The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1878-05-17
THE WEEKLY ..1LsGENCER.
Official Press Of King County
Friday, May II, 1878.
ELIHU BURRITT ON AGRA
RAN RELIEF.

scholar and philosopher, has been
graphing with the problem of the
labor distress that is now prevalent in
the east He says:
There is no other country in the
world where so much labor and so
much land are kept asunder as In the
United States And millions upon mil
lions of our people are deeply feeling
the penalty of this violation OF the law
Of God and nature. Until our Govern
ment does works meet for repen-
lance of the infraction of this law. no
political or financial reform can lift the
nation out of the bog of its present
condition. 1t is in vain for US to
expect this condition will emerge to the
hard footing and happy sunlight of
permanent prosperity unless the Gov
eminent puts its shoulder to the wheel
in strong, bold measure unless it
ceases to hold asunder what God and
nature have joined together, or the best
labor and best land ever given to
nation. Hunger has sharp teeth, and
will not only "eat through stone
walls" but something harder still. 1t
has more than once eaten through the
procustean ajamant Of a political
economy which science had claimed
should never yield to the sudden or
abnormal necessities of humanity. The
basest things of the world upset this
heartless code, and broke its Mede-and-
Persian hasps. The potato did it.
That homely and rusty vegetable with
drew its supply of food for single
season, and a nation of 5,000,000 was
reduced to sore distress. The regulation
type of political economy, that leaves
al such emergencies to be met by the
spontaneous law of demand and
supply was powerless and unheeded in
the face of the terrible necessity. The
English Government voted SAC, 100000
for the relief Of famine-stricken Ire
land. But how was this relief to be
administered Through work houses
aud poor houses No. but as wages
for labor. In spite of the revered dec
alogue of political economy, the State
had TO furnish labor for the starving
thousands and pay them every night for
their work. See what has happened in
this appalling Indian famine, which
will cost the Government $500, 900 900,
besides an amount of individual con-
tributions unparalleled in the history
of the world How are these millions
Of Government money dispensed to the
sufferers? As wages for employment
provided by the State. The claims of
labor to sustenance by the sweat of its
brow had to be recognized and satisfied
by the State, IN spite of all the theories
of political economy that would
leave labor to take care of itself under
all possible conditions.
If the rights, interests and claims of
labor ought to be sacred in the eyes of
any human Government, that should be
the Government of this country. We
shall not be exposed to potato famine,
u cotton famine, or an Indian rice FAM
inc. But it seems sin against nature
even that we should have this labor
famine upon hundreds of thousands
of able.bodied men on the verge of
starvation, with half continent un-
peopled and uncultivated- belonging
to the nation. We may depend upon
it that the teeth of hunger in this coun-
try are as sharp as in Ireland or India.
They will eat through the walls of that
political economy which our National
Government and State Governments
have made so impregnable.
Mr.. Burritt proposes as the solution
of two difficulties at once, to allow
the Pacific railroad companies to settle
their indebtedness to the government
by locating families upon the lands
comprised in their grants. His sug-
gestion is that for every family or
householder they shall convey from the
over crowded centres Of labor in the
Elstern AMI Middle States and plant on
their dcmiln. they shall be credited
81 COO on their account with the gov
ernment. Every settler shall be allotted
100 acres of land for his homestead, for
which 800 shall be allowed the COM
psny The 5000 to he advanced might
thus be divided $500 for the best
house of logs or weather boards which
that amount would build; horse, har-
ness, cart, plow and smaller farming
tools, se0e; provisions, $50; transport
ing family aud their household effects,
$50. Thus, for settlement of 100
families. the railway company would
receive q credit of $4,000 for 10000
acres of land sold back to the govern
ment at 81 per acre. Then il would
be allowed $4,000 for conveying the
settlers u their location. Besides this
the transportation of building material,
stock. provisions. etc, might be reck-
oned in as some profit TO the company.
Every settlement of 100 families would,
therefore. cost the government 800, 900
aud the company $500 in money and
$4,000 in land, transportation, etc.
These plantations" as the old colon
lists called them. if gradually located
within twenty five miles of each other
would enhance the value and demand
of every acre between them, and thus
reimburse 10 the government aud the
company what they cost. They would
make paying local business for the
railways near which they were located,
and constantly increasing sources OF
Of revenue TO the National Treasury.