Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1882-04-13
a Volcano.

have either not been studied or they
have been forgotten. The volcano
has not been exhausted, it only slum-
bers. and we should be wise in time.
Practically, there are but two classes
in America. First, and immeasurably
the largest, is the working class; sec
oDdly, the speculative one. The first
has no idea of speculations, combina-
tions, consultations and the numer-
Gus ways and means by which almost
fabulous fortunes are accumulated by
the second-which grows wealthy by
other means than labor-by patents,
by corporations, by stock gambling,
by real estate speculations, by 'cor-
nering" the necessities of life, by lob
bying and a hundred other means.
The rapid accumulation of wealth is
the single object upon which this latter
class has its mind fixed, and there is
no limit to its desire-like the Horse
leech's daughter its cry is still for
more! more! Not content with sue
cess it undertakes larger things and
still larger. A prospect to make
money blinds it to all caution and pru
dental considerations.
Confidence no longer exists besween
these two classes. The majority of
our business men have become specu.
lators and do not take that same heed
to the comfort and pride of their en-
ployees that was given twenty years
ago, and are unconscious that the men
they employ have ceased to have any
ove for them. The American people
seem to have forgotten in the last
twenty years, all that their forefathers
ever taught them. The founders of
The government undertook to con-
'truct laboring citizen, depending
upon his own hands, embosomed in
lis own family, representing his own
cline, county and government, and
he law of reciprocity was encouraged
everywhere. Apprentices lived in
he families Of their masters and the
masters wife was partial mother to
hem. Now the speculative class is
lping everything in Europe and de-
pising everything at home, and you
Zee men gaining the only reputation
hey have by the kind of clothes they
wear. Effeminacy is everywhere Wis
BILE. You see a person living in
plendid style, and the walchmen
,oing up and down before his house
rarely recognized as an employee, and
he chance to sleep moment at his
,ost is discharged and another at less
wages procured. You see a man
itting on wharf or pier watching q
'ale of goods, with the weather so
old that his clothes freeze as he sits
own on bale-but he is nothing but
mere unit in the scheme of the spec.
lator and will be discharged in q
and forgotten as soon. There
vas time when a man in middle life
ould send his daughter to boarding
chool for 5000 year, now $500 is
he average and 81 900 not an uncom-
ION price. The we'll bred child of
le middle class, not the offspring of
speculative father, finds that her
lothing is subject of distress to her.
he teacher devotes most of her atten.
on to the daughter of the man who
cts his name IN the papers, some
roker, some one who has cornered |
heat, oats or lard, some one who
trough artifice or speculation has
ecome a railroad president. Dis.
pline has been abandoned in most of
le pay schools, wealth is behind the
lpil and the teacher becomes the vic
m of its seduction
Before the war, if man would cor.
er grain for the purpose of prevent
g its shipment and work an entire
lange in the price of bread, he would
I'VE been ostracised and in danger of
,ing mobbed. Now there is not a
ngle article of consumption, from
'ead to light, from necessities to lux
les that is not the subject Of corners
I'd speculated in by multitudes who
,ver expect to handle the actual
'operty. In all this programme of
eculation labor has no hand. Labor
ands beneath with his implements in
s hand, and discovers that he has
wer rights each year and less prlvi-
ges to change his employer than be-
re. He sees plainly that speculative
ealth is making him mere cypher
existence and that capital is daily
vt only lessenlng his means Of liveli-