The Labor enquirer., 1884-03-15
co RREsPoNDENeE.
What They VIII Do.


Editor Labor Enquirer.
LANSING, Mich. ;. March 9.-What are
the poor to do?
Did you ever think what the future
has in store for them, unless some great
and fundamental social change takes
place
You who are wage earners; you who
are small farmers; you who are engaged
in the mercantile business in a small
way, are your future prospects bright?
Will your children grow up prosperous,
contented and happy under the over
shadowing disadvantages which the
regime of monopoly has brought about ?
Go into any kind of mandatory to-
day, if you are out of work and there
you find that machinery, with its arms
and fingers Of steel and it's tireless mo-
ton, has taken the place Of human hands
and driven their owners out upon the
highways to look for work. &c.,.
"Go to the farm, or into the mine, or
into the woods, and there you will find
lots of work." he who knows no want
will tell you if you complain.
And you think that maybe this is true.
And away to the farm you 60, only to
find that the machine is there ahead of
you, and with cold and Indifferent stare
gives you to understand that there is no
work for you there.
You turn sadly away and tramp to the
mine, with the hope that at least ma
chinery has not taken possession of the
earth and cut off your labor there. All,
no; the machine is not there, but the
greedy and heartless "owner" of the
mine has anticipated your coming, and
that he might humiliate you and crush
out the independence that you have
heretofore exercised, he has ransacked
Europe for poor creatures whom the re-
lentless despotism of centuries have bru-
talized and debased, and with the empty
promise of work and plenty has induced
them to come here and work at wages
that it is impossible for you to- live on.
"You must not expect to be so much
better off than your European brethren"
no matter how miserable and degraded
has the brutality of kings and aristocra-
cies made them. No, you are not wanted
at the NINE. -
Like the stag who begins to suspicion
that he is hunted, you grow somewhat
alarmed and fly to the woodlands, far
away from the civilization that you
helped to make. Surely, God nor man
will deny creature the right to hew a
living from out the trackless forest? But
the song of your axe strikes the ear of
the land-Erabber, and with ruthless haste
you are driven off the land that he can
not or never intends to use. r.
On every hand lies unused and vast
ing the resources of nature.
On every side are strong and willing
hands who are denied the right to make
for themselves an honest living, and
the fact is brought home to you now.
Do you know what the stag does when
he is brought to bay? He turns and
fights, and fights to kill
Rulers of men, robbers of the poor,
you who surfeit with wealth, think you
that the poor have not even the instincts
of a beast? Look well that the chase is
not pressed too hard else in an unguarded
moment you reap the reward of your
own cruelty
But whatare the poor to do?
Let me tell you.
When they see the cause of their
poverty and distress they will rise up in
their desperation and power and wipe
out l6f existence forever the titles to
those things that are not the result of
human toll! And so too will they wipe
out of existence the upholders of these
titles.
This is what the poor will do.
JOSEPH A. LABAD1E.