The Labor enquirer., 1884-12-27

20 moro right . own Than N indi-
vidual has to own q aere. I
a|
Henry George Is said 10 have made =
speech on the alabor question: / have
not seen it yet. but vim send some notes
on it,
=. s
Henry George says God made the
land and gave it to man, therefore the
landlords have no right to take 1t away.
That is avery good argument; but here
| ish better. Men made the capital for
themselves and didn't eet it from any
body. Therefore tho capitalists have no
right to steal what other men earned.
criticise Henry George because be-
lieye he is . resctionist. Some people
think Socialists should support him be-
cause he goes $50 farp with Us. But the
great gulf which separates Socialists
from HsnfY George is that he wants to
improve the wages system, while they
want to abolish it.
~
The Reverend Alexander Webster, q
very popular Scotch clergyman. declared
| in lecture recently delivered at Aber-
deem that ''the wealth produced by the
laborer Is immediately snatched from
him by the grasping hand of the.capital-
ist, and there ls no hope Of the laborer
getting justice without revolution"
~
Thereis evidence of an approaching
period of extraordinary distress in this
country. The Clyde ship building trade
is now almost gone, and cannot be per-
manently revived by anything less than
an entire revolution in the construction
or material of shipping. The great activ.
lity on the Clyde was cansed by the sub
stitution of iron for wooden ships. The
engineers will, believe. be very slack
for good while to come. The building
trade cannot continue fourishlng, owing
to the great over-production of houses.
The most likely circumstance which will
staye off rising among the workers
viii be that they get into the hands of
some party which will reorganize the
navy, and set works on for the improve
ment or perhaps the further fortifcation
of the country. In any case it is clear
that England's great markets all over
the world are fast fading from her, and
that she cannot hope to continue as
hitherto, finding other countries and
races to purchase her products. When
Britain has only herself to look after, !
believe she will do it well.
The political journals are now turning
their attention 10 the condition of the
working man. The function Of the upper
class to act the benefactor to the work
ing man" Is now being suggested. Thus
discourseth the Standard 'There is no
feeling sets him (the. workingman) Sol
much against the rich as the notion that
| they care nothing about him. Once con-
vince him that this grievance is imagln-l
ary, and that the aristocrats of both
wealth and talent are deeply interested
in his wants and fully recognize thetjus-l
ltice of his claims, and half the dangers
which seem to threaten English society
woald Immediately disappear" The
Standard must be fool Surely it does
not really believe that the workers are
unhappy just because the rich class do not
smile upon them. Poor, unhappy worker! !!
are you ve1ed because the ''aristocracv
of birth and talent" do not pat you on
the back, and caress you and sympathize
with you. Or, perhaps the Standard is
having joke at the servile creatures
who make the wealth its proprietors
have stolen There may be in this para
graph after all a secl ct message from the
Standard to the commercial class upon
Iwhom the Standard relies; message of
exultation at the depravity of the work
ers, who having submitted 70 being rob-
bed, will be quite satisfied if only the
robbers will be civil. =.a
~
The new manifesto of the Social Demo-
cratic Federation has just been APP
proved. 1t will be printed IN the Janu--
airy issue of "To- Day" under the title OF
"The meaning of Socialism,
***s ~+ =
At the forthcoming International con-
ference in London some attempt should
be made to unite the Socialist societies
of all countries in an international
Socialist, Union" The advantages of
snch federation would be very great
indeed. -
'-+ Ess *x* -s
The corrupt state of society is injecting
| even the poets. Poets should be, and
ftrue poets always are with the people.
When poet goes beyond the ideaof his
time, it is proof of his genius. When
he lags behind his claims to the name OF
poet is questionable. The public gene
rallv will sustain the claims, if only the
alleged poet can rhyme, in no matter
Ehow mad manner. But a poets work
does not merely consist of writing lines
with ;ino,inq ends. and future ages will