The Labor enquirer., 1884-12-06

slakink othess poor, ~ tssy - col.
anusliy bseonIhe riclIsf By i1.kin
oths1 pedpIe pooeer;; fheir revenues are1
enlarged By taking from tho poor their!
pos5ionaI II & man receives e14 00O.
which the, labor Of Others has earned
and he gives 81 600 to the poor. the gift
is not his; he. Is stiil the thief Of $500
which he has taken from tho poor. But
be spends the % 900 in wasteful extrava-
gance and debasing luxury, while the
poor peopl who earned it, are starving
for the hare necessar,es Of life.
How Is he enabled TO do this7 By
laws, laws made by men such IS this
one who tells Is there must be q scien-
tifc way of giving aims to the poor. II
the rich are not permitted to rob the
poor, there will be no need of charity.
Such tinkering as our eloquent fellow
citizen advises is no science, but q collu-
sion with high crime. Said sound
thinker on this subject: sThe charity Of
the rich is not even worthy to be called
conscience money 7"
The Association for Improving the Con-
dition of the Poor, of New York has dis
Soyered some of the causes creating .
necessity for charity. The last annual
rehort says a visitor" found q woman
whb was finishing trousers at z cents
pail, and it was impossible for her to
earn over SO cents day. The rich lady
who would drive up in her elegant equip
age, clad in silks and satins, and offer
this Woodworking woman charity. would
but tender beggarly pittance of what her
husband was stealing from the wretched
seamstress, through means of controlling
Gods gifts to His creatures and the in
ventions of their brains.
The system Is wrong that permits a
class of poor people to spring up and
augment amidst plenty, and charity but
tends to its growth. by temporarily dead
ening poyerty's pain and lulling the vic
Tins to sleep in the face. of the causes
which produce such dire results.
l have no fault to find with those soft
hearted creatures who go forth to allay
for the time being the suferings OF the
poor; their hearts are right, but their
heads are all wrong. The same energy
which is expended in such work COZ. Id
remove the necessity for it if directed in
the proper course. Poverty could be re,
moved from the face of the earth IN a
very short time if we paid less heed to
charity and laborsd to bring about JUS
tiee.
I know the bible says we have the
poor with us always, but i know poverty
can be abolished, and 1 would not cease
to work for its abolition to establish the
correctness of any saving, from whatever
source.
Mr.. Wolcott, in his speech at the opera
house, got a little below the surface
showing the wastes of our present society
and the inadequacy of public charity
but he stopped short when he failed to
tell the audience that the very wastes
and corruption he spoke of were some o.
the causes of poverty, and that it is the
duty Of all just people to strike at the
head and remove even the opportunity
for alms-giving and alms-taking.
There is over-production in our land
the granaries and elevators are full te
overhowing; the money vaults of the
government are bursting with 'the peo'
ple's funds" and yet there is starvation
There are societies at work in all oul
large cities to alleviate the suffering o.
the poor-those with strong arms and
willing hearts to work and earn their
subsistence. Why is there starvation
amidst such plentYP Because, the people
are robbed of their own; robbed by the
sanction of law. And instead of at
tempting to do justice, our modern phi
lanthropists uphold the unjust law
tighten the chains of poverty on the
people with one hand while with the
other they hand out to the suffering pool
a miserable fractional part of the steal
lngs, and label it "charity." +
They are holding the deluded ones ur
to the rack while they suck the roots o.
the corn, and while the despoilers are
gathering the full ears from the Other
end, and swiftly creeping down the stalk
to take 1t all and destroy the fool at the
other end. s ~ -
Citizens! men and women do you
really care sor the people Have you
hearts that honestly feel for their suffer
ings? If so, then commence at once to
work upou the other end of the poverty
problem. Remove poverty, bv remov,
ing its causes, and quit the reckless
suicidal compromising with the devil. 3
Angels of peace Do you really want
harmony and happiness in the world, OIL
do you want to throw the people head
long into the ditch of DESPAIR? Do you
want to see our fair land stained with
the blood of our best and bravest, or DE-
you want to aid in averting such calam
itY?
If you foye God and His people, if yor
Hove your country and your children
then cease psalm. sing, and crying peace
peace p'when there is no peace, and tur1