The Labor enquirer., 1884-11-22

which its gambling gains "a much de-
pend, stripping the countryside of its
population. and extiDgulshiAg all reas-
sonable hope and life in the lesser
towns.
Nor can /, an artist, think lastior least
of the outward effects which betoken
this rule Of the wretehed anarchy Of
Commercial war. Think Of the spread
ing sore of London swallowing up with
its loathsomeness field and wood and
heath without mercy and without hope
mocking our feeble efforts to deal even
with its minor evils of smoke-laden sky
and befouled river. The black horror
and reckless squalor of our manufacture
ing districts, so dreadful to the senses
which are unused to them, that it is
ominous forthe future of the race that
any man can live among It in tolerable
cheerfulness. Nay in the open country
itself the thrusting aside BY miserable
ierry-built brick and slate of the solid
grey dwellings that are still scattered
about, fit emblems in their cherry but
beautiful simplicity of the ,yeoman of
the English field, whose destruction at
the hands of pet young Commercial war
was lamented so touchingiy by the high.
minded More and the valiant Lamiter.
Everywhere in short the change from
old to new involving one certainty,
whatever else may be doubtful, a wors-
ening of the aspect of the country,
This is the condition of England, of
England the country of order, peace
and stability, the land of common sense
and practieality the country to which
all eyes are turned of those whose hope
is for the continuance and perfection of
modern progress. There are countries
in Europe whose aspect is not so ruined
outwardly, though they may have
less of material prosperity, less wide
spread middle-class wealth to balance
the squalor and disgrace l haye men
toned; but if they are members of the
great Commercial whole, through the
same mill they have got to go, unless
something should happen to turn aside
the triumphant march of War Com
mercial before it reaches the end.
That is what three centuries of Com
nerce have brought that hope to which
sprung up when feudalism began to fall
to pieces. What can give us the. day
spring of new hope? What, save a
general revolt against the tyranny of
Commercial War? The palliatives over
which many worthy people are busying
themselves now are useless; because
they are but unor1anized partial revolt
against vast, wide-spreading, grasping
which will. with the uncon-
scious instinct of a plant, meet every at
tempt at bettering the condition of the
people with an attack on fresh side !;
new machines, new markets, wholesale
emigration, the revival of grOvelling su-
perstltions, preachment of thrift to lack
alls, of temperance to the wretched !;
such things as these will battle at every
turn all partial revolts against the mon
ster we of the middle classes have Gre
ated for our own undoing.
l will speak quite plainly on this mat
ter, though l must say an ugly word in
the end if l am to say what think.
The one thing to be done is to set people
far and wide to think it possible to raise
the standard Of life. If you think of it,
you will see clearly that this means STIR
ring up general discomfort.
And now, to illustrate that, l turn back
to my blended claim for Art and Labor,
that may deal with the third clause in
it here is the claim again:
1t is right and necessary that all men
should have WORK to do.
First, Work worm doing.
Second, work of itself pleasant to do.
Third, work done under such condi-
tlons as would make it neither over wea-
risome nor over anxious.
With the first and second clauses,
which are very nearly related to each
other. l haye tried to deal already.
They are, as it were, the soul of the
claim for proper labor; the third clause
is the body without which that soul can
not exist. l will extend 1t in this way,
which will indeed partly carry us over
grou ound already covered:
No one who is willing to work should
ever fear want of such employment as
would earn for him all due necessaries OF
mind and body.
All due necessaries-what are the due
necessaries for good citizen
First, honorable and fitting work; which
would involve giving him chance OF
gaining capacity for his work by due
education; also, as the work must be
worth doing and pleasant to do, it will
be found necessary to this end that his
position he so assured to him that he
cannot be compelled to do useless work,
or work in which he cannot take pleas.
ure.
The second necessity is decency of sur
roundings; including (al good lodging
(b) ample space; (c) general order and
beauty. That is (a) our houses must be
we'll built, clean and healthy : (b) there
must be abundant garden space in our
towns, and our towns must not eat up