The Labor enquirer., 1885-03-07

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Following y ! synDpeis of lecture
delivered bv WiIIiam Rgwe;; IN New
York City, ! short time sincs, upon
mans relation to l.aA The notes 1ere
offered for publication IN Nsw York
labor paper, but weaS rejeeted because
they abore too hard "a religious super
stitloa and political coneerya yatism.n The
manuscript was the forwarded "a this
paper, which maintains II reputation
for finding 4room for syerybody:"
SuBJxcr - Mans inseperable relation
to the land, and his natural, inalienable
right to its use.
The relation of each person born into
the world, to the land; is that OF help
less, newborn child to its mother.
Man is the natural and highest devel-
oped product Of the land, and can no
more exist without ita use than can q
newborn babe exist without the use Of
/ its mothers breast.
And how it is that mankind have lost
sight Of this all-important truth. Or
rather, upto this time have failed to
discern it, is 4 problem NOT very encour-
aging to thinkers.
/ And vet in my opinion it is the basic
and all-important problem that must be
rightly solved. fully understood and cor
rectly reduced to practice. before any
considerable improvements of the con-
dition of suffering humanity can be ac-
complished.
Why is it that this overshadowing
problem has received so little attention
in the past? And why do not the
workers and thinkers of to-dav give 1t
the attention it demands Of them?
Is it not largely chargeable to our edu-
cational institutions or methods that are
handed down to us from generation to
generation, both political and religious,
that constitutes church and state, cramp,
Emystify and circumscribe our minds in
avery limited circle, by working on cur
fears and holding up to us the terrible
tortures that will be meted out to us by
their imaginary vengeftl God, if we
dare think and speak beyond the beaten
track and well-fxed boundaries of old
conservatism and its unscientific, uneco-
nomic, unendurable, demoralizing, op-
presslve institutions /?
| What have these twin sisters of OPP
preston done for humanity during the
10000 or more years of Paganism, and
Jewish predominence, or the nearly 1000
years of Christian existence?
/ Have they not fought science all along
the line from its earliest introduction to
the present time, and placed obstacles
in the way of obtaining reliable, useful
| knowledge? The very means that ma
ture has ordained to Danish superstition,
ignorance, poverty, violence, bloodshed,
wee and crime of every description
from the face of the earth, these brazen-
faced, self-constituted leaders; and teach
ers of old conservatism, have contin-
uously and persistently taughtthe useful
masses Of mankind, that their imaginary
vengeful God has created this earth and
appointed them his special agents to
teach mankind the will of God and the
fway to Heaven; and they took particu-
lar care that the lands were parceled out
to the kings, priests and their favor
ties, while they taught the people that
it was sinful for them to think how they
could make, themselves comfortable or
happy here but it was their highest
duty and very pleasing to God to think
how they could make themselves very
comfortable and happy after they were
dead, and in that way they have sue
lceeded too well. in keeping the useful
classes from considering and understand
ing their rights and duties, and thereby
throw off the cruel oppression that has
so long been put upon them by said
heartless leaders and teachers.
As the land is the only source from
which men can draw their means of
subsistence and supply their wants, and
as the land is the product of nature and
a free gift to the race, what right or
guarantee has any person to live at all,
if they have not the natural right to the
use Of as much land az is necessary to
supply their wants2
Much could be said in support Of the
above automatic statement, but if there
are any truths that are self-eyident, the
above, we think, belong to that category,
And we are satisfied to submit them to
4 the earnest consideration of all fair
i minded persons.
| "DAMN YOUR PoLITIcs.s
A shoulder Strike st the ssfTabor Nom
Csnformist.s which KRocks lncon-
sistcncy out In the First Round,