Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-09-11

gress, the gradual perfection Of machinery s.Afem
bers ef the Legislature, the Lsadsr ssys, s.snd mem
bers Of the executive may denounee the strikes
out those who trace effects TO causes will net hesi
tate TO say that the bad example set by the leeisa
ture and excessive lsxation are to blame for this
nati onaI calamity"
The was:efal expendiiureof the government which
the Leader srraigns, is indeed enormous The total
this year Of the budget is Gee 200 O0O an increase
s'nce 1850 Of ei9. .00O. 600 Here is an annual ex-
perditurs Of about three hundred and forysix mil
lions Of dollars and for The public purposes Of a
population Of the three kingdcms, Of about the
same as that Of the Uaited States: or for the same
purposes for which the United States spends ffy
millions annually a vast proportion Of this is for
/ pnrposes-as the royal sums on the civil list
which weuld not be tolerated moment in this
country. Then every now and then our British
cousins get up great ado sbont foreign invasion
er get ~ some other great bobby, money is sppro-
pFiaiC for H. and thus the national resources are
wasted. Hence. the Leader contends, the govern.
mentobtains great deal more than fair share of
the increased wealth of the community arising from
the progress Of industry
But the Z .ad-r gees closer home than even this.
The workRen trying to obtain by combination
with another diminu.icn Of the hours of labor
With no dminuton in the rate of wsges, setting at
defiance free competition, Now, this is just what
government does in its laws resrieting competition
"0gr public house sysien, says the Leader, our
barking system, cur factory acts, with factory IL
specois, eur Iayneul Of mail packets, our reslric
uous in the navy and army, sc are open violations,
some new, some ol l-oC unrestricted competition,
anl NEST 0! thea are directed against the classes
wac noW ltaHd cut On sirke5, hoping by a similar
comb n2on and the use of force TO sttliu their end
We say therefore lha. if he strikers be to blame
for contrev5n.ng the great law Of free competition,
they have only followed the example continually set
BY the legislature"
The evil Of q cessation Of the daily work Of siAty
thousand builders is truly enormous In a month,
it is computed, i would be about two millions of
dollars in wages alone. and the worst ef ii il, that
the lsboring mcn ara never, in the loHg-run, the
gliners and are asa5s the sufferers by strikes On
these occasions. me capitalist but lcSsI profit
1.-The woman and children connected with the work
men are deprived of bread. These are the eOnss,
quences of the cessation of industry, and in the
present case they viii be deplo:a5le.
CondsmHiag, alike, the union combinations among
the wo'kmea and te restrictions on Industry to be
toupd IL the Laws, tie LsaGer makes the following
sound remark; "IL Is nov thoroughly well estsb
Hshed that no other means exist by which the in
dustry OF different individuals and different trades
can be made t. assist ami help one another so eec
tuaily as by free and unrestricted competition.
This is es necessary to society as industry ITSELF
1t is said that the suspension Of building in Lon
doa foF month will occasion loss Of e23O 600
to the pabo-.he average ,arning by the men being
is Cd per day