The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-13
THE sOOIALIsTIO PLATFORM.

with the death of the Republican party In this
State, its ideas and its adherents are coming
forth in various DISCUSSES. Their first effort
was to organize the negro, with some whites
who are hungry for Office, under the name OF
''the American Alliance" Any political or
ganization based on distinction of national
ity or race Is so foreign to the genius and
spirit of our institutions that it is bound to
come to grief
! The Nationals, or Socialistic Labor party,
when closely viewed disClOses in its ideas and
| in its personnel the old Radical Republican
party in disguise, and that disguise very
thin one. There Is little danger that any
considerable number OF honest men who earn
! their bread by the labor Of their hands, can
be misled by Its sophistries.
The leading Idea of the Republican of the
so-called Socialist is that grown men are in
fants and that the machine or instrument
called government is infinitely wise and good
and its duty Is to manage and control every
individuals affairs for him.
A man in the walks of private life is utterly
unable to take care of himself, to make his
own contracts, or to manage his own affairs
but the moment he is made legislator, he
becomes infallibly wise, and as powerful as
wise, and is fitted to manage and control the
business and affairs of everybody else.
The first article In the Socialist platform Is :
1. Eight hours for the present as a legal
working day, and prompt punishment of all
vi0ators.
This IS exactly what Republican Con-
gress attempted in its folly some years ago,
and failed. The eight hours rule was actually
enforced in government workshops, but it
was necessarily followed by a corresponding
reduction in wages, and with diminished
means of subsistence. Many men can easily
stand ten or twelve hours work, and they
require it all to provide for the wants and
desires of themselves and those dependent on
them. Is 1t not, then, the bOldest, most op-
pressive tyranny to punish them IL they work
more than eighth In many Of the lighter
employments fourteen hours Is not too much,
when such labor enables one to have better
lodging and more nourishing food, and to
take an occasional holiday Then there are
many persons who can endure only five or
six hours labor; are they to be forced
to work eight hours, whether they can
stand 1t or not, under penalty Of fine
of the year twelve, fourteen, and even eigh-
teen hours labor is often necessary to the
lawyer, the doctor, or the planter, or the
printer, The demands Of his business, the
necessities Of his family require this amount
Of labor Is the lawyer to be told, you shall
not write your brief or plead your cause,
because you have already labored eight
hours? Is the doctor to be prohibited visiting
his patients after the eighth hour? Is the
farmer or planter, whose entire crop for the
year is being harvested, and upon which de-
Ponds the subsistence Of hundreds Of people, |
10 be told, your grain must perish in the |
storm; your corn must rot in the field; your
cane must sour In the shed; I, the Cmnipo- |
tent and infallible legislator will not permit |
you, or any Of your employees, to work more
than eight hours in day?
Could there be any worse tyranny than
this? II any such laws could be enforced, |
would they not bring beggary and starva-
lion to half the human race?
Is 1t not wiser for the law-maker the ignor-
mt, impotent human legislator, to let the |
matter alone and let every man work just so |
oDg as he is able and willing, and leave the |
hours of labor and the wage Of the laborer to |
% regulated by contract and the divine law
If supply and demand? Any intermeddling |
y i'll but injure the laborer and render his sub
3istence more difficult and uncertain.
Just SO sure as the hours of labor are re-
1uced, just so sure will the wages be reduced |