The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1880-03-14

itsaif at the outset; that is, who Is the
eapitzlistf and who IL Tie lsboreTf In
this country there Is q gradual ascent
la the social scale, from the man who
has no property whatever, and earns bis
bread from day 10 day by manual labor,
mp TO an Astor or Vanderbilt who
possess many millions. These extremes
represent the undoubted lAbOrer and the
undoubted capitalist, but where Is the
man who owns q house and little lot Of
ground on which 1t stands, which pro-
yides a home for his family whom his
daily toll supplies with food. Is this
individual u capitalist. OF simply q
working mani II net reckoned among
the capitalists. on account Of the small
value of his possession, where shall the
line be drawn that in point of property
separates the capitalists from other
men, Does the possession u three
thousand, or i've thousand, or ten
thousand dollars constitute the capital
lists, or how large an amount must an
individual accumulate before he is en-
titled 10 that distinctiony
Another important question, never
yet answered, Ia, who is the working
mani Is 1t simply the man who works
with his hands, who performs manual
labor onlys This cannot be 50, as many
Of the most strenuous advocates Of the
party eve performed q days manual
labor In their lives. As an eminent
illustration Of this statement, San
Francisco's workingmen's mayor, Mr..
Kalioch, was formerly, and until a re-
cent date, a Baptist minister. Many
prominent communists In Chicago
and New York are saloon keepers,
through which business they accumu-
late altogether too much capital to con
sistently call themselves workingmen,
II manual labor or restitution are essen
tial qualifications. The hard working
business man. the lawyer, the doctor,
the teacher. are they workingmenY
They are not generally recognized by
the party, but most certainly the ma
jority are by no means capitalists. ex-
cepting on a very limited scale.
That the workingmen Of the United
States have grievances Of which they
they justly complain no reasonable per-
% can deny. In this connection We in
clude all OF the industrial classes, every
individual who by their wi efforts sup
port themselves and those dependent
on them, and in addition to this hon
estly endeavor to accumulate n compe-
tence that shall raise them and their
families above the fear OF want. The
above class constitute the great mass Of
the population. The industrial classes,
In fact, properly speaking, constitute
the United States. They not only COM
pose ninety-nine one hundredths OF the
population, but their industry has made
the nation what II Is. Aud for them
the constitution IA framed and the
government established. The spirit Of
the constitution Is expressed IN the first
line of the preamble-''we, the people,
| do ordain and establish this constitu-
ton" The government was formed
by, and for the people, and was designed
10 he administered for their benefit. In
some respects, however, the original
| spirit OF the constitution has been de-
parted from. All men are not free and
equal. The government, by the crea-
ton Of corporations, to which 1t has
granted a portion Of the public domain,
and endowed with an undue Measure Of
Its W sovereign power, has vested
| certain individuals with peculiar privi-
ieges not enjoyed by the ordinary citi-
zen. The prosecution OF important en-
terprises demands the encouragement
Of corporations 10 n certain extent, but
in this country II has been carried on
to nm alarming extent, and resulted in
the creation Of n privileged class en-
dowed with greater power than Is en-
joyed by the aristocracy OF any nation
in Europe. In other respects the rapid
growth OF the country has caused wide
departures from the design aimed at by
the trainers OF the constitution, all Of
which can only be Temedied by the oper-
alton Of law.
The violent proceedings Of any dis
~contented element in opposition 10 es-
tablished law, must result either in the
destruction OF the government or re-
dound to the injury OF the insurgents.