The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1877-05-19
THE DUTY OF GOVERNMENT.

How happens it that France, Germany
and Europe at large, are suffering from the
same "hard times that affiict us Does
not this show that an ''irredeemable paper
money" has nothing to do with it, and
that the "gold basis" is fallacy invented
by ignorance and fraud ,
Every country is burdened with large
debt, which requires large sums for inter
est Most OF them have also large armies
and navies, which swallow countless mil
lions. Neither national debts, armies or
navies produce wealth Of any kind, or rem
der any equivalent for the immense sums
they receive. 1t is therefore plain that
the money raised and spent on these Oh
iects might as well be thrown into the sea.
1t is dead loss to every community. Is
not the throwing overheard Of thousands
Of millions worth Of products annually,
enough to account for 'hard times r. Ii
a man earn SO much day. in provisions,
money, clothing, and burn up half or more
Of it every week, is it not enough to ac-
count for his poverty
And this is just what allthe governments
of the world have been doing for centu-
ries They have annually burnt up hun
dreds of millions Of the national wealth,
in useless expenditures. IL ought to be
plain to all that so long as this leakage
lasts poverty and suffering are natural
consequence.
As governments, whether elected 6y the
people or not, are responsible for these
1nstional losses and robberies, il is there
fore natural that the people, in their dis
tress, should call upon government for
help-not in the shape Of money but
work and wages. Almost every European
nation is appealing to government IN this
way, and the unemployed in our large
cities are following the example.
Are not these things national admissions
that our competitive industrial system is
drawing towards dissolution When ''pri-
vate enterprise, so-called, cannot provide
work and wages, what SO natural as to APP
peal to the collective authority, OF the
State And If the State can and ought
TO furnish work and wages to the unem-
ployed and distressed, why not put an end
to this Inc tticient and costly private enter
| prise, and rely on the State exclusively
Governments have in all times been
compelled to come to the relief Of dis
tressed labor, when it was free, 81
called. But the employment furnisht
has generally been unproductive, and
yielded no profit for the outlay. If New
York eXpends million dollars on its Cen
trial Park, and gives employment to that
amount, what material gain il to the peo-
pie But if New York expends the same
amount in the purchase Of industi ial
Establishments, and sets men and women
at work to create wealth in some form,
will not the advantage be vastly greater
Instead Of wondering at hard times, II
is amazing that private eaPt..! has done
what 1t has, and achieved SO much. But
the rapid spread Of labor saving inventions
with universal competitive and antagonis-
tic interests, are rendering private capital
incapable Of supplying all the labor ffsred-
Government must therefore come to the
rescue, for there are no more valuable
machines than men and women, and none
that deserve more care.
industries will therefore naturally super
cede private capital, just as the factory
superseded home productions. And the
Replacement of our ordinary political gov
ernments by Industrial governments must
necessarily come in its place. This con
stitutes industrial reconstruction, and puts
an end to the class serfGom Of labor. If
it is the duty of the State TO provide for
the Insane, the deaf and dumb, the Grim
lnals and paupers, that can render no re-
turn, ought it not also to provide work
and wages for unemployed labor