The Labor enquirer., 1884-04-26
WHAT WILL HE DO WITH TT

WHAT WILL HE DOwITH TT
81 The announcement is made. midst the
blowing of trumpets and the waving of
banners, that the house Of representa-
,tives has passed the bill providing for q
national bureau of labor statistics. 1t is
thought the bill will be passed by the
. senate. 4 hope it will Is :. HEll Z, i
But the question ARISES, if this is given
to the workingman lit is claimed the bill
is the result of his request), what will
he do with it? Far be it from me to at
tempt to throw cold water on. a single
effort of any branch of the labor agita-
ton, so long as the agitation is honest
in its pretenses of helping the working
I man. AS fully as l feel satisfied that the
condition of the producers will never be
benefited materially and permanently
by any and all the legislation which
they may be able to squeeze out under
our present system, yet i will not descry
the honest efforts of any man or class of
men to do good-or what they hon
estly think is good. But hope no earn
est advocate of industrial reform will be
blinded and led astray by this bureau
bill and kindred impotent measures.
There are too many labor papers which
are given to foundless sanguineness, and
are too ready to cry victory at the sur
render of worthless point or the cap
ture of spiked gun. The editors of
these papers are not all of that class !;
there are local labor leaders who are
effected with the same weakness. To all
these want to put very plain question
If the senate passes the bureau bill,
where will be the benefit in it to the
workingmen of this country? Let US
have plain, unequivocal answer to that
question. Talk about concession to the
demands of the labor organizations" is all
right, but it is not empty concessions"
we want but a fairer share of the
worlds goods-our products and the
gifts of nature. Will this bill accom-
plish that? Will perfectly tabulated
statement of the fall of water during the
past year bring rain to the droughty
fields of the farmer? Will scrupulously
kept birth statistics people the earth ?
Will the most reliable statement of the
condition of the poor which man can in
vent alleviate one iota of their poverty +;
will it soften the heart of the avaricious
capitalist; will it lessen the drudgerY
and misery of the toiling millions? l
think not.
If all these benefits were to accrue to
the despoiled producers by the passage
of this bill it had never received the
sanction of the lower house of the capi
talists' congress and if 1t has the least
appearance of that character, it will be
paralyzed by the house of lords. Who
does not know this?
When congress passes bill national
izing the land or one appropriating the
railroads with compensation, of course,)
or bill abolishing the national banks
and interest; or some one of that
complexion, then it will be time to re-
joice and look for relief through legisla-
ton. But because of the passage of an
act creating set of officers to accumu-
late the details of the workers condition
and classify it under appropriate head
ings, L can see no cause for rejoicing.
The people of this country need no
official statement" of the misery and
suffering consequent upon our present
systems of government; they know all
about it now, The reports" will not
loosen the sitting hold of the corpora
tion serpent, nor allay the hunger pangs
of the despoiled poor.
l say this in good faith, and without
the slightest desire to disparage the work
Of those conscientious men who have
champioped the bureau of statistics bill =.
and for their sake hope it will become a
law. But sincerely hope no man or
woman who has the true idea of the
competitive system and its baneful re-
suits will be blinded for a moment by
this bill and desist from the good work
of teaching the producers of the world
that there must be a complete revolu-
ton in social systems before the produe
GERS of earth receive that to which they
are entitled-the full product of their
labor.