National Republican., 1878-08-01
TIE LABOR TROUBLES.

l
Laborers have rights that are most sacred
and that should be the most ennobling be-
cause they are based upon that cdict Of the
Divine economy which declares that by the
sweat Of mans brow shall man eat bread.
II is in obedience to this law that we labor.
This edict makes willingness to labor our
patent or charter to the right to live. "If a
man will not work neither shall he eat"
But the same economy which issued this
edict proclaimed punishment of crime in
the interest of social order. CAIN was
marked Us murderer and ostracised from
society for taking the law of vengeance into
his own hands. There is in these Divine
edicts and the approved practice under
them a philosophy which tho hboring
classes of to-day would do well to study
and to heed. And we think that they can
well afford to study 1t, because proper un-
derstanding of the principles underlying II
will enable them to apply the only decisive
and eflectual remedy for tho evils which
now surround them.
There is right and wrong way of do
ing most things. Tho right way is to ac-
complish them legally and peacefully the
wrong way is to attempt the remedy by
mob force and violence, which only lead to
anarchy. The laboring classes form SEVEN
oighths OF the voters of our population. The
silent ballot is their effective weapon. They
pay three-fourths to seyen-eighths of the fed
eral taxes. They have the power at the next
election to choose Congress pledged to
their interests and against class interests
How much wiser to choose their own friends
20 represent them in law making, than to
organize mob for law breaking!
As productive labor is the creator and the
only creator of wealth, and as accummu.
lated capital can earn nothing without the
intervention or assistance of labor, it fol.
lows that the laboring classes arc quite safe.
ly in command of the situation if they ad.
here to each other.
What superlative folly then is it for mol
of producers to unite in the destruction ol
the fruits Of labor simply because II has
found Judgement in the hands of non-pro.
ducers. The wantou destruction of proper.
ty benefits no one. The true policy for the
labOring classes to pursue Is to control the
iaw-risLis,G power IN the Interests of pro.
ducers. Wrench IL from tho hands of pro.
iessional accummulators by means of the
ballot, and then keep it safely guarded from
the intrusion of gambling speculators.
There are two classes of accumulators Of
products of labor. One is legitimate and
honorable. The other is llegitimate and
dishonorable, and should be made disrepu.
table. One is an economist who accumu.
lates by honest thrift. The other is O
gambler or spcculator who lies in wait tc
victimize the producer or laborer and be.
guile him of the major part of the fruits o.
his honest toll The one are the busy bees
who gather honey from every flower and
carefully store it away in the hive for win.
ter's sustcnance. The other are the drone.
who idle and sleep away their existence
subsisting upon the sweets gathered in b,
the toies until the latter obeying q law o.
their nature, fall upon them and sting then
TO death.
But mankind has the power to prevent
the generation of nom producers, while the
bees must tolerate the propagation and ex
istence of their drones until they have full
filed their mission, when they destro,
them. If we perform our full duty to our
selves and our country at the ballot-box, W,
shall have no non-producers. We shal
have no class legislation in favor of monop
olies and gambling speculation. We shall
bow to honest labor as king. We shal
make wealth bow to it as its creator, an,
sing peans TO its glory. We shall frowI
down and Danish from society the posscssor
of ill-gotten wealth, accumulated at car,
tables and stock exchanges, and by bettin
upon the price Of bread. We shall pa,
court TO the creator instead of the THE
We shall esteem intellectual culture rs rea
wealth, and honor its possessor above tht
owners of gold and silver
Laborcrs, by combining and exercisin
thrift and mobilizing their savings can 500
compete with tho most powerful associa
, tions who control capital. They can the
= snap their fingers at banks and railway
and insurance companies Ten millions {
labOrcrs, who each economze o dollar
week, will have ten millions of capital q
=, the end of the first week, and five hundre
: and twenty millions at the end of u singl
y year In very few years by skillhil mar
> agement and thorough organization, CON
bincd with industrious application, the
! could not only be independent of what
. called capital, but could proudly point I
:, their achievement as practical illustratio
Of the truth of the assertion that Labor
king" The present condition of laborcl
may largely be attributed, we fear, to tn
= fact that, as class, they are improviden
when times are good They do not prepar
for u cold winter in the warm weather @
lay by for rainy day when the sun shine
Just think of these things! Two wrong
> cannot make one right Social order mus
;, not be sacrificed for the sins of few misel
i and grad-grinds. 1t is no disgrace to /
:, poor, but you cannot hold up your heads
you become criminals. Maintain your mar
= hood and seli-respect at all hazards an