Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1853-01-25

'"S"' ~ '"'ecu ouic. IL " rarely IN,
one, whose prospects have been tn,
bliehtcd, again rises by honest NEAR
) above the condition Of the landless !.
borer. 1t is desirable that circumstanc nc c
productive Of so much misery should
avoided, il i. can be done consistent
with the requirements Of justice and ne
tural rights. Under our present system
in proportion as population advance.
and cities and villages become stocke
with factories and machinery, the rcsul,
which have been mentioned are sure I
follow. L
In our country, yet in its infancy, al
though we have immense regions Of un
settled lands which are held for sale
the excess of poor and unemployed Ia
Dor is already SO great, that If an adver
tisemcnt be put in any largely circulat
ed journal, stating that the services of ,
nan, woman, or child be wanted, ;
multitude of applications will, in gener
al, be made, far more than sufficient fo
the demand. This excessive and runou.
competition is felt in all occupations
but is especially destructive 10 the mil.
lions who live by their daily labor.
The census Of this State for 1910, com
pared with that Of lS45. shows that ou,
city populations, with few exceptions,
are increasing in great disproporion TO
the agricultural population. While your
committee are aware that this result is
produced in some measure by other eau.
scs, they are aPprehensivc that one great
cause is the monopoly of the soil lhro'
the operation Of the mortgage system.
Many farmers sell out and go to other
states or territories where they can pro.
cure lanI for their children, which they
are unable to do in consequence of the
existing system Of monopoly in their ma.
tive State. Many others can neither buy
land here for their children or remove.
Their children, consequently, are fore.
ed into the already over.stockel trades,
or into some other department Of labor
or service; and it is an indisputable fact.
that the condition Of the landless toll.
ers is gradually growing worse. Although
under this state ofthings the relative ag.
gregate wealth Of the cities, or even of
the State, may be increasing, your com.
mlttce cannot perceive that this advan.
tage is compensation for the increasing
inequality and injustice of the dis,ribu.
ton of labor products.
We may remark here, that under the
present system Of land m onopoly, while
wages arc reducing, rents are increasing.
The rise of rent depends on the same
principle as the fall Of wages, namely,
an undue competition. The excessive
competition Of workingmen for employ.
ment, brings down wages and lcngthens
hours of labor. But the excessive com.
petition Of workingmen for a room or
rooms, basement, a garret, or cellar,
to live in with their families, causes
rents to advance, until the most miscra
bic and filthy tcnements in dark and pcs.
lilcntial alleys in our crowded cities,
rents for such enormous profits, that the
proceeds in few years more than repay
he whole value ofthe property; and by
living in such unhealthy locations, the
unhappy tenants are cut OF from exs.
cnce before the halfthc natural life of
nan is completed.
In order to remove these oppressive
wills, it is absolutely necessary that mo
lopoly in land should be forbidden and
prevented. Secure to every citizen
ufiicicnt homestead, a village or city
OF if he chooses to locate himself ia
'illagc or city, or farm of limited guam.
ity if he prefers the country, and then,
s every man would possess a home
which could no, be wrcsted from him, he
sould always by the application of his
wn industry, on his own possession, be
ure of the necessares and comforts of
fe for himself and family, with ample
pportunity for mental and moral cul.
ire.
Under such system, wages could nev.
+ be brought down to the starving point,
s in Great Britain, nor could such a
orrid state Of things ever happen as
aw exists in Ireland. For each indi. I
idual would, 10 a certain extent, be q
,pitalist, and il others did not choose to /,
nploy him, he could employ himself.
nder such system there would grow
P and be perpetuated just proportion
,tween the demand for labor and the I
lpply, and the working people could
ways regulate wages and the time Of
ork within proper limits. In the lapse
a very brief time. wages, slavery. as ,
ell as chattel slavery, would be extinct,