St. Landry democrat., 1883-12-08
Law and Labor.
City item.


The Winston County Signal cautions
the laboring classes against the schem
ing politicians who would deceive them
into the belief that "law is the fertilizer
that will make crops grow and add to
the value of a farm without fence or
furrow." In other words that men can
be legislated into conditions OF prosper
.ity without any industrial efforts on
their part. The disposition to listen to
such propositions arises from the ten
dency among human beings to attribute
their failures to others rather than to
themselves. All that can be expected
of law is to afford every citizen an equal
chance in the battle of life and to pro-
tect him in his rights and acquisitions.
The obligation is comprehensive one;
it embraces all the duties of organized
society towards its individual members;
but it will neither render the improvl-
dent prosperous nor the lazy rich. In
the best Of governments and under the
best of laws much depends upon the
individual; if he leads the life of the
sluggard he will die the death OF a pau
per, and even the dog that Hicks his
sores is more useful in his day and gen
Grafton.
Where law is tyranny and the people
slaves, a privileged few, exempted from
their natural obligations to society, may
be elevated into positions prominence
and prosperity without any efforts on
their own behalf. Such law is, however,
not based on the fundamental principles
OF justice, and is rule of wrong rather
than of right. But there are questions
of political economy in which even the
honest advocates of self government are
not entirely agreed such, for instance
as those which relate to the control of
monopolies and the regulation of cOrpo-
rate profits. 1t all statute rules OF ac-
ton could be so framed as to be just.
alike to the individual and to society,
checking the excuses OF the one and
wisely controlling the supreme power
of the other, they would approach in
their efficiency the self-regulating laws
Of the Divine Contriyer. But even the
best Of human laws must bear some
touch of the imperfectionso of humanity,
and no administration of even these
best laws can be expected to be perfect.
The wild theory of Henry George,
who proposes to correct all the evils of
society by doing away with individual
ownership in land, il accepted and APP
piled, would prove as unsatisfactory
and incOnclusive as the attempt to en-
force practical agrarianism.
Even in the best organized and most
responsible of self-governments much
must be left to legislative discretion,
aud much must be experimental. Our
prescience is not sufficiently profound
to tell in advance how our best inten-
tons will result when they are transla-
ted into laws and backed by sanctions.
We should not expect the laws or the
government to make. us rich I; all that
we should ask is to be protected from
every unjust exaction and unfair COM
petition. For the rest, we must work
out our own destiny as best we can, for
as the signal says: '1it would be as sem
sible to attempt to legislate pain and
sickness out of the world as to attempt
to legislate all men into equally pros
porous conditions False party meas
ures and false promises of benefits are
deceptive in their character, and should
be guarded against by the most intelli-3
gent discretion that the best of us can
command.