The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-08-08

We point Of ths baJonst; whsn shodds Con-
tractors staid ct home and robB<d ths gov
srnnsnh and patriotic bondholdsrs loaned
thsir forty esas shiaplasssrs, o. condition
hat The psinclple and interest should be
paid IN gold-by NE labor Of ~ very men
Who ssssd Ne eounlzy. While thsy refused 70
bear dollsrs' burden, vorkingmen had the
temsrity % think this stats Of Affairs had az
listed long enough, and that the best way 10
end Il, was 10 devotc two hours more to
thinking and two hours less 10 work. The
saw that the result Of such barefaced In
EQUITY would be the creation Of nonied
aristocr acy, and that the shackles which their
brethren in the old world had stricken from
their limbs, would assuredly be fastened on
their own, unless some such steps were taken
without DELAY, and experience has proven
the soundness Of these conclusions. lie
continues:
These demands have been conceded In the
passage Of laws 10 several Of the States, declsr-
ing eight hours to be legal days work. II Ia
. So@SSo1teA " s~hA%Ao1 Sae S@-.Afes ~ cuAosSNA
% working rule.
These conditions are subject to the laws Of
trade, and the laborer must submit to them. II
the fomenters of discoFd, Who do more VI harm
10 the worker BY their movements than OF good ,
could only be led to study and understand that
''the world Il governed by the laws Of trade, >
and that they must organize for the purpose Of
effecting u revelation in these laws they would
arrive at safer and better conclusions.
In all their discussions and resolutions they
have never yet, TO our recollection, uttered one
sentiment to condemn the usurpatIon which held
four millions Of black laborers as property, nor
one resolution OF sympathy with the same four
millions that had been invested with self-own-
ership When the laborers and the working
men comprehend the application Of the comuen-
sative and reciprocal laws of justice and eter.
nal right, and have the moral courage, and the
honesty TO their convictions, and TO the down
trodden, TO ask for ALL workers the award of a
common recognition, they viii attain a moral
power which they now deplorsbly lack.
A concession Of terms only. Well, that's
pretty good. How would you like the same
argument applet to the en- oreemsnt Of the
bondholders' platform, which you advocate
with such unbecoming zeal The laws of
trade, about which you talk so glibly, are
better understood by nineteen out OF tw nty
workingmen than they are by yourself,
while your advice to organize for the purpose
of effecting revolution in these laws, pos
sesses neither force nor originality, as it is
the basis on which our labor societies have
been organized for years.
The twaddle about the lack Of sympathy
evinced by our trades unions for the four
millions Of freedmen, is altogether unworthy
of notice, and can only be the production Of
a pensioned libeler. II the negroes Of the
south have no better friends than those
political charlatans who have used them as
tools to accomplish their ends-than the
men who persistently rob their own kin and
race Of their daily labor-they are certainly
objects Of commisseration. But isn't it
strange that q man whose bowels yearn with
compassion for the wrongs Of the black ma n,
should endorse such a notorious s1indle On
the white mechanic, as tie Chicago platformP
Y. lsisteDcy, thou art jewel. Save US
from our friends-e especially those who, un-
der the guise OF SOLDIERS FRIENDS" are
always ready to do the dirty work OF their
masters.