The Labor enquirer., 1884-07-19
DENVER, coIoRADo SATURDAY.. JULY ls 1884

Ewayesn amer he has strayed from the
path Of virtue Is another outcome y
lphilanthropic sympathy and stupidity.
Tho children whom it i alleged these
lins1tutions beneat are born into . con-
dition Of squalor which stunts their
physical growth and reared amid sqrs
roundinp which implant in their minds
| 9 vicious moral tendency. When they
have gained sufficient cunning to imbibA
burglarious or peculative tendencies. and
sufficient strength to put them = prac-
tical use, their Juvenile tsansgressions
earn q home for them, afer few years
residence in which thsS arc again cast
adrit, and the current Of capialistic
tyranny carries the greatest portion Of
them back among their former associates,
and . small number Of them among the
workers whose exertions provide an
honest living for themselves and dis
honest one for their exploiters
We find another instance Of unen-
liahtened goodness inlthe efforts made
by these people to reclaim prostitutes.
Prostitution is q necessary accompani-
ment Of civilization under the rule of
the bourgeoisie. The philanthropists
who tinker with the silly cures never
think of searching for the cause. A
glance at the manner in which large
number Of girls are reared and the cir
cumstances into which they are after
wards forced soon accounts for the moral
deprayity without which they could
never adopt the life they afterwards
follow. Childhood finds them in un-
clean and over-crowded dwellings with
drunkards, thieves and vagabonds, (all
tile product of our present competitive
SYSTEM, for associates. Womanhood
finds them working from nine to four
teen hours per day in factory, shop, or
as in some places in England, at the
forge. Their wages vary from SLIPS to
$a per week. Their lives are one monot-
onous course Of continual toll for the en-
richment Of the bourgeoisie.
Is 1T much wonder that morality is
discarded; that self-respect is vanished2 ?
What have they to live for? No pros
pect Of future happiness entices them to
carry on the bitter struggle against iron
laws of society, for them the dark cloud
has no silver lining; the sunbeams of
love and hope will never shed their ra-
dance over the dreary path in life which
they must tread. Fleeting Joy holds out
its hand, and in the words Of Shelley,
these unfortunate victims of bourgeoisie
brutality
Are bought and sold as in a public.mart o
OF undisgnised selfishness, that sets
On each Its price, the stamp-mark Of her
reign, - .-.t :.
Even love is sold The solace of all woe
Is turned to deadliest agony old age #
Shivers in selfish beauty's loathing arms,
And Youths corrupted impulses prepare
A life OF horror, from the blighting bane
Of commerce; whilst the pestilence that
springs 50"
From unenjoying sensualism has filled
All human life with hydra-headed woes, H
! When realize the magnitude of hu-
man misery | cannot repress an express
sion of contempt for the crazy philan-,
thropists who imagine that their .,puny
playing with social problems, will
breathe new life into system which is
rotten to the core, and whose own in.
fanny is fast hurting it to destruction.
If we want to better the material and
moral condition of mankind, we must
proceed to investigate thoroughly the
cause of their misery and not attempt
to apply cures before we understand the
nature of the disease. Sympathy must
be guided by science; we will demand
and deal out justice. If we depart from
Justice let it be in the direction of gem
erosity. This much is clear: Philan-
thropic reformers will not raise the prole-
tariat from the gutter of social life.
Let us pass on to an examination OF
the position of the political reformer.
There Is no class of men whom / detest
and despise more than politicians. OF
course there are few who are sincere,
truthful and honest but they can be
counted. on ones fingers, and the treat
ment which they receive from their
fellows only serves to display in more
lurid light, the deception and trickery
which peryades the system. Parliament
is nothing more than a mutual admlra7
ton and recrimination society constl--
tuted in manner that insures the
return of all the hobbies and humbugs
in the nation, and at the same time
renders the return of a proletarian rep
resentative. impossible. Itisin reality
ring of capitalists, landowners, bankers,
bondholders, stock exchange swindlers,
lawyers and merchant princes. In a
word the bourgeoisie, who hold nature
as private property, completely control
political power 70
The different parties in parliament
befool the people with mock warfare.
Conservatives and liberals struggle for
supremacy, but it matters little to the
proletarlat which party is in power.
Both liberals and conservatives might
earn reputation for straightforwardness
if they would inscribe the motto on their
banner suggested by the editor of Truth.