The Labor enquirer., 1884-07-12

tion and strife around "a We learne'
other and more bitter lessons; lesson
entirely ct variance with those of oa
youth, and the learning Of which almos
entirely destroyed our faith in humanit,
and public and private virtue. We found
that the earth was vast storehouse o
wealth; that millions Of people wer,
engaged in bringing it to light, and il
fitting it for the use of man but ",
found that the millions were held bach
from the enjoyment of this their natura
heritage by the constitutions and man
dates of the priviledged few, who wers
supported by the whole ORGANIZED forces
of the law and the government. We
found that every avenue leading to ar
honest competence was closed !, that the
road to fame and to distinction and
honor was not open to all alike thai
the path was beset with difficulties which
to many of us were insurmountable, and
that only those who could succeed IN
sitting their best feelings and noblesi
sentiments could hope to win the goal o.
their ambition. We discoyered that the
old and hackneyed adage Honesty is the
best policy" was an infamous lie; that
the policy of all who would be successful
was to achieve success by any and all
means in their power, and that honesty
in business was thing entirely un-
known; that commercial and all business
relations could only be carried on BY
trickery and fraud. We found that the
people of the earth were engaged in
perpetual and destructive warfare, and
that those who succumbed and were
beaten down and trampled to death in
the struggle received only the contempt
and abuse of the survivors. The cry
." To the yictors belong the spoilsn had
taken the place of The early command
ment, "Loye one another" 4.1.s es
All the teachings Of our childhood
days were disregarded with scorn. They
were good enough for children, but
totally inappiieable to the practical
ways of mature life. Instead of the
practice of pure morality we found on
all sides, open, debaslng influences at
work, sapping the life of our institutions
and the vigor of our manhood. That
which was looked upon as theft in one
individual was considered to be shrewd
business management and sagaclty in
another. He who stole loaf was re-
garded as dangerous criminal, and was
speedily incarcerated, while he who
stole $l,000,00o was considered in the
light of a benefactor of the race, and
was accorded privileges and honor
without stint. The business man who
became wealthy by flattering his Gus
toners, and ministering to their egotisn
and credulity, and playing upon their
fears; or by misrepresenting or adulter-
ating his goods, was found to be respected
and honored; and it was soon made
plain t. us that he who would not prosti-
tute his better self by any of the above
processes could never hope to achieve
success.
Another discovery we made. We
found that instead of labor being con-
sidered honorable and dignifying, it was
looked upon by the majority as curse
that the less labor man did the more
was he respected and the greater privi-
leges did he enjoy. We found that the
harder man labored, and the longer
time, the poorer was he paid, while
those who produced nothing received all
the benefits. We found that the very
laborers themselves were kept estranged
from one another by all the arts and
means which the ingenuity of their
masters could devise; that there was
little or no concert of action; that the
very nature of things conspired to keep
the laborers in continual warfare one
against another.
All these things we found, and many
more evils, which lack of space and time
will not now permit Of mention. Those
Of no r,bo oouv tbaSo a,,;lo ,,j .f,5;ol
their causes, found them to exist in the
accursed systems Of industry, politics
and government which now prevail, and
we saw that these must be radically
changed before justice and harmony
could be maintained. Competition,
usurY, profit, monopoly, all must be
swept away before these abuses can be
remedied. There is no use tinkering at
the present system, adding patch here
and looping off corner or excresence
there 1t has been weighed in the
balance of justice and found wanting.
1t is rotten to the very core; it defeats
the very ends which it is supposed to
sustain; it clogs the wheels of the car of
progress in its onward course toward the
perfection of human institutions. 1t
robs its victims of all that makes life
dear; it murders thousands of helpless
little ones every year, and drags the
mothers of the race through lives of
fear and shame to premature graves. It
is built upon a false foundation. and it
must sink into decay and oblivion.
Justice, and not greed must be the basis
of a civilization that would endure.
Charity, which expresses itself in aims
giving ia q cnrsa To the human race