HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Signal, 1909-5-6, Page 4enirritikkbieMa*;rakirkesaau-•s0,0a •^•a --asses ...«Y.-
TIUYDAT, Mae 6, 1909
TH E
SIGNAL : GODI;RICHe ONTARIO
Country vs. Ci.
An Interesting Subject `Discussed in an Enter-
taining Way- Some Reasons Why the
Country Boys Go• to the City-- What
They Expect, and What They Get. x
The following article is written by
Jas. A. Payne, of Chicago, a former
Goderich boy and a graduate of the
Signal office, We give one-half the
article (hie week, and the remainder
will be published in our next week's
issue.
At the present time we hear con-
siderable discussion on the subject
"Why are young men leaving the
rural districts and going to the large
cities 7 "
In this country the subject has been
discussed considerably by many .,f
our prominent omen who are melting
an effort to devise ways and means of
stopping the overflow of young men
and women front the cwnury and
small towns to the large cities.
In these remarks on the subject t
refer to the "average" Pe rson. There
et
art a few who will always get ahead,
and more who will always Iw famed at
the tail -end of the procession, lint es
they are the exception We will elimin-
ate them and confine out selves to the
average—or the crowd.
To the young man who has been
brought up on a faun or in a swell
town we know the wonders of s city
have considerable attraction. He hae
met the prodigal son who bad re-
turned to the old home for a visit ter
maybe for good,. said prodigal being
generally attired in the latest style
and overstocked with tales of the
wonderful (?1 things with
which' he
bas comein contact in the city.
He omits to say. however. that at-
tached to the other end of the tine
position he was holding was a pay
envelope containing his weekly in -
comma of 112 ur- 1615, out of which he
paid room rent, meals, laundry, car
fare and many other necessary ex-
. penmen which reduced the twelve or
fifteen to two or three. and to ewe
that two or three it was necessary to
partake of his noonday meet -pe hed
on a high stool at a fifteen -cent 1
counter about seven times a w
Another reason for the yni ng man's
city is :— ll'e
a fele here with whom
o and the glowing a4'•
it life which he receives
�t o he fire that his lien
*ination has already kindled, and
llllongiogly looks forward to the
time when he. too, may shake the
rural dust from his feet and join the
many who have gone before in their
search for the wealth and excitement
which he believes to be found only in
a large city-. When 1 was a young-
ster in Goderich liwas the recipient of
many such letters and when i think
of it now, after having seen the other
side, 1 often wonder what the result
would be if enly the truth were told.
• . •
Probably the principal Ceeetln why
boys flock to the city is on account of
conditions at home.
First, let us take a boy who is learn-
ing a trade. As s general thing he
works ten hours a day without the
usual Saturday afternoon off for
recreation that his co-workers in the
city nearly all enjoy.. and at the end
of the week he is paid the handsomeM)
salary of from $1.511 to $3.'. As he
rows older he finds his expenses are
Increasing faster than his wages and
unless he is living with the "old
folks" he does not receive wages
enough to support himself. The re-
sult generally is that when finally he
bas served his apprenticeship and ran
command a higher wage he has be-
come dissatisfied with his sitrrrnund-
ings and has advanced to that age
when his ambition is ill its. zenith and
be naturally turns toward the city as
the place to satisfy that ambition—
and a great many times it is satisfied
in a hurry.
The clerk in the drygoods or other
store can be put in the same class as
the other fellow, with the exception
that his condition at home is not quite
so good. He doesn't even enjoy Sat-
urday evening to himself. let alone
the afternoon, and Inc standing be-
hind the counter from 8 a. m. till any
old time p. m. his compensation is
One clerk in a first-class drygoods
store in a good-sized country town
told me he received $.i • week, and he
had been over two years in the em-
ploy. When naked if he received the
average wage he replied that he was
treated better in that respect than a
great many.
If a young man ham graduated into
the professions what he the result ? a l
will just use one as a sample.) it the
school teacher In rural district No.—
does not receive any more salary than
a man does who operates a piece of
machinery no more complicated than
w pick or shovel, what's the use of
wasting time, money and energy to
become a school teacher ? That con-
dition shouldn't and wouldn't exist if
the rural trustee paid as much atten-
tion to getting a htainy teacher es he
does to getting a cheap one. When
the Ontario Government passed an
act not long ago raising the pay of
teachers to a certain standard, the
howl that Rome of the truateee pet up
was easilyheard in this part of the
globe. While that condition exists
there is practically nothing for the
teacher to do but woe the position an a
stepping -stone to more !Iterativesein em-
ployment. which in most cafor
bin means the city.
• .
The young roan above all others
who could have the most enviable life.
Is he who 1. brought up nn the farm,
but today how many of us would ex-
change places with the farmer's boy ?
He has no regular hours of work --ex-
cept from daylight till dark, and then
some after that --and has practically
no amusements. He seldom comes
-nearer than a dream to' past..sing a
horse and buggy ..f his own, and the
allnwance of spending money that
reaches his pocket would hardly
wreck a bank if it were withdrawn all
at once. I was told not long ago by a
fellow who looked as though he were
capable of doing a strenuous day's
work. and who seemed very intelli-
gent, that until rer:ently_ he had been
working on s farm in Huron county
and that be received $2l) a month -
0154 cents a day—and he said that was
considered good wages. When you
take these things into consideration it
is not bard to find some of the
answers to the question.
• • •
Now let us suppose that the young
hopeful has packed his grip, said
wanting to get to t
often has
he cortes
rousts o
add t I
he lands in the city—what does he
final? He is probably met by a friend
who takes him to his resou- uot. house
—and after depositing his luggage he
enquires about something for the
inner elan. Instead of being fed to a
well-filled table in a spacious dining -
room he is escorted to a nearby
restaurant and gets an introduction to
what his future bills -of -fare are likely
to consist uf. Doesn't take hint long
to note the difference in the quality of
fowl set before him and that to which
he has been accustomed—hut ter,
never a ghost quality ; milk thet was
never produced by a cow ; coffee—no
not coffee, although I have never been
able to Itnd out what it really is ; pie
that doesn't taste much like the kind
mother used to make—and so on,
down • the hill•of•fare. When he
makes a protest and expresses a wish
to go somewhere else his friend
politely informs him that the "aver-
age- clwoot afford a better place and
sq,eerfutly adds that itte'-wiltsoon- et -
used to it.
His next move is to get living quar-
ters. If he tents u room he is con-
fined strictly- to that rowel and rarely
has the freedom of any other part of
the house. He cowee Anil goes at will
:and is Hardly ever noticed by any of
the other occupants they have
troubles of their own. If he takes his
meals in the house where he rooms he
must be on time to a dot 4,r lose that
meal. It is it matter of business all
thorough and has no homelike features
thrown in Inc good measure.
After getting a )lace to . eat and
sleep his next thought is employment,
If he has no trade or profession is
what we commonly term "u ainst
it." lie may get 011 as • ehtra' on a
street cat, where he haute to
starve before he a steady run, or
he clay watt the Help Wanted"
ads, in morning paper's, and he
thinks -to get ahead of the crowd he
sail get sop early, hie to the news-
paper office. get the first paper and
then for a job—it's easy. Hut when
he gets there he finds dozens and
often hundreds ahead of him, to say
nothing of the srsuy of unemployed
who procure their papers from the
newsboys for the sante purpose : he
sees men young and old. on all stages
of life, seeking employment of any
kind, and he makes considerably more
than one early morning trip before he
secures a position in this way. When
he does get it he soon -finds that he
hasn't landed in an easy chair with a
mahogany desk for a foot rest, and
his "salary" is about enough to exist
on by the most careful expenditure.
His chances for an early rise are fine,
as he will probably have to be at work
an hour, Or so ahead of the crowd ;
but as for advancement, he has about
the same chance as he would have of
making a fortune it he butted in on
the stock exchange. There are differ-
ent hors of employment in which he
may engage, but very few that a
''white man" would care to follow or
which would payhim a decent wage
if he did follow tem.
In looking over a paper no, long
ago 1 noticed an article headed : "Men
Sold at Auction," and after convincing
myself it wasn't a patent medicine ad.
I read it. It went 00 to say that the
pastor of s prominent church in
Brooklyn, N. 1'„ held an auction sale
of about forty unemployed men -
down-and•oute—the preacher acting
as auctioneer. The men went to the
highest kidder and some, although
physically able, were not wanted at
any price. lig contrast I might add
that on the same day the whole
country was paying homage to the
memory of that great American who
so successfully guided the Union
through the late civil war in which so
many thousands gave up their tires
solely that men may not be put up at
auction and sold like cattle to the
highest kidder. You Will probably
say that was an extreme case, but
you can easily convince yourself to
the contrary by studying the problem
of the unemployed in large einem,
• * *
It the young man has a trade his
first necessary step will be to run t
union gauntlet.. which means an ex-
penditure of from ten to flfty dollars,
according to the trade he follows :
then before he secures steady employ-
ment he has -gained considerable ex-
perienceon the still hunt for work.
Ile may get a few days or a week here
and there which just about meets his
e•xpenaee, and by the time he has se•
cured a steady place and everything
seems to be going nieely the heads of
the union have celled n strike and
there in no alternative for hien but to
obey. He has no voice in the matter
whatever. He may be perfeetly and
justly satisfied with wages and con•
ditiuns as they exist, but that is not
considered when en unscrupulous
union walking delegate wants some
"graft" money which he hopes to get
by creating the strike and then call-
ing it off for a consideration, which is
the real cause of meet strikes. Then
again his union may be called out in
sympathy with some other union with
which it is afllliate•d, although its
members themselves have no cause
for rompmint or grievance in any
way, and the men are often fotreel to
lie id le Inc weeks at a time and see
their families go hungry from want.
and they air 111 telly unable to, or at
leant do not, raise a Huger to con-
demn this condition in which they
flnd themselves and in which they
must. remain until the power. that, be
higher up, who in the. meantimeare
usually living on the fat of the Iati`d,
see fit to adjust matters so the mel
may go to worm again.
Of cmlrse a strike may be justly
called, but if so it is generally easily
and quickly nettled when demands
are fair and aboveboard.
The strike gneetion is one of the
moat serious things a laboring man
has to consider in a large city, fur he
never knows when he may be thrown
out of employment on account of a
strike in which be often haa no voice
one way or the other.
About the middle of January a
strike was celled on the new North-
western depot being erected in Chi-
cago and hundreds of men in several
of the different building trades Were
notified- to stop work. Neither em-
ployer nor employee knew why the
strike was called and for a month the
men remained idle, in the meantime
the newspaperm scented crookedness
in connection with the strike and got
after the men who called it and it
wasn't Tong before things began to
happen. The strike was called off in
rood bye to the old home, and with about the same manner an it was
6N mother's blowing and his father's started and the men went back to
farewell advice still ringing In his ours work as muco in the dark as ever,
The row raised by the papers' brought
the case tN the attention of the States
attorney and at present it Iewks as it
the public were to witless the 1 seta•
time of one of the rankest caw•+ of
blackmail and graft ever exposed in
the dealings between capital and
labor in Chicago or anywhere else.
Hutto res : If he is a clerk the
young man naturally turns to the big
stores for employment and he must
have very good recommendations or
he down t get a job. If he is taken on
his wages are not more than ten or
twelve diTllars a week, and he ham to
be pretty expert to get fifteen, 1f he
happens to be above the average he
may get to be a "Noor walker" or de-
partment manager with a salary' of
about $D(. That also entitles him to
(-arry himnen hkb es bank -president
and to act like a czar to the ordinary
clerks—which he generally dies. The
life of the average deck• Is ,anything
but a bed of roses. 'There Is no excuse
for his arriving a minute late, no tuat-
ter whether tate or trains are on time
or not. and he is docked if he does.
He k on hih feet continually anal the
public he serves is more pat t nailer by
far than the people he had been in the
habit of serving in the old town, if
he fails to make a sale to any Custom-
er the department manager, under
whose watchful eye he works, has an
explanation coming : and if his sales
are not a glad average something will
soon happen that will surely not he to
his advantage. That' is trete of 'Ittihad
any sales department in which the
clerk engages, and during the holi-
day season when he works late every
night for a couple of weeks Inc re-
ceives no extra coifjpeiniiTion whlit-
ever.
•
As the young man begins to get
accustomed to city cease a few things
strike him quite forcibly- in a pari•
suu with that l0 which he has Ieety
accutltowed.. About I a. Ill. the city
begins to rouse itself and • first
rumblings of another d of toil are
heard ; by 8 o'clock /city is wide-
awake and by 7 --Che rumbling has
increased art tultiplied a thousand
tinges untii't a continual roar is deaf-
entn id to the uninitiated the whole
e e appears to bi' a eeasele,s
struggle of humanity-, hurrying, jost-
ling, struggling in every direction,
each one in s frantic endeavor to out-
do the other and all with but a •single -
v tt•fsree—tis grasp theostsc ti/iog really
worshipped in a large city—the al -
alight y dollar. The struggle keeps tip
till Midnight and the city gradually
falls off to sleep, only to be/wakened in
a fsew short homes to begin the'nervee-
racing pace over again : and in the
struggle it doesn't take the newcomer
long to flnd that he has to com-
pete against the ehiewdest and
most unscrupulous trains in the
land. and if he doesn't slake good he
is cast aside with about as much con-
cern as you would bestow on a mouse.
Sunday comes along and according
to ,his old-time custom he goes to
church. Ile finds the church beauti-
ful. the singing splendid, the sermon
grand. and the pews empty—to a large
extent. Hut if in search of amuse-
ment what a difference : If he goes
to a baseball game he may have to
fall yn line a Klock or two away frotnI
the ticket office In order to gain ad-
mission. and when he gets inside he I
finds anywhere flow five to td lily.
thousand people ahead of him. he
amusement parks • are crowded. t e
theatres jammed, the excursion!
steamers loaded to the last roan the
law will allow theism to carry, picnic
patties are common and other fortes,
of amusement have their full quota.
All week long these people have leen
shut up in shops, offices and factories,
and Sunday is eagerly looked for-
ward to, not as a day of worship and
rest but one of amusement and pleas-
ure. "Everybody does it," is gen-
erally the excuse given, end because
everybody does it it seems to snake;
the individual lose sight of the fart
that he personally is held accountable
for his actions on that day.
Hut how about our newcomer.
Dews he keep to the et-rnight and nal --
row path or does he follow thectome.%
During the week he has listened to
hie tellow-employees make their plans
for the coming Sunday : some are go-
ing to a hall game, some to the
theatre, some on an excursion and
others somewhere else—hut he doesn't
hear anybody mention church,
When Sunday comes he is tired- All
week he has done nothing but go to
work and come home. He doesn't
have much chance to get out where
he can fill his lunge with fresh air in
the evening or enjoy some arnuse-
nient, and when Sunday comes it is
only human nature that hakes hien
want 10 do what everybody else seems
to be doing seeking some sort of
pleasure. Hut he reasons that he
tel. go to church : next time he
aeons that he of cnT To go 10
eh reh, and then he kind of fotgete
aro t church. not intentionally. you
kno but he just forgets, and when
a elan as forgotten his church he has
Inst mo than the city can ever possi-
bly give him in return. It does not al-
ways happe• thin way, Mut when yon
see every av,'table amueement place
thronged with eeople on Sunday you
meet admit t t in Croat. cases the
aterase young in is sooner r later
to be found among tem. J. A. P.
(conclusion n t week.)
Gentlemen Who Are Bald.
lovestigate and see Inc yourself the
art coveriug in wigs and toupees.
Prof, liorenwend patent toupees ate
DOW worn on over th),IMMI heads by all
classes iu all stat sips of life.
In this particular structure the ven•
Illation is perfect ; as light as a
feather : is securely adjoined. to the
head : can It, couched just us your
own hair ; they make any man look
ten years younger, besides the pro•
1ectiwi yeti get from catarrh, colds,
neuralgia, etc. fall and see them at
Hotel Hrdforl, (itidei'ieb, Westneiiday,
May 12.
C. P. R. Flower Department.
N. 5.. Dunlop, the head of the floral
departiueut of the Comedian Pacific
Railway, is sending out the annual
packages of weds to the different sta-
tions of the line across the continent,
it was Mr, 1)unlop who settle 'ears
ago inauguqrated the free distribution
of Hower seeds to the agents of the
c pang. 8 movement which, as it has
been expressed, ie "making the da-
tions of the Canadian facile Railway
the liuks in a flower chain extending
across the continent." No fewer titan
511.0110 paekages, representing thiity
two varieties of flowers, are now
being shipped out, to be distributed in
1,500 gat ens aeries the contineui.
Later on thousands of plants and
shrubs will be sept out, while last fall
Mr. Dunlop distributed 21• Y00 WIMP.
hvacittlhs, lilies, crocuses and iris
bulls. Not only have the C. 1',
)2
ch1ials sndemployees caught tle'en
-
lhusiasul for dowers, bu erever
.smear the- cosnpany'e- Hewer plots is
Set out the whole sleights a'heud 1
evives an impulite'Eowards the leauti•
tying of tlrroundings.
)
....,..„,,,,..,:,:....:..,,...,,
,,„,„,,,,
Mode
are simply kidney disorders. Thekidneys
filter the blood of all that shouldn't be
there- The brood passes through the kid-
neys every three minutes. If the kidneys
do their work no impurity or cause of
disorder can remain in the circulation
longer than that time. Therefore if your
blood is out of orderour kidneys have
failed in their work. They are in need of
stuilulation. strengthening or doctoring.
One medicine will do all three, the finest
and most imitated blood medicine there
is
odd's
Kidney
Pills
See for
Yourself
Looking around we see
many persons an middle
life struggling along with
poor vision, who might be
enjoying normal sight
today if they had consulted
a competent optician and
worn glasses when there
was yet tame to preserve
the sight.
Be on the safe side, and if you
suspect that your eyes are
failing, let us advise
you what Is best
for them.
I use
THE SHADOW TEST
The only correct method of fitting
glasses. Do not be taken in by
peddlers,
W. E. KELLY,
JEWELLER.
seas
FRESH AND 6009
Nothing but the highest
duality of Groceries
handled at our store,
and our stock is
constantly, .,•1
changing.
GIVE US A CALL.
Mrs. Caller—"You Ru Iy don't al- William L. Lindsay
way• give your husband a necktie on
his birthday Y' Mrs. Atho a Yee, Hamilton St. 'Passe 1r0, Is6
I do ; and the poor dear doe .'t even `
know it's the same one each tit .'
imp anime 0111•11111111111. 6111111110.
A Week's Special Prices
Just read carefully the following list of specialties fur this week; you
may find something among thea) that you can use, and you will
save good money, and a lot of it, too, fly getting some of thele,
DRESS GOODS .\il our IMk• Dress lino,ls
are to hasnhl 8t 'I , in the •,tulluwiug c+•lot.'
black, blue, brown, green. cardinal and drab.
This lot is plain ole self stripe., ani weed, 11 to
12 inches wide and all new this spl1lug. They
are choice tut, but we have 10, many of
them. Your chance 10 get good etre %aloes
for :sic.
DELA/NES All our lac I)elaines ere to be at
121c for one week. This tut is dttek and light
grounds, spot pattern., 1'nll width and fart
color..
CORSETS NVe have I1 psirs of I) k A Cor-
sets.
orsets, that ,1 re 10 I ' sill •/t the following f4'
duct sous: 11 pairs at 50k for :15c. 12 pails at ,.s•
for :sic ail 21 pasr8,'aomp at SLIM and some a1
$1,2.. for li!h•ra chance to get a good 1) A: A
('mist rhwlp. '
WRAPPERETTES 4 pieces• creaul fir
bis•, black 811(1 red, spot attern, sit 121c, this
week only se.
FLANNELETTES 6 pilw•ra of stripe Flan-
nelette, regular lac for.se% and 7 pieces 121c for
. alk•, This is a balitaiil lot we gut, very cheap.
BUT TON, MOULDS These goods have been
scauvy-fine smile time. We have thele in stuck
Imo' hi five sires, :til, :s1, ltd, •h, and 50, and
!prises :a• is Ilk'. If you want any get them
noun. They are going fast.
WAISTS %V4' never before showed lap goitd a
se•lectou of white lawn Waists, embroidery
triuuflt•d, short steal lung sleeves, GUu1r u{avi in
hack and *01)14' in front, prices are from $I.Ili1
10 $:: ,il), vee never had such value at these
Ili'ie'en,
HOSIERY flu l,2M)gair lot of fast black,
seitlelle•ss 1'1,111,11 hose is going fast, and wo it
ought. Never such hi seery value shown in
this town. Two pairs for 25c, hives St. it.Jfl
and In. Absolutely fast black.
J. H. Colborne
•OD--OMR
0.1111110■•111 OD.
THE BEST
1. generally the 1•heate.t in the
cud. 1t:u gain -day igrtaals are
alt right TA settle lien.: +nit
when you are buying;
Groceries
Quality is the pestes csmsidtla.
tion. A "Nil gain" in Grove! -
ies is too itmel n at all unless
yetis lie• one the goads ar•.iust
right. We have no sped el
bargain days, but we 'me sell
Mg good iroe.ei ies
ALL THE TIME
\t the right prices, Every-
thing in ours store is "Sash and
right, and ear g;unranh•s; the
quality every tiler. Git'0us 8
vial moll r
Sturdy & Co.
Phone 91. - On the Square.
P. S. —*fart. -vets .f intrn-
ston's Jtilitary !tread': The lest
yet. \1'1 -ell it.
renlatssll�ie�ss�m �1•estiem;
THERE IS A WORLD
OF COMFORT
6111111118e)i
011111 easy chair (hitt suits
you. lbw- furniture is made
wst.isoss 'bar l..ke you jeer,
light. -
Our New and
Increased Stock
is now Ml ,'xitibitioll. tour
puller suit, and sepal ate
pil•l•1•a 1811. aii,I ll i11 111x11t-
yles. •liedriany sets and
ti late I eeae•e at low ',rice-,
Finest Mattresses Made
for itlittle more than cr .1
prices, the kind 1 hat insures
.i night of restful condo' t.
-
John on,
Store 89.
Residence 178.
1
1
1
FURNITURE and UNDER
TAKING._ WEST sSIDE
SQUARE.
ori
1
shell• Me
•.o
Cameron & Moore's
annum ammo, amommi GIDO
1
Goderich _ _._ Acton
A Gentleman Said to Us
sOME time ago : "Why don't you
let customers run accounts, as
some of the other stores do?" gave
x x Here are the reasons we
I •x�_x
x x him : "Did it ever occur to you
ll
that te ch merchant t wh o sells on
credit as a rule has not the ready cash
'. for theds' he buys; copse-
to .pay goo
: `, quently he loses his discounts, and thus
his goods cost him more. Then, on
top of his regular profit, he has to add
a certain percentage for bad debts.
Take the case of a customer who runs
an account of $1oo.00 and never pays
it. The merchant is compelled to keep
his prices up, and thus his good cash
customers help pay for goods that the
poor -pay customer got. We sell for
cash only, and thus we are able to buy
at the closest cash prices, and if any
snaps are to be had the firm with the
cash gets them. Then, having no loss-
es through poor -pay customers, we
are not compelled to add a big profit
to our goods to make up for bad debts."
This gentleman is now one of our staunchest cus-
tomers, and here is what he said the other day; "Lots
of stores boast that time -worn phrase : 'Small profits
and quick returns,' but you are one of the few who
really practise it."
This is the store where you can save money. If you'
haven't paid us a visit, don't forget to come now.
Everything in the store brand-new and you can
depend on every article being up-to-date.
impsiorm
to sf!".1•t
Last Days of OVING SALE
Our lease eiepires on the 15th ity a few days more in
which to reduce our stock before mo 'ng to our new stand,
which is now being prepared for Ili a want nothing but
our store fittings to move, and all stock will be sacrificed
during the remaining sale days. Note is yybr chance to save
money ; our loss is your gain.
Bargains
Special Sale
In every line we carry. each1ay ; come
when most convenient for yo
Of I.sdiee' Skirts and Coats on Monday.
Of White and Taney Shirt Walate on Tuesday,
worth from $Lest to $2sel, all at 73c each.
Of lace Curtains, Silk Waist., Summer Under-
wear and lloee on Wednesday,
LAST DAY , Bargains in China Basement.
THURSDAY b Shirt Waist Sale, all at bargain price, fisc.
Store open each evening until Thursday.
JOHN STtAD,
LADIES' WEAR AND CHiNA.
Taos 10.1..0„ _+x. , ...ak a
WEST ST. •••0-1111111111111111111 ___
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