The Labor enquirer., 1884-07-05
IN AFTER YEARS. !.
How the Future Generations
Will Look Back With Won
der and Horror
At the Systems Of To-day
Whole World Playing at
Peg-Top.
written for THE Enquirer RER !

Written for THE ENoUIRER.1
From the Palestine Sunbeam, Jerusalem
June FL, Year of Messianism, 929. 4 31sfI
One of the officers in the department
of wealth recently died from exposur
and carelessness, at the early age of S3
| years. A curious manuscript found ii
| his effects has been handed ain to thi
Office. 1t contains letter received b,
| him when a small boy from his grand
father who then lived at Salema, oul
western capital which, it seems, wa!
built on the site of ancient Chicago
| The old gentleman actually saw the
conditions and incident of which he
wrote. No one can fully comprehend
the miserable customs and conditions Of
that time. We will make such extracts
as will be interesting. .e .->..- .'.-..
Those who do not understand such
terms as aristocratic, corporation, rail.
road, tramp, prison, slave, saloon,
church, etc., can refer to the recorder
who has several histories of that time.
The portion here given appears to be
an answer to inquiries regarding the old
city: ...
| salema, April 9, 2s5.
DEAR JOSHUA: l once spent several
days in Chicago in order to learn of the
very thing you have inquired about. A
city at that time was a strange and
ridiculous collection of people. 1t was
democratic but it was despotic. By a
strange process called competition the
wealth all belonged to those who per-
formed no labor. With few exceptions
the rest were either slaves or tramps. A
slave was person who could get moth
| ing but board and clothes for his labor.
1t was said that every slave could get to
be an employer if he saved what was
paid him, and not get board and clothes,
but very few did 50. Such opportunity
was called equality.
Employers lived on the wealth that
the slaves made over and above their
board and clothes. By hiring large
numbers of slaves an employer could
live in fine shape IAN American term).
Space was of great value. 1t would
seem strange to you, my child, to see a
large number of people living in one
room, and many such rooms one above
another. The people living in them
paid most of their wealth to a landlord
and did not have enough left to buy
food. Stranger still, the more people in
given space the more each paid the
landlord.
A landlord was man who had unac-
countably obtained the bulge (another
American term on space. He also lived
in fine shape.
The larger the city the funnier were
the customs Chicago, especially, was a
crowded den to many, and field for
action for few. 1t was a commercial
necessity and a social pestilence; it
would make one wealthy, it would make
one poor; it led to perfection, it tended
to barbarism.
walked through a park. AS the city
was gradually torn down and remodeled
the parks were abolished, for they re-
sembled what whole city is now. At
this time we can only guess what the
object was in making parks containing
flowers, trees, birds, animals, lakes, boats
beauty and freedom for tired women,
men and children to feast on one day
after toiling six in bad air.
saw strange turnout. 1t was an
English Hanson cab. Ar1stocratc
notions were gaming here and the better
but useless class hoped to equal good old
aristocratic Europe some day.
But how could the mere form of a
carriage bring titles? you ask. My
child, they must not be too sudden
The lower classes must be made familiar
with the shadow, and the best way is tc
exhibit foreign and strange vehicles with
footmen, uniforms, tassels, buckles anC
humbuggery, then they will more easily
submit to the substance with its sligh
addition of slavery.
next came to where a viaduct was
being built. A viaduct was an elevated
roadway over railroad tracks to enable
people to simultaneously cross the track'
land preserve their lives. The railroad
companies cared nothing for life, but th'
collective power of society was mor'
humane and was so dominant tina
nearly half the vladucts that wer
needed we're built at long intervals.
These viaducts were built by men witt
great heads. They had the brains whlcl
of course must rule in society. Thei
genius manifested itself in getting con
. tracts at very high figures, They did n
t part of the work nor hired any one else
s but sub-let the stone, wood and 1ro
! work to other contractors at very hig
figures, and these hired teams and me
at very low figures. Thus they realize
2 large profits and became the bette
e element.
a Once a crank was heard to say that
It i law of Illinois fixed a days work, g
k public works at eight hours. That la
3 2 was unanimously decided to be legel
: : dairy, utopian and Communistic. II
i. freemen of the pick and shovel, diggir
/. t great pits in the clay for the piers, wou