The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-11-17

iIuW i''W of those who arc constantly sigh
ing over The present a. compared with past
times really have any idea Of what the past
was. There are the Communists, who assert
that the condition Of the laboring clasrcN was
happier several centuries since ID England
than il is now Fendalisn, which held the
great majority OF The people in a degrading
bondage, has been oycrthrown; the reservation
of all high Offices in the civil service and the
army and most of those in the church, for no
blcs, has been abandoned; primogcniturc I'M
limited entail. and restriction on the sale Of
land which pcrpciuated wealth IN families
and deprived the poor Of the hope Of rising,
have been abrogaed in many countries; ana
Imprisonment for debt and the enforcement OF
contracts for labor, under penalty OF imprison
ment, have been abolished.
If there had been no changes save these, it
would be clear that there must he vast i'm
proycmcnt in the general condition ct the
poor But these are not all. The Introduction
Of popular education has elevated common
life wonderfully Four hundred years ago not
one person in twenty could read; now, in the
most enlightened states, there is not one in
Twenty that cannot read The life Of the aver
are medieval peasant was little better than
| british; many farm laborcls OF our day have
an extensive acquaintance with The best BOOKS,
! In the old times there was little commercial
intercourse between different countries, or even
different provinces of the same country Much
of the retail traffic was done by barter. There
was little coin in circulation. The free rustic
! lnlorrr did not Get unC-tcnth of their pay in
Imonrv. There were no facilities for travel
| The yagrant was treated with harShnCss un
known in our time No foreign country wei
coined the poor emigrant, or offered him high
wages for peaceful labor or free land. lie was
ordinarily tied for life 10 the parish in which
| he was born No occupation was honorable
save that Of arms or of the church. Commerce
and industry were considered degrading. lt
take any interest for money was called uSury
land denounced hy the church Is a grave sin
! We have GOT rid Of such nonsense. \ Carpcn
tier. a farmer or Il grocer is now good enough
to associate with Il captain or priest, and tht
possession of large sums of money at interest
idOr- not Ub-trllCt admission into the most eN
Iclu-jyr society The poor were reminded OF
ihcir poverty every day by their drcss. Custom
IcyuryWacrc, and law in SOME countries rcquir
led the common people 10 have their peculiar
Icustuncs fla mechanic put on the gal+l of
uu'lr. he WA. lloggcd The cuuric~ drcSNc,
lin bright culors and Observation-Disclosures. The,
fused silks. Nclvrt, lace, and diamonds Thci
p appearance gave notice that they we're not dC
graded hy attention 20 any useful occupation
The poor are not - poor as they were. Inc,
lhavc knives, forks, and cIoCkcrywarc on thcl
tables; they have pillows, mattresses, and bed
stead, for rest at night; they have board floors
! gla~, windows, chimncys, and tile al >hinsl
roofs: they have cooking stoves iron pol~ AM
p timed sauccmn> for cooking; they have &c;
i coffee and sugar; and the poor have a varict
lot provisions which the rich had not in tn
iii)ccnth century. Not forty years have clap'
e Icd since cotton became cheap. Before tina
time linen was the common article for under
: clothing. and it wa, relatively dear. The poo
$, lin Europe would frequently wear y carmen
for year without washing, because that prt
Cc-, tended to wear out the material.
~ The most striking evidence Of the Improv,
I mcnt of the general condition OF the people
found in the increase Of population. Fou
n centuries since, The proportion OF deaths {
81 birth, Va, uncthinl greater than ~ prc,cn
% liamnc- and destructive pCstilcnccs were fir,
X lquCnt Century after century went by withou
any gain in people. Within the last hundre
T. years the human race has shown Il new cnerg
in multiplying It's numbers, because bread hg
e. lbccome cheaper and life more secure. Ii ma
rs be said that the price Of meat, or some 9th,
N limDorant article OF food has become dcap
THAN il was during the reign of Henry VII
: hut VIC imagine ii would not be difficult
Is proyc that the money now wasted on liqu,
le and tobacco by the laboring classes H. relaiiv
lly more than all their earnings four cenluri'