The Labor enquirer., 1884-07-12

his spare time. For the laborer or crafts
man of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen
tury, unlike the wage-earner Of to-day
had some spare time when his work wal
over. When we speak of workman
having spare time now we mean that he
is going about idle and starving. Alto
gether there is wide difference between
the worker of then, and the worker now
The wage Garner to-day is mere piecs
of merchandise in the hands of the cap
italist; he is bought and sold as othel
1 goods are. his price being regulated by
the number of unemployed hands in the
market, rising as they fall and falling al
they rise. Some Socialists have likened
/ the laborer to a machine, and I think
the mashlne has decidedly the best ol
the comparison, for it is generally well
tended, kept clean, is well oiled. repaired
when out Of order, and OCCASIONALLY gets
new coat-of paint. But the average
workman is forced by his poverty into
such position that all desire for cleanli.
ness or culture is crushed out of him
Where his first desire is to obtain food
that he may live, then he finds life SO
unbearable that his next desire is to get
enough drink to make him forget that he
lives. While, as far as fine clothing is
concerned, the alleged spread of esthet-
icism has found the proletariat away
from home. 1t is well to ponder these
things, and endeayor to appreciate their
full significance; so that we may dis
cover their cause, and take steps to pre-
vent their recurrence. Before finish
1 will endeavor to show that the misera-
BILE condition of the workman to-day, is
because the bourgeois class exists.
In 1860, the bourgeoisie, still in their
infancy, made first step towards state
supremacy by throwing off the feudal OBJ
legations they owed to the crown. They
passed law converting themselves from
land-holders to landowners. This gift
which they took from the people and
gave to themselves is splendid illustra-
ton of bouorgeolsie benefcence-"take
from the poor all they have and give
unto thyself." Capitalistic charity is a
much-favored topic on the tongues OF
those who believe that society would be
perfect but for our e1travagant consump-
ton of beer and our niggardly consump-
ton of bibles. Be not deceived by these
anti-aleohol, hymn chanting hypocrites.
Philanthropy is but wet blanket for
the preachers of the gospel of discomfort.
Bourgeosie Observation-Disclosures are
they that expect nothing for they are
always sure to get it." Eight years after
confscating the land, they abolished
payment of members of parliament.
The bourgeois soul abhorreth political
purity; so it substituted bribery for
the government of 1881 were uncertain
of obtaining majority in favor of con-
tinuing the war against America, Gl ,O0O,-
900 worth of stocks were distributed to
the members of the house of commons,
some of whom received as much as
EOS 900 In 1902 it was found that an
rual general elections brought members
before their constituencies with uncom-
Portable frequency. And in 1916 the
duration of parliament was extended
from one toseven years. Add to this
the establishment of standing army,
the introduction of the funding system,
and the numerous mischievous wars into
which onr ancestors were ensnared, and
for which their descendants have yet to
pay, and you have gratifying record of
the growth of British glory under bour-
geois rule.
During this time the social condition
of the people was becoming very much
worse. The introduction of machinery
was crushing out the craftsman, while
the seizure of the common lands was
making the agricultural laborer more and
more dependent upon the, capitalist
| farmer.
The appropriation of labor-saving ma
chinery by the bourgeoisie has had an
almost incalculable effect upon social de-
velopment. 1t las divided society into
two distinct classes, whose interests are
at war. There will never be peace or
social prosperity until that war ends with
the extinguishment of one Of the classes
Machinery is an apparatus for aiding
in the production of wealth, 1t is not
desirable for ITSELF but 1T is useful, as a
power which enables US to change
natural forces into products for use.A a
great invention, such as the steam en-
CINE, is not the outcome OF any one
great mans brain. The naked savage
! who first fashioned flint into a simple
tool gave a contribution, just as necessary
if less important, to progress as the labor
of Newton, Darwin or Marx, the in
vention of machinery being an outcome
of the progress of mankind as a whole
But the bourgeoisie have taken to them
selves that which rightfullv belongs to
all. and used it as a weapon to enslaye
the proletariat. Its effect has been to de
grade men into mefe instruments fol
creating surplus value to enrich capital
ism. 1t has taken women from THEN
domestic duties brought them to the