Which Side Are You On?: Then & Now

The 1st Lineman probably would've been familiar or, at least, appreciative of Florence Reese's 1931 union ballad, "Which Side Are You On?" which was covered and popularized by Pete Seeger in the 60s. This past week, Ani DiFranco released the album, ¿What Side Are You On? last week on Tuesday, January 17 which includes a version of the song.

Reese's original lyrics are below, as is video of Ani DiFranco and Bruce Cockburn covering Seeger's version in 2009:

Come all of you good workers,

Good news to you I’ll tell,

Of how that good old union

Has come in here to dwell.

Which side are you on?

Which side are you on?

Which side are you on?

Which side are you on?

My daddy was a miner,

And I’m a miner’s son,

And I’ll stick with the union,

Till every battle’s won.

They say in Harlan County,

There are no neutrals there.

You’ll either be a union man,

Or a thug for J.H. Blair.

Oh, workers can you stand it?

Oh, tell me how you can.

Will you be a lousy scab,

Or will you be a man ?

Don’t scab for the bosses,

Don’t listen to their lies.

Us poor folks haven’t got a chance,

Unless we organize.

Rugged Individualism

Herbert Hoover, POTUS 1923-33

As suspected, the term "rugged individualism" is not unique to the play.

We first hear the term used by the 1st Lineman in the opening moments of The Petrified Forest and, again, later on the play, to describe Alan Squier and Duke Mantee -- the last two apostles of rugged individualism.

Rugged individualism is a term coined by Herbert Hoover that describes a libertarian economic and political philosophy, even in times of economic depression. President Hoover felt that "rugged individualism" would be the best way for the Great Depression to end and that the government shouldn't intervene with social and economic programs or policies.

Jason & the Legionnaires

Anti-communist Legionnaire political cartoon from 1919

When the American Legion formed in 1919 it was made up of veterans of WWI and was non-partisan. By the mid-1920s, the Legion became an outspoken opponent of communism, a proponent of isolationist policies, and, by 1933, a prominent supporter of FDR and New Deal programs. For the most part, the Legion in the 1930s organized and lobbied on behalf of members to the government.  These efforts included the eventual establishment of the VA. 

Although Jason and the Legionnaires might come off as an ad hoc militia in The Petrified Forest, there is no evidence that other Legion Posts acted this way and is probably a function of melodrama. 

Why is Tipping Un-American?

photo credit: NYT 

It would appear that Jason's signs and posters in his Filling Station and Bar-B-Q present a coherent and typical politics of a New Deal Democrat. In our discussions, we had difficulty placing his "TIPPING IS UN-AMERICAN--KEEP YOUR CHANGE!" handmade sign amidst his NRA (National Recovery Administration, which was the agency primarily responsible for setting up the New Deal), TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), and American Legion posters.

The opposition to tipping in America began in the 1890s and continued through the 1930s.  Before the Civil War, tipping was uncommon in the U.S. By the late 19th century, however, the custom was imported from Europe and caused Americans to worry that tipping would create a master-and-servant dynamic between the tipper and tippee and hinder the ability for workers to earn a fair -- and agreed upon -- wage. Accusations of "un-American-ness" were hurled at the practice because it resembled European aristocratic and class stratified customs. Some recipients of tips resented being given them because they associated tips with low- or un-skilled labor (i.e. the shoe shine boy vs. a restaurant owner), but the largest argument against tipping was born out of concerns for fair wages and workers' rights. The argument against tipping aimed to support workers' rights to a fair wage provided by employers; if you think about it, tip-heavy professions, such as restaurant work, allows employers to divert the responsibility to pay their workers to the customers and their whims. By the turn of the century, editorials against tipping appeared in major newspapers, such as the NYT and the Washington Post, and opponents of tipping formed an anti-tipping union:

In 1904, the Anti-Tipping Society of America sprang up in Georgia, and its 100,000 members signed pledges not to tip anyone for a year. Leagues of traveling salesmen opposed the tip, as did most labor unions. In 1909, Washington became the first of six states to pass an anti-tipping law. But tipping persisted. The new laws rarely were enforced, and when they were, they did not hold up in court. By 1926, every anti-tipping law had been repealed. (source here)

Jason might come across as curmudgeonly and patriotic, but he would unlikely support "rugged individualism" and capitalism that lacks regulation over collective organization and social welfare. He just draws a hardline between New Deal social programs and Communism.