Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1853-01-18

scs which have produced the degrade.
lion, misery and wrctchedncss. now the
only birthrigh, Of the children Of labor
In Europe.
The commercial crises, which have
swept over our country every few years,
with the wild fury Of tempest, are s,rik'
ing calculations Of the foregoing state.
mcnts. In those times the mourn(ul cry
has been heard throughout our land,
"give me work, only give me work, make
your own terms, myself and family have
nothing to eat" and this not from dissi-
patcJ idlers; but from sober, industrious,
and orderly men, who would most glad.
ly have toiled till "thcy sunk in their
tracks," il the could only obtain the
most ordinary ncccssafics Of life. Nor
need we rccur TO these extraordinary
times Of commercial distress, because il
we will look at the facts as they actual
~ exist, the mournful truth will force it.
self upon US. however much we may
strive to Danish it, that there ere thou.
sands in our very midst, who are suffer.
ing the horrors Of a lingering starvation;
thousands, the producers Of the wealth OF
the world, are literally ly destitute of the
means Of obtaining single blanket
10 protect them from the chilling blasts
Of winter. Read the following e,trac,
from the Philadelphia Bulletin-speak.
ing more particularly Of femsles,-the
, editor says:
"a gentleman who has been dcputcl
to inquire into the condition Of this
class Of operatives, found one the most
expert of them working from 5 o'clock
in the morning, until IL at night, ye,
earning only about three dollars a
week, out of this she had to pay a dol.
lar and half for board, leaving a
similar amount for fuel, clothing, and
all other expenses. Her condition
however as compared with that of heI
class generally was one Of opulence
The usual earnings are but two dollars
q week, which as respectable board
could be had no where for less than q
" dollar and half, left onlyGdy cents
{" for erery thing else. In New York
among the cases brought to liglt,-was
that Of an intelligent and skillful dress
maker, who was found in the garrct o
ga cheap boarding house, out Of work
" and reduced to such straits that she
had actually pawned everything bu'
her skirt and under garment in orde'
" to procure bread. Nor are such nstan.
ccs unfrequert. The small rcmuncr.
alton which thecs working. women re
ccive keeps them living from hand to
mouth, so that in case Of sickness OF
scarcity Of work, they arc sometimes
left literally without crust"
That this, and far more than this, i.
true; every one a: all acquainted witt
these cities must acknowledge, and in
deed it is not confined to them alone
the same may with truth be said of al
the larger towns in this country; in nc
one Of which is there wanting like scene.
Of poverty and want.
1t must now be conceded, that if these
things are so, that there is something
radically wrong in the present organi
cation Of society, for to suppose that thu
great and everlasting God who is LOVE
originally intended that so large por
ton Of the human race, created in hi
own image, should lead the life Of mis-
cry and wretchedness, from the cradle tt
the tomb, that they now lead, or the
they should be mere instruments to ad
minister to pamp red wealth, withou
being permitted even to eat the crumb.
which fall from their "master's" table
is worse than blasphemy. II We woul'
remedy these social evils and preven,
this wide spread ruin of our laborins
class, society must be corrected; its dis.
sased members must be topped Of; il
must be restored to the healthy condi
ton in which God created il. The YER,
roots of what is hurtful and dangerous
must be eradicated and destroyed. The
pernicious seels Of error which have
been sown broad cast over the leld o
the world, must be gathered togethe
and burned up. To do this we mus
examine the heart Of man, and discove
what are the ruling motives which inGu
ence him; and why he will, and how he
can, become the opprcssor of his broth
er; we may then with some hopes Of sue
cess, interpose preventative, or apply
a remedy. Il we make this exsmina .
ton, we will most assuredly find that
mans inherent sclfshness is the founda.
ton of society, as at present organised;
that it is the corner stone upon which
the whole stupendous fabric rests; and
MO hoyo find ro,,vo Cor f1,o,o