The Labor enquirer., 1883-03-10
Henry George.

mass moved, no thoughtful reader Of the
Eagle will feel inclined to deny that the
most distinguished of living Americans
is the modest and thoughtful gentleman
who has been-heard personally in Brook
yn. and whose name in three brief years
i has become a household word in every
! land where men think-.Henry George.
Mr.. George is yet a comparatively young
man; he has seen, however, many sides
Of life; he has toiled for his living as
the great bulk of humanity tolls; he has
. travelled over the globe as sailor before
the mast; he has like another illustrious
American. whose name will never be
forgotten so long as the republic lasts,
worked at the case"--a brother printer
of BENJAMIN Franklin; he has finally
written two books which has stirred
society to its very foundations. What
will be the ultimate effect of these works
when the world has recovered from the
intellectual shock which they have pro-
duced it is too early to conjecture. but
unless we are widely mistaken it WlLI
recognize that we have entered-tO use
the phra8eoIGsy Of one Of Mr., Georges
sharpest critics-'a new political epoch.
The unpretenti0us volume which IS
known by its title to every reader as
"Progress and Poverty" which, to again
quote the critic above mentioned, lis at
this moment selling by thousands in the
alleys and back streets Of England, and
is being audibly welcomed there as a
glorious gospel Of Justice" which has
already been translated into several
European languages; which mas pissed
through one hundred editions in this,
the country of his birth; which can
scarcely be printed in cheap form fast
enough to supply the need; which has
been published in serial form day by
day in a newspaper especially adapted to
workingmen'S needs-contains between
its covers propositions that unless they
are refnted far more COncluSiYely than
they have been by the economists Of the
world are destined to bring. about a
revolution of human relations Conpai
able with none in modern history. 1t is
needless at this time to proclaim Mr..
Georges principles. His text is nearly
two thousand Years old, the recognition
of truth as old as humanity ITSELF
The poor We haze always with YOU"
But unlesss his logic is at fauIt-and that
is not questioned; unless his premises
are unsound and they have not yet
been successfully stormed, Mr.. Georges
propositions will Danish poverty, and
future generations will look back from
the sunlight Of their contentment to
what will appear to them the dark and
cruel ignorance Of to-day.
To forecast the ultimate consequences
of Mr. Georges audacious demolition Of
received economical theories, namely,
that poverty is law Of nature for which
humanity is not responsble-theores
which have, by failure to disturb them,
become REGARDED as unanswerable truths
is not possible; but we can approXi-
mateIy Judge Of the future by what has
already been achieved. Mr.. George,
then, has been a careful student ever
since lie reached a reasonable age. The
bent of his mind being grave and serious
he turned to the study Of political
economy; read all he could lay his hands
upon, and thought lie detected the
iaIacies of. the economists, recognized
the hopeless antagonsm between their
corcIuslon~ and the grand scheme of
Jesas Christ. and when his mind was
ripe he wrote a book. And Sunday
morning the New York public were
surprised to find whole page Of one of
our esteemed contemporaries devoted to
d careful, systematic analysis Of a, work
Ly a perfectly unknown man, Henry
George Thousands Of people who had
given thought to this same subject of
"progrcss and Poverty FASTENED to
obtain the book. They found ini its lucid
styly its aungent expressions, its daring
arraj-nmcnt of existing theories that
some master mind had grappled the
problem which they had been trying to
solve and had thrown it; that new
u'dipus had destroyed the Sphinx; in
other words, that Henry George had eX-
pressed for them, more brilliantly, CO.
gently and unanswerably than they could
L--e 10 do everv thought and aspiration