28 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



regard to the cause which induced the desire to change the 

 employment. And yet I have never heard of any attempt by 

 any legislature to take away the charter of any incorporated 

 company because of this rule, the converse of which seems to 

 be so fatal an objection to the incorporation of a labor asso- 

 ciation. 



Nearly twenty years ago, a woman called upon me for coun- 

 sel who had faithfully done her duty in every way and form, 

 having labored as an operative of one of the Lowell companies 

 for more than a year. Having a helpless mother dependent 

 upon her, she chose to change the place of her employment, 

 and having given a fortnight's notice of her intention so to do, a 

 proper discharge was refused by her overseer without any 

 reason, because, when she applied for her " line," he refused it, 

 although he said she might return and work for him. She had 

 applied to every one of the eleven or twelve incorporated man- 

 ufacturing companies in Lowell, and was, under that rule, re- 

 fused employment. It occurred to me, that, as that certificate 

 was so valuable, if she had faithfully performed her duty, she 

 certainly ought to have a right to it ; that no one could inflict 

 that amount of damage upon her causelessly without legal 

 remedy ; and therefore I brought the corporation before the 

 courts, demanding of them to show cause, other than the sim- 

 ple despotic exercise of their own will, why they did not give 

 her such honorable discharge. But the court, as a question of 

 law, upheld the manufacturing company in the exercise of this 

 prerogative, and the girl was thus deprived, without her fault, 

 and without redress even, of the privilege of labor by which to 

 earn the support of herself and helpless mother. The case is 

 in the Massachusetts reports ; you may read it there as the law 

 of the Commonwealth. And yet the petition of the working- 

 men to associate themselves for defence against this arbitrary 

 power of the employer, and to establish a like rule for them- 

 selves, was refused a hearing in the legislature of Massachusetts ! 

 and by the votes of men belonging to both political parties ; so 

 that the questions we are discussing may be taken out of the 

 arena of party politics. 



I have already demonstrated that the farmer cannot be helped 

 by legislation. What he should demand is that he should not 

 be impeded by legislation. Every law which permits or assists 



