The Huron Expositor, 1931-12-18, Page 3^T'
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SONORA DEMONSTRATING CENTRE
'Toothpicks Advertise
f Misery of Coal Miners
We are not aware that toothpicks
,:ever served so useful a purpose as
•»when a row of them placed against a
,closed door in a room in a hotel in
:Kentucky were found to be still stand-
ing there in the morning, mute but
• eloquent sentinels. The room was oc-
• :cupied by Theodore Dreiser, and his
• secretary wars -seen to enter it in the
,evening. It was then the toothpicks
-were put on guard, and their position
in the morning suggested that the
secretary, who was a female, had re-
-snained with Mr. Dreiser all night.
The incident found its way into prac-
tically every daily newspaper publish-
ed on this continent, and perhaps in-
to many abroad. It made front page
news of what had previously been an
• obscure struggle in the Kentucky coal
' fields. It achieved what Dreiser and
'{tris companions had hoped: reople be-
came interested in the coal strike be-
cause of the toothpicks. We do not
know the author of the charming
toothpick technic, but suppose him to
. e, an inhalbitant of the toothpick hin-
terland. In any event, his genius has
<lone more than Dreiser's genius was
:able to accomplish.
Except for more people killed and
.injured there is really nothing very
new about what has been happening
to the miners in eastern Kentucky.
They have been starving to death for
.a good while. One out of every six
of them continues to be injured in
the course of the year at his work.
How they live may be judged from
the testimony- of a miner's wife, ques-
tioned by the Dreiser committee:
"We have just managed to exist.
I will tell you that I've had just one
dollar in the last three days to live
on, my husband, myself and my two
-children. We live on beans and bread.
We don't get no dinner. . . There
don't none of you know how hard a
man works that works in the nines
and I'll tell you what I had to put
in his bucket this morning for him
to eat and work hard all day. There
was a little cooked punkin, and what
;you folks call white meat, just fat
white 'bacon and that's what he took
•to the mines to eat and work on, and
he had water gravy for breakfast and
black coffee."
"What's water gravy?" she was
.asked.
"Water and grease and a little flour
in it."
"And what did you give the chil-
dren?"
"They had the same breakfast and
they don't get no dinner. . . They
are not in a situation to go to school
because they have no shoes on their
feet and no underwear on them and
the few clothes they have, they are
through there."
The mines in Harlan County are
comparatively new and said to be
rich in bituminous. In 1917 the
miners were organized by the United
Mine Workers of America and while
the war raged and for some time
afterward they made good wages. An
expert could sometimes clear $200 or
even $300 a month. The population
of the district increased. Farmers'
sons from the surrounding districts
poured into the mines. Prosperity
abounded. As John Don Passos says
in The New Republic, "The union
turned into a racket and lapsed. Fin-
anciers skimmed the cream off the
coal companies and left them over-
capitalized and bankrupt. In the
fat years no one thought of taking
any measures of civic organization
to help tide them over the lean
years that were to follow -a typical
American situation. Headlong defla-
tion left the coal operators broke and
- the miners starving."
Last winter it occurred to some
of the miners that things might be
better if they could re -organize their
old union. A meeting was held to
discuss the matter and 200 of the
men who attended it were dismissed
from their employment. A f e w
Communists cropped up and the mine
owners said the country was being
over -run by the Reds. Guards were
brought in and made deputy sheriffs.
In „one district nearby a sheriff said
that if there was any bloodshed he
would cancel the warrants of the dep-
uties: There was no bloodshed. But
in Harlan eviction proceedings took
place. The urine -owners there own
the houses in which the men live.
They also own the stores where the
men make their purchases, and one
of the complaints of the strikers is
that they are paid in scrip, redeem-
able only at company stores, and not
in cash with which they could do as
they pleased. Add to these facts the
additional fact that it is legal to pos-
sess firearms in Kentucky and thpt
the average Kentuckian carries a re-
volver by habit, and the reasons f r
the subsequent fighting are plain and
sufficient.
There is, of course, the inevitable
dispute as to whether the strikers or
the guards fired first. There is also
the pointless contention as to wheth-
er the Reds are fomenting trouble
or merely exploiting trouble that
already exists. There have been a
dozen or so miners killed and several
deputies. Nobody accused of killing
a miner has been prosecuted. A
dozen miners are now being prosecu-
ted. The people generally seem to
be pretty well worked up over the
activities of the Communists, al-
though the fact that the first miner
to he tried for murder was acquitted
would seen to indicate that the
juries at least are prepared to deal
with each case according /to its
special set of facts. Outsiders like
Dreiser and his investigators are
cordially unwelcome in Harlan. News-
paper reporters have been run out of
town who wrote stories sympathizing
with the miners, and now Dreiser and
his companions have been indicted for
criminal syndicalism. But incident-
ally the outside world is learning
what is going on in the remote Ken-
tucky mountains.
French Fruit Salad.
Agnes and Arthur like French fruit
salad almost better than any other
dessert. It is not too heavy, nor is it
too rich and Agnes often has it to
round off a fairly heavy dinner. She
makes it with 2 oranges, 2 bananas,
12 English walnut meats, one-quarter
pound of malaga grapes.
Whe e Money Doesn't Count
Money as a force in itself is not
important in most of Mexico. Some
years ago an agricultural concession
was granted to a friend of mine, who
was also a friend of labor. He found
that he could afford to double the
prevailing 25 centavos a day. Fifty
centavos seemed little enough. At the
end of the first week the peons were
paid at the advanced figure. Every-
body seemed pleased. 'Monday morn-
ing when the gates were thrown open
not a soul appeared; operations came
to a standstill. The peons could make
ends meet on 25 centavos a day; they
had earned in a week enough for two
weeks, so why should they work any
more? Utterly devoid of pecuniary
behavior, their logic was unassailable.
The only way my friend could secure
a steady labor supply' was to swallow
his principles and reduce wages to 25
centavos.
A carpenter did some cabinet work
for a woman in Mexico City. After
e: ad 1� Sh'.
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b* a v/, lks y A1C' on4r F r>e4
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shot' asked ' owe4 'orh;hvepe>s9 fol
th,.' Oiler work, aii,4 'yp it A,d nod
"Ah, that was the reason. If" T
had come, you would have thought it
was to get the money."
At a wayside station in Michoacan,
I' gave a newsboy what I thought was
a nickel five-centa'vo piece. He took
it and departed. The train began to
move. 1 heard a yell outside the win-
dow. It was the newsboy running be-
side the track, holding up 15 centavos
in coppers. . No, he had no
racket. II had given him too much,
money, and he was simply giving it
back.
This is not a pecuniary civilization.
Repeatedly at country hotels, for ex-
ample, I have called the proprietor's
attention to telegrams, laundry, or hot
baths which he had overlooked. Yet
a hot bath in a country hotel is a
major operation, shaking the whole
establishment to its foundations. Por-
ters, firemen, chambermaids, waiters,
all join in the process. It is akin to
getting up steam on an ocean liner.
It takes time, it takes approximately
half a day, but ah, what triumph
when the tap is finally turned and hot
water rushes out. Everybody must
see the triumph; indeed it is only with
the greatest difficulty that the bath-
room is cleared. The hotel staff is
helpful, graciously polite and marvel-
lously inefficient. The prices are ridic-
ulous, two,„ or three dollars a day, in-
cluding more than one can possibly
eat. Tips are often not expected, and
if they are, amount to nothing. One
is as likely to be undercharged as ov-
ercharged on the final bill. You are
let alone, you are fed well, you are
charged little, you are bathed in
friendliness if not hot water.
Let us take a !turn around the
Oaxaca market on fiesta day. Each
booth is presided over by two or
more persons. One person fulfils ev-
ery economic need, but two or three
can gossip and have a better time.
This is a 'fiesta, not a bourse. Mexi-
can have an incurable habit of per-
forming by groups rather, than indi-
vidually. Taxi drivers take a boy
friend along and often two -one on
the front seat and one supine on the
mudguard. Kitchens drip with hu-
manity; railroad trains sometimes
have more crew than passengers..
At the market, not only goods are
exchanged, but equally important.
news. Stop an Indian on a mountain
trail, market -bound with a load of
pottery on his back, ana otter to buy
the lot at his own price. Nine times
out of ten he will refuse to sell at any
figure. To part with his pots would
deprive him of excuse to go to mar-
ket. Money is but heavy metal, the
plaza is color and news and life.
As for time, it is measured by sun
and., climate, not by clocks. If you
ask 'a, Teportecan, shortly after high
noo , 'what time a given fiesta dance
will tart, he is likely to reply: "It
will `take , place right now at about
three or five o'clock." This is as def-
nitto him as it is infuriating to one
who like the author, was reared in
sigh of the Waltham Watch factory.
Mexicans even as Russians, have no
mechanical time sense. "Manana," to-
morrow, stretches from 12.01 a.m.
through the weeks and months to in-
finity.
Are Mexicans, then, lazy? They
are never in a hurry; they like plenty
of sleep, and are much given to fiestas.
Unfortunately they have to eat. Eat -
ng involves, among other things, cul-
.ivating cornfields on top of picos,
three or four thousand feet above
one's village; it involves carrying 100
pounds 30 miles in a day over a moun-
tain trail. (When wheelbarrows were
first introduced on railway construc-
tion work, Indians removed the wheels
and carried the barrows on their
backs). It involves grinding corn
with a heavy stone pestle for six
hours on end; it involves arising nor-
mally at dawn. On occasion, Mexi-
cans are the world's champion work-
ers, though, being wise, they never
labor any harder than necessity de-
mands.
er
mands,
In the very trough of the world-
wide business deprtssion, on October
1, 1930, the Mexican government re-
ported 87,000 unemployed the country
over. This is just a little more than
one-half of one per cent. of the popu-
ation. On the same day in the Unit-
ed States they were at least 6,000,000
unemployed, or five per cent. of the
population. These figures measure to
a nicety the difference between a
randicraft and a mechanized system.
Handicraft economics supplies vir-
tually a]1 fundamental needs of the
copulation; and mass production ob-
viously cannot compete in charm, and
probably not in quality, with most
Mexican handicrafts. I am convinced
that it cannot always compete in
price. Here is a village potter, mak-
ng let us say 500 articles a year.
What are his costs? Try and find
them. His clay and colors come out
of the nearby soil, his wheel is beyond
the laws of depreciation. He has no
interest or insurance, and normally no
taxes. I -Pe cultivates a milpa for his
living, and makes pots for fun in his
spare time, thus dispensing with the
charge for direct labor. His expenses
of distribution are so involved with
the spirit of the fiesta -he goes to
market for amusement -that they col-
lapse to a practical zero. In short,
the fellow has no costs at all. He
sells a fine bowl for two cents, a great
five-foot jar for a dollar, a lovely yel-
low water bottle for 30 cents. The
system, for many products, in respect
to both quality and cost, has mass pro-
duction completely whipped.
Mrs. Ralph Borsodi, at Suffern, New
York, produces floor wax in her own
kitchen, made to Bureau of Standards
formula, for $1.50 a gallon. An in-
ferior product purchased at the store,
made with all the alleged economies
of quantity production, costs her at
least $3.50. She can show you jellies,
preserves, canned goods, home pro-
duced at a fraction of the going mar-
ket price, and far superior in quality.
He cost -accounting system, further-
mtee, would be pproved by any certi-
fied public accountant?; ;Some day the
practical men of the machine age will
have to face the implications of Mrs.
Borsodi's kitchen, and the potteries
and looms of Mexico. Mass produc-
tion has its place, but not necessarily
sprawled over the whole bed.
IF‘ 1i :::�'t'�� k ' i%a ,r ��1l.
Do Your Christmas Shopping
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The lists below give you only a partial idea of the Hundreds of most
Useful and Desirable Gifts, which we have assembled for your choos-
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ATTRACTIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS EVER DISPLAYED IN OUR
STORES. You will be agreeably surprised at the Wonderful Values
at these NEW LOW PRICES.
Your Gift Purchases will be Suitablp Boxed.
Gifts for Women
Kimonas ..... , , ... $3.00 to $10.06
Scarfs , $1.00 to $3.75
' Purses 25c to $3.75
Gloves 59c to $3.50
Pillow Cases 50c to $3.00
Silk Hose $1.00 to $1.50
Silk Chiffon Hose $1.00 to $1.50
Silk Wool Hose 79c to $1.00
Cashmere Hose 50c to $1.00
x' Pyjamas, Silk $1.50 to 84.50
Pyjamas, Flannelette $2.00 to $2.50
Handkerchiefs 5c to 50c
Handkerchiefs, Boxed 15c to $1.00
Fancy Cushions $1.00 to $4.00
Linen Lunch Sets $1.50 to $5.00
Linen Table Sets $6.95 to $22.50
Linen Cloths 85c to $10.00
Wabasso Bed Sets (sheets and,pillows), $3.75 to $5.50
Rayon Bed Spreads $3.95 to $4.95
Linen Huck Towels, pair $1.00 to $2.50
Terry Towels, pair 59c to $1.50
Wool Blankets • $5.95 to $9.00
Fancy Comforters $2.50 to $19.50
Silk Vests 49c to $1.00
Silk Bloomers 59c to $2.00
Silk Slips ,$1.00 to $2.75
Silk Night Gowns $1.25 to $1.75
Silk Pyjamas $1.50 to $4.50
Fancy Wool Gowns $3.75
Brassier and Pantie Sets $1.50 to $3.00
Plush Runners $1.25
Gifts for Girls
Vest and Bloomers Sets $1.00
Silk Vests 50c to 65c
Silk Bloomers . 50c to 65c
Silk Combinations 81.00
Silk Night Gowns 85c to $1.00
Silk Pyjamas $1.50
Coolie Coats $2.45 to 83.00
Manicure Sets 35c
Pyjamas $1.50 to $2.45
Sweaters A. , . $2.00 to 84.00
Pullovers $1.19 to $2.25
Wool Hose 45c to 75c
Wool Cap and Scarf Sets 82.00
Kimonas $1.50 to $2.95
Novelties
Dresser Sets 81.75
Sewing Kits 60c to 81.00
Bridge Pads 25c to 75c
Bridge Pencils 15c to 50c
Rubber Bridge Covers 50c to 75c
Telephone Pads 75c
Hat Stands 75c to $1.00
Dresser Dolls 50c to 75c
Guest Towels - 50c to 81.00
Bed Jacket $3.00
Beads 25c to $1.00
Gifts for Men
Hose ..
Ties
Mufflers
Gloves
Handkerchiefs
50c tp $1.00
35c to $1.50
59c, 95c, to $3.50-
95c,
3.50`95c, $1.25 to $2.95
10c to 50c
Boxed Handkerchiefs, 3 in box 75c to $1.00,
95c to $2.95
25c to 35c
25c to 75c
50c to $1.00
$1.25 to $1.50
65c to 75c
Shirts
Armbands
Garter
Braces
Brace and Narter Sets
Gloves, Woo
GIoves, Kid $1.25 to $2,95
Sweater Coats $3.50 oto $5.00
Dressing Gowns $3.75 to $10.00
Smoking Jackets $9.00 to $12.00
Pyjamas $1.25 to $3.50
Night Gowns $1.00 to $1.95
$1.00 to $1.50
$1.00 to $2.95
$1.00
Caps
Spats
Tie and Handkerchief Sets
Ties
Gifts for Boys
Mufflers
35c
59c to 95c
Handkerchiefs 10c to 25c
Shirts 95c
Blouses 75c
Hose 50e to 75c
50c to 75c
$125
Golf Sox
Gloves
Mitts 45c, 50c. 75c
Sweaters 95c to $2.50
Night Gons $1.00
Caps 75c
Aviator Caps 95c to $1.25
Boys' Pyjamas $1.25
Tie and Handkerchief Sets 50c
r
Gifts for Baby.
Baby Kimonas 84.25
Madeira Dresses $1.00 to $1.50
Bootees 35c to $1.00
Bibs 15c to 50c
Infant Mitts 25c to 50c
Comb or Brush Sem 60c to $1.00
Baby Diary Books 50c to 75c
Carriage Clasps 50c to 75c
Baby Pillow Cases 40c to 75c
Rattles, Etc. 15c to 75c
Carriage Robes 69c• to 82.75
Crib Cover $2.50 to $3.75
White Shawls $2.00 to $3.75
Bonnets 85c to $2.25
Jackets $1.00 to $2.50
Knitted Suits $2.25 to $3.00
Lama Coats $4.00
Store open Evenings, Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Dec. 21t 22, 23, 24.
Stewart Bros. Seaforth
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