The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-12-21

nullllylug ana Illuminating tne evil Umu
ences Of accumulated money. When worn
mgunen become o. thoroughly solidly and
indissolubly organized ~ u cay 70 wealth
-" You dare not victimiss me for IN On
preston Of will which concerns me alone.
then. aud not until then, viii the lAborrT
be socially, As well a. naturally. free and
absolute master OF his own activities.
II labor was organized a. Il should I've,
and must he, an empl-yer would not dare
Ia discharge man for all independent
manifestation of will. because he would be
confronted WITH the fact that the dlschArg
ed man place could not be Tiled. Neither
would he discharge you for daring Ia ask
for luster compensation. and because u the
same reason, The thorough organization
Of labor, will settle the vsNed strike ques-
ton forever Convince employers Of the
mlregnable, unhroken front Of labor, and
they will be slow to reduce prices, or in any
manner run counter a. your interests. Ii
body Of men demand certain price, and
and Il the demand Is Just, do you think
the employer would refuse, II he knew
that Ia al the land could not bs found n
/ Single man Who would work for less than
his men asked No, sIrs he would not.
| And it Is ~ Just this state the organization
Of labor must be brought. before social
freedom viii he enjoyed by all men.
One Il the must important of all propos-
ed remedies FIR the AmehvrAtion Of labor,
/ is the short time movement. Volumes
might bv written, and speech after speech
delivered. M advocacy II the reduction Of
| the hours of Labor For my part, ! hail
with pleasure AL efforts IA this direction
because | see VI the reduction Of the hOurs
Of labor, increased leisure, and Increased
| leisure means all increase II intelligence
and increased intelligence means practi-
cal solution # the whole question.
| The demand, then. means leisure, time,
III which the mind may expand Ia its ma;
ural limits, and be able e. comprehend the
causes which operate |" the disadvantage
II the toiler. This is what the demand
means 1t says IN clarion tones. that the
mind Of labor must Ia educated, and that
! vnuse who toll must be permitted to come
to the surface of the social sea. must be
/ gwen an opportunity IT enjoying the holy,
| eley waiting associations If the past, the
/ practical experience II the present, and
| the expectations and aspirations Of the
\ future. II means. IN a word. an educated
intelligent race If people and an educa-
/ ted people are. and ever WIll be, free
! people and the only class Of citizens mt to
/ live IN a republican country.
] | firmly believe the eight hour rule, If
enforced, would definitely settle the social
\ problem. 1t would lead to the very roots
/ Of the evil, would be the right step towards
Y bridging the chasm between extreme
wealth and extreme poverty, and would
lead to the just distribution Of production.
/ We cannot attach too much Importance to
\ this phase of the movement, since 1t IA
evident To- any thinking mind that is the
! kew to final success. The enemies Of pro
I gress and humanity are well aware Of this
/ fact, and hence We see that their efforts are
/ concentrated in thWarting 1t. They check
\ cd it last spring, but they did not kill it.
! No, sirs these fools are fighting an idea,
| and an idea il ndestructible. You csnnot
| destroy it, neither can you imprison it
/ you may check 1t, OF 1t NAV seem to recede.
/ Like the rising tide Of tn "a shore, each
swell Of an idea may sev;u to recede, like
each succeeding wave, bat IN either case,
at every apparent recession, virtual ad
vance is made The idea that eight hour
shall constitute days work, has not beeI
killed or imprisoned 1t lives, and moves
whether the old fogy fools see it or not
They cannot see, or will not see, the shad
ows Of advancing progress, which eacf
dying year leaves behind, but the inpalpa
bic shade will one day assume the palpabl'
form of a tangible reality The hours o
labor will be reduced, the standard Of in
telhgence will be universally advanced
wages will be increased, and the toller WI
man need feel ashamed Skill, worth anC
intelligence will be made the standard o.
respectahility, and money will have NJ
power to give fictitious gloss to the char
acter of the man. But | wish you to re-
member and bear distinctly and well in
mind, that this millennium cannot be reach
ed in our generation, except through the
most thorough organization | believe the
| tendency OF progress and civilization are
in that direction but the advent Of this
era can be retarded or accelerated by our
own actions. Now, then, which shall We
! do, retard or accelerate the advent Of bet
ter days for labor's tuiling children II
you say acceleration Is t. be the watch
word. | say organization Is to be the sl0-
gan, as through that agency alone you will
arrive at harmony of interests, q unity
Of action and purpose, and q harmony of
feeling and sentiment.
The men who live ON your earnings will
leave nothing undone to keep you apart,
di.ulited, segregated-so many elements
Of discord and contention. THIS is their
aim. Divide and conquer was the old
rule Of tyrants and despots, and the social
despots Of later times seem to have incor-
porated the rule in their alphabet of OPP
preston.
Lord Byron wrote a somewhat gloomy
poem called Darkness" In it he rep
resents the world expiring in icy cold, and
amidst the ruins two men, Of all the human
family, still lived they alone were left
But they persisted against their approach
ing fate, and endeavured to ward of inevi-
table dissolution. Cropping in the thick
darkness, they stumbled upon the ashes of
a dying fire, and, being bent on preserving
their existence they began to revive the
ire by blowing upon the embers, and,
when feeble flame at last rewarded their
efforts, they looked at each other only to
lind they were mortal enemies
This is exactly the condition the enemies
of labor would like to establish. The bet
ter to dominate labor and render its efforts
to emancipate itself from capital serfdom
abortive, they seek to divide it in twain,
and would like to accomplish their purpose
50 effectually, that if but two workingmen
were left, they would be enemies. But
let us thwart their designs by cherishing
for each other friendship and love a.
lasting as life.
Love is thegreatestp purifier of the human
soul-it leads to a closer union Of hearts,
and hence it envolves stronger combina-
tional power. Love each other, love your
children, and, above all, your children's
mother, the partner of your joys and sor-
rows. Love is the outpouring Of the soul
to God, the desire of the soul to seek ''the
great, the sublime and the beautiful, which
are the shadow of God upon earth" Love
is the bright side Of duty, the star of hope,
without which all would be dark and