The Labor enquirer., 1884-02-16
Privilege and Power Will For-
ever Thwart the Voters
Efforts.
A Man Who Comes With Proof
Of His Position, and
Wants
To Know How, # Not Through q
Revolution Of the Enslaved
Masses.
Fom John swinton's Paper.

Fom John swinton's Paper.
admire the bold, brilliant and wholly
original style of your paper, your expo
sition of the shams of so-called society,
your denunciation of the slave contract
system, and your telling blows against
monopoly and corruption; but I cannot
agree with you in your advocacy of po-
litical measures as q means for securing
to labor its rights and inheritance. Hay-
ing studied principles, we naturally next
devise methods for their application, not
because anything you or | can do indi-
yidually will prove to be solution Of
the problem, but because we are pro-
gressiye beings. Being all bound by
that law which knows no retrogression,
and as travellers have fixed and COM
mon destination, although pursuing diff
ferent roads, we gradually converge to-
ward one point-the perfection of the
laws which govern mankind.
In my humble opinion, it is not
through the ballot that we shall obtain
ljustice. The rank and file Of the people
may be honest and earnest enough. The
platform of the new party may be all
that we could desire, and the leaders en-
thusiastic and self-sacrifcing; but the
stake at issue is too large, the grip of the
present holders too powerful and their
interests too vast to permit of peaceful
forced change in this way. say forced
change, for a revolution through the bal
lot, if such could be effected, would nee
essarily he an overthrow of all the forces
of monopoly, fraud and general scoun-
drelism, and they would fight to the Bit
ter end to maintain their present priv
ileges and power. r..
Let US face the issue squarely, bravely.
Remember we not only have the weak
ness-I had almost said the deprayity-
of many in our own ranks to guard
against; for men will sell their birth
rights, even in this civilized age and
country, for less than a mess of pottage,
and all of your readers are fully conver-
SAINT with the legal trickery Of elections,
canvassing, etc. but we have openly ar
rayed against us the powers Of the world,
mostof the intelligence, all of the wealth,
and even law itself. The fact is we are
already disfranchised. The right to re-
dress our grievances through the ballot
has again and again been denied us. Is
not this true? Let the facts speak for
themselves. At the last congressional
election, held here, one of the candi-
dates, man esteemed by all classes,
scholar and man of talent, was placed
in nomination by the reform parties of
this city. Through political chicanery
large numbers of votes, cast legally and
honestly for him, were thrown out, and
he was in this manner defeated. The
stake being played for was too vast, the
interests of the party in power too great,
to allow such man to 60 to congress.
The ukase went forth: Let him be de-
feated and he was defeated, though large
numbers of free American citizens were
disfranchised. In No. IA of your paper
I find letter from resident of New
York, who informs you that of his own
knowledge forty-seven voters were dis
franchised there himself among the
number-in single district, at the re.
cent elections held in your city. Well
may you say, "Let this be looked into j"
and when you have looked into it end
found it to be the truth. what are you
going to do aboutit2 In the same num-
ber of your paper 1 find letter from
your correspondent at Albany, on "The
Kings of the Lobby" and "The way in
which the Devil runs the Empire State"
Yes, the devil, in the person of Barber
and his gang does run the Empire state,
and will run the Empire state, and those
who employ them will laugh to scorn
your attempts to dislodge them from
power. The shysters, thieves and scoun-
drels who infest the lobbies of your state,
and of this and every other state in the
union, know full well who has the power
and they know who will keep it. They
are but the creatures of the lordlings
who own them, but they do their dirty
work well.
1t is useless to talk of the ballot in
the face of the evidence which the Hunt
ington letters have brought to light Our
legislators, our Lawmakers, our very
tribunals of justice are bought over by
the enemy. We have to fight not only
existing political parties, but all existing
institutions. The question which should
be kept prominently before the people is
have or have L. not voice in the cleo
ton of the men who make the laws
which govern me and mine? If have,
why is not my vote counted as well when
deposited for the man of my choice2 IT
/ have not, what is t. { meaning of the
pbrase, Free Americon citizen?"
These are questions which you are
called upon to answer in common with
those whose wrongs you seek to redress.
If you can still say the ballot is an eff
fectual remedy, tell US how? If you still
insist that new party-a party OF pro-
gress-can have its being, live and Hour
ish in the face Of such evidence Of the
rascality of our masters, tell us how
Men are asking these questions now, and
it is quite time they were answered in q
satisfactory manner. VIM. HOLMES.
j CHICAGO. Jan. 80.