Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-05-09

power, so that they can live comfort
ably. But the government forget'
that the transfer Of three additional
shillings a day to each workman does
not increase the quantity of food in
the country. The competition Of buy,
ers raises the price of that, while the
restriction of its importation and in.
creased consumption prevent its more
equable division among the people.
This is really the social difficulty in
France at the present time. The gov
ernment has been working constantly
to make the rate of wages high. But
instead of doing this positively, it is
only doing this relatively and appar-
emily. The means it takes, it is true,
makes wages higher, but also makes
all the workmen purchase higher, just
as it is with the protective system in
the United States.
The result is, that what the French,
especially the Partisan artisan receives
from the government in one hand, he
pays out to the subsidized favorites of
the government from the other, at the
same time that he continues as before
to lay up nothing-to live from hand
to mouth. Consequently, whenever
any trade of Importance stops for
time, or is greatly reduced, there are
thousands of workmen without re-
source. In Paris these workmen have
to be kept alive by the so-called char
ity bureaus" maintained by The mu-
nicipality. But after few weeks Of
distress the starving throngs become
dangerous from suffering. One of the
most ominous facts about these suffer-
ing workmen, also, is that they are not
merely hungry individuals, but men,
two-thirds of whom have been in the
army, who arc familiar with its or
ganization, and many of whom have
torn down and set up governments in
their lifetime. Thus general destitu-
tion in France, in fact, the destitution
of the members of single trade, is
menace to any French government,
monarchial or republican.
This condition of things in France
leaves two problems open to the gov
eminent. 1t must support the dis
tressed by poor law system, which
the niggardly character of the French
peasant proprietary will not permit,
or it must find artificial work for them.
This latter is what the French gov
eminent has now chosen, in the face
of numerous former failures. At
present the proletariat difficulty in
Paris having arisen in the building
trade, the government is engaged in
building vast barracks for the work
ingmen, with the double object of af-
fording the artisan work and after
ward providing them with shelter.
But, as there is nothing either in
accordance with the true principles of
political economy, or Of permanent
character in such arrangement, it
will rather encourage than prevent
the next batch of distressed artisans
from also menacing government
which holds itself ready and bound to
meet the necessities of system of
which, as it is constantly the creator,
it must be as constantly the preser-
yer.
In this chronic condition of the
French politico-economic state, and
which has its most dangerously erup-
tive focus in Paris, which makes that
city, especially in the eyes of Germa-
ny, which has too many of the same
dangerous class herself, menace to
the entire European social state, and
which compels three of the great mill
tary powers of western Europe-Ger-
many, Austria and Italy--to hold
themselves constantly in readiness for
IN event which has more than once
burst upon Europe with an irrepressi-
bic force and power.-Chicago News.