The Labor enquirer., 1884-02-02

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blame for it T? We know that man pos
l'sessing common sense would not cast
seed on bare rock and expect fruit
therefrom. But an enemy who knew
his intentions went ahead of him and
sprinkled a little clay on top of the
rock and deceived him. From the looks
on the surface everything appeared all
right to commence his work, but decep-
ton was close to him and he did not de-
tect it until it was too late. If he would
only dig down little into the soil he
would see at once his error and try an
other spot that would reward him for his
labor. Comparatively speaking, this is
what happened to the advice given to
the poor and despised cattle in the shape
of men, by brave, honest men who are
now pining and tortured in filthy pris-
ons for their honest efforts to redeem the
oppressed and establish justice on the
earth. In doing this he very often loses
his life-,he most precious gift of God to
man. He was deceived, like the hus-
bandman, planting his seed on the sur
face or hare rock. He thought to him
self: "These are men possessed of a
soul, will, and understanding; they
look the same as I do; they have the
same feelings in fact, they are rational
beings, yet they are suffering in the
midst of plenty will step in between
them and their enemies and try to make
them think as do, and by 80 doing i'm
prove their slavish condition" But the
enemy who knows his intentions went
ahead and in most instances succeeded
in battling the man of truth and patriot
ism. This the enemy does in more ways
than. one.
First and most dangerous is false train
ing of the young, telling them that if
they suffer thirst, hunger and cold, God
will give them the best place in Heaven.
Any one who believes different will suf-
fer eternal torment of damned souls and
Internal devils. Work, work, work ;
give, give, give-to the rich lord and tell
him, when he takes the last cent, the
last loaf of bread in your possession,
that you are sorry that you had not
more to give him. Then kneel down
and ask God to give you patience and
strength to earn more for the king
(brute) when he calls for it. In the
meantime suffer on it it is the position
and condition of life in which the Lord
of Heaven has placed you to fill.
Again, he will tell the foolish and
weak minded, beware OF the ranter who
Is coming after me he is foreigner, a
Socialist, traitor to the bible and Chris
tan religion. He is worse still he is a
superstitious papist, and Irish at that; be-
ware of him-he is here to overturn our
liberty, establish the papist religion in
this free American country ; beware of
him. The idea of foreigner coming
here and preaching liberty and equality
to an American citizen is absurd. B..
If this fails, and the honest and brave
man is making inroad on their hellish
doctrine, some old musty book is hunted
up that has laid on the shelves of some
sorehead for centuries, and point of
law is disco vered that he has sinned
! against. He is arrested, strung uplike a
dog or thrown into prison to die fifty
times over. Such is the death that many
American citizens are suffering now in
English prisons at this moment. Such is
the death that the humanitarian, Kra-
potkine, is now suffering in the prisons
France. Such is the death that manv
men and women have suffered in Russia.
Oh, compassionate and merciful Jesns
What crimes have those people COM
mitted, that they should suffer such cru
elites for speaking the truth ? To whom
shall we turn for justice or relief if not
to you? We cry aloud to you for mercy
and compassion, to open the hearts and
eyes of your people that they may see
and know how to discern their friends
from their enemies.
Thousands are suffering at this moment
the cruelest torments that hell can in
vent without cause. Can we do moth
ing for them but talk and write to the
press few lines now and then in their
behalf2 Have we courage to do for
them what they have done Tor US? No,
I have never yet seen such courage dis
played. But what can we do? Listen,
brother workingmen of the world, all of
you that are in societies throughout the
world, form into military companies,
spend one or two days in the month in
learning to drill, and when YOU have
learned that well, trust in God first, next
in 1000 rounds of ammunition. To have
revenge for the past I have probed to the
bottom remedy, VINDIcAToR.