The Placer herald., 1867-03-02
THE BATTLE FOR BREAD.

THE BATTLE FOR BREAD.
The good book says lha, "the laborer is
worthy If his hire" Bu. what it the labor
er can &c, no labor" and. consequently, no
"hirs!" or What if lsbo,ing and willing to la
Dor, the con!li'ances Of ms desn law, the greed
OF capital and the co,npt tilon Of race bred
10 tie renumerative rates Of slavery, deprive
the laborer Of the greater portion Of the fruits
Of his own injustryl The laborer may he
worthy Of his hire. bu. society does not al.
ways acknowledge this wor,hiness. Nor does
the Iaborer himself always act as il he real
lied his own worlhiness-- nor lis right TO
have "hire." When laborers Of the country
gave their voices and vote in favor Of the late
war, they placed burden upon their own
shoulders that cannot be easily shaken off,
They voted Themselves. and their pcster,y
for 1T Ieast five generations to come, but half
bire-to their s,omachs. but halfhread and
1meai-,o their backs, but half clothing, and
to their children but half-educalon. And
in addition to this. they voted that hence.
forth and forever, their labor should come in
competition with The labor Of four millions
Of black slaves, lie. loose upon the country,
and Of as many more CT The slave races Of
Asia and Africa as the capitalists Of America
cou'd induce 10y pIofiers of Liberty. equality
ard fa'elni,y," to come here and compete
with The " lite laLore,s.
The relative relations Of labor and capital
l--..-..a!.r il our country to-day. are the
u N / U n f. before liza. time
England WAS sll""N,, u crnrrrc
to n national debt. to the sponging propensi'
Ties OF banks aud Of mercantile I'D manu-.
tac'urirg monopclies. The militia Of the
county did al the military duty, the jewel
e's did The banking and the thrifty house-
wife with here dislaf or spinning wheel. did
most of the manufacturing. II the hire OF
the Iabo'tr WAS smal, it procured for him.
self and his family greater amount Of the
necessaries Of life than twice that amount OF
wages does uow. But with the civil wars to
delhlone the Suars. lha wars Of William
and Mary against Louis XIV Of France. and
Of Marlboro in lhc Low counties. came the
era oi national debt, standing armies, bank
charters, special privileges and manufacture
ing monopolies. From TIM, day to this, the
labor, the producing classes of Eugan have
been becoming more and more oppressed;
mo,e and more ground into the dust Ivy tax
ston and tyranny. until to-day the aboring
classes Of once "Merrs England" whom
Goldsmith eulceized when he said
"A time there was, ere Englands gric!s began
When every rood Of ground maintained its man;
For him light labor spreads her wholesome store,
Just gave what he required but gave 10 more"
are the most b'ulaI'zvd, ignorant and oppres
sed o! any in Europe.
On the other hand, its consuming class. its
class Of a,istocra's, have become the most
powerful. iUsoIent and oveIbearirg OF any in
the world Of civilization. The distance he.
tween labor and capital, between producer
and consumer. has been gradually growing
wider and wider every year. The same GAGS
Is i'll produce The same effects, ifuot check
ed in their incipienry, in America. But the
way to check it is not by such demonstra
lions as took place in this city few days
ago. MobLing Cinnamon, or other laborers,
will have no effect 10 righ, the wrongs or
expressions which the white labor Of the
co,ptry may begin to feel itself groaning nn-
der. Labor must organize for its own prolec'
ton and defence. Its weapon must not be
the bludgeon nor the missile, hurled at the
h.ad Of negro or a Chnaman but its own
w.ll.used freeman's suffrage hurled at the
head Of unequal and oppressive taxation. and
At the official existence in the public service OF
all who countenance or encourage the growth
Of China labor on the Pacific Coast. Let
The white Iaborers OF the country organlzs
and maintain protective associations. Let
item make their influence felt for the pro-
lection Of themselves and families IN every
election from the election of municipal
officers up 10 that of President Of the United
States. For instance: let them vote for no
man as a member Of the Board of Superb
sors Of the city ofSan Francisco who is known
to favor contractors who employ Cinnamon.
Let item vote only for Cougressmen who
will pledge themselves that the property Of
The rich bond.holder shall be taxed equally
with the farm and Improvements Of The hus'
bandman; or with the cottage and garden OF
,be laboring man or mechanic. LIE, them put
their veto upon ,ha political life Of all such
up>,ar,s as the present snob Governor OF
California. Who declared, in effect, a: the
China nail banquet lately held in this city,
that he was glad to see China labor coming
in competition with white labor in this coun
try, and that those who objected 10 that
competition were unworthy of being Ameri'
cans. In these and thousand other ways,
the laborers, the farmers. mechanics and:pro'
ducers of the country can G'akg their lut1u'
ence felt for their own protection. By act
ing in concert they may even cause the Fed
eral Government TO abrogate, or so modify
its treaties with China as 10 +ffec,ually sup
press the importation Of the most degraded
class ot Chinese into this country. The gov.
~rnment. both State and Federal, is yet.
thank God, in The hands Of it's producing
classes, and it is their own fault if they cam
not. aud DO not, govern it in their own inter
ss,s. The day may come, as in Eng
when their power over legislation will be less
than it is now. Shoddy has made vast gains
in stealing power from masses within the
last five years. II feels insolent and conf.