It is said that evil days bring forth good men to match them. It is equally true that evil men bring forth evil days, and Reynold Walkden Staithes was an evil man that greatly magnified the evils of his days. The best thing anyone could say about him, and the best thing anyone ever did say about him, was that he was a Yorkshireman. After that, they were stuck for words. Stuck for commendable words, that is. They had plenty to say about him that was uncomplimentary. Most people feared him because he was mean and spiteful and exacted awful vengeance on those he knew to be and those he took to be his enemies. He trusted no one apart from men with whom he had done business for many years, and even then he suspicioned that they would do him …show more content…
That was why they did not complain or rise against his brutal autocratic rule. Their wages were in his grasp, as was the power to reduce them if it suited him, which it often did. His control of workers’ fates was as certain as sunrise and sunset. A scowl from beneath his beetling brow, or a raised eyebrow instilled foreboding in the strongest of men. The fear of unemployment was more menacing than any direct threat could have been. He held threats of instant dismissal over the heads of his workers that involved more than the loss of jobs. Dismissal was as close to a sentence of death for a man as any wished to come.
In their circumstances, fear of being sacked was greater than fear of death. It was not the uncertainty of roasting in Hell’s unquenchable fire that held worker’s tempers in check, but the certainty of being made homeless and of their dependants facing hunger in a time when people were falling dead in the street from malnutrition. Winters were worse, because homeless people turned out of work were often discovered frozen to death under a hedge or wall. Under almost any circumstances employment, even working for a tyrant, was preferable to losing jobs, homes, and lives.
Staithes was shrewd. He relied on his worker’s doubts and insecurities to curb antagonism when he imposed hardships on them. Even those that might brave many dangers balked at the risk of being thrown out of work and into greater
Not only were the workers not treated well, the building was also very unsanitary and unsafe. They worked on top of each other in cramped spaces where there were just lines and lines of sewing machines. The exit doors were locked in order to stop the workers from leaving to go to the bathroom. Only the foreman had the keys to unlock the doors.There were four elevators that had access to the factory floors but only one of them were in working condition. In order to get to the working elevator, the workers had to go down a long narrow hallway. This elevator was only able to hold 12 people at a time. Factory floors had no sprinkler system and the entire building only had one fire escape that was not big enough for all of the people in
In Document B, which was explained by David A. Wells, an engineer and economist, was informative on how working condition were analogous to a military organization, “in which the individual no longer works as independently as formerly, but as a private in the ranks, obeying orders, keeping step, as it were, to the tap of the drum, and having nothing to say as to the plan of his work, of its final completion, or of its ultimate use and distribution. In short, the people who work in the modern factory are, as a rule, taught to do one thing—to perform one and generally a simple operation; and when there is no more of that kind of work to do, they are in a measure helpless.” (Document B) Which meant that workers at the factory basically don’t hold responsibility to themselves, as workers mainly are only trained to one job, relating to David A. Well theory. Document F sourced by Samuel Gompers, also portrays how the conditions were explaining that there was too many workers trying to fit in one factory place, and poor conditions. This was how union were created, to regain benefits, as well for better working
“People were forced to work in harsh, dangerous conditions in order to be able to provide for their families” (Document 8). Although most people were grateful to have a job, the conditions that they were forced to work for in order to provide for their families were unfair to them, and their families. Just because they obtained a job one day, doesn’t mean they would have it the next day, for example, if an employee was sick, or injured and had to miss a day of work the employee wasn’t guaranteed to continually have the job after they finally recovered. “I am at work in a spinning room tending four sides of warp which is one girl’s work” (Document 1) working conditions such as these are very harsh for the employees, not only do they have to keep up with the work of four people. Not only do the employees have to keep up with the sea of work, they also have to attempt not to get injured with the very harsh conditions lots of employees did in fact end up with serious injuries. “5 in the morning till 9 at night…” (Document 7) Those were the harsh working hours according to twenty-three year old Elizabeth Bentley. Long hours such as those were very common for factory workers, which made life hard for employees. Not only was harsh working conditions bad, but also the worst consequence that came about through the Industrial Revolution was child
That being said, the worker's problems did not end once they found steady employment. Employers were harsh and unforgiving in how they treated their employees. For example, if an employee was one minute late they were penalized an hours pay. If they were 20 minutes late they forfeited their employment. Worse yet, if they were injured or hurt on the job the company takes no responsibility and the worker is forced to recuperate on their own time without pay
That being said, the worker's problems did not end once they found steady employment. Employers were harsh and unforgiving in how they treated their employees. For example, if an employee was one minute late they were penalized an hours pay. If they were 20 minutes late they forfeited their employment. Worse yet, if they were injured or hurt on the job the company takes no responsibility and the worker is forced to recuperate on their own time without pay (i.e.; when Jurgis sprained his ankle and had to recuperate at home for 3 months). The final insult to the workers was that even if they were always on time, worked hard and maintained their health they could lose their job due to the
Women and children were able to join the work force, but for little pay and long hours. Many were face with poor work conditions, hazardous health issues and short lunch breaks. The economic success was often left unchecked by authorities, who were not ready to deal with the consequences of these uncharted waters.
In his 2004 City Journal article, Theodore Dalrymple expresses his view on the tremendous decline in the quality of life in Great Britain. He believed that society has accepted the notion that people are not responsible for their own problems. Also, that it is the “moral cowardice of the intellectual and political elites” that perpetuates the social dynamics that are responsible for the continuing decline of British society. According to the author, a physician about to retire after a career treating criminal justice offenders and victims, there are several pervasive misconceptions that explain the continuing decline of British society.
The Story, The Possibility of Evil is a truly interesting story that demonstrates the evil of a community that seems almost perfect. This story demonstrates how there is probably no place on Earth that evil has not reached. The story bases itself on a small suburban town and the people that live there. The reader meets Miss Strangeworth who is a sweet little lady that smiles to everyone during the day and starts conversations, but by the time she gets home she starts writing letters revealing secrets and unpleasant facts of her neighbours and fellow townspeople and
Rather than being a welcoming presence, the boss already had an aggressive attitude toward the men. One might attribute later rebellious behaviors by the workers to the malicious care the workers received. When men do not have a strong support system in times of struggle, men are compelled to rebel in hope of escaping brutality and finding comfort in their life.
Bosses of factories and bosses of other companies would pay low wages to their employees. Since of these low wages many people couldn’t support their families. Factory women workers got paid only one or three dollars a day and men got paid one to three dollars and some other companies only paid one or three dollars a week. The working environment of workers were cruel. When it was hot outside the factory would be hot but if it was cold outside the factory would be cold. The building were also crowded with people which is very bad for fires because there are so many people. Factory buildings also didn’t have sprinklers which made it difficult for putting out fires.In 1911 in a factory in NYC a lit ciggeritte got thrown in a bin and the whole factory went up in flames. This factory is named The Triangle Factory and there were many bad conditions that caused many women's deaths. One of the reasons was that everyday the doors to exit the building were locked till everyones shifts are over. No one could escape the building because they couldn’t open the doors to exit. Also, there was narrow hallways that only could fit one person at a time. Since of this, many people couldn’t escape because the line was so slow and it was too late and the flame caught up. Another condition was that there was many fire hazards that caused the fire. The bosses only had buckets of water to
The working conditions of the new arrivals were hardly any better, as employees of factories were often overworked, underpaid, and penned up in dangerous conditions. Perhaps the horrors of these conditions can be highlighted by the devastating 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. Tragically, over one hundred young women lost their lives in the fire, as there was no way to get out, and the doors were locked, trapping the women inside. Safety was not the only problem, as workers initially were not given the right to organize into unions, essentially doomed to the repetitive motions of factory operation. This meant that they had no way to protest against child labor, wage slavery, and unhealthily long working hours. Eventually, with their growing clout and ever-present industrial dependence on their labor, workers organized and demanded reform along all aspects of hazardous working conditions.
One of the oldest dilemmas in philosophy is also one of the greatest threats to Christian theology. The problem of evil simultaneously perplexes the world’s greatest minds and yet remains palpably close to the hearts of the most common people. If God is good, then why is there evil? The following essay describes the problem of evil in relation to God, examines Christian responses to the problem, and concludes the existence of God and the existence of evil are fully compatible.
Generally, God is known to be all good, to have complete control and power, and to be loving. Although, how come there is evil in the world with such an angelic God? If God cares and loves us- wouldnt he prevent the suffering if he could? Since he is all powerful, he should be able to eliminate the suffering that evil brings. It seems we only have two potential answers: either God is not loving and all powerful, or God does not exist. Although, I am going to try to give an alternative answer and possibly explain how God could coexist with evil.
What would it be like to be forced to work long hours for little pay? What feelings would you have after being treated horribly at your workplace? Many workers had to face hardship while working in the factories of 19th century Europe. This was caused by careless government and factory owners. The workers had terrible lives because of low wages and inability to advance in social class. According to an article written by Louise Curth, ”In many cases, the factory owners tended to consider their employees as little more than commodities. The men, women, and children who filled those roles were generally subjected to long hours, low wages, and poor working conditions”. This shows how the factory
"Capitalism is the root of all injustice," a past instructor would remark to me periodically thought out the semester. The past instructor was a woman who was a professor of political science and a supporter of my endeavors in environmental policy, and a feminist. I mention this because it is contrary to the ideas of Dave van Pattern who suggests in his piece that those who study sociology believe "men are the root of all evil." Pattern was a political science graduate, and I myself as a political science major understood where his earlier beliefs about men 's rights came from and I also applaud his later transition away from the previous notions of masculinity. Furthermore, my feminism was built up by largely female professors in my courses ranging from Environmental Science, Anthropology, Ethics, Political Theory, and now Communication Studies 360. However, I am troubled by the statistics stated within some of the articles and texts such as the Backlash article that presented data of how women are not equal and do not "have it all."