The Labor enquirer., 1883-03-31

A solitude, till you come to the pork and
corn-bread boarding shanty-oyergroWn
in bulk and ugliness, and inhabited by
S18 a month summer slaves, shrunken
down to IS serfs in the winter-or turned
out of doors to shift for. themselves in the
snow. The "production" has been great
1T chokes up and builds up the trunk
lines to the 8eaboard. 1t freights and
floats across the Atlantic. 1t 6wells the
economic triumph of our exports" and
returns in golden shower to us. No, 1t
returns into the grip of that lean, anx-
ious, financially mad speculator sitting at
his desk in the distant city. All the
proceeds but the cost of the boarding
shanty and the SIS to IS a month.
Capital and intellect, Mr.. Hewitt. Yes,
they will run their vast machine through
that desert of wheat. It is standing now,
but at the magic of that machine it will
be cut, come in at the front door and 60
out busheled and bagged in the rear,
ready to rejoice the heart Of Vanderbilt.
Along the lines it will 60 to the cotton,
the iron, the coal industries to there
exchange for the dearly earned dollar
day and be consumed in the eight or ten
story tenement
Such is the drift-such the inevitable,
! ifmen of resource and intelligence, and
with republican souls in their bodies
don't come together and confront it. Is
the madness that clutches million or a
hundred millions and then tumbIes into
where the millions cannot enter-the
grave, if not a worse place-is that mad
ness fated to destroy US?
''That pagod thing of >abcr sway,
With front Of brass and feet of clay"
But whether Of 8aber sway or swind-
ling sway, take the clay feet from under
it, and down tumbIes the "pagod."
But how prove that it rests on feet of
clay? Not necessary. 1t is proved al
ready Mr.. Julian proves it-no honest
man denies it, The long records Of rob-
berry and cruelty are its feet, and the
clay it stands on counts 200O00OO0 Of
acres.
But how proceed How strike the
"cIay" from under it?
We have to proceed cautiously y, mind
nor risk the battle on one assault. Baf-
fled at one point, as we are likely to he,
We must fall back on the next. and the
next and even the next again. till we
reach the impregnable ground that lies
behind us, from which to return and
overwheIm the foe. We must begin
some way, and soon, and remember
what we here suggest are mere suggeS-
tons.
First proclaim it aloud that to accumu-
Iations of land, whether by rail corpora
tions, or bonanzas, or imported syndi-
Gates. or native rogues, or rogues Of any
kind, there exist no titles; that patents
or grants made by men who had no
power to grant or patent are necessarily
void.
Old kings, old Holland companies old
Mexican marauders had they power to
grant? Did they own what they gave
away? Did congress own what it, gave
away, or, rather, what If divided between
itself and the rail plunderers2 Did the
two-year-oId politicians, caucused into a
lump in Washington, own the lands, or
were they ephemeraI stewards over the
lands, as criminal as they were ephem-
eral?
"Yes, we know all that already but
how are we to proceed against them?"
BY law, to be sure In the courts. The
titles are bogus Take them into the
courts.
The courts. Are they not owned by
the very corporations, the very holders
Of the titles you aim to overthrow? The
courts, first, last and middle will laugh
at your case and throw it out, one after
another
Not doubt oft! And vet we will be
gaining our case all the time. Its first
appearance in court will attract public
attention by its very oddness. There
will be some pleading and some proofs
before it is thrown out of court. Those
will be printed and scofed at by the
rogues of news and paper and ink. At
first the crowds may laugh, but by and
/ by they will grow serious. Bahled in
one court the case goes to another. The