basis of a sound currency- that is, it is money, and rests
upon itself; is dependent upon no other thing to give it
permanent value.
Instead of this being a good argument in favor of gold as
a material for money, I consider it one of the strongest
arguments against it, and for the same reason that gold is
not a fit basis for money made of paper, because it is small
in quantity, easily concealed or taken out of the country,
and when it disappears it takes with it its value as money
as well as its value as gold. When gold goes to Europe to
settle balances against us, it does not go as money, but as.
gold - as bullion; the moment it crosses the border it loses
its legal value; but it does'not leave its legal value behind
it to circulate as money. Its power as money dies; as money, it is entirely wiped out of existence, and its place is filled
by nothing else.
A democratic money, a people's money, a money fit for a
republican form of government, must be cheap, safe, convenient, abundant, an inexportable.  Cheap in the material
out of which it. is made, and that material must belong ab



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.            379
solutely to the government; that is, it must be a material
in which there can be no possibility of speculation, a material that nobody will have except for its legal value. It
must bear a low rate of interest, that it may be cheap to all
who desire to use it.
It must be safe. It must rest upon something that has
positive and permanent value; something that cannot be
destroyed without destroying the government; something
that cannot be collected together in small heaps, in a few
hands, and hid away out of sight; something that cannot
be carried out of the country. Money must be as a house
built upon a rock; the foundation upon which it stands
must be indestructible and immovable; permanent as the
government itself. These are the elements of safety.
It must be convenient. It must be easy of transportation, small in bulk and of little weight, so that it can be
sent from place to place at little cost, and be carried about
in the pocket for every-day use, without hindrance or inconvenience. Lycurgus money, that took a yoke of oxen to
pull a hundred dollars, was too cumbersome; it was just the
opposite of a convenient currency. It must be convenient
to get; all who desire to use it must be able to get it without
bar or hindrance, by a simple compliance with the law.
It must be abundant. There must be no limit to its
quantity, except the laws of supply and demand. To limit
the amount in dollars, and say no more shall be issued, is
to create a monopoly; to place much in the hands of some,
and none in the hands of others, is to create borrowers and
lenders, and place the borrowers at the mercy of the lenders.
If a few men can control all the flour there is, they can fix
their own price, and the people must pay it. If a few men
can control all the money there is, they can fix their own
rate of interest, and the borrowers must pay it.
Money - all money -should be created by the govern



380 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
ment, out of a material that will admit of no speculation.
The government should be the only lender, and should lend
at the same rate of interest to all borrowers, and the government rate of interest should never exceed one and a half
per cent. They would secure an abundant currency at all
times and under all circumstances.
It should be inexportable. That is, it should have no
value outside of our own country. A money that can be
taken out of the country, either to settle balances of trade,
to purchase goods or property in other countries, or for any
other purpose, is not a safe, a reliable currency; because
every dollar taken away lessens the quantity, creates a
vacancy, and to that extent unsettles values and disturbs
the whole business of the nation.
When we have secured these five necessary qualities -
cheap, safe, convenient, abundant, and inexportable -we
will have a democratic money; we will no longer present to
the world the inconsistency of a republican government
with a monarchical currency.
One of the very best results of the late war is the practical demonstration of the utility of paper money, and its
many and great advantages over gold. In nothing is this
so clearly shown as in the fact that the same cause (a flow
of gold from the country) which produced the financial
panics of 1847, 1857, and 1861, has not disturbed us since
the passage of the greenback law.
We see that in 1847 the rate of interest in the Bank of
England rose to eight per cent., in 1857, to ten per cent.,
and in 1861, to eight per cent. At each of these periods a
large amount of gold left the country, and a panic ensued.
In 1862 the greenback law was passed, and a paper lnoney
was substituted for gold. In 1863 the rate of interest in
the Bank of England rose to eight and a half per cent., in
1864, to nine per cent., in 1865, to eight per cent., and in




,BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 381
1866, to ten per cent.; during the whole of this time- from
1862 to the present time-the flow of gold from the United
States has been very great, most of the time more than was
produced by our mines and that imported, that is, there
was more gold went out of the country than came in; and
notwithstanding this almost continuous flow of gold from us
sometimes in quantities greater than ever before - so little
did it affect our currency or the business interest of the nation, that no one stopped to inquire whether gold was going
out or coming into the country.
Practically, there has not been a gold dollar in the country since 1862, because none were in circulation; and for the
purpose for which it has been used, it would have been better in the shape of bars, than in the shape of dollars. The
reason why this continual and heavy flow of gold from the
country did not affect our currency or our business, was because it did not go from us as money; it did not take a single dollar from our circulation; it did not disturb the value
of our greenbacks, because the greenbacks rested upon
something stronger than gold, something that the people
valued more highly than gold; they rested upon the credit
and stability of the government.
Our experience since 1862 has proven that there is a security, a reliability in paper money, that "gold money"
never did and never can have; and it furnishes the most incontestable proof of the correctness of our position, that
gold is not a fit material out of which to make money.
We must not lose sight of the fact that all this experience, all this accumulated mountain of evidence against gold,
is the result of a paper money only partially separated fiom
gold. Greenbacks are a promise to pay gold; they are not
a legal tender for all things, therefore they are not absolutely money. They are not receivable by the bond-holders
for interest on the public debt, nor by the government for
duties on imports.




382  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
The great mistake made by Congress was that it did not
make the greenback money instead of a promise to pay,
and a legal-tender in payment of all debts to the people by
the government, and to the government by the people.
There should have been a total separation from gold.
The New York World - the organ of the gold gamblers
- tells us that such a currency would create " a prodigious
inflation of the currency. Supposing the natural rate of
interest [natural rate of interest is very good] to be seven
per cent., if men can borrow at half that rate, they will be
likely to use double the quantity of money," that is, if industry is prostrated because of a high rate of interest;
lower the rate, and men will borrow money, and business
will revive; or to put it in plainer terms, if a manufacturer
can only run his shop with half his usual number of employes, reduce the rate one-half, and he could borrow money
to fill up his shop and run full time. At a high rate of
interest, the builder is not willing to embark in new enterprises; reduce the rate one-half, and he would put up whole
rows of new houses. At a high rate of interest, the farmer
cannot afford to make improvements; but lower the rate
one-half, and he will build a new barn, make new fences,
underdrain his swamp lands, and put his farm in complete
order. But, according to the World, to stimulate industry
by plenty of money and a low rate of interest, would be a
national calamity.
A high rate of interest is the mill-stone about the neck
of labor; it cripples the energy of the whole people, and
retards production; because of it thousands and tens of
thousands of workingmen are out of employment, and want
and misery are abroad in the land. Reduce the rate of interest to three per cent., and give us a national currency
made of paper, and new enterprises will be started, machinery now idle will be put in motion; there will be work for




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 383
all, and peace and plenty will bless the land. This, the
World thinks, would be a disaster. Perhaps it would to the
World and its backers, but not to honest people.
Why is the rate of interest so high? Because it is but a
limited quantity in the country, and that is controlled by a
few men who control the rate of interest. The borrowers are
many and the lenders few. If one thousand barrels of flour
come to market, and there is no more to come, and everybody wants flour, a few men will buy it all up, and charge
whatever their conscience will allow.
All monopolies are wrong, and especially monopolies of
the necessaries of life; but the most infamous of them all
is a monopoly of money, and a government that will permit
it is not a government of the people.
Expansion and contraction are terms very much used,
and it would be well if workingmen understood their full
meaning.
Inflation, in the sense in which it is used, does not mean
a plentiful supply of money. It means too much money -
money lying around loose - a quantity of money above
the wants or demands of the people. Inflation, as used by
the World and its masters, means too nuch. There cannot
be too much money, until everybody has enough. There
can be no such thing as an inflation of flour, until everybody has as much as they can eat. There is just as much
sense in saying there is too much flour in the country, when
half the people were hungry for bread and could not get it,
as to say there is too much money in the country, when
half the people have none, and no way of getting it. This
word inflation is held up before the people as a hideous
monster, and is one of the scarecrows used to frighten the
ignorant and unsuspecting. We also hear a great deal of
talk about an irredeemable currency. We are told that a
purely paper currency would be an irredeemable currency,




384   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.
therefore good for nothing. Why, workingmen, there is no
such thing as irredeemable money. Whenever it ceases to
be redeemable, it ceases to he money, because it has lost all
the qualities of money. It is redeemable so long as it circulates, and whenever it ceases to circulate, that is, whenever
people refuse to take it, it ceases to be currency. Money is
a lien upon every dollar's worth of property in the nation;
money will buy anything that is for sale, even congressmen;
money is being redeemed continually; it is redeemed whenever it is paid out for value received.
The same $10 bill may be redeemed a dozen or fifty
times in a day. One man pays it out for flour, another for
rent, a third for coal, a fourth for clothes, and so on; and it is
redeemed every time it is paid out. But, say these croakers,
paper money must be redeemable in gold, that is, it must be
exchangeable for "gold money."  A man must be able to
swop dollars; but money was not made to buy money, and
I fail to see the sense in trading one dollar for another.
But paper money is redeemable in gold. Greenbacks will
buy gold watches, or any other articles made of gold, or
gold in the lump or bar. Thus are they redeemable in gold,
as in flour.
If workingmen will just stop and think a little, they will
see that all the greenbacks they can get are redeemed for
rent, clothing, provisions, just about as fast as they can get
them.
Expansion and contraction. The one means a low rate
of interest, plenty of money, labor fully employed, high
wages, no credit, cash for everything, and the general prosperity of the people.
The other means a high rate of interest, no money, low
wages, store pay, idleness, poverty, and want. Wall Street
and the World go for contraction, honest people go for expansion.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 385
The Cary bill proposes to reach the same point, but by a
different road. It provides for the issuing of a paper money
to be called " Treasury Certificates," the notes to be in denominations of $1 upwards to $1,000, not bearing interest,
and to be a. legal tender for all debts public and private;
this includes all taxes, duties on imports, interest on the
public debt, except that portion the interest of which is
made payable in gold, and all other debts due the government.
It further provides for the. issue of bonds in denominations of not less than $100, nor more than $10,000, said
bonds to bear three per cent. interest. The bonds to be convertible into money, or the money into bonds, at the will
of the holder.
Let me illustrate this.
Mr. Jones has a $1,000 bond bearing three per cent.; if
he holds this bond one year the interest will be $30. If he
wishes to borrow money he deposits his bond with the government, and gets $1,000 in " Treasury Certificates"'  This
money he keeps one year, then returns it and takes up his
bond. For this year he receives no interest on the bond, or,
in other words, while he holds the bond, the government'pays him three per cent., when he converts the bond into
money the interest stops. So long as he can make more
than three per cent. out of the money he will keep it, and
when his profit falls below three per cent. he will return the
money and take up the bond.
This is the monetary system proposed by the National
Labor Union, and is emphatically a people's monetary
system.
There could be no speculation in these bonds, because
they are issued by the government, directly to the people,
and every person with a hundred could buy a bond, and
every person with a bond could borrow money directly from
33                  z




386   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
the government, at three per cent. The government would
be the only lender, and the whole people would be the borrowers, and between the borrowers and the lender there
could be no middlemen - brokers, money-changers, and
skinners-to swindle the people by high rates of interest,
as there is now under our present monetary system.
This would, of course, abolish all banks of issue, and
leave the present national banks merely banks of " deposit,
loans, and discounts."
This bill further provides that the national banks shall
return their notes to the treasury department within six
months, the notes to be returned in sums not less than
$1,000, and for every $1,000, or more, of these notes returned, a just and proper amount of bonds pledged for their
redemption shall be returned to such bank. And should
any bank fail to return its notes, or any part of them,
within six months, the interest on the whole amount of
bonds deposited with the treasurer by such bank shall
cease; and in case the whole or any part of the notes of
such bank are not returned within two years, the bonds, or
other securities in the hands of the treasurer, shall be forfeited to the government, and used to redeem the outstanding notes. It also provides that all debts, bonded or otherwise, of the government, contracted to be paid since July 1,
1861 (except such as are made payable in gold), and all
debts which may hereafter be incurred, shall be paid in
"Treasury Certificates," or in three per cent. bonds, at the
option of the creditor.
It authorizes the secretary of the treasury to give notice
to the holders of bonds, or other obligations of the government, to present the same for payment or exchange, when
due and payable, or redeemable at the option of the government, within five months, and, failing to do so, the interest
shall stop. The holders of the bonds or other obligations




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H-. SYLVIS. 387
to have the right to exchange them for the three per cent.
bonds, or receive in payment the "Treasury Certificates,"
at their option.
With this I will leave the subject for the present, and if
I have succeeded in making it plain to the mind of a single
individual, I am amply paid for my labor.
[The following Essays are taken from the ron-IMoulders' lnternational Jouracl, without regard to date.]
CO-OPERATION.
OF all the questions now before us, not one is of so great
importance, or should command so large a portion of our
consideration, as co-operation.
In the darkest hours of the Revolution, Tom Paine said,
" These are the times that try men's souls." What was true
of the immortal patriots of that day is true of the moulders
of this day, for so many of them are walking about that it
not only tries their soles, but many find it hard to keep
them in repair.
Many who, in the days of prosperity, were deaf to the
voice of reason and wise counsel, blind to the ways that
lead to competence and independence, heedless of all warnings of danger ahead, and unwilling to contribute a small
portion of their wages against the days of adversity, are now
being convinced by the most powerful argument in the
world - a hungry stomach.
During the war, when there was an artificial demand for
almost everything, and when a large portion of the workingmen of the country was in the army, those who remained
in the workshops had things pretty, much their own way;
and when warned that then was the time to prepare for the
universal prostration of trade sure to follow upon the heels
of the war, they laughed at those who pointed to the




388   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
future, and acted just as though dull times were so far off
that they would end their natural existence before they
would arrive. All the teachings of history "were disregarded, and those who preached and taught co-operation
were hooted at as alarmists, old fogies, and weak-kneed
prophets. But the car of time rolled on, the war ended,
armies were disbanded, emigration increased, every avenue
of industry was over-run, unwise legislation destroyed confidence and drove capital out of the industrial pursuits
into gold, interest-bearing, untaxable bonds; money ceased
to circulate among the people, the bottom dropped," and
ruin, want, and misery filled the whole land. With this
came sober reflection; men began to see that when they
could they did not, and when they would they could not,
Time, that severest of all teachers, is now teaching us one
more lesson; but this time it is finding more willing scholars
than formerly. It is very instructive, as well as amusing,
to watch the course of events, and note the many little incidents that go to make up the great things of every-day
life; and among the many things that occur from day to
day none are more interesting than the new.face co-operation has put upon many things in our trade..As long as we can remember, it has been the custom
among our employers, whenever trade was dull, to demand
a reduction of w-ages, upon the ground that they were
making no profit; were only running their shops out of
charity for us poor devils, and that, to enable them to run
without loss, we must " Ccomme down."  A case in point in
tills city will illustrate where this " loss" on their part
comes in. One firm asserted, in justification of a reduction of wages, that thely had lost $25,000 in 1867. When
the truth became known, the case stood as follows: at the
first of the year 1867, they made calculations as to what
their profits should be for the  ear, — it was set down at




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 389
$128,000. After taking account of stock at the end of the
year, it was found that they had made but a trifle over
$103,000, - therefore they lost $25,000. What a pity!
We poor silly fools used to believe these stories about no
" profit," etc., and out of charity for our employers would
submit without complaint to a reduction of wages. But a
change has taken place. Those of us who used to insist
that all this talk about "loss," " no profit," and so on, was
the same as the talk of the spider to the fly, " Come into
my house, little fly," and little fly went in, to have the meat
picked off his bones, are no longer laughed at.
The sworn statements of several of our co-operative foundries have opened the eyes of many of our members to the fact
that there is money in the foundry business. The employers, seeing that the thick wall that has so long surrounded
their business, and secured it from the vulgar gaze of conmmon people, has been penetrated, are becoming alarmed.
Some of them go so far as to say these sworn statements are
false; others endeavor to account for these large profits in
various ways. They have received a severe "dig" in
the short ribs, and, seeing that these "digs " are to be
repeated, they don't know what to do, nor which way to
turn.
A meeting of the employers of this city and vicinity was
held in January, to consider the subject of a reduction of
wages. The measure was strongly opposed on the ground
that it would drive the men into co-operation. This was
ridiculed by one or two; but when it was shown what had
been done elsewhere, it had the effect to cool down the
angry passions of those who wanted to " go the whole hog."
Straws show which way the wind blows.
Two years ago, co-operation with us was an unsolved
problem; now it is a practical fact. The first company was
organized in April, 1866, during the great lock-out; now,
83 *




390   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS,
there are eight shops in operation, all successful. There
are four other shops nearly ready to start, and about twenty
companies organized or in course of organization, and the
sound of preparation for co-operation comes from every
quarter. For years I have been teaching the doctrine, that
under the system of paying wages to labor and profits to
capital, there never was nor never could be any identity
of interest between employers and employed. Both were
actuated by the same motive and controlled by the same
principle- to buy in the cheapest and sell in the dearest
market. The result of this could be nothing but antagonism.
For teaching this idea of universal war between those
who worked for wages and those who pocketed the profits,
I have been fiercely assailed, not only by capitalists, who
get ninety per cent. of the whole product of labor, but by
many laboring-men, who get but ten per cent. of what they
produce. Ten years ago I was universally denounced as a
dangerous man, a revolutionist, an agrarian. It was an innovation upon the established principles of political economy taught by all the old fogies and apologists of tyranny
from Adam Smith to John Stuart Mill. To-day, the labor
of this country is acting upon this idea of antagonism, fully
satisfied that there can be no identity of interests between
laborers and capitalists until the whole system of wages is
broken down, and labor and capital are made to share the
profits in just proportion.
Co-operation is the only true remedy for low wages,
strikes, lock-outs, and a thousand other impositions and
annoyances to which workingmen are subjected. Let us
move steadily forward on the line of co-operation, and in
ten years from now our troubles will have an end.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLYIS. 391
THE   USES OF     CO-OPERATION.
To the laboring masses of the Old World belongs the
credit of first mraking manifest the advantages of co-operation. Oppressed to a greater degree, necessity seems to
have driven our transatlantic brethren to new experiments,
which were better calculated to fortify them against the
power of capitalists. Reforms were started to check the
progressive social degradation which threatened enslavement, and to secure such political rights as would place the
weapons of self-defence within their reach. Years of labor
and sacrifice, marked by the most commendable zeal, were
devoted to many of them; but not until the clarion-notes
of "self-help" rung out from Rochdale did a gleam of sunshine light up their pathway.
Had the oppressors of labor dreamed that, from co-operation, the toilers of England would derive an irresistible
power, and place within their grasp the mneans to meet their
adversaries in social conflict, the outcry against that experiment would have been just as fierce as that raised against
ally other reform. But, unconnected with strikes, lock-outs,
and wholly distinct from the question of wages or hours of
labor, they considered it a " hobby," which would divert the
masses from other efforts to ameliorate their condition, and
afford capitalists a happy respite from the "unreasonable
demands" of workingmen.    Hence, co-operation met the
approval of nearly all classes of society.
But they have lived to learn that from the root of this
new system of self-protection spring many branches, which
are destined to overshadow various reforms. It is the corner-stone of a superstructure which will be the harbinger
of social and, it may be, of political emancipation in Europe, -and everywhere its influence for good will be felt,
for, like the banyan-tree, where it branches it takes root.




392   BIOGRAPHY      OF WILLIAM      H. SYLVIS.
It has been but a few years since an offshoot of the parent
stem was transplanted in this country, and already there is
a glorious promise of abundant fruit. That it can be made
more effective and more productive under our free institutions, none can doubt. All the system needs here is, that it
shall be subjected to the same tests. It is possible, however, that the indifference of American workmen may require an experience of the same stern necessities which
forced co-operation into existence in Europe. We hope
not. God forbid that we should suffer the tortures of that
travail which gave the system birth abroad. We know
what it has done —what it can do —and we must be incredulous, indeed, if we hesitate for one moment to give it
our full confidence and support, in view of the great results
it has accomplished. Richly will we merit all the evils it
can remove, if we fail to make use of it.
Co-operation has enabled the workingmen to provide
against the necessity of strikes. In one sense, it is a savingsbank, in which they can deposit spare earnings, however
small. The little capital invested is scarcely felt, and all the
time it is increasing, until the dividends amount to a small
annuity - whether in the shape of increased stock, money,
or goods. It is a relay which can be depended upon in
trouble, affliction, or any misfortune that may come upon
us. We need not enumerate the many additional comforts
thus secured to the poor man's home. Its genial influence
shines with brighter lustre around the domestic hearthstone,
while it renders the workman independent of necessities
which often compel him to submit to hectoring, domineering, and insults of every kind that tyranny can inflict.
Against all these he is protected, because the employer is
conscious that he possesses the means to resent imposition.
And should he be forced to that last resort -a strike- his
ability to endure idleness will not depend upon the amount




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 393
of trust he can obtain of the corner grocer, of the baker, or
of the butcher. He falls back upon the "nest-egg" doposited in the co-operative store, and when that is exhausted, he meets with a confidence and a sympathy that
will save himself and family from want.
Why is it that the workingmen of England, more depressed, subjected to more unreasonable exactions, and, as
many suppose, occupying a lower social standard, have become so successful in their efforts to advance wages, secure
privileges long denied them, and become so perfect in their
trade organizations? These questions are all answered by
the simple compound word - co-operation. Just in proportion as that lever of self-help was used to pry off the load
of oppression which weighed them down, to that degree
have they burst the bonds which bound them to a degrading servility; and now they are gradually emerging from
despondency to that state of manhood which enables them
to assert and maintain their rights. To have made this
happy progress in. the face of laws which discriminate in
favor of wealth, against the frowns of an aristocracy ever
jealous of the slightest innovations upon customs held as
sacred as the statutes, proves that co-operation possesses a
power and an elevating influence which should make the
system a part of every workingman's existence.
Workingmen of America! if co-operation has accomplished such grand results abroad, what can it not do here?
With liberal institutions, every man a law-maker, farther
advanced in social and political rights, the uses of co-operation are of fourfold value to us. Make the system as perfect here; let capitalists see that we possess all the advantages the system will confer, and, our word for it, there will
be no necessity for strikes or conflicts of any kind. There
will be no attempts to reduce wages, no lock-outs, no offensive rules posted up in workshops, no display of tyranny.




394   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
ETve.ry reasonable demand will be conceded, and a greater
degree of equality will be established in society.  The
power which co-operation confers will be respected, and
capitalists will be slow to engage in a tilt at arms with
mien doubly armed for the struggle. Let us urge our toiling brethren, then, to give this subject their imimediate
attention. The work it has already accomplished in this
country, even in its infancy, gives promise of a glorious
future; but if the system is adopted, and pursued with the
same zeal and ardor which marks its onward career abroad,
who shall estimate the blessings which co-operation will
confer upon American workingmen in all coming time?
THE POOR MAN'S HOME.
POETS and essayists have sung and written a great deal
about the beauty and simplicity of the poor man's home,
and theorists have employed the aid of art to prove that
contentment and poverty are inseparable; but "The Cotter's Saturday Night," "The Village Blacksmith," "The
Flat-Boat," etc., as illustrations, are far more welcome to
the rich man's parlor than would be the living realities
which they represent. The whitewashed cottage, the cleanswept hearth, the creeping vines, the fresh-budding flowers,
and " the moss-covered bucket," afford themes for highlycolored pictures of humble life, which never fail to captivate romantic misses and sentimental young men, whose
ideas of "love in a cottage" form a part of their youthful
dreams. Those who enjoy wealth and luxury too often
derive their impressions from the artist's pencil or the finespun theories of magazine writers, and settle down in the
belief that the poor are exempt from many cares incident




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              395
to riches, and that it's "all moonshine" to prate of the distress and privations of the toiling poor. This outside view
of poverty is very apt to satisfy the conscience, and shut
out from the heart those feelings of charity which make us
"feel each other's woes."
But there is an inside view of poverty which the true
Christian and philanthropist will sometimes pause to gaze
upon. The smile of cheerful greeting, as wealth passes the
door of poverty, is not always an index to sunshine within.
The canker gnaws none the less when pride places the " best
foot foremost," and many a weary and worn soul struggles
hardest to keep up appearances in the darkest hour of adversity. If the poor man is blessed with a thrifty wife who
turns his weekly pittance to the best advantage, his condition, and that of the family, are proportionately benefited;
but what can the affluent know of the pinch and stint, the
self-denial and privation practised to "make both ends
meet"?   What one throws away as mere offal, the other
dishes up in various ways to tempt the palate; for nothing
must be wasted in the poor man's home. One selects the
rib or juicy surloin, the other must be satisfied with the
neck and other cheap pieces; one can have his pick, while
the other must be content with the refuse of the market.
The toiler must put up with nourishless soups and frequent
meatless meals. Deteriorated tea and coffee must suffice,
when it can be afforded at all; and, as to clothing, a change
of inferior domestic fabrics is all that he can aspire to.
This is the difference between rich and poor, under the
best management; but it as often occurs with one as the
other, that want of experience, indolence, or incompatibility
of temper, proves the curse of the household. Such a condition of things is, indeed, a calamity to the poor. The
former can provide against this misfortune by hiring help
-but not the latter. With them it sometimes happens




396   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS.
tlhat the husband is idle, intemperate, or improvident, and,
on the other hand, the wife may be thriftless, slovenly, and
wastefuill. She may be broken down by excessive labor, or
crushed by the despondency of her hopeless condition.
Under such circumstances, there is a life-battle with want
and suffering, uncheered by one ray of hope -- with no prospect of deliverance. No word of encouragement is given 
no helping hand is extended. They are shunned because
they are poor, and proscribed because they show it. Is it
any wonder that despair drives many such to vice and
crime? for there is nothing before them but hunger and
want in the meridian of life, or the almshouse in old age.
But, in the brightest phase of poverty, look at the incident " pull backs " in the shape of lost time, sickness, medicine, doctors' bills, etc. - perhaps a periodical increase of
the family, adding other mouths to be fed, other backs to
be clothed. What the rich would consider a blessing, is
often a calamity to the poor, in multiplying household care.
Let that rich lady, lounging on her cushioned ottoman,
perusing the last novel, with her children consigned to servants in the nursery, take a peep at the poor man's home.
She will find the mother laboring at the wash-tub, a baby
crying in the rude cradle, another, a little older, tied in a
chair, and the next crying for bread, perhaps. That mother
may be weak and feeble, working beyond her strength. It
may be that she is getting through with the week's wash of
the novel-reading millionnaire, and depending upon the
hard-earned pittance for necessary comforts. And what if
the husband and father should be sick- the body prostrated
by racking pain, and the mind frenzied with apprehensions
of a starving family? Who shall describe his agony - who
can comprehend his misery?
This, reader, is the other side of the picture which has
never been looked upon by poets and sensation writers, who




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 397
cater for the public. But these painters of fancy scenes in
poverty are too sensitive to gaze upon the reality; and, besides, it would not comport with their mission, to " draw from
nature" or to paint "the living truth." It would grate too
harshly upon the public ear, which needs a sweeter melody;
and shock eyes which require all that is unlovely to be
veiled from sight. They place the garb of romance around
suffering and poverty, and deck the poor man's home in
flowers, while they plant thorns in his pathway, and render
him helpless for self-elevation.
There is a hidden purpose, however, in all this flattery
bestowed upon humble life. It is designed to make poor
men contented with their lot, and to blind them to the necessity of making proper exertions to extricate themselves
from the slough of despond into which the odious distinctions of society have plunged them. It would be the height
of imprudence - the extreme of presumption - on the part
of a class whose condition in life is painted in such gaudy
colors, to express dissatisfaction, or to make an effort to
place themselves higher in the social scale. So contented
- what need is there for combinations, trade-unions, strikes,
etc.? These scene-painters of the poor have satisfied wealth
that it has no duty to perform- that there are no claims
upon the rich - and that the preposterous pretensions of
the poor are entitled to no consideration. Hence, any attempt on the part of workingmen to ameliorate their condition is met with opposition at the outset, and they are looked
upon as a " never-satisfied" class.
But, happily for the cause of labor, its oppressed victims
have awakened from their long sleep of lethargy, and begin
to fearlessly assert their claims to an equality which is not
measured by dollars and cents. They have mounted the
car of progress, and are determined to ride until they reach
the goal of a new manhood, if they have to seize the rib34




398   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM         H. SYLVIS.
bons and drive the drivers. Caste, distinctions, prejudice,
proscription, must clear the track, or be run down, for they
have taken off the brakes. "Upward and onward!" is
shouted along the whole line; and the time will soon come,
we hope, when the poor man's home may merit some of the
fulsome praise bestowed upon it.
FEMALE SUFFRAGE..
STOP, gentle reader! Don't throw up your hands and
roll up your eyes in holy horror, as you exclaim, " What I
the Journal in favor of women voting?"  Or, "has the
editor gone clean stark mad?"  Have patience, and read
this article through before you pass judgment. After hearing what we have to say upon this subject, and then ybu
should not think as we do, there will only be an honest difference of opinion.
Now, the man who does not love the ladies, should be
ashamed to own he had a mother. We hope no such misanthrope - no such libel upon human nature - lives, who
is so impious as to hold God's masterpiece, woman, in contempt. We do love the ladies, and the dear creatures must
not blame us for what we cannot help. It is our love for
them that prompts us to condemn the follies and extravagances of the present day, which go far to undermine health
and morals, if they do not, to a great extent, divest her of
all that a good man holds dear. The fashions of the age
are doing much to drag her from the exalted position she
occupies, and must, if pursued, lessen women in the high
estimation in which they have ever been held by American
gentlemen. WTe say it-is because we love them, that we
venture upon this short homily as a prelude to our answers,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 399
which we design as a plea for justice to woman; for
slavery to fashion is a vice, though of a lesser grade than
those we shall name, which calls for reform. While pointing to the beam in the eye of the sterner sex, we hope they
will pluck the mote from their own. But we do not intend
to dodge the question.
Shall women vote? We answer, yes; We are in favor
of limited female suffrage. We think our wives, sisters,
and daughters should have a vote on all questions involving
a moral issue. Upon all laws relating to Sunday labor,
granting license to sell rum, the use of tobacco, a reduction of working-hours, or any question intimately connected with the domestic and social happiness of women,
they should have a vote. Give them the right to set their
seal of condemnation upon rum-selling, the filthy use of tobacco, or any. other vice, and very soon these skeletons of
too many households, which bring upon mankind untold
misery, will disappear from the land forever.
Women are deeply interested in all reforms which tend
to better the condition of the human race, and why should
they not have a voice in the eradication of acknowledged
evils? What class of the community suffers more from the
curse of intemperance? They do not visit groggeries or indulge in bacchanalian revelry, but the misery which such
vices entail comes home directly to the hearthstone. Who
can estimate the deprivation, the suffering, the mortification,
brought upon the loveliest portion of God's creation by
whiskey drinking? And are women to be silent spectators
of their progressive ruin, powerless for resistance, without
the right to act or protest? The first law of nature -selfdefence- is denied them, and they must remain passive
victims of a curse which plucks every joy from the home
circle, plants life's pathway with thorns, and sends them
sorrowing to a premature grave. Give to women the right




400   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           HI. SYLVIS.
to emancipate themselves from a bondage which such vices
fasten upon them, and, our word for it, they will prove as
potent in reforming society as they are efficient in bringing
happiness to the domestic circle. To this extent we are in
favor of female suffrage.
BRAIN vs. MUSCLE.
THE Philadelphia Ledger, in contrasting the effects of
mental with physical labor upon the system, endeavors to
prove that the professions are more liable to infirmities of
the body, from excessive toil, than those who follow agricultural or mechanical pursuits.  It cites Drs. Baillie,
Hunter, and Dupuytren, as examples, who often devoted
sixteen hours per day to mental and physical labor in the
hospitals, to private practice, correspondence, etc. There is
this difference between them and workingmen: In one
case, they were not compelled to labor for a bare subsistence; in the other, they are forced to work or starve.
While the professions are laboring for wealth and fame,
workingmen toil for bread. One is a voluntary sacrifice on
the altar of wealth and ambition, the other is the involuntary servitude exacted by the stern laws of necessity.
Hence, the motives which govern the two classes are vastly
different; and who will deny that upon the impelling cause
of devotion to either science or labor hangs all of content
and happiness in its pursuit?
The extreme cases mentioned by the Ledger by no means
warrant the conclusions arrived at by the editor. These
distinguished professors seem to have overtaxed their mehtal
powers for the double purpose of gratifying professional
ambition and to accumulate wealth. Neither their profes



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 401
sional duties nor their poverty required a risk of life and
health; and if they placed both in the venture for fame, it
proves that the highest intellectual attainments are not
always blended with common sense or good judgment. By
the editor's own showing, a portion of their time was occupied in correspondence and other duties, which some needy
assistant could perform; but the greed of gain closed their
doors against help; and the fact that they allowed themselves no relaxation -attending to a large private practice,
independent of their hospital duties - evinces a spirit
of monopoly and avarice, if not jealousy, which was no
ordinary barrier to the progress of their rising brethren.
As well might a mechanic, after performing a fair day's
work, continue his labors far in the night, to obtain wages
beyond his wants, or to exclude others from the shop. There
is selfishness in either case, and a man is entitled to but little
credit for industry, and far less of sympathy, for bodily infirmities brought upon him from excesses prompted by
either one of these motives.
All must admit that the prices which govern professional
services are such as to secure a princely income, when based
upon a daily occupation of sixteen hours; and few workingmen, however skilful, can earn in a week the physician's
fees of a day.  The mechanic is continually harassed to
make both ends meet, and oppressed with the constant
dread of idleness and want. Nlone of these apprehensions
weigh against the efforts of the professional man, and he
can always bring to his labors a serenity of mind which
renders them a source of pleasure instead of a burden.
With them, scientific research in the allotted hours of rest,
pays. With the workingman, it is a struggle to gain information only.
But we now come to the " brain-work," which the editor
considers so very prostrating to the system. Starting out
84 *                2 A




402   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
with the fact that these gentlemen were privileged to cease
their labors at any period of the day -bound by no law
of contract or necessity —it is fair to presume that they derived a certain degree of pleasure in the pursuit of their
profession, which was nearly, if not quite, as highly prized
as their profits. This is not the case with workingmen.
The one obtains all the profits of his exertions, the other
but a fractional portion. One is constantly adding to his
intellectual acquirements from the very nature of his duties,
while the other is debarred from increasing his store of
knowledge from the necessity of close application to labor;
and, if the latter were physically competent to devote a
portion of the needed time for rest to the culture of his
mind, his poverty denies him all facilities to make the attempt. But when a mechanic works hard ten hours per
day, the mind is too often so stultified, by prostration of the
body, that he has no inclination for intellectual pursuits.
Thus, while the profession of one is gradually drawing
him upward, the occupation of the other is proportionately
depressing.
Brain-work, however, is not confined to the professions.
The mechanic, the agriculturist, - aye, the laborer, - is
often forced to draw quite as heavily upon his brain as upon
his muscles; and upon this point we place the practical
knowledge of workingmen against the incredulous smile of
professional theorists. The skilful artisan, in the majority
of occupations, must be well versed in mathematics, to make
the nice calculations and unerring apportionments essential
to their respective callings.  They must devote "headwork " as well as body-work to the business; and in many
instances, the difficulties and perplexities to be mastered
are quite as trying to the brain as the most intricate problems which require the aid of scientific research. There is
this difference, then, between the professional man and the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 403
workingman: one receives a princely compensation for
pleasing intellectual pursuits, with but little bodily exertion; while the other receives a mere pittance for nearly the
same degree of mental effort added to bodily prostration
from overtaxed labor.
EIGHT HOURS.
HE WHO IS NOT FOR US IS AGAINST US.
No question of greater magnitude than the eight-hour
law can be placed before the American people. Theorists
and philosophers may prate of social and political economy
till doomsday, and rack their brain for chimerical or practical hobbies; but, in our opinion, nothing of more vital importance, or more deeply interesting, could possibly claim
public attention. Much that we could hope for in humanity, and still more that is due us on the broad principles of
justice, is involved in this struggle. Upon the issue depends
the existence of present wrong, or incalculable blessings to
a large portion of the human family. We want a precedent
in this great work of mercy - a landmark — beyond which
avarice or oppression cannot go - a data, a fixed fact, upon
which to base the amelioration of workingmen in all coming
time.
Although the time is comparatively short since this great
reform began to claim public attention, we already find it
in the legislative halls of almost every State, as well as in
the national Congress. City and town councils are importuned by petitions, immense mass meetings are being held
all over the land. The forum, the pulpit, the workshop,
and the family circle, are alike invaded by the agitation of
this vital question.  The surging masses are disciplining




404 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM            H. SYLVIS.
their numbers by forming organizations in village, town,
and hamlet; and a demand has already gone forth for a
national congress of workingmen, with the view of concentrating our forces, and creating a parent body, which shall
bring together and unite all the fragmentary efforts now in
progress. If we are correctly informed, this movement is
designed, when completed, to make one gener'al and simultaneous effort throughout the country. We need not say
that this proposition meets our cordial approbation, and
that we shall omit no opportunity to advocate it.
It is somewhat singular to witness the rapidity with
which this great idea of shortening the hours of labor has
penetrated every avenue of society, even to the remotest
corners of our country, if we except our own State of
Pennsylvania; for, moie singular still, we find that three
millions of people in this commonwealth, the interests of
a vast majority of whom are directly and intimately connected with this movement, appear to be unconcerned, or
wholly indifferent to the result. Centrally located, unsurpassed for its manufacturing, mechanical, and mineral
wealth, possessing every facility for sea and inland commerce, rich in its resources, and furnishing a broad field for
enterprise and labor; yet, here, where the deepest interest
should be felt in the eight-hour movement, we find a coldness that almost amounts to opposition.
This is a strange position for the State of Pennsylvania
to occupy; and none can regret more than ourselves, that
she contrasts so unfavorably with her sister States. Truth,
however, compels us to allude to the want of energy, and
the spiritless efforts, which lock the wheels of progress in
this State. If we are mistaken, we shall be happy to receive
some assurance, some evidence, to warrant us in changing
our estimate of the home zeal manifested in this cause.
The motives and desires of men can only be known by




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 405
their words and actions; and as we deem it impossible that
a question of such vital importance can admit of either
indifiirence or neutrality, we hold all those who are not for
us to be against us. We believe the workingmen of Ohio,
Massachusetts, and elsewhere, to be in favor of shortening
the hours of labor, because we find them earnestly at work,
using every means to further the cause; but how can we
come to the same conclusion, as far as Pennsylvania is concerned, when we see her workingmen silent and inactive
amid all the surrounding excitement?
The workingmen of Philadelphia, but very recently, had
a splendid opportunity for the display of their zeal, when
one of their representatives introduced an eight-hour bill
before the Legislature, granting this special privilege to that
city. But there was no meeting - no demonstration - no
enthusiasm -no gratitude! It fell upon the community as
a still-born, listless event, powerless to create a ripple on the
social surface. Without stopping to question the honesty
or sincerity of the member who presented the bill, we
should give him credit for no small degree of moral courage,
when he fearlessly braved consequences to forward a reform,
although uncheered and unsupported by that portion of the
community which it was designed to benefit. Under such
discouragements, legislators will be slow to incur responsibilities which render their best efforts a thankless office on
the one hand, while it brings upon them censure and proscription on the other.
And more recently still, an eight-hour bill, which embraces the entire State, passed the lower house by a large
majority, without the slightest manifestation of joy. Having yet to pass the ordeal of the Senate, now is the time to
recognize the faithful services of those members who were
true to our interests, by enthusiastic expressions of approval, and such ovations as will strengthen our friends in




406   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
the Senate. In the meantime, pour in the petitions. Let
them come from foundry and furnace, from forge and loom,
from manufactory and workshop. Be earnest, active, and
prompt.
THE PRINCIPLE      OF EIGHT HOURS
RECOGNIZED.
IT is a grave inconsistency on the part of our legislators
in some of the States, when they dodge or openly oppose the
eight-hour system. Several of our Legislatures have reduced the hours of voting two hours, thus recognizing the
principle which workingmen seek to establish.
In most of the large cities - we know it was so in this -
when the hours of labor amounted to twelve and fourteen,
the polls were kept open until ten o'clock at night. This
seemed to be consistent with the time exacted from workmen, for it gave them an opportunity to reach their homes,
partake of the evening meal, and then exercise the privilege of freemen. Some years after the ten - hour system
was adopted, the law closing the polls at eight o'clock in
the evening was enacted; a very wise measure, since it
gave workingmen the same opportunity to deposit their
votes without any sacrifice of time, and lessened, to that extent, the arduous labors of the election officers. The humanity of this law, therefore, was highly appreciated by all
classes.
Now, however, the polls close at six o'clock in the evening, and why not work out the rule by shortening the hours
of labor, and still keep in harmony with the hours of
voting? Politicians manifest a selfishness, in this particular
at least, which is at war with that popularity they all aim




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 407
to reach. They will enjoy the benefits of a reduction of
time -the ward and township election officers reap the advantage of it; but the poor man, compelled to labor for
bread, is "left out in the cold," so long as he is forced to
labor ten hours; for when he ceases to labor, the polls are
closed.
Is it right - is it just - that honest industry should meet
with a proscription like this? He must lose both time and
money to exercise a privilege dear to every man, or be disfranchised. Deny to him a reduction of two hours, and
the act abridging the hours of voting becomes a pure specimen of class legislation, designed to benefit the idle and the
rich, while it robs the poor industrious man of a sacred
right.
We contend that all restrictions upon free access to the
ballot-box are antagonistic to the letter and spirit of a republican form of government. It has justly been termed
"the palladium of our liberties," because it is the great
leveller which places all upon an equality, and it is the only
channel through which the oppressed can speak their wrongs
with trumpet-tongued force -the last weapon a poor man
can wield in self-defence. Can it be that capitalists, looking at this proscription of the toiler in the light we do (it
admits of no other interpretation), suggested and effected
this alteration of the hours of voting, in order to render the
masses powerless to check the special legislation their oppressors seek? We know that our law-makers are ever
ready to lend a willing ear to wealth and influence; and the
moment the voice of labor is silenced, or their power lessened, by restrictions which demand a sacrifice that many
of them cannot afford, that moment politicians will " claim
as large a charter as the wind," and spread their sails to
every favoring gale, utterly regardless of workingmen and
their interests. A vote is the only rod which a poor man




408   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
can hold over demagogues. Deprive him of this, and he is
helpless indeed.
Then, all other classes of the community having recognized the principle of eight hours, by shortening the time of
voting, it is clearly the duty of workingmen to keep pace
with this progressive reform, and follow it, as they did when
it fell from ten o'clock to eight o'clock, P. M. And now
that it is shortened to six o'clock, eight hours for labor becomes a necessity. The opponents of this measure must
concede this, or merit the double charge of inconsistency
and proscription. They have unwittingly given us an argument in favor of the eight-hour law, which proves that
their instincts are correct if their cunning is at fault; and
workingmen should press it home. The question now assumes a new shape, for it involves the right to the elective
franchise, and workingmen will thus have a double incentive to action.
"OUR HEROES."
IN every contest, be it revolution or reformation, involving principles of justice and truth on one side, and wrong
and tyranny on the other, where men are required either
to take a bold stand, assume every responsibility, make
every sacrifice, and run every risk necessary to establish and
maintain the right, or to bow in base submission to tyranny,
we always find men with brave hearts and iron nerve to
meet the crisis.  While some libels upon humanity will
grovel in the dirt and mire of self-abasefient, yielding like
cravens, we have men who, for the sake of principle and a
just cause, are willing to sacrifice home, comfort, wealth,
health, and even life itself. These are justly called heroes.
Every good cause-'every great contest - has produced
its heroes. We, too, have our heroes. For four years we




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVISo             409
have been engaged in a bitter struggle against a tyrant
whose right to rule the world has scarcely ever been " contested since commerce set the signet of its all-enslaving
power upon a shining ore and called it GOLD." A tyrant,
in whose heart gold is a living god, and rules in scorn all
earthly things but virtue. This contest has been all the
more fierce and bitter, because we were obliged to build up
our organization, and to devise means of attack and defence
in the very face of the enemy, and because many of our
own men, destitute of every attribute of manhood, were willing to sell themselves to a common enemy.
All these trials and obstacles were known to the capitalists with whom we were in conflict, and this knowledge culminated in the widely extended organization of foundrymen;
and the great lock-out of last spring brought within its pale
almost the entire foundry interest of the country, with a
combined capital of $60,000,00Q. The country was divided
into four districts, each presided over by the ablest financiers of the age, with mutual pledges to enforce laws and
rules of the most unjust and obnoxious character. This
formidable array of capital and capitalists was sufficient to
appall the stoutest hearts and mlake the weak-kneed quake
with fear. To this struggle we must look for our heroesnot that we were without evidences of heroism in the past,
but that this was the contest, upon the issue of which depended our manhood or our degradation. To those who
stood in the breach and upheld the banner of right against
wrong -- inspiriting the timid while they led the brave -
belongs the credit of achieving a glorious victory. Their
deeds have won for them the title of " our heroes."
The names of the men who so unflinchingly met all these
trials and privations should be inscribed upon a roll of
honor, to be placed in the archives of every union, and at
the fireside of every true man, that his children may know
35




410   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
to whom they are indebted for the additional comforts secured by the victory. Side by side should be placed a second roll containing the names of those who, in the darkest
hour of the struggle, cheerfully and unmurmuringly contributed small sums, the aggregate of which gave us the necessary means to " carry on the war."  The place assigned
to Robert Morris, in the history of the Revolution, will be
assigned, in the history of the labor movement, to those who
displayed equal liberality in proportion to their means,
during the struggle of the moulders for their rights.
But, as truthful historians of the times, we must demand
a third - a "Black Roll." Upon this should be written the
names of those who were too base and cowardly, too selfish
and parsimonious, to pay the poor pittance of five per cent.
These documents should be handed down to posterity together, that when the time arrives in which the moulders
will be masters of their occupation, and when the great
ideas of the present will be realized, those who write the
history of these times may give to each his proper place;
for it is the contrast between honor and infamy which induces men to aim for the one and to shun the other.
There is, however, still another class, of whom it would
be the, greatest injustice not to speak, reluctant as we are to
approach the task; for " he who handles pitch will become
defiled." Yet their names should be printed in large capitals, and hung up in every honest man's house. They
should be daguerreotyped, and duplicated, till a "Scab's
Album" should be furnished every union in the country.
This class is composed of the two-faced, truckling, snarling
crew, who act the part of puerile wiffets, by barking at the
heels of those who consider them beneath contempt. Cowardly by nature, fault-finding by habit, and treacherous by
instinct, they fill the position of go-betweens and lickspittles
- sponges, to swab up every loose word or expression made




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS. 411
in confidence, to squeeze it out in secret before employers.
Each playing the part of Judas in friendship, and Arnold
in fealty - their proudest mission is to betray.
These fellows are always the first to cry "strike! " when
an advance of wages, or any other reform, is agitated by
the unions. Yet they are the first to plead poverty, and in
the hour of trial seldom fail to propose compromise, and
are continually running to the office to ascertain when work
will be resumed. Each day they have some startling news
to report, as the result of a confidential communication with
the wife, cousin, brother, or some influential individual,
each of whom pump the messenger dry, and then inform the
employer of all that passes in our unions. They meet the
boss on the corner, and protest that they were always opposed to the strike and to the union; and were it not for
Bill, or Tom, or Pat, the whole thing would have gone up
long since.
After hanging around a strike for a while, like so many
crows around a dead carcass, gnawing its vitals out and
eating up the substance of the honest and deserving, they
denounce the union as a humbug, and its leaders as so many
swindlers. After securing all these benefits conferred by
the labor of others, as the thief obtains goods under false
pretences, you will next find them at work "scabbing."
From  this class come our bummers, news-carriers, eavesdroppers, swindlers, growlers, traitors, scabs, and other
vermin. From this class, Lord, deliver us.
GRAND JURIES ON INTEMPERANCE.
GRAND juries, as far back as we can remember, have
never failed, in their presentments, to charge the vast ma



412   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM.o SYLYISo
jority of crine to intemperance. We are treated to periodical diatribes against this alarming vice, and still there is no
abatement, Prisons, almshouses, hospitals, and a thousand
charitable institutions, bear witness against this human destroyer; while our tax-payers are drained, and every stream
of benevolence is made tributary to its exactions. The best
efforts of the ablest reformers, the restrictions of law, and.
woman's tears, have alike failed to repress the ravages of;
or check the appetite for, intoxicating drinks.
Whiskey-drinking, unfortunately, has become a fashionable vice. It is the example in high life which has enabled
it to take such a strong hold upon society; for all.mankind
are imitators, and the force of example permeates every
social avenue. We therefore hold those who "move in
a higher sphere " to a strict accouttability. The reform
should begin with th.em, because their indorsement of an
evil gives it double power; and their condemnation of it
would be equally potent for its suppression.
On workingmen, however, we would impress the necessity of sobriety above all othems. It is the first step towards
self-elevation, A  temperate man wins confidence, he is
trusted and depended upon, and is always the first to gain
confidence and promotion. This fact is evidenced in every
workshop. And now, while pleading for two additional
hours of rest for mental culture and rational enjoyment, it
is important that we convince our opponents that this time
will be well spent. It has already been predicted that this
leisure will be devoted to the drai-shop, or to other improper associations, We can at least relieve public apprehension in regard to this objection, by promptly abstaining
from intoxicating drinks. And where is the man who lacks
the moral courage to make so trifling a sacrifice, if it assists
in the smallest degree to silence a single argument against
the eight-hour law? We trust not one can be found so




BIOG   APHY OF AWILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 413
selfish, or so wedded to a vice which, under any circumnstances, "makes the poor poorer." Aside from this, sobriety
will enable you to feed better, dress better, and live better.
It will cheer the domestic circle, bring the smile of content
to the careworn wife, and afford a wholesome example to
your sons and daughters.
DRINKING WHISKEY.
WHAT do you drink whiskey for? Do you know? You
don't know. Well, we would like to know who does. It
is a vile practice in which politicians, common people, all
the rest of mankind, and even editors and lawyers, indulge.
It is a very mean practice. It destroys the intellect, kills
the body, and damns the soul. The kindest, truest, besthearted men in the world drink whiskey. God, and God
alone, knows the struggles of men to resist temptation.
Oh, how many we know, kind-hearted, true men, who are
rapidly passing down to death on the rushing tide of intoxication. Do you drink whiskey? Stop to-day, for your
own sake. Do you know a friend who sometimes drinks to
excess, but who is trying to lead a sober life? You do.
WVell, don't tempt him. It is a great crime to use your influence for the destruction of a fellow-creature. If you will
injure yourself, doso; but. don't be, instrumental in the
murder of your neighbor.
PRISON LABOR.
WE have heard and read a great deal about "the dignity
of labor." It is a prolific theme with demagogues, politicians, and occasionally attracts the attention of our most
85 *




414   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVTS.
profound political economists. It also serves to ventilate
the overcharged wisdom of many an egotist, who uses it as
a stepping-stone to gain notoriety or promotion. It is a
remarkable fact, however, that those who flatter workingmen most, and hypocritically chant "the dignity of labor,"
are the active agents in sinking it far beneath scientific and
professional occupations, both of which are dependent upon
and intimately connected with labor. But let labor reach
what standard of respectability it may in the estimation of
effeminate non-producers, one thing is certain, it is the germ
from which springs a nation's prosperity, and the only true
fountain from which the masses can draw social happiness.
It is the motive-power which keeps the machinery of society working in harmony. It is the base upon which the
proudest structure of art rests -the leverage which enables
man to carry out God's wise purposes - the source from
which science draws the elements of its power and greatness.
In short, labor is the attribute of all that is noble and grand
in civilization.
All who speak or write of labor concede these truths, yet
what shall we say of the disgrace which society inflicts
upon labor, when it is forced to inhale the pestilential air
of State prisons?  Could a greater indignity be heaped
upon it, than that which associates it with convict competition? Of what use is it to exalt labor, when we use it as
a punishment for crime, and make it the companion of
thieves, robbers, and murderers?  It is a notorious fact,
that those who profess to hold its honor dear deliberately
legislate it into our State penitentiaries, arid wield it as a
weapon to strike down the honest man's wages. The thief
may rob a workingman of years of toil in a single night,
and the next court will sentence him to a prison where the
contract system enables him to unde. ork the man he
wronged. The law thus makes him,   ouble robber



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 415
for he first steals the poor man's savings, and then steals
his wages by a competition which forces his victim down to
prison prices.
Need we say that this outrage is inflicted upon labor by
legislators who owe their election to workingmen? It is a
humiliating fact, that the producing classes have placed
this sin at their own doors; for they possess the power to
strike down any man or party which inaugurates or upholds
a system that has proved a curse to every man forced to
compete with prison labor. Our indifference to this subject
has suffered an infant evil to grow upon us, until it has
assumed a giant's proportions, and now seriously threatens
the moral character of labor. All the professions of garrulous theorists amount to nothing. It is the workingmen
themselves who must maintain the dignity of labor. The
men who work can alone save it from the degradation which
reckless legislation has fastened upon it, and the sooner we
get about it the better. The longer this reform is delayed,
the more difficult will be its accomplishment, because every
year it is becoming more closely wedded to the affections of
our truckling law-makers.
"But," says one, "how shall we punish our prisoners?
how support them? What greater punishment can you
inflict upon a felon than to consign him to close confinement in idleness? Leave him destitute of employment to
divert his mind, where thought will be busy, and the stings
of serpent-tongued conscience will constitute the refinement
of cruelty. The only argument we could advance in favor
of prison labor would be the severity of this mode of punishment; for none are so hardened as to be insensible to
the harrowings of silent reflection over past errors.
"How shall we support them?" If no other means
offer, tax workingmen for their support. They had better
pay a tax from their weekly earnings to maintain convicts in




416   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM t        H. SYLVIS.
prison, than have their wages brought down to the penitentiary standard. One per cent. of their earnings would feed
and clothe the prisoners, and save the honest man from a
reduction of ten, perhaps twenty, per cent. Aside from
this, in all conflicts between capital and labor, prison work
is a weapon which legislation places in the hands of the
former to overcome the latter. Without this formidable
ally on the side of employers, journeymen would have a
more equal chance in any struggle for their rights.
The resolution of the Labor Congress upon this subject,
contemplates, in case prison labor cannot be abolished, an
advance of convict prices equal to those paid outside. This
is asking too much of modern legislation.  There are
always a score of speculators awaiting the proposals which
solicit the most profitable bids for the articles manufactured
by convicts. Some States sell their time, or hire the entire
prison force to the highest bidder, and suffer the contractor
to wring from them the best profit he can. In either case,
the sum realized to the State is so tempting, that it blinds
tax-payers to the evil. What do legislators care for wages
inside or outside the prison! Their object is to make the
most out of the convicts, and to point to it as an evidence
of their proficiency in political economy, regarding it as
so much capital invested in the chances of a re-election.
Another strong objection to prison labor is to be found in
the fact that felons are often taught trades in our prisons,
and, after having served their time out, become contestants
for the employment which rightfully belongs to honest men.
Thus the convict is often brought into double competition
with workingmen, by absorbing work at a cheaper rate
when in prison, and by claiming a share of the poor man's
labor when out, although he never served a day of honest
apprenticeship. Labor and the laborer are alike wronged,
and yet the authors of this disgrace inflicted upon both,




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 417
with parrot-like repetition, are continually prating about
"the dignity of labor."  Equitable legislation from demagogues, however, like dignity from jail-birds, is not to be
depended upon.
Perhaps we should not close this article without alluding
to the views expressed by President Johnson on this subject
in his interview with the Labor Congress Committee. When
the Executive ruler of the nation declaims against the system, workingmen must be destitute of moral courage,
indeed, if they longer hesitate to devote their best energies
to its extinction. The President's official position gives
his sentiments upon this subject an importance that cannot
be too highly appreciated. Encouragement from such a
source brings hope to every heart, and "spurs the will to
action."
THE SPIRIT OF MONOPOLY.
THE American people, if they would profit by the experience of other countries, should wage unrelenting war against
every species of monopoly. It is a remarkable fact, that a
spirit of monopoly is invariably developed in proportion to
the' accumulation of wealth in all nations. Pride is the
parent of selfishness, and prosperity is a sure tributary to
that vanity which begets notions of superiority; for the estimate of mankind is measured by bank accounts, rent rolls,
or broad acres; and " the more we have the more we want,"
is a truthful adage which exactly fits the craving instincts
of avarice. Hence, the many stratagems, speculations, and
combinations, on the part of capitalists, to increase their
possessions. The mania for wealth has taken such complete
possession of the people, that but few money-makers have
any scruples in regard to the means used to obtain it.
2B




418   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
This is all very well, so long as the laws of competition
are kept inviolate, and an equal chance is offered to all for
advancement. We claim that the road to wealth should be
left open to all, and that those who are foremost in the race
should place no obstructions in the path of those struggling
on behind them. We want no special privileges, no favoritism, no legislation that singles out the few for fortune's
bounty, while the many are suffered to toil on in cold neglect. We regard equal laws as the only safeguards that can
be thrown around the people - the surest basis upon which
social happiness can rest - the best guarantee against political inequality. We contend that, in the broad field of enterprise presented by this country, no possible contingency
can arise which would warrant the bestowal of special privileges upon capital in either an individual or collective capacity; but, above all, none should be extended to a company which is denied to an individual; for it creates a combination of power which cruslWs private effort, breaks down
wholesome competition, and absorbs all surrounding elements of prosperity.
We might point to the Old World for the sad effects of
class legislation, where the masses are denied all participation in the making of laws. None but the noble and the
rich are permitted to govern, and every enactment is framed
with an especial view to the advancement of their own interests.  Legislation, with them, is but another facility for
making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Thus classes
are recognized and distinctions made which create a degree of dissatisfaction and hatred that require standing
armies to suppress. Under such a system, tyranny and oppression become part and parcel of the government, which
must be made strong by the centralization of power in the
hands of the few, to keep the many in subjection.
Look at the East India Tea Company, which overleaped




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 419
the bounds of endurance, to impose upon the colonies. Presuming too much upon the power delegated by government,
they cut up such mad antics as to provoke the people to
violence; and, by the tyrannical exercise of authority derived from legislation, hastened a revolution which lost to
Great Britain her colonies. For many years this ponderous
monopoly had control of the market, and made individual
enterprise tributary to its wealth. What could Stephen
Girard have accomplished, had he been placed in competition with the East India Company? He would have been
interdicted by law from engaging in the tea trade, and
compelled to lay up his ships, or seek other channels of
commerce.
We might refer, also, to the Hudson's Bay Company,
which nearly obtained the entire monopoly of the fur trade
at one time. How would John Jacob Astor have fared as
a citizen of Great Britain, had he dared to contend against
this chartered monopoly? He might have lived and died
in obscurity, for the exclusive privileges of this company
effectually closed the door of enterprise to all. Yet, to both
Girard and Astor, the people of Europe and America are
indebted for individual efforts which placed tea and furs
within the reach of the poor. Had the markets been exclusively supplied by these powerful corporations, two great
comforts - aye, luxuries- would never have been accessible to the masses. As it was, the power bestowed upon
these monopolies by legislation, enriched the stockholders
at the expense of the consumer, thus tending to the two
extremes of pampered wealth and social degradation.
In the face of such examples, we regret to see the spirit
of monopoly in this country approximating to that of the
Old World. The same causes will very generally produce
the same effect; and who of us can contemplate it without
emotions of horror? In our infincy, when the simplicity




420 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
of the people more closely assimilated to our institutions, we
were comparatively free from class legislation. Our poverty gave rise to no aspirations inconsistent with republicanism; but as our resources became developed, and as we acquired wealth, we became more grasping. We began to
court the very agencies of oppression and inequality which
drove our fathers to revolution; and we have progressed in
the wrong direction, until individual enterprise is made
subordinate to legalized monopoly. Railroads, turnpikes,
steamboats, banks, insurance, land companies, manufactories, mining operations, oil companies, street cars, etc., down
to poudcrette. companies, must be fostered by legislation.
The example is injurious in many ways. It fetters progress, stultifies enterprise, and creates a passion for speculation and forestalling, which places a fictitious value upon
the clothes we wear and the food we eat. While the rich
revel, the fetters of poverty are riveted upon the poor.
The spirit of monopoly was v;ell ventilated by President
Johnson in a former message, in which he expressed the
views of a statesman and philanthropist. The remarks he
applies to the unwarrantable power, conferred upon railroad
companies, is equally applicable to all the ramifications of
business. If the system can confer the power to monopolize our public thoroughfares, and extort from the travelling
public such charges as avarice may prompt, our freedom is
an empty boast. The worst kind of slavery is that which
retards ingress and egress to and from one State to another,
and which gives a license to chartered companies to place a
limit to transit and travel by excessive charges. A man's
personal liberty to go and come at will, without hindrance,
is a sacred right, and all legislation that conflicts with it is
rank oppression. It is at war with civilization, and against
the genius of our institutions, and must result, as in other
countries, in the establishment of classes in society, while it




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 421
will create a fearful gulf between the rich and the poor.
When the rapid strides of monopoly shall have reached
such an extreme, it will be a dark day for this country.
The hatred, malice, and envy that follow glaring wrong
may awaken a terrible retribution, and, at any moment, the
volcano of public vengeance may burst upon us, and send
forth a consuming fire through the land.
The position taken by President Johnson against monopolies is prolific of hope and encouragement to the producing
classes. Words of warning from the chief ruler of a nation ought to inspire confidence and infuse courage into the
most timid heart. Familiar with every phase of society in
his passage from the work-bench to the highest social and
political position in the known world, he knows and feels the
importance of guarding the interests of honest industry as
well as those of capital. He has fought the battle of life
well, and carved his way from obscurity and poverty to
prominence by hard knocks. He has graduated in the highschool of a sad experience, and hence he can appreciate the
obstacles thrown in the way of individual enterprise by
chartered monopolies. Away, then, with all special privileges. Let the people heed his warning, and sanction no
legislation designed to rob the toiler of an open field and a
fair fight for self-elevation.
A PLEA    FOR REST.
IT is asserted that every age shortens the life of man.
Philosophers and theorists have in vain attempted to ascertain the cause; and although many have been assigned, no
one of them has been accepted as a'satisfactory explanation. In our opinion, there are several agents which work
in harmony to abridge the longevity of the human family,
36




422   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVISo
forming a combination of extremes wholly at war with the
laws of nature; and we all know that as surely as the
thunder follows the lightning, so sure are we to meet the
penalty of such transgressions, which are called down upon
us by a Higher Power than that wielded by judge or jury.
Nor can we plead ignorance of the law; for there is scarcely
a human being of mature years -who does not know, and
has not felt, its retributive justice, when he eats, sleeps, and
works too much or too little. The gourmand is punished
with gout, the inebriate with mania a potu, the idler with
dyspepsia, overtaxed labor with physical prostration; and
even the miser, when guarding his gold, can be frightened
by the chirp of a cricket in his wakeful hours. The laws
of nature wisely place a limit to excesses of any kind; and
when overstepped, the offender must suffer.
We have but little sympathy with those who violate
natural laws to gratify a sensual appetite or to indulge in
their miserly instincts; but we do complain of the system
which authorizes one man to be the instrument of forcing
many, while powerless for resistance, to render themselves
liable to the penalty prescribed for such offences as tend
to curtail man's allotted time on earth. And who will
deny that excessive labor is one of the most fatal agents for
shortening the life of man? Do not the necessities of ninetenths of our race place them at the mercy of one-tenth,
who direct, control, and render the vast majority amenable
to the consequences of extremes forbidden by the natural
law? Under existing circumstances, the innocent are made
to suffer for the guilty, since the offenders are compelled to
be offenders.
We have observed, too, that as machinery has been introduced, the workingman's condition proves that he is denied
a fair share of the advantages secured to society. The few
still reap the benefits of those labor-saving inventions, and




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 423
still the muscles of the poor are taxed to their utmost tension. As fast as labor-saving machinery is introduced the
toiler is made to " change his base." True, new channels
of labor are developed, which he is yet to become familiar
with, before he can apply his labor with profit; and in the
course of his short lifetime " progress " fates him to be a
novitiate in three or four departments of mechanism. Few
of those who served an apprenticeship twenty years ago,
work in the same manner, with the same tools, or at the
same branches, which ushered him into manhood. He is
too oftea kicked about like a foot-ball, and made to take up
the odds and ends, the shreds and patches, to work up into
shape. He is only permitted to do what the machine cannot
do. The capitalist, the dealer, the consumer, may be benefited, but what does the producer gain? His wages are not
increased, his labor is seldom lighter, he still lives in the
fetid atmosphere of a crowded court, his hours of rest are
not prolonged; and his lot still the same, to toil on for a
bare subsistence, with aching limbs and overstrained muscles, until the grave claims him as a victim to satisfy the
violated laws of nature, perhaps in the noontime of life.
It is asserted that the wisest statesman could frame no
law which would prove equal in its operation. We are so
differently situated in life that, in its general application,
some must suffer temporary inconvenience at least.  So
with the progress of science and art. The many inventions,
the introduction of vast machinery, while they add to
wealth, and develop the ingenuity of man as well as the
resources of our country, still rich in fields of enterprise,
the laboring population, who work the machinery and run
all the risk of losing life, limb, and health, and brave the
dangers incident to all kinds of machinery in its profitable
working, are not proportionately benefited, but "left out in
the cold," while all else is progressing.




424   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
Look at the peril attendant upon the occupation of an
engineer.  If a train is wrecked, the engineer and fireman are sure to be among the wounded or killed. The
steamboat, the locomotive, the stationary engine, may send
a man in the air, an arm may be torn off by a belt in the
factory, a circular saw may cut off a hand, and a hundred
accidents might occur, with, as many different kinds of
machinery, to cripple, or shorten a man's life. Well, suppose he is sent skyward, crushed beneath a locomotive, or
ground into livid matter by ponderous machinery, his place
is promptly supplied, and the profits of the company or the
capitalist are still accumulating. The fact that a widow
may be wailing, and her orphans crying for bread, don't
disturb society- there is too much of it.
We contend, therefore, that all these improvements, necessary' as we admit them to be, increase the risk, and multiply the chances of accident to the workman; and while
he alone encounters all these dangers, his wages remain the
same, and he works just as hard, just as long, with greater
responsibility and care added to his labor. He alone is
made to suffer a social martyrdom to benefit every class of
society save that in which he moves. What, then, shall
be the reward worthy of his sacrifices?  He is modest in
his demands. He only asks the small boon of two additional
hours of rest.
" Ah," you say, " he asks too much: he should be contented with a reduction from sun to sun to ten hours. That
is the legal day's work, and one of his own seeking."  He
admits it, but feels that it is too much, now that machinery
has placed new cares upon his mind, new vexations upon
his labor, and new dangers upon his life. He is not avaricious, for he labors for wages far disproportionate to the
cost of living. He would not monopolize labor, for he
proposes to add just one-fifth to employment by that redue



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 425
tion of time. Aside from this, many mechanics, who work
ten hours per day, must make some preparation outside of
working hours. The period of rest is often devoted to
deep thought in planning for the best advantage to be
derived from  the coming day's work.   He must put
tools in order, make calculations, and conjure up many
little facilities of assistance; for machinery forces him to
be a mathematician us well as a mechanic, and he must
learn to comprehend the practical working of the whole,
of which he may only be a part, in order to employ his
mind and his labor profitably.
Hence, we claim the two additional hours of rest for the
workingman as his share, and a small one at that, of the
benefits which labor- saving machinery has secured to
society. Give him time to cultivate his mind, that latent
talent may be developed, and our word for it, that acquired theoretical knowledge, applied to the practical, will
add to the improvements and inventions which will place
this country ahead of all others in the perfection of its
machinery, the skill of its mechanics, and the excellence
of its fabrics.  It will do more. All grades of society
will be more closely allied in good fellowship, a feeling of
equality will break down the dividing lines which mark
the boundaries of classes, justice will be more evenly distributed, and intelligence become more wide-spread. Rest,
rest -humanity, justice, the laws of nature, demand more
rest for the worker.
ABUSE OF THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE.
THE demoralizing tendency of our popular elections must
be apparent to every reflective mind. Old men cannot fail
to notice the vast difference between the elections of the
past and present; and none can view the change without
86 *




426   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
painful emotions of sorrow. The time was when the elective franchise was looked upon as the most sacred agency
of liberty and law' the true source of power-from
which the just principles of a free government were derived. But it is a sad truth to confess that, as time progresses, we are prostituting this proud privilege to the basest
purposes. Instead of being used to obtain a fair expression of opinion, the ballot-box has become an instrument
of fraud and unworthy ambition- a mere engine in the
hands of designing men to secure place and power, at the
sacrifice of every manly principle.
It is useless to deny the fact that office is struck off to the
highest bidder, in spite of all the guards that have been
thrown around the ballot-box. Money is the power which
influences primary meetings, delegate elections, and nominating conventions; and money enters the canvass as the
most potent element of success —for in its train follow
lying, gambling, defamation, whiskey-drinking, and untold
vices. To this evil may be traced the many defalcations
and swindles which yearly deplete State and National
treasuries. The honest poor man is excluded from position,
and reckless demagogues fill our offices because they have
money to squander on elections; and, when elected, instead
of legislating for the best interests of the masses, they
only pander to the whims and caprice of the depraved and
purchasable, to whom they are bound hand and foot. The
question is seldom asked as to morals and capacity; but it
is requisite to know how much a candidate is worth, and
how much he will spend-the last two essentials overriding
all considerations of merit and capacity.
Look at the men who are generally nominated for the
higher places, such as congressmen, sheriffs, and other profitable offices. Show us one poor man - a workingman -
who occupies such a position. True, there may be such ex



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.              427
ceptions as bankrupts in business, or those made poor by
corrupting the ballot-box; but where can you point to one
thus honored who came direct from the ranks of labor?
Yet it is conceded, and history proves it, that many of our
wisest statesmen, in the early history of this country, came
from the plough, the anvil, the loom, and the workshop.
And who will deny that the same degree of talent, the same
adaptation to public affairs, can be found to-day in agricultural, manufacturing, and mechanical pursuits? If this class
of men, in the past, could make better laws, and administer
them with greater satisfaction - if there was less of sectional animosity and more of general harmony under their
rule   why would not the same character of men in the
present age, having the same feelings and interests, prove
just as beneficial, and accomplish the same amount of
good? It is a change in the character of the men we elect
to office which produces and has produced more than half
the troubles that have fallen upon us.
But who is responsible for these abuses?  We answer:
the very class which this political corruption proscribes -
the producers. If workingmen were to withdraw their support frorm demagogues who make a trade of politics, and
bestow it upon those whose feelings and sympathies are with
them, they would not to-day be petitioning in vain for those
reforms which are denied by the present heartless occupants
of our National and State legislative halls.  With the
remedy in their own hands, they refuse to use it. Led away
by the siren song of party, flattered by the ambitious, and
cheated by the successful, they repeat the same folly every
year, and heed no warning, let it come with what force it
may. Is it not time that we look more carefully to the
first cause of our grievances -partial legislation P While
we elect the rich " clever fellows" to office, steeped in fashionable vices, and wedded to opposing interests, can we hope




428   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
to obtain that just consideration to which our votes entitle
us? From -year to year these men use us as stepping-stones
to power; but where can we point to an act, or an effort,
emanating from one of them, which looks like gratitude, or
expresses a reciprocal feeling for all the favors we bestow
upon them? We have talent, integrity, and sobriety in the
ranks of labor sufficient for all offices, from the highest to
the lowest; we are competent to make suitable selections;
we possess the numerical strength to elect them, and can do
so without committing ourselves to the dogmas, or participating in demoralizing practices of any party.
If we resolve to do this, we resolve to accomplish another
great reform. We shall no longer patronize grog-shops and
restaurants, contribute to " refreshments for head-quarters,"
and come home to our families, at late hours, in a questionable condition. We shall set a better example to our sons
and daughters, elevate the moral standard of workingmen,
maintain a purer ballot-box, and convince the world that
popular elections involve duties too solemn to be made the
pretext for gambling, bacchanalian revelry, or a display of
the more brutal instincts. Let the workingmen win the
glory of eradicating the abuses of the elective franchise, and
they will also win the respect and admiration of every good
citizen in the land. They will do more, - for they at once
place themselves in a position to administer to their own
wants without detracting from the interests of others, while
coming generations will hail them as their deliverers from
a thraldom which " rendered our elections a curse instead
of a blessing."
PLAIN TALK.
ALL organizations have their troubles, and ours cannot
expect to escape its full share. In all society we find a class




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS. 429
of men possessed of a superabundance of self-esteem, some
brains, much cheek, and a little learning. These men are
ambitious and intensely selfish, and, as a general thing,
either too lazy or too proud to work; and when possessed
of a good share of energy, become dangerous members of
society. Owing to the entire freedom of our institutions,
a large majority of them rise to the political surface. They
are confined to no soil, climate, or locality, but can be
found everywhere - all societies, all organizations, all people are cursed with their presence, and the Moulders'
Union must expect to come in for its full share. Years
ago, some of the worst type of this species drifted to the
surface; and, although most of the original stock have sunk
into oblivion, their followers and adherents have been
keeping up a continual commotion. In 1860, this element
was largely represented in the Albany Convention, where
we had the honor to be elected treasurer.  Being possessed of a watchful and suspicious turn of mind, we were
not long in discovering the true character and motives of
these restless and dangerous men; and immediately a contest sprung up between us, and before the first six months
of the year 1861 had expired, there was open and bitter
hostility. Nothing was more natural than for these men to
affiliate, and before the close of that year a thorough understanding existed among them, and a clique was formed
for the purpose of controlling the Cincinnati Convention,
and dividing the profits and honors among themselves. To
make themselves perfectly secure, it was thought necessary
that we should not go to that convention; knowing that
we were extremely poor, and believing that, should we not
be elected a delegate, we would, for the want of means, be
compelled to remain at home. To accomplish this object, a
collusion was formed to secure our defeat. Then, in that,
the darkest hour of our life, we were deserted by all but a




430   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
handful of firm and devoted friends, who had confidence
in our integrity, and our defeat was secured. In the meantime, accounts were being trumped up, and every arrangement made, to prove us a defaulter at the next convention.
We had, however, early in the year, decided upon a course
of action that should be followed to the end, and silently
resolved within ourself that all these schemes should be
defeated. Over $6,000 had passed through our hands
during the year, and we were not to be kept from the convention. We went there; and the result was a triumphant
vindication of ourself, and the entire overthrow of all the
pet schemes of this clique, whose objects were to provide
for themselves positions, and make the organization a stepping-stone to their political advancement.  Though defeated and exposed, they lost none of their venom. At
the Pittsburg Convention, in 1863, nothing was heard of
them, for the reason that our union had almost ceased to
have an existence; and, like a ship in a sinking condition,
was deserted by all but a few brave men, willing to sacrifice
all to prevent a total wreck. In one year the union was
again placed upon a firm basis, and in the front rank of the
union movement. The rats took to the ship again, and in
the Bufiflo Convention, in 1864, we found a revival of the
same old faction, as intensely bitter and selfish as ever. The
harmony of the convention was marred by it, and many
unpleasant feelings created; but it was again crushed and
silenced, but by no means defeated. At the Chicago Convention, in 1865, it raised its malignant head with a bitterness never before manifested. But there had been a change
of tactics; efforts had been made to create dissatisfaction
with our administration; supposed and imaginary wrongs
done to the Western unions were talked about, and many
of the unthinking were led into the snare, and were made
to believe that injustice had been done, and that, if we were




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 431
again elected president, it would be best for the West to
split off from the East, and set up an independent union.
These views were openly expressed in Chicago, but it is
only since the adjournment of that convention that any
very serious movement was made to bring about a separation. Within a few months communications have been
widely circulated, filled with all the elements of dissolution,
and imputing to us, and other officers of the International
Union, dishonesty and dishonorable motives; hinting that
money was being used for individual aggrandizement, and
that we were determined to hold on to the office of president
indefinitely for the purpose of keeping out of the foundry,
and arguments calculated to inflame the minds of the
Western men, and create a powerful movement in favor of
a separation of the West from the East; all these things
are well known to us. Until very recently, all these movements were conducted below the surface; but, growing
bolder as they became hardened in sin, they have lately
openly proclaimed in favor of secession. We penetrated
the secret objects of this faction when it was first organized
in 1861, and we have never for a moment lost sight of it.
We determined then to stand between it and the union at
all hazards, and, without any regard to our own safety, we
have done so, and shall continue to do so to the end.
They started out to rule the union and use it; failing in
that, they would now divide it, and rule and use one-half
of it. "Rule or ruin" is now their watchword. Thus ends
a chapter from the secret history of our organization, and
in giving it we have had but one object in view - the good
of the cause. For years we have been fighting these elements quietly. Our official connection with the union will
soon cease, and we have determined that, for the few
months yet remaining of our administration, we will opelily
and fearlessly proclaim the truth, and call upon all good




432   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
men everywhere to come to the rescue, and crush out of existence, now and forever, these infernal influences that would
destroy the last hope of the workingman. We have been
accused of dishonesty and of ambition. As a refutation
of the first charge, we have only to point to our past
record as an officer, and we defy any one, our most bitter
enemy, to point to a single official act that will not bear
investigation, or to a single dollar that has not been satisfactorily accounted for. To the charge of ambition we
plead guilty; and if to be ambitious to do good is a crime,
then have we sinned. We aspired to the honorable position that we now occupy, thinking that we could better
serve the cause in this capacity than in any other, and we
would long since have left it had it not been for our enemies, and the enemies of the cause in whose interests we
have been fighting; and when we leave it, it will be with
feelings of profound gratitude for the many favors received,
and.the proud consciousness that we have performed every
official duty to the best of our ability, and frustrated the
schemes of those who would sacrifice everything good and
holy to gain their own selfish purposes.
THE CONSPIRACY.
OuR remarks under the head of "Plain Talk" have
created quite a commotion, and the very worthy gentlemen
who are engaged in the laudable enterprise of destroying
our union have changed their tactics. They have slunk
away into dark places, and from the noxious vapors surrounding them are manufacturing a hurricane for future
use, with which they expect to annihilate everybody but
their own precious selves. We imagine that when the




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 433
storm does break, it will make about as much noise and do
about as much harm as the bursting of a soap-bubble.
These men have been quietly endeavoring to poison the
minds of the union men in the West, and elsewhere, too,
by insinuations of dishonesty on the part of the officers of
the International Union, and by charging that gross injustice has been done to the Western unions. They say that
partiality has been shown to the Eastern unions by the
president, and that all the favors that officer has to bestow,
he gives to the unions of the Eastern and Middle States,
and that the West can ask, but ask in vain for her rights.
It is not our purpose to deny these charges in this article;
we simply wish to ask a few plain and simple questions, and
expect the authors of these charges to answer them.
In the first place, gentlemen, if there are any grounds for
the charges you make, why do you not come out boldly
before the world and publish your views?  If you have
good grounds -for saying the officers of the I. M. I. U. are
not honest, why do you not make your charges openly, and
give the evidence upon which they are based? If injustice
has been done any union anywhere, why don't you say so
openly? let the world know in what way this injustice has
been done. If partiality has been shown to any union or
unions, let us know what unions, and all the particulars
connected therewith. If the rights of any union have been
withheld, why do you not specify what rights they are,
and in what way they have been withheld? Now, gentlemen, if you are honest, and have the good of the organization at heart, step out into the daylight, make your
charges and specifications, and, if you can prove your position, the guilty parties will receive the reward their perfidy
deserves; the union will be saved, and you will receive the
praises of all good men. The Journal is the mouth-piece
of the organization; it is as much yours as ours, and any87                2C 




434   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
thing you have to say will find a prominent place. Will
you come? We are waiting for an answer. The men on
our side of the fence are not afraid to speak. Witness the
action of No. 4 and No. 14; besides these resolutions for
publication, we are in receipt of protests against your infernal plot from all parts of the organization. Words of
encouragement. come to us from every quarter; some even
go so far as to implore us not to get frightened and run away
from our post, but to stand firm to the end. We don't
happen to belong to the runaway kind, and will only leave
when our work is done. We are watching this movement
with two eyes open, and will give all particulars as they
develop themselves.
THE EVILS OF PIECE-WORK.
THE evils of piece-work begin to assume an alarming
shape, and must become fearful in their magnitude, if the
present condition of trade be an index to that of the future.
If so seriously felt at the very commencement of the dawning depression, what mischief will it not work ere we witness a revival of trade, or behold our social equilibrium
restored after the disbanding of the army? We admire industry, we commend prudence and economy, and love to see
a man provide for his own household, so long as his efforts
are marked by a due consideration for the welfare of others;
but we do object to the overstraining of these virtues, until
honest ambition is transformed into the basest kind of selfishness.
When work is plenty and workmen few, there may be
some pretext for working to the utmost tension of a man's
physical endurance, whether suggested by sordid motives or




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM IH. SYLVIS. 435
a desire to oblige the employer. Under such circumstances,
none are injured but those who violate the laws of nature;
but when the reverse is the case - the many idle and the
few employed -we hold it to be ungenerous, if not inhuman,
for half a dozen men to transcend their physical abilities by
working late and early, to monopolize all the work in the
shop, when that labor divided would give as many more
employment, and furnish food for their destitute families.
Such a course can result in but temporary advantage to
those who pursue it, because they know not how soon " the
tables may turn."  If they were guaranteed life-long employment in the same shop, they might escape the consequences of their folly; but no employer will do this.
Promising as their prospects may be, a mistake, a neglect,
a hasty word, or a capricious whim of the employer, at any
moment, may send them adrift on the sea of uncertainty,
where they will meet those to whom they denied a helping
hand. In turn, the outs may get in, and how hard it will
be for them to encounter the very selfishness of their own
creation.
The maxim, " Get all you can, and keep all you get," is
one against which journeymen mechanics have never ceased
to declaim; but it seems that piece-workers have learned to
overcome their scruples, and are carrying it out to the most
selfish extreme. Surely, were they to reflect upon the danger, and consider the evil tendency of this flagrant abuse of
piece-work, they would speedily abandon it. For what do
we combine, but to establish rules and regulations for the
observance of a uniform system, which was designed for the
good of all. The aim of our unions is to secure equal advantages to every member; and, to retain the power of selfprotection, we must be a unit in heart and purpose, tolerating no innovation which secures a benefit to one at the expense of another. Least of all should we suffer avarice or




436   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
selfishness to wean us from an association of interest, to band
in half-dozen squads or more, for the purpose of robbing
our companions in toil of their share of work. When employers find us conflicting, and set the example of "every
man for himself," can we blame them for dosing us with
our own medicine? In short, piece-work must eventually
lead to the monopoly of labor by a few to the detriment of
the many. This will produce heart-burning, and arouse a
spirit of retaliation, which will induce men to work for
what they can get. It will destroy confidence, render oui
unions weak and impotent by contention, and leave us at
the mercy of employers. We need not name the advantages which an abandonment of the practice would secure
to us. It is enough to say that, by abridging the hours of
labor when work is scarce, and sharing it with our needy
brethren, we take the initiatory step towards legalizing, by
precedent, the eight-hour system. We strengthen the bonds
of union and friendship by acknowledging our mutual dependence. We establish harmony in our unions, and invest
them with a strength and power which render them doubly
strong for our defence. We win the esteem of workingmen
of all trades, and give them hope by the force of example.
We convince employers that "we know our rights, and
knowing, dare maintain them." We might add, that the mag.
nanimity of sharing employment and sustenance with our
associates, in times of great depression, must exalt the workingmen of America to the highest standard of refinement
and humanity. Reader, gaze on both sides of the picture
- see what we must eventually lose by piece-work, and
look at what we will surely gain by its abandonment.




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS. 437
WE BIDE OUR TIME.
THE present beclouded condition of the producing classes
discloses a phase of human character peculiar to all social
changes. Those who feel that they possess power, seem disposed to use it, as if in revenge for a check to their arrogance during the brief period when workmen were scarcely
sufficient in numbers to perform the increased amount of
labor made necessary by the war. Now that there is a lull
and an excess of hands, the manner, tone, and feeling of
many employers are quite different. In their intercourse
with journeymen they are more dictatorial, and exhibit a
brusqueness which almost amounts to offence, because they
know that others are ready to take their places. Wages
are lowered, new rules established, and perceptible encroachments are daily attempted, well calculated to irritate and
annoy. To all reasonable men, this must be a source of
sincere regret. During the past three years, it was our
pleasure to witness a closer assimilation of feeling and
interest between employers and journeymen, and, in proportion as this equality was recognized, we saw old prejudices
vanishing, and harmony and true sociability growing. We
had hoped, as the reward of labor increased, to see the workingman lifted up to the social standard of the employer,
without detracting one iota from the position or the interests
of the latter, and no one more than ourselves rejoiced in the
prosperity of master mechanics during the period alluded
to, because we based our hopes of the workingman's elevation upon their success, and looked forward to the time
when every dividing line would be obliterated by congenial
association, and a mutual recognition of each other's rights.
But we are mistaken, and all our hopes are dispelled by the
inauguration of repulsive and oppressive measures against
workingmen.
37*




438   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HI. SYLVIS.
How different with us when hands were scarce and work
pressing upon which fortunes hung. Journeymen mechanics
took no advantage of the dilemma in which employers were
placed at the time. They simply asked an advance of
wages, sufficient to meet the additional cost of livingnothing more. Indeed, very generally, they neither asked
nor received an equalizing compensation, and, in many instances, they were compelled to strike for what they did get,
although employers were receiving almost fabulous prices.
All of us know how we applied ourselves to meet the sudden
demand for workmen. Over-work, night-work, and, we
regret to say, Sunday-work, were too often required of us.
Those who would now oppress us, cannot so soon forget how
we responded to every call made upon us. Thousands, to
oblige their employers, taxed their physical energies to the
utmost, that a contract might be completed in time, or to
finish one job to open the door for another. It is useless to
say " we paid you for it," for no wages can pay any man for
violating the laws of nature so far as to rob himself of necessary rest and sleep.
Thus, when employers were perplexed by success, when
overburdened with work at their own prices, when the
chance of enriching themselves offered, and their suddenlymade fortunes depended upon the fidelity of journeymen
mechanics, we slaved and toiled to serve their interests, actuated by the hope that their prosperity would inspire feelings of gratitude and liberality, which would forever lift us
above the position of suppliants for simple justice. All obligations ought to be reciprocal, and now that we are perplexed by poverty, arising from the scarcity of employment,
are we not entitled to the same wages, when our past
services have increased the ability of employers to compensate us better than ever? After enriching them, are we to
be proscribed? After placing them beyond financial care by




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 439
the labor of our hands, is it manly, is it right, that they
should now higgle, and chaffer, and cheapen us cown to
starvation wages?  These are questions for honorable employers to answer, and upon their decision, in our opinion,
depend the peace and harmony which ought to exist between the two classes; for should a season of prosperity
again dawn upon us, we hope we may have no feelings of
revenge to gratify, no enemies to punish. But, if forced to
occupy the position of a " stag at bay," we should be loath
to predict the consequences. Till then, however, we bide
our time.
TO YOUR TENTS!
WE need not remind members of our union, and all other
mechanics, that the present is a critical period in our history. The lowering clouds of adversity are visible everywhere around us; and the threatened storm of persecution
may burst upon us at any moment. If we would avert the
force of the blow, let us be prepared for its coming.
" Prompt to duty " should now be the watchword of all, and
each should exercise the vigilance of a faithful sentinel; for
if misfortune should come upon us, if we should "go
under" at last, let not the pangs of defeat be imbittered by
the reflection that we failed to discharge a single duty
which might have saved us from the moelstrom of a monetary panic.
We have been so long accustomed to glide upon an unrippled surface, that we have placed too much confidence in
imaginary security. Our perils have been so few of late that
we have become insensible to danger, and grown careless
and apathetic in all that is essential to our safety. Fatal
delusion. The struggle for existence is at hand. The war
of Capital against Labor is raging in the Old World, and the




440   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
clang of preparation rings out upon the still air in the New.
To your tents, then, workingmen, and show a steady front
to the foe. The man who wavers or falters now is lost.
Every mental and physical effort should be devoted to our
trades-unions; for if ever we needed combination in its perfection, harmony in its excellence, and union in its strength,
we need it now. The moral power of numbers is as essential
to our safety as food and raiment are to our comfort. He who
deserts his union now, when danger threatens, is both a
coward and an ingrate. A coward, because he refuses to
defend a position to which he was exalted by the sacrifices
of his fellow-toilers; an ingrate, because he has enjoyed all
the advantages won by others, and deserts them like a
thankless drone, when only his presence is required to secure
a continuance of blessings he never knew until his benefactors bestowed them upon him.
Our readers must excuse us if we grow warm upon this
subject. We cal tolerate almost any crime with more complacency than that of ingratitude among workingmen. Bound
together by over-taxed labor, long-suffering- common victims of injustice and oppression -who, of all God's creation,
should act together, think together, and move together more
than workingmen?  One in purpose, one in sympathy, one
in destiny, they should also be a unit in every effort that
tends to their social elevation; for we must rise or fall together. These convictions having been the guide of our
individual and official connections with the union, we cannot
express our regret, our mortification, at the apparent indifference manifested towards the unions by many members.
Few attend, many plead frivolous excuses, and many more
never show their faces until a threatened reduction of wages
drives them to their only ark of safety. Yes, we have
members who are prompt to come up, and poach upon our
funds, when the wolf howls at the door, but never take a




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS. 441
part in the movmnent unless they are personally interested.
This species of selfishness is the great stumbling-block to
our progress. We regret to add, also, that not a few who
have long been considered faithful, are gradually absenting
themselves from their unions. Need we say, that a once
zealous member, who relaxes in the discharge of his duty
or becomes apathetic, sets a more pernicious example than
though he had never been among us. He is held up as a
criterion by those who seek an excuse for their own base
desertion.
Workingmen must remember that our unions are the
last refuge of persecuted labor  If they fall, we fall; and
every man who refuses to support them wrongs his neighbor
as well as himself. Employers are already informed of the
apathy we complain of, and how they gloat over this abatement of interest on the part of workingmen. They hail it
as an evidence that the last barrier between them and the
complete mastery of the producing classes will soon be
removed, and exult over the fact that the supineness of
workingmen is doing more to effect their own ruin than
capitalists could hope to accomplish.
Finally, we ask members to attend their unions every
meeting night, for the sake of example as well as of interest.
The principle involved should be the impelling motive.
Crowded unions show strength, determined purpose, and the
discipline of combination. They strike terror to the oppressors, and give hope to the defenders, of labor. In short,
every consideration of duty, the highest motives that can
actuate man, self-preservation itself, demands, in this crisis
of the labor movement, a prompt and regular attendance at
our union meetings. Workingmen, to your tents,




442   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
LARGE AND SMALL ROGUES.
THE discrimination in favor of large rogues, and the rigor
with which the penalty of violated law is visited upon small
ones, has long been a source of complaint. Justice is as
unerring as truth, and, when properly administered, gives
majesty and dignity to the law; but when perverted by
prejudice, or controlled by favoritism, it is natural that
public confidence should be shaken.  The difference between rogues in ruffles and rogues in rags is daily widening,
if we are to draw correct conclusions from our civil and
criminal annals; for, in nine cases out of ten, the lightest
sentence demanded by the grade of crime is placed upon
the most flagrant offender, while that of the severest character is visited upon the transgressor in petty cases. The
man who can abuse public confidence to the amount of ten
or fifty thousand dollars, is a respectable rogue; and if justice is bold enough to strip him of his hoarded plunder,
society will sympathize with him over a fate that reduces
his social status and style of living, because " he has never
been used to it."  But let some poor mechanic, robbed,
perhaps, of his wages by the same aristocratic rascal, driven
-to desperation, steal a loaf of bread or a rasher of meat, and
how prompt the law, how impulsive is justice. The stationhouse one day, the Quarter Sessions the next, and the prison
the next. There is no habeas corpus, no bail, no influential
friends, no public sympathy, to come between the victim
and his inevitable doom. A large rogue can enjoy the
benefit of all these influences, and have postponements,
obtain writs of certiorari, new trials, and by all manner
of legal subterfuge hold justice at bay until the case is
dropped from the calendar or erased from the docket.
Then look at the difference which public estimation has
established between the two offenders.  The large rogue




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.                443
still maintains his position in society, because he has filched
sufficient from the unfortunate to niaintain his style of
living, and to purchase homage by princely benevolence or
ostentatious charities. Liberal to the Sanitary Committee,
generous to Dorcas Societies, a life-member of Bible and
Missionary Societies, he passes as current coin in the community he has robbed. But how is it with the small rogue?
IHe emerges from  prison broken-spirited, crushed to the
earth with the burden of his own shame —it may be to find
his home desolate, his family scattered, and every tie that
bound him to earth severed. He is despised by the rich as
a common  thief; he is shunned by old friends, and feels that
he wears a brand of infamy which attracts every eye.
While the big rogue is taken by the hand, the little one is
kicked aside with loathing. Re-entering the world as an
outcast, he must possess a remarkable degree of moral courage, indeed, if he pursues a moral and upright course of
life amid the persecution and proscription he is forced to
encounter. In too many cases, such injustice drives despairing men to reckless habits of life, and a career of crime
which destroys all hope of reformation. These are some of
the differences, reader, between large and small rogues.
THE ARISTOCRACY OF INTELLECT.
IF ever one absurdity exceeded another, it was when a
class of self-constituted savans set themselves up as the sole
custodians of all intelligence, which is to be eked out, as
they see fit, in small doses, to those who hunger and thirst
for knowledge. It is really a matter of wonder, in a land
of equality like this, that these pretenders should have been
so long tolerated, and conceded a superiority to which they
were never entitled. In monarchical governments, cursed




444   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
with a titled nobility and privileged classes, whose wealth
is permitted to elevate them in the social scale, high above
the producing millions, we are not surprised that these assumptions should lead to the acknowledgment of an aristocracy of intellect; because the masses are so fettered, and
so much absorbed in a common struggle for bread, that few
of them have an opportunity to develop the God-like attributes of the mind, though perhaps gifted with abilities
which, were they not stultified or choked by the rank weeds
of poverty and prejudice, would eclipse one-half the oracular
pretenders of the age. Give them but time and opportunity
to think, with even limited education, and neither the heat
of furnaces, the clang of machinery, the stifled air of manufactories, nor the heat of midsummer's sun, would be sufficient to chain them to the contracted sphere assigned them
by the aristocracy of intellect. As it is, the scientific and
literary world are frequently startled by the appearance of
"some bright particular star," whose master mind has burst
through adverse clouds, and emerged from the midnight of
obscurity, to throw additional light and knowledge upon
long explored subjects.
In this country, however, the elements of self-elevation
are more accessible to the masses; and, if properly applied,
neither mind nor body need be fettered. The fault with us
is, not that we lack the means of guarding against the pretensions of those who would despoil us of mind, as they do
of labor; but that we neglect to exercise our rights, as men,
in such a way as will make us secure in our privileges.
Man, it is said, is an imitator; and we are not surprised
to find those among us who would inaugurate here the
same distinctive features which send one class higher and
another lower, in the Old World. Once concede a superiority of intellect to those who base their pretensions upon
wealth, and you admit an entering wedge which will inevi



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 445
tably divide society, and result in the establishment of
privileged classes. This accomplished, what is to save us
from. the social and intelleetual degradation which money
pand power have fastened upon mankind elsewhere.
Workingmen of America, never forget that God's ordained equality of man is recognized in the laws and institutions of our' country; and to admit of, or submit to, a
distinction, based on a difference of circumstances in life,
would be rank sacrilege. To suppose that He could, in His
immaculate conception and execution of creating and peopling worlds, design that a man's mind should grow with
his money-bags, or expand with his broad acres, would be
an infamous calumny upon Divine wisdom and justice.
Were this possible, the world would never have been blessed
with more than half the mechanical inventions and scientific discoveries which have marked the progress of man.
Godfrey, Franklin, Fitch, and Fulton could never have
conferred upon us the countless benefits which still flow
from their towering genius. But, aside from the men associated with poverty and toil, who have so' largely contributed to the advancement of art and science, the great
majority of our orators, heroes, and statesmen came from
the ranks of labor.
But, in our opinion, these pretensions to an aristocracy
of intellect cannot stand the test of either observation or
experience. Take an equal number of those who live upon
the labor of others, and of those who labor for a living, and
scrutinize their progress through life. Who will question
the preponderance of all that is practical and useful in favor
of the latter? It is because the act of producing tends to
develop the powers of the mind, while the luxury of consuming, blended with the vice of idleness, generally renders
it inert and contracted. The same may be said of the children of each. The child of wealth, though favored by the
38




446   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS,
best education that money. can procure, often becomes an
imbecile, or a mere book-worm at most, in the absence of
all opportunity to apply his mind to mechanical, agricultural, or other useful pursuits; while the child of poverty,
with limited schooling, and that obtained at an early age,
often outstrips the other in the race of life, for the reason
that his little learning is assisted by industrial associations
which daily tax his intellect as well as the body; for just
as the muscles are strengthened by exercise, so the mind
becomes enlarged by the variety of its application. With
so many living illustrations of the truth of our position, we
can but smile at the loose "mental philosophy" of the day,
which would violate every natural law in the effort to build
up an aristocracy of intellect. Its votaries may maintain
one of wealth, because that is as often associated with ignorance as with intelligence; but you might as. well attempt to
monopolize the sunlight, or the air we breathe, as to confine
intellect to a class. It dwells in cot and!palace, and, like
heaven's dew, falls upon the rich and poor alike.
THE RESPECTABILITY         OF LABOR.
A GREAT deal of distinction is made between the different
trades, arising from a silly prejudice which concedes more
respectability to one trade than another. Labor is labor
all the world over, and the only difference consists in the
various modes of its application. The shoemaker plies his
awl and hammer, the tailor his needle and shears, the carpenter his jack-plane, the moulder his rammer, and so on,
through the whole catalogue of mechanism. Each and-all
give brain and muscle to these several occupations; and,
for the life of us, we cannot see the claim to superiority of
a single one over another. The grubbing-hoe, the hod, or




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 447
the mud-spud, are equally honorable implements of industry,
although coming under the class of unskilled labor; but,
should all receive equal compensation, where shall the
higher grade of respectability begin? If we accept the difference justly existing between a mechanical trade which
takes years of apprenticeship to acquire, and that species
of labor which depends more upon physical than mental
capacity, we see nothing at variance with a common interest
and a common destiny.
We look upon every kind of labor as respectable, because
necessary; and no man, should he reach the most exalted
position in life, could possibly lessen the dignity of himself,
or compromise the sphere in which he moved, by resuming
the humble occupation from which he sprung, for either
pastime or convenience, so long as he faithfully discharged
the duties of that position.  Would Abraham Lincoln,
while President, have degraded himself or his office had he
" took a turn" at splitting rails, or grasped the helm of a
flat-boat? Could Andrew Johnson have done the same by
patching his coat, or sewing up a rip in his pantaloons? On
the contrary, the one felt a glow of honest pride when living, as the other does now, while alluding to their past occupations.  Then, if proud to boast, as Presidents, of the
trades they followed in poverty, why should they not, with
equal pride and satisfaction, split a rail or mend a coat, as
Presidents?
It is evident that neither of these great men recognized a
distinction between the labor of the mechanic or workman,
and that of a President. In fact, while free to boast of
their performance as laborers, they were by no means vainglorious while occupying the highest position in the country. It is the wide difference of compensation which creates
the distinction, and not the occupation. We have often
read sneering criticisms of both, whenever they made allu



448   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLYIS.
sions to their past history; but while the occupation of
either may stink in aristocratic nostrils, one had, and the
other has, the moral courage to throw the mantle of respectability around the humblest calling.
DISCONTENT.
How much of happiness has been destroyed, how many
fortunes have been lost, by a spirit of discontent? The restless, dissatisfied man will create countless obstacles to his
progress by devoting his greatest powers of thought to chimerical schemes and impracticable theories, when, if the
strength of his mind were applied to present pursuits, he
might soon acquire the means and the position to free himself from incessant toil; or, at least enable him to accomplish as much by head-work as hand-work. How many
have brooded over what they conceived to be a hard lot,
until they became indifferent, and foolishly imagined that
the door of deliverance was shut against them forever; but
how little of manliness, how little of intelligence, is developed in the fickle-minded being who surrenders to such
influences?  Show us a man who goes to his daily labor
whistling on his way, greets his shopmates with a smile, and
returns to his family in the evening to meet the caresses of
his loved ones in a reciprocal spirit, and we will show you
a man who can and will rise above misfortune, and cast off
depression, though fate itself should war against him.
Mlountains to others would be to him mole-hills, and while
some would be creating imaginary barriers to their progress,
he would pluck roses instead of thorns on the pathway of life.
This spirit of discontent, we regret to say, prevails to a
great extent among workingmen. Perhaps the most pro



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLYIS.               449
lific source of this evil can be traced to a distaste for, or
prejudice against, the particular trade or calling which they
follow. It has become fashionable to dwell upon the objectionable features of a business, and magnify its disadvantages to an extent that produces a self-terrifying feeling, and
we gaze so long upon the dark side of our lot, that we become blind to every source of alleviation. We can see the
good points in all other trades, but none in our own; yet,
were we to take the same liberal view of the calling we follow as we bestow upon others, we would soon be content.
Every man should honor his own trade and feel that his
interests can be promoted proportionate to a just appreciation of the dignity which belongs to it; and it rests with
him to add to, or detract from, that dignity. In elevating
it, he elevates himself. In fact, when he persistently disparages his own trade, it is natural to infer that he is in a
measure disqualified to follow any other; for if he has no
respect for the agency through which he derives support for
himself and family, it is more than probable he would go
on grumbling and croaking to his grave, and die a discontented man. It is natural that the fault-finding propensity
which he cultivated at the calling with which he is most
familiar, would obtrude upon him with a fourfold force,
should he engage in another, of which he may only have a
theoretical knowledge. We therefore conceive it to be the
duty of every workingman to not only esteem his trade
worthy of himself, but to make himself worthy of his trade.
We often hear workingmen complain of their occupation,
and brand it as good for nothing. They will quit it-will
starve -will follow it no longer, &c. Rest assured, reader,
that the fault, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, is not
with the trade, but with the man. His discontented spirit
will not permit him to make a just comparison of his own
condition with that of others, and his morbid feelings mag88 *                2 D




450   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM          H. SYLVIS.
nify objections, until dissatisfaction poisons the very atmosphere of his shop, and his labor becomes repugnant.
We do not know that we could present a subject to
workingmen more pregnant with grave consideration; for
it involves an evil which is growing upon us, and one that
materially affects the happiness of every toiler. Important,
therefore, as other reforms may be, we should not lose sight
of this; because labor is robbed of half its burden when we
can bring to our aid a contented mind, free from those
envious or jealous feelings which spring from unjust comparisons. We would be the last to discourage all honorable
efforts to improve the condition of workingmen; for we are
always pleased when we see one of.them leave the workshop
for more profitable pursuits; but we fear too many need to
be admonished by the old adage -" let well enough alone."
Let us stand by our trade, elevate it to the foremost position, be proud of it; by making our occupation worthy of
us, we will become worthy of our occupation.
DRAWBACKS.
No enterprise was ever started, no reform was. ever
attempted, that failed to encounter opposition. Perhaps
this is, in a measure, necessary to quicken energy and give
an impetus to the work, as well as a higher appreciation of
results. Every sincere reformer knows what it is to meet
the prejudices of ignorance and bigotry, and to combat the
adverse views - often honestly entertained - advanced by
those who cannot see or think as they do. The greatest
obstacle to be met with, however, in all progressive movements, is the dogmatical and uncharitable strictures and
action of those who must have everything to conform to




BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 451
their peculiar notions to secure their co-operation. There is
a class of people who move and act on the personal pronoun
I. They must start the project, have it progress as I want
it, finished as I want it, or they will give it their unqualified
opposition. Their aid is measured by the eclat they hope
to win; and if neither vanity nor selfishness can be gratified, they pronounce the measure a failure in advance,
and at once assume an antagonistic position to verify their
predictions.
These remarks, which are designed to point out the drawbacks to all reforms, apply with great force to that of the
labor movement. It is unfortunate for the interests of labor
that we have too many among us who seek notoriety at the
expense of the cause. Ambition, jealousy, envy, often clog
our onward march; and yet the labor reform, above all
others, should be most free from these impediments. A
feeling and interest in common affords ambition but a
barren field -there is nothing upon which to base improper aspirations - no individual can be singled out for
especial favors. Whatever benefits accrue are shared by
all; and, for the life of us, we could never discover a single
reason why there should be bickering or contention among
workingmen. There are no leaders —no dictators among
us; and none can occupy a position unless by the clearly
expressed will of the majority. While such perform their
duties faithfully, they should have their hands strengthened. If they neglect them, the masses have the power to
remove them.
Now, with this plain, democratic system to govern us,
why should we encounter such drawbacks as discord, jarring, and unjust criticism? If it is supposed that those who
are forced to prominence in the labor movement sleep on a
bed of roses, a greater mistake was never made.  We can
testify to the contrary by sad experience. If a target is




452 BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
needed for the'arrows of capitalists, they never fail to select
those who have been made representative men by the producing-classes; and few can know the vexations, the trials,
the persecutions to which they are subjected. At times they
are forced to assume positions and adopt measures which,
for the moment, it would be imprudent to explain; and,
because unexplained, they receive a fire in the' rear from
those who ought to be their friends while facing the foe.
While doing the very best they can, they are assailed with
fault-finding, their motives impugned, and sometimes even
private as well as public character is assailed.
These things prove a serious drawback to the cause, because it dispirits and paralyzes the efforts of those whose
zeal is equal to all opposition coming- from expected enemies, but unlooked for and unmerited from men who ought
to be their friends. Such as become prominent in the labor
reform need the sympathy, support, and confidence of those
whom they are striving to benefit. A careless remark, a
detrimental insinuation, often made in a moment of pique,
is treasured and made the most of by our opponents. This
impatience —this weakness, if you please, on the part of
workingmen - has done much to retard our progress.
While our opponents prudently keep their own secrets, we
emblazon ours to the world. We seldom hear of their differences, and know less of the causes - hence the public are
left to infer that they derive strength from harmony and
unanimity. This lesson should not be lost upon workingmen. Let our disputes be what they may, the laws of our
organization are all-powerful to settle them; and we never
yet could see the necessity of exposing our family quarrels
to the public.
We know that frequent sources of vexation are to be
found in the fact that we sometimes suffer from misplaced
confidence.  A  defaulting treasurer, money misappro



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.             453
priated, desertion when struggling for our rights, or disaffection from any cause, are very apt to elicit denunciation;
but it is a maxim in war never to expose a weak point;
and, if we would maintain our power, keep our troubles to
ourselves. When we do otherwise, we give vitality to opposition, and afford our enemies food for exultation. Black
sheep are found in almost every flock - all reforms have
stragglers who leave the ranks or faint by the wayside.
There are dishonest men in all classes of society - hypocrites among the most devout congregations. Then how
unreasonable to expect the labor movement to reach the.acme of our hopes free from the drawbacks experienced by
every other reform.
For ourselves, we do not expect it. All we ask is, the
exercise of that charity and forbearance which innocence
has a right to claim, until a wrong is clearly proven.
When dereliction of duty is manifest, or guilt detected beyond cavil, cast the offender beyond the pale of our organizations; but because one is thus convicted of dishonesty or
treachery, that is no reason why the cloud of suspicion
should rest upon others. Old men will remember that the
labor movement, which became so formidable in 1834, became paralyzed from the very drawbacks we have named -
when such men as Luther, Farrel, Hogan, and others,
finally became worn out with discord and contention, as
well as the suspicion heaped upon the more active, because
of the baseness of a few unprincipled men. This, with envy
and jealousy combined, gave a "pull-back" to the cause,
which renders our labors more arduous to-day. A confiding trust, a just appreciation, a promptness to defend
our labor champions, can alone neutralize the drawbacks
we have named.




454   BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM           H. SYLVIS.
THE IRON MEN OF ENGLAND.
THE spread of Christianity, the march of intelligence, and
the advance of civilization, would naturally lead one to believe that the human instincts of our nature would be more
prominently developed. But, in many instances, we are
forced to an opposite conclusion. The horrible barbarities
of war have increased fourfold; murder, assassination, and
crime of every grade, are not only on the increase, but almost reduced to a science. The progress of intelligence develops new death-dealing instruments, and the inventive
genius of man is taxed for the production of those of a still
more fatal character; and all this, too, in a Christian, Biblereading, missionary-sustaining age and country. Nor can
the highest claims to civilization arrest the rapidly decaying sentiment of humanity which is necessary to make it
work in harmony with every Christian attribute, as a great
conservative element, upon which is based the happiness of
man. The conviction is forced upon us that, essential as
they are to man's social and eternal welfare, the distance between them is daily widening. The mind, in attaining a
higher degree of discipline, seems to have robbed the heart
of nearly all its charity and sympathy, and by the time we
reach the greatest intellectual perfection, it may be that
conscience will become seared and callous, and the breast
of man closed against every ennobling impulse.
In social life, too, we find a similar contradiction. As
man accumulates wealth, or prospers in his business, he is
apt to become proportionately mercenary, careless of " man's
obligations to man," and unscrupulous in regard to the
means used to gratify his avarice. Regardless of the rights
of others, he appropriates all to himself that the law, not
justice, will permit; and on the principle of "your misfor



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS. 455
tune and not my fault," he demands the last drop of sweat,
and the full measure of time, from those whose necessities
compel them to accept his terms. This position is fully
sustained by the action of the iron men of England, the proprietors, who inaugurated a simultaneous "lock-out" of
their workmen in England and Wales, the particulars of
which are already familiar to our readers. Men who give
thousands to convert the heathen, command their Christian
brethren to take the canopy of heaven for shelter, and the
green sward for a bed, because they dare to place a price
upon the labor of their hands. Helpless women and destitute children are turned upon the commons to starve and
die, because their husbands and fathers are bold enough to
claim the prerogatives of free agency. Yes, men who pray
and who echo in sonorous tones, and parrot-like repetition,
the Divine precepts of the Lord's Prayer every Sabbath,
steel their hearts and close their eyes to the squalid poverty
and misery in their own surroundings, and that, too, of their
own creation. Let the wretched shiver and shake with cold,
cry with hunger, and die with disease; what is it to their Pharisaical oppressors? Yield or die, submit or starve, become a
serf instead of a man, a slave instead of a freeman. These are
the terms of reconciliation that the Christianity and civilization of the iron men of England and Wales propose to
human beings. This is a specimen of the humanity which
actuates the men who would Christianize India, steal opium
from China, rob the New Zealanders of their territory, and
emancipate slavery in America.
But we cannot longer dwell upon this horrible picture
of "man's inhumanity to man." Let us hope that the victims of this most inhuman persecution may soon hail the
day of their deliverance, through the efforts of a combined
labor movement throughout the world. We are not dis



456  BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SYLVIS.
trustful of the feeling with which workingmen are gradually being imbued through the united and fraternal agency
of our organs of labor and the pleadings of our fearless
champions. The revolution is gradually working, and the
hour of social emancipation is not far distant; till then
" bide our time," but work, work, work, for the " day of
jubilee."
THE END.