Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1863-11-20

TFInIl INC NV oTK N0N11
The Strikes ana the working
Men.

Ine Strlkes ana the working
Men.
tits not long since the Independent, Mr..
Beeehers organ, was in raptores upon the
subject Of the prosperity Of the North. Sew
eral journals of this city were simultaneously
eloquent upon the same theme, aud the exhi-
bition upon our tkofoughfares OF costly equip
ages, the fash Of diamonds upon the brows
Of our fair shoddy aristocrass, the display Of
gaud and pomp among thoso who had pros.
pered with their coantrys misery, the eiister
Of the new risen stars Of OR Fashionable firm
ament, the throngs Of places of public
amusement the thirst for expensive Injuries,
and the superficial gayety that prevaded the
social systems Of our large cities, were hastily
accepted as the signs Of general financial
welfare. II was in vain that the clear-sghted
pointed to the unstable props upon which this
snowy fabric was insecurely poised in vain
that they demonstrated that this brilliancy
was but the glare of unwholesomo exhalations,
reeking from corruption The phantasy was
too pleasant to be dssipated by the conoclasm
of sober thought, and there were some who ex.
ulted in our condition of civil strife; and ser
iously argued its desirability as the instrument
OF our material advancement When our Cab
met minister, in public speech, apostropbizes
the prosperity Of the North as a token Of the
beneyolence Of war, and another, with glib
complaisance, .alludes to an approaching pe-
riod when thousand dollars:wll be paid for
a breakfast it is not strange that citizens in
hnmbl Ter spheres should be bewildered, and
like the traveller in the desert fancy the mir
age blooming oasis
1t is natural that the political intriguers
whose only capital is war should attempt to
convince suffering people that they are liv.
ing in beatltude and affluence. If the stary.
ing poor could feed upon words of golden
promise, there would be no stint of BANQUET
ing. But, unfortunately for these sophists
sterner logic, the-hecessities of the people
appeals to their understanding. The work.
man who finds the wages of his hard days toll
insufficient for tie wants of his family. NAV
pause as he wends his way homeward with
his scauty marketing, and gaze upon the splen-
did turnouts that 60 speedily by; or the rich
silks of some Homenading belle NAV rustic
against his thrgRdbare raiment; or he NAV
hnger at TilIany's window and wonder at its
blazing wealth of gems; but when he counts
his little store of currency and realizes that
his utmost industry cannot feed and clothe
him and his family, he will scarce appreciate
that prosperity about which our political phi
losophers are theorizing. 4aai
Those who have profted by the war have
not scrupledf to exhibit their good fortune.
They have fSvelled and feasted and turned
their greenbecks into sensual pleasures But
now anothercass are upon the witness stand.
The workingmen are beginning to testify as
to the condition of the country. 1t is not
vanity thatsprompts their utterance, nor the
lust for display and extravaganza, but it is
sheer NECESSITY, that speaks for them the
simple painfu truth. They have been i'm.
PEELED, BY law of sefpreservation, to appeal
to the necessities of their employers The
extensive STRIKES that now disorder the rou-
tine Of trade and travel, give the plain denial
to the assertion that the North prospers with
civil trite. The working classes are no theor-
lists, but when they are hungry and ill-clad,
their instincts are more powerful than phloso.
ply They can understand that the paper
which purports to be dollar does not pur-
chase dollars worth Of food and clothing.
They can understand that those who sell
regulate their prices not only according to
the rise of gold, but in anticipation of its
rise. The merchant who sells to-day, demands
profit that will compensate him for the NOR
rows depreciation of his money, and as the
general impression is that our paper currency
will soon depreciato one hundred per cent
the buyer pays the difference. The exorbit.
ant prices thus demanded for the necessaries
Of life, place them in part beyond the reach
OF the workingmen at the present low re.
muneration for labor They do no. "strike"
from caprice, or avarioe, but from absolute
necessity. Their employers generally do not
transact business for mere livelihood, but for
the accumulation of profits; but the employee
labors to keep body and soul together. His
case is the most desperate, and it behooves
the community, for their own sake as we'll as
Justice, to give their influence in his favor.
But while an increase Of wages will much
relieve the prevalent Distress the workingman
need not expect a suitable remuneration for
his industry while the war continues Con-
tractors will make fortunes as before, rare
jewels will be bought, gay equipages will roll
along the streets, and shoddy will disport
itself in reckless extravaganza; but the work
ing man will suffer for it all, and the morsels
that are wasted at the rich man feast will be
stolen from the poor mans arder Prosperity
is far, far aloof from our unhappy land; and It
will only return to us when the benign inhu-
onces ofPeace shall have soothod our political
fever and restored our financial, commercial
aud industrial systems to their normal condi-
tions.-NetO York Nevs