Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-07-06
The Working Men.

This nation owes every thing to her
working men. Idlers, men of leisure or
drones, have been an incubus, which must
have held her back and ruined her, but for
the powerful intellects, the stalwart arms
and the enterprise Of our working men,
They are the true nobility of the land, |
whose wise counsels, untiring industry and
|1ndomitabie energy, have pushed her for
ward with giant strides, among the nations
of the earth. In this classification wein-
clude men of all work whether it be the
labor Of the intellect or the physical man.
Degradation Opposition does not inherel
necessarily to either class. The man who
labers with his henda or delxes and tolls
under the pressure n man1T1 isbsF, is as
much man, nay, as much q. gentleman.
other things being equal, as the man who
labors with his mind, closed in from the
burning rays Of the sun or sheltered from
the chill winds and rains of mid-winter.-
Both are working men, and are equals, if
they be men of sound principles and vir-
tuous habits, or both are equal, if alike de-
graded by vicious conduct.
The conventional and irrational rules
of society, unsound as it has become, we
know, make distinctions where there is no
difference; stamping with honor and po-
sition men who belong to that class of
working men whose employments are in
tellectual, and too often branding with
disgrace, those who labor with their hands
and from whose brow flows the sweat of
toll. But who does not see the injustice
and baseness Of this? Does the vocation
of a doctor, lawyer, merchant possess
any intrinsic excellence per Sc, over the
vocation of mechanicl We think not.
All are essential to- the well-being Of So
ciety, and equally so-yet superior intelli-
gence and superior wealth, have raised the
one, while the lack of these have depressed
the other. Yet the poor laborer is more
j important fixture in some respects, than
either of the Others His hands feed and
clothe and provide the conveniences and
luxnries of life for them. Without him.
time and means would be denied them
for the pursuit of knowledge or wealth.
Indeed if there be wealth and intelligence
and happiness and prosperity in the land,
We owe it to that class of men, who are
not too indolent or too much ashamed to
obey the divine command, to work with
their own hands.
Every man should work. His OWL
, health and virtue and happiness and the
t good of society, demand it. Labor, in nc
r sense, is degrading. But there are disa
: bilities connected with manual labor, which
> - --le--I-4:~---->I sa.
q whose lot or choice may be, to engage il
/ the mechanical or agricultural pursuits
$ should be placed in positions in early life
e to acquire intelligence, to receive the bia
# and bent of virtuous education, so as Il
= ft them to tal1e positions in society, whicl
t, they can rightfully claim, because of thei
q. essential Importance to mankind. Intelli
n gence and virtue are as precious in tn
e rude sailor, the blacksmith, the shoemaker
d the tailor and all other laboring men as il
r the more privileged walks Of life an
= these should entitle mechanics to position
;e of honor and influence, and as high as an
It other living men. Let the working me
ct of the land look to these objects and labo
,r to promote them.