The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-04-21
Labor and Living.


cideut to great disturbance OF tac s'a''e'aiu
of comfort through great d'sr"ro"'Se vi
trade and wages. The war was neccssaf''!
followed nv the wesettlemens Of Ok tnese
things. Tire disturbance must hrSe oo'"
GREAT At best. aud the folly OF the reeonstruc-
t;on .c,s .,f CONGRESS made chat disturbance
cruelIy ss,d unnecessarily great, ana fro'''
.,ence esi,bful a. the business ana equality o.
ber t;sncnsasious, has visited the conse-
ouepoes Of thisf,!ly as sescrcsy's'pon the e't-
thors OF it rs upon others
An remember that Immediately after the
rr.r exryhs,,y was elated add full OF the
wilses, expectations. Ewes in this ctyre'ntS
rauapro fabulous prices. Houses that Low
cannot he rented for q thousand dollars were
then readily taken at four and i've t,tDcs ina
sum. Everybody looked ahead TO 'iae mo II
lucrative results. This sort Of ao'upati' 10
,seysileG everywhere. An one ressSst 1t " AS
xemarsGoe. Rich northern men were NJ
pressed with the idea that they nad Du. 10
sake in hand a southern cotton 'p!anta' ion,
and ut osce-preste, change !-tscy wei e 70
become lordly planters, living "a lu' iury'
cp,t,ys;inr the arts Of leisure a.sd pie isure,
enjoying uninterrupted peace ana aenty'
Theeou,hern cotton planters bad been geo.
alepen Of County manners aud easy lives,
Notwithstanding, as our northern rieads
salt, their defective system OF tillage the'r
-slip-sbod ways, their infcris- imph :ments,
harness. and, worse than all, their On q man.
this. Introduce fine machinery, lmpr( "ed TIL
ls;e, deep pioughng, and sEstema' &c man.
segment.
These. grand expectations were ;he very
.s,s, to be di.apponted. Thu imprt wed till
spetturped out 10 be a champion failure.
The fine machinery and iEpemer ITS were
aevond the capacity OF the ~%dark m an" and
soon reached TIE shaekhag point, and the
harness was concerted into stringsf md knots
and o burleeqse upon banSsomc &c ar. The
system proved q systematic ruin. Miiiiops
were lost, the good management OF ne SOUTH
.ern planter was Vindicated land the man who
boasted that be could teach him al to con-
less his folly and 60 home foorer nd wiser.
I'VE say miisns .w ere lost in this northern
.enerprise. TAus the..fiFst reverse was ad'
administered to The vain notsens that followed
the war.
But those notions had stirred up tie gene
n, ENTERPRISE, and men were hurried into
projects that We're alike doomed to disaster.
High calculations were maae upon the de-
mand in the South for manufactures Of all
kinds. Mills and shops were started and
dnpelkd with 4 most busy hum. few
= ears Brought disappointment. The looked
for demand did not come. Goods needed in
slavery times were not called for at all, and
diminished means through the vast southern |
loss caused mighty falling off in the orders |
from the South.
The msn who thinks of these matters must |
perceive that The intlition OF the times raised |
the prices of the necessares of life-prlces !
that were only maintanablc as long as good
and permanent employment was afforded to |
in dustry. But that was impossible under |
falling off in demand and great diminution |
of the means of purchasing.
So first we see the mills stopping ; or, rum |
ming on short time; failures becoming cpl
demical: attempts to reduce the cost OF fab
RIGS for general use by reducing the wages OF
of labor; consequent strikes; general COM
motion and voen oe confidence feyerlsb,
and all the concomI,unt signs that show
generally unsettled state of trade and In
dustry-a wandering and caprcious state OF
prices Of everything, and an amount OF SUI
feripg and crime unprecedented ID the land.
Living is high aud labor is le>senug in de-
mand. The conflict is between the wages OF
laior and the cost of living; and strikes and
disorder have prevailed to an unprecedented
degree in the North.
At this time there is u strike of uncom- |
mon magnitude maiEtsined in tn. fennsyi'
yania ,coal.mnes, by which it is sad G5,oOO
people are thrown ont Of employment. The
large community of traders with whom
they dealt, and from whom they got their
supplies, are threatened with ruin because
those laborers have not she means TO pay
what they owe. Miners, or any class OF
laborers out of work, become more and
more diSsipated and discraery. Consider
ing themselves the victims of oppression
they are filed with resentment towards their
supposed oppressors, and are yet even more
violent towards those laborers who attempt
to fill their places and thus, as they say, rob
them and their families Of bread and life.
Such things are fearful and greatly disturb
the public peace; but they are natural occur
rences in the present condition OF this
country.
They display social CONFUSION ineTitable
in the conflict between capital and labor
the price OF living aud price of labor We
cannot expect quiet and rest until We reach
solid ground; rents that Gun be paid; the
price of food that can be paid for enough OF
good food ; the cost OF dress that can be
met the production Of manufactures equa,
to the demand, aud reasonable prices for con.
sumner and manufaeturer:; the just equtib.
rum in human pursuits; the proper nunl-
Der at plough, and the proper division
amongst all the pursuits, SO that none sbasi
be oyerdone snd the people shall 6nd occu-
patton and the proper rewards 'abor along
with the reasonable cost of living. All this
must come about before We can be con.
tented and thrifty people. II
Let us remember that every disturbance OF 1
industry causes q loss 20 the community. /:
People unemployed contribute nothing to |
the COMMON wealth, apd, what is worse,