Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-07-21

this thing, or that, in the enactment or
administration Of the law; how MANY
OF you are conscious that your wishes
or views were afterward regarded by
the legislator or executive? Indeed,
with your attention annually directed
toward the city of Madison, for few
years past, or toward that greater city
on the bank of the Potomac, what war
rant nave you for the belief that even
the promptings of fair conscience are
equal to the more glittering influences
that congregate beneath the domes of
those capitols2
But must not be understood to at
tribute all shortcomings to the office
holder, nor to ascribe all perfection to
the humber sovereign. There is to be
feared, among those in public places,
an aristocracy, begotten of ease, and
emolument, and community of inter-
est, which, unrestrained, may threaten
or subvert the
| PARAMOUNT IDEA OF OUR REPUBLIC,
that governments derive their lust
powers from the consent of the gov
erned" For such condition, should
1t be realized, the masses of the people
will be directly responsible. rhe master
must keep his eye upon the servant.
No competent, successful employer
sends the laborer to his work without in
structlon and supervision. How vastly
more important than any other labor
| is the service to be rendered the men,
women and children of this republic,
and
HOW UTTERLY INEXCUSABLE
the neglect of any citizen to familiarize
himself with it.
| " He who by the pillow would thrive
| Must himself either hold or drive"
| The sovereign citizen must qualify
himself for work in the field, wherever
called, and he should never yield his
proprietary interest to the care of an
other. without exacting rigid account
of that stewardship Are we who WELD
the ballot without fault?
Magnificent edifces and costly dwell
ings greet your eye as you pass through
any commercial metropolis, or city of
considerable size You ask, "Whose
place is this9" or this? or that? And the
answer comes, "OfA, the banker" "of
B, the capitalist" or &c, the Wander
bilt of the town." You continue your
walk through the suburbs Of the great
city, in the region of manufactures, or
drive into the rural districts, among the
people of agriculture, and these mani
festations Of wealth and grandeur be-
come less and less frequent. In reply
to your inquiry "Who lives here?" you
are told that it is season residence Of
Smith. who made on oil; of Jones, the
merchant prince; or of Brown, the lob
byist and contractor Very few of these
attractive structures are pointed out to
you as the homes of farmers, mechan-
les, teachers, preachers, or editors.
What is the estimated proportion, think
you, of the wealth Of this country in
the hands OF the recognized producing
classes, very largely in majority among
the people? An accredited newspaper
writer says, only SO per cent, while
others place the figure but a little high
er. What proportion, therefore, of the
earnings Of the farm, the factory, the
store, the bank, the railroad, or of any
industry or enterprise
DEPENDENT UPON THE LABOR
of the human hand, may be estimated
as the dividend awarded to the labor?
Some one, who has assumed to make
the calculation, has said, wildly enough,
possibly, that if the ratio of change of
ownership of property which has OBJ
taiped in this country the past sixteen
years should continue forty years long
er, not a dollar would then be left in
the hands of the farmer or manual la
borer. But, disoarding this unwelcome
prediction, may we not properly inquire
If the division between capital and la
Dor is just one? And when we reflect
that manual labor considers mainly
physical necessities and physical
strength, are strikes, ruinous to proper
ty and disastrous to the strikers, to be
wondered att Is the restlessness Of the
farmer, the mechanic, the laborer
with mind or hand, lest the aggrega-
ton of immense capital, by few indl-
viduals, as corporate bodies or other
wise, may sooner or later control the
farm, the shop, and the school, as well
as business, and commerce, and gov
eminent, a spirit to be condemned
without inquiry? Children of the same
,rentage, with opportunities varied,
only by the choice of pursuits, achieve
such
WIDELY DIFFERENT FORTUNES
that he who treads the path of the hus-
bandman is distanced and forgotten
by him who casts his lot with the mon,
ey-changers. He feels the yoke, and
wears it, hopeful that reliefmay come.
At last discouraged, he yields to the