The Labor enquirer., 1885-03-07

were not there ever present In orr
memories the fact thst this very spsthy
h duo to the burden Of toll imposed BY
yourI task .masters, this very Ignorance
tho curse that thor action has imposed
upon the world, We should oftsn lose ali
heart, ccase from our unthanked toll.
and turn each to the fnrthersnce Of his
own selfish interests. Behind Us, how
ever, to cheer Us in our efforts and in.
spire Us against every obstacle, stands an
unsbakable conviction that the very stars
in their courses fkht beneath our ban
ner. Neither emperor nor millionaire
has power to put back human thonght.
nor check an indnstriA revolution once
begun. That industrial revolution We
now are living IN the midst Of. that very
revolution is now the parent, Of all our
woes, but that revolution will infallibly
work our emancipation. When cleo;
tricity shall have taken the place Of
steam, and manual labor. drug as it is
now in the markets of the world, shall
be an absolute superh6ity, what will our
lot be then? Debarred from nature's
stotehouse 1t the very time when 1t Is
yielding up its richest treasures. crowd
ing into the markets Of the world to sol
the only possession left Us, our labor
and finding that possession reckoned
worthless; jeered At BY yearly lessen
ing class rolling In luxuries till then un-
dreamed of, while we starvein our rags;
we shall be compelled to take the cour-
age of despair, and to wiring from a self
ish minority, for the good of all, that
civilization which mocks US by its very
afHuence. This we know must in anv
event be the final result. but we also rec
ognize that to stand idly by, committing
ourselves blindly to the hands of Fate,
is course which intellectual manhood
should blush to follow. To do this
would be TO insure long years of almost
universal ruin, eliminating of necessity
in frightful and bloody catastrophe.
In the words of great thinker, whose
voice commands attention in every cub
tured circle, the late John Stuart Miil
We recognize that "the future of man
kind will be gravelv imperilled, if great
questions are left to be fought over be-
tween ignorant change and ignorant
opposition to change" OF these words
who can doubt the wisdom? We are
living, whether in so1called free America
or in autocratic Germany under dy-
nasty of change. Economic considers
tions rule theIworld, let preachers and
rhetoricians pirate as they may, and the
question of bread and butter is always
the bottom question. For the wfsest
philosopher, as for the simplest artizan,
food, clothing and shelter are neces,
sarles deny them to him and the purest
'moralist will become robber, the great
est saint a murderer. Let any change
take place in our methods of procuring
these necessaries, and a corresponding
change in the structure of Society be.
comes an absolute necessity. Hitherto
this change has been entirely one-sided ;
machinery has forced us to Socialism in
production, it remains for US to complete
the harmonious change by instituting
Socialism in distribution. AT present
we are busy pouring new, and strongly
efferyescing wine into old and worn-out
bottles, with the proverblal result. As a
consequence we find society saturated
with a spirit of discomfort and insecurity,
hitherto unrecorded by history. A
house divided against itself we have
been told, is bound to fall, and society
distracted as ours is by internal dissen-
sions must lack stability. Every failure
in business, every strike and lockout,
every commercial panic shows how
wanting the present bourgeoisie rule is
in that solidity which characterized the
older civilizations, how speedily it is
declining to its fall, how slight an effort
is needed to overtime " it.
We have addressed ourselves princi-
pally to what is commonly known as the
working-class, but our remarks apply
with equal force to all but the favored
few, to whom this appears the best of all
possible worlds. You, business men,
you, member of any one of the learned
professions, into whose hands this COM
munication may chance to fall, ask your
self do you not feel insecurity every.
where in the air, is not black care
always sitting behind your shoulder
You inherited a business from your father,
can you say that this business will descend
from you, aid secure a certain provision
for your son?, You spend every day Of
your life among the wrecks of fortunes
and the news that some time-honored
business house has gone to the wall
scarcely provokes comment, though in
your fathers time it would have been q
nine days wonder. Where is your sense
of security, when your hfe's experience
lis that the big fish are swallowing the
little fish in constantly increasing num-
bers2 You gentlemen of the law and o.
the medical college, who are always cry
ing out that the professions are over
stocked, how do you regard your owr
future and that of your children, know
ing as youdo that it is the acknowledged