The Labor enquirer., 1884-12-20

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Il has Just been decided that an inter
national conference Of Eonalizt os1sni-
sations will bs sheld in London lass IA
the spring It il likely that Gevmsny.
Rus.iA France. Spain. Belgium, 6vitsee-
land, Italy. aAd hope Amenca, viii b
represented.
This conference is happening ct time
when An industrial crisis will be At its
height. It's Of the utmost importance
for the advance Of our cause that the
conference should be large and represen-
tative. We ought to and will be decided
that the time has come for demxnd
that the economical slavery Of the rro-
ducers shall be the question upon which
the eyes Of the world shall be turned.
We must be determined that. the capi-
talist press and politicians shall clearly
SEQ that ! huge international or4aniza-
ton exists which is fully determined to
achieve theabolition Of private property,
-
The propaganda is steadily progressing
here. Arrangements for wide and vig-
orous agitation are being completed.
Among other features of the winters
work will be our action at conference
promoted by q bourgeois philanthropist.
An Edinburgh gentleman has paid the
expenses of conference to be held in
January, 1885, to consider the question Of
Industrial Remuneration Represen-
tatives from various societies which aim,
or think they aim, at curing the social
evils. will attend. The only society
which can properly be placed under the
first category, the Social Democratic
Federation, will send several speakers.
This conference will aid us very much,
as tis unlikely that the capitalist press
will be SO glaringly unjust as to exclude
the Socialist speeches from its columns.
NJ
The sources from which we can gather
suggestive hints for Socialist arguments
are not only numerous, but often very
curious. Here is quotation from the
fashion gossip column of ladies' news.
paper: Fashion has great deal to
answer fol in the way of happiness or
the absence of artificial
flowers from the bonnets and hats of our
elegantes means starvation to 10000 of
the best and most respectable of our
ouvrleres. Paris is the center of our arti-
fetal flower trade, and employs an i'm
mense number of girls whose taste and
whose nimble fingers turn out marvels of
taste and of delicate beauty. When the
tide turns and when ladies are tired of
velvet and feathers and birds, these
clever people win be busy again, hut
meanwhile fear many of them will
perish from sheer hunger. 1t only takes
a few sous to keep French woman
alive. so frugal is she and SO much does
she make out of nothing, but winter is
coming and fear great number will
drop out of their ranks before their trade
revives again. Here is an exceedingly
interesting dissertation on economies
from quite unexpected quarter. 1t is
brutally candid criticism Of society,
which might make some of our rulers
reflect, if they were only capable of such
an un-ruler like action. Our civiliza-
tion is SO beautifully and henefcently
regulated that the lives of $4,000 clever,
girls are made happy or mis-
erable, or are terminated, b, the caprice
OF fashionabl ladies. 1t would have
i s 5 r.
taken bourgeois economist long time
to find out the connection between the
prevalence of birds as fashionable adorn-
ments for ladies' hats and the destitution
of.S0 900 girls who are possessed Of taste
and nimble fingers, and many Of whom
will perish from sheer hunger"
-.
The French women must be a splendid
subject for capitalist exploitation. These
women however. are not even exploited; ];
they, with taste and nimble fingers, are
only used to deck the useless gaudy orna-
ments of society. whose taste is a matter
of dispute, if one is to judge from the
in which they adorn themselves.
In society which aimed at the happi-
ness of its members the nimble fingers
Of these girls might beemploYed in cloth
ing the shivering denizens of Paris who
are crying out for bread, and shelter from
the cold. But the rule in society under
capitalism is that the people may starve,
unless they are fit subjects for exploiting
capitalists to make surplus value out of,
or unless some luxuriously inclined peo-
pie want their boots cleaned or artificial
flowers to deck themselves.
49,. -.s=si ~ IT,.
William Morris has been lecturi ing in
Newcastle and Edinburgh, and will soon