The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1867-05-11


the most adherents to his unhallowed cause, and,
also, so far, the best of the fight. Tyranny under
many names and many guises, is master Of the
worlds great battlefeds, though in this Libertys
western reserve has met with partial success.
Tyranny accommodates itself to time and cir
cumstances In Europe it assumes the shape ofthe
euda lord, the titled lbertine and the rufan king.
In America dressed in republican simplicity-so
fart is known as CAPITAL. To the wretch who
is ground into the dust beneath the heel of the OPP
pressor, it matters little whether the oppressor is
dressed in the glare of court etiquette, OF is simply
appareled in republican black So it matters not
whether tyranny is king or capitalist, that it is
tyranny ought to be enough to array the grand
army Of labor, freedoms unpaid old guard, to
man, against it,
Men in general are satisfied that they enjoy the
substance when too often they gaze only the form.
We have fattered ourselves that, living as we do
within the republic beneath the outsretched wings
of Liberty, where justice stands with sword and
scales, to mete out equal rights to all, that vig
lance was required to keep the tyrant from our
homes. But alas, while we have slept in fancied
security, monster has been developing his I'M
couth proportions, until his shallow falls on the
poor mans path, and darkens, and not unfrequent
y destroys, the humble home of honest labor.
While the visible chains of slavery clanked on
the limbs of men shaped in Gods likeness, no mat
ter of what hue, the great heart of the nation pull
stated with ustfable indignaton until the spirit of
outraged liberty unsheathed the sword, and sent
slavery bowling into hell, and flung her blessed
sunlight into millions of broken hearts, making into
men what tyrants had reduced to chattels.
Now that chains are broken and men are bought
and sold no onger--at least not in the public marts
shall we rest satisfied at this grand swing of
the wheel of revolution, shall we put should
ers to it's and never until the capitalist
and tyrant acknowledge that Men created
free and equal, and entitled to Life Liberty, and
Happiness"
Let unthnking men deceive themselves with the
pleasing sound Of liberty, and let hypocrites can't
about submission to established law; but when lib
erty is only name, and when law is only for crush
ing men down, neither the one the other
titled to respect or submission.
Now that black slavery is happily ended, let us
see how much better off the 6 men of labor" in
our midst-even though they wear no visible
chains-than the men who toiled and pined on the
cotton fields of the South. Take the poor man
who is your neighbour, and who is blessed with a
wife and five or six children-and they should be
blessings--he works for two dollars per day, when
he can get work He lives one, two, and even
three miles from the scene of his labor. He rises
at five to get his breakfast. He leaves home at SIX,
and begins paying work at He has an hour
to sit by the rich mans gate to eat crust, which
from habit he calls dinner He works until six and
starts for home, which he reaches, tired and life
less, at seven; sits down to poor supper, beside
prematurey old and careworn woman. They eat
III silent sorrow, afraid to look into each others
eyes, where grief has traced many burning tear.
His children are in bed when he leaves in the morn
ing, and they are in bed when he returns at night.