The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1877-08-08
County and City Official Press.
Wednesday, August 8, 1877
THE PLETHORA OF LABOR

The San Francisco Bulletin speaking
Of the causes Of the late riots. says:
when the war closed something
more than half the number Of men who
had been engaged on both sis5-say
half million, returned to their homes
and sought employment, and that jus.
ut the time when season Of dimin-
isbed production had set in.
"Fron that day to this the mass of la
borers have not had so great aiegree of
prosperity. Here and there they have
done we'll. But on the whole the sup
ply has been greater than the demand.
Factories have been operated IN half
time; many of them have ceased opera
tions altogether Property values have
shrunk--an extreme reaction from infis-
ton wages have been more Or less di
minished, while the cost Of living has
not been materially lessened The
shrinksge in railroad property through
out the country has been enormous.
even the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
which had the reputation of being one
Of the pest managed Railway corpora
tons and one of the most profitable in
the country finds its stock. rs quoted OH
the markets. diminished in value near.
ly fifty per cent. For years this had
been q dividend paying road Other
railways not So we'll managed have suf
fered even q greater ahrinkage. These
ara hardly more than hirts of causes
which have seriously affected the pro-
ducing industry Of the country.
The most serious aspect Of tue recent
turbulence aud uprising among work
ingmen il that Of discomfort-of dissatis-
faction with their lot. II all were re-
receiving good wages and prospecting.
il would be bard to conceive how such
y spirit Of restlessuess and tumuit could
prevail"
This, as = guess of the primary cause
Of tho disaffection on the railroads is
but random shot at the best. The
logic.l consequences of this reasoning
would be that the quickest and surest
road out of our present difficulties would
DO to plunge into another big war and
kill of another half million men; or
perhaps il that other half million "boys
in blue" had not come back alive to
seek employment in the arts of peace,
all would have continued at the high
pressure. double. lack action rate Of the
piping tunes Of war. without any rover
sal movements whatever.
Nothing could be more remote from
the truth. We are now only paying
the legitimate penalties Of the foolish
ness Of the war. When that is once all
settled aud over with. and the scars are
healed over, we will need wise and
sound policy Of ststosmanst ip that
will keep the country ont of war hence
forth for good and all.
There is more demand for men in
this country than can be supplicd. only
it is not we'll distributed. There Is
more labor offered to the great railroad
corporations in the East than they
need. else they could not reduce the
wages.
The government does not need to make
onslaught on old Mexico or England, or
any other power, for pretext to make
another war in order to slaughter off
few hundred thousand men. aud run up
. debt Of few thousand million COL
dars. Only the tilibuster and vulture
elements In the country have any ac-
count in stirring up wars.
The true safety value is the prcsecu-
ton Of works of internal improvement.
new railroads, canals. bridges. public
buildings aud the like. which absorb
the idle force, divert tho reckless and
adventurous. occupy the public atten-
tion and at the same time permanently
add to the wealth and greatness of the
nation. and to the comfort aud resources
Of tho general people,