The Labor enquirer., 1884-01-05
beyed Aristocracy Shall Not
be--Fhe Republic Shall
| be Preserved.
! the Builders Of Her Wealth
Must be Justly Rewarded
Through
The Enjoyment Of the Rights and
Privileges Which They
Maintain.
From the Cincinnati unionist.

From the Cincinnati Unfonfst.
by what right are they whom we call
lords greater folk than we? On what
grounds have they deserved it, Why dc
they hold US in serfage? If we all came
of the same father and mother-Adam
and Eye-how can they say or prove that
they are better than we, if it be not that
they make us gain for them, by our toll,
what they spend in their pride2 They
are clothed in velvet, and warm in their
furs and their ermines, while We are COW
cred with rags; they have wine, and
spices, and bread, aid we oat-cake and
straw, and water to drink. They have
leisure and fine horses; we have pain and
labor, the rain and wind in the fields;
and yet it is of us and our toll, that these
men hold their state. ~
Such are the words of John Balloon
monty called the Mad Priest of Kent
spoken over 5O0 years ago; words which
welled up from the soul of a grand old
man who saw the excessive tyranny OF
the English aristocracy over the people;
who saw his brothers suffering under the
cruel and oppressive acts of the moneyed
class, and who must cry aloud for justice.
At the time in the history of England,
when these words we're uttered the
masses of that country we're in condi-
tion of abject slavery; bound to their
lords by the strong arm of the law; being
compelled to labor for him who COM
manded them to do so; they had no
choice in the matter, the statute made OF
them fixtures to the soil, to be worked
the same as the farmer of the present
day would work his oxen or his horses.
The poor, or villains, we're not permitted
to change their habitat, without permis-
sion of the government, and should one
be 80 audacious as to resist this oppres-
sion, he was declared fugitive, and price
set upon his head. When one takes into
consideration the fact that through lack
of production, (caused by the fearful on
slaught of the dread plague, the Black
Death, which moved down the people
like the blades of grass falleth from the
sickel of the reaper), the prices OF living
had increased, and the wages fixed by
statute remained the same, he can not
but see how extremely difficult would it
be for such law to be enforced, and can
readily imagine that such condition of
affairs would naturally tend to produce
disafeetion. Such indeed was the case,
and revolts of the laborers were almost
numberless. During the thirty years
following 1850, there was an almost ur-
broken armed struggle between poorly
paid labor and its tyrannical masters,
until at last broke out the greatrebellion,
in 1881, known as the West Tyler Reyo-
luton, when, had it-not been for the fact
that the revolution lacked organization,
and instead of being centralized, was of a
local nature, the whole social fabric OF
England would have come tumbling
down into mass of ruins.
As history repeats itself; and as the
the people of America do not appreciate
monopoly tYrant, nay more than they
would governmental one, it behooves
alltthose who desire the continuance of
peace, and the perpetuity of our republic.
to use every means in their power to
avert the surely coming reign of blood.
For, mark me well, even as turns the
worm when trodden upon, SO will the
American freeman, when naught stares
him in the face save death from starva-
ton, or abject slavery, turn upon those
who by the actions of their lives have
proven their desire to rob him OF
his liberty, his enjoyment of the fruits OF
his labor, yea, even his very existence
and terrible, terrible will be the punish
ment meted out to those who have OPP
pressed him, who have. usurped his
right Is, his privileges, his enjoyments.
In looking at the condition of the labor
in this country it is not necessary to go
into any researches in the deep mysti-
cisms of finances and trade, which are
said to influence the condition of the
wageworker. Suffice it for US to know
that the laborer is worthy of his hire;
but, alas, we also know full well that his
hire is not worthy Of the laborer. 1t
needs no erudite reader of domestic or
political economy to convince one of this
fact. All that is necessary is to gaze at
the history of this country during the
past ten years. How many colossal
fortunes have been accumulated during
this short period. How much individual
and corporate wealth has been derived
from the joint labor of the wageworker
of this country. Let him answer who
has the courage to scan the tax lists, the
records of personal or real property
always being sure to make large allow
ances for perjured returns), the columns
of the banking reports, and all other
records of accumulated wealth. Yea, let
him answer who will do this, for by
Heaven, I would not undertake it. for
fear that when the full force of outrage
burst upon me, it would wipe away every