Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-10-05

H8'aH NN&8l41A WHICH klNA DEtH k1t
sometime exciting 80 much public In
terest / may seem presurnptious. con-
sidering the trouble It has given to
some oE orr most prominent men. corn-
pared to whose experience my limited
knowledge Of the subject il band il
but drop of water in the ocean; but
considering hcw many men self-:nter-
est and ambition make willingly blind,
| feel az liberty to put on paper. ii
only Tor nv cwn future reference and
possible correction. thoughte and ideas
which IaFe often 5ssssemted allNmaeiveA
to my mind. Without setting myself
up asthe champion cftrades-unionsa and
their many outrages and follies, as
sert that ] can see Ito use the language
Of one Of our county papersl no crime
in the action Of the laborer when he
places . market value or his services.
We hear every day the action Of
trades-unions condemned, and often
justly, for th' ir extTavagant and ar
bitrary actions, but as a rule who is
10 blame, the unions or the capital
lists who never hesitate to corner the
labor market, 20 to speak. as they
would the cattle or grain market
whenever an opportunity presents ?
Now, / do not run recklessly into the
arms Of the laborer or claim that his
efforts to gain his ends are always
just. Indeed, popular movements. 80
far as my experience has been, with
Few exceptional cases. are so entirely
carried out on the principle of "never
mind the means, look to the end,
that they often do more harm than
practical good TO the cause advocated.
do not claim that the working man
has any more right to force the capi-
talist to terms than the capitalist has
to force him. ] DO not claim to KIN W
what constitutes fair wages time, place
and circumstances regulate that-but
do claim that tClsess one mcn DVnop-
otizes the time and services of anoth-
er, he owes that other living, and
do not mean mere pittance by which
he barely keeps soul and body togeth-
er, bnt fair, honest living. As to
the amount of it, that. as / before
said, circumstances must TO a certain
extent regulate; a man knows that
without necessary food his horse can
not do his work--yet many expect
human beings to work with no food,
or at least with much less than sufii-
cheney. But says the capitalist, /
must compete with others, aud il
give so much wages, how can do it ?
And that is just one of the things of
which the laborer has to complain.
In order to make more money or to
outshine some one else, those men
grind the laborer down TO the lowest
possible figure, sud are continually on
the lookout for an opportunity to re-
duce ii lower still. These are facts and
defy any one to prove them not to be
SO. 1t is this that forces men into
leagues and unions, which in their
turn force the capitalist to she'll out.
Who can blame them The employ
CT never says / will reduce V ex-
penses-that would deprive him Of too
many luxuries to which he has be-
come ccustomed-when there is a
depression in business, out / must re-
duce the wages of the operatives.
The operatives in their turn kick
against it. The question how to sat
isfy these opposing interests is the one
which should claim the attention Of
all who feel any interest in op-
pressed humanity. There is one class
Of men in this country who are the
greatest enemies to the laboring
classes and who really ought to be
their friends and sympathizers, viz:
the so- called, self-made men. They
are always in the front to fight the
working man and deny that he has
any need OF help. Look at us, they
say; I'VE were once as poor as they,
wages were not so good in our day as
they are now, yet we have become
rich. They should initiate us and be-
come like us.
But are they sincere in their ex-
presSions ? Do they really wish or
are they willing that these others
should become like them2 From an un-
willingness to grant the small aid
asked, | am inclined to think they
are not. They would then have no.
body to boss and to hold themselves np
to as models, and are they models that
every one could initiate ? / doubt
that. If that, of which they now
boast the possession, were always ac-
quired by fair and honest dealing and
long practiced economy, they might
indeed be looked upon as seif-made men
to be held up forimitation. But how
many can lay claim to this ven
ture to say not one in ten, if their re-
cord were open to inspection, could
be found who is free from stain and
who, if they had what they merit.
would be without the limits Of the pen
itentiary. There is nothing honest or
honorable in them. They are moth
ing but one mass Of self-conceit and
vanity, and literally s.see themselves.
know themselves, admire themselves. :
Ny charges against tais particular
class may seem harsh, and Of course
there are exceptions to all rules, but
taken as q class representative.
the self-made man Of our times is the
greatest fraud that has ever practiced
upon credulous humanity
but to return more directly to the
subject. how are these two interests
10 be reconciled? BY legislation ? l
hardly like the idea, though it may