﻿Pick-ups 
  
By T-BONE SLIM 
“Where is my wandering boy tonight?” In the workhouse, madam, in the workhouse. 

“Where there is a will to do— there is also a will to crawl through.”— (948). 

We never returned empty handed yet. 

‘Tis said that there is poison in our food, but in such small quantities that “it will do us good.” What do you mean, “do us good?” Say, when you get ready to put more in, let me know; wire at my expense. 

Oh Charity, what crimes are committed in thy name. Many an otherwise honest politician will solicit “propaganda funds” in the name of starving women and children. 

It is more blessed to give than receive—(wages). Cost of living has a flexibility (elastic currency). When you are rich the cost is high; when you are poor the cost is low; when you are without money the cost is nothing (in more ways than one). To understand this, if it can be done, let us put it this way: When you are rich the food is rich; when you are poor the food is poor ; when you are broke the food is rotten. Moral: Don’t be broke. If you can’t make a living working, try shoveling coal. 

Religion and morality, the basis of patriotism. Yellow paint, tar and feathers, lynching, lawlessness, are the result of it. 

Curiosity is the foundation of all knowledge. Not of very genteel birth, is it, Discontent is its father. Old man discontent has nice children. Knowledge is “bound” to make its mark in this world. 

The Press: The irony of it is you must pay for your own poison. Next they will insist that you dig your own grave, attend your own funeral, and DO your own firing. It’s Hell! 

Florida Quick to Remedy Its Cruel Peonage—headline. Peonage started sometime after 1429 and it is to be ended December 31, 1923. How’s that for quick action? A little over 400 years. Florida is a fast worker—according to the masters’ press. It is thought other states now will follow suit, as soon as they see a sample copy of the Florida law. What is a peon anyway? and how do they get into our country? How do they get by the Statue of Liberty, I’d like to know? 

Grayson was right: “One child in three complete the common school grades.” That would seem to be the “why” there is such a racket raised, at each election time, to put “reliable persons” in the unimportant offices of the school board. It would never do to have some unreliable person enforce the attendance laws; why it might destroy the inalienable right of children to support a master. 

Much has been said about progress. “Lookit our wonderful machines, lookit our hairships, lookit our Fierce-Barrow-’Mobiles, lookit our talking machines and lookit our gigantic industries and technique,” they say. Yes, I see. Twelve hours. Ten hours, Eight hours. (?). 

We can now make a living in twelve hours— in the steel mill. Some invention! If it wasn’t for the alarm clock Judge Gary’s employes would starve to death. In the west the boys do better with less machinery. 
Migration. The employes of the various companies migrate in a fashion that is startling to us; expensive and ordinary to the employer; destructive (demoralizing) to the “migratee.” From North to South, South to North; East to West, West to East, etc., they migrate trying to dodge the inevitable—slavery. 
In the place where I’m toughing it out the migration consists of one-third of force two times a day. Where do they go? Don’t ask me. Two shipments of men come in every day migrating from elsewhere. This is Chicago. 
Then there is national migration, both ways; some go, some come, but the condition causing them to migrate remains. If men would migrate less and organize more, there would be very little migration. 
Contrary to the southerners idea, the North is not a paradise; contrary to the northerners idea, the South is no better than the North. East, West, South, North, the men must learn to better the conditions as they find them. There’s no use running away from a thing that is nation-wide and carefully planned. Organize!