The Labor enquirer., 1885-04-25
Of my travels, and my experience while
;.s,s s.:ss Il e ID. le s.,.s -
the sactsl and fpnhcSl apeitioi ds


races are divided into a great many diff
Iferents dsses, the sspes,a ,anllly
being determined by lnf fifHi4'
wealth and the Sdcial HandihEs ds sthel
people is not determined by superior
ity of brains or skill, but by their riches.
There is, first Of all, what are termed
fhe nobility, certain fsalthL ands4iyi-
legged PERSONS who have Inherited vast
estates from theiK aaneesto | Whos M
their turn, received these lands from
their royal m,stera i4I paymenttbr Rfs
vices rendered in the wars, or as was
more frequenAyI the case, stole ths aands
from others, and were made noble by
decree of the soyereignes hi Further rel
ward. These people regard all labor as
beneath them, ,tand look npohtths dabof4
ers as inferior beings, whose duty it is
to work fol them-the lords and to
yield up all their earnings, and who are
entitled onlyto the coarsest Kinds of
food and the poorest shelter. They
even regard with contempt other rich
men who cannot boast 9 title, and will
not allow their children to marry into
the families of any but those of9their
own rank. These people, however, do
not exist in America, bute in theirstead
there is race of very rich people who
ape all the manners oflthe nobility, and
who are equally indlsposed. to do any
kind of useful 1abor0 o These people are,
many of them, descendants of poor men,
and some Of them were VERY poor Them
selves early in life, but have become
possessed iof great wealth BY systematic
robbery and high handed;injustice ;,and
they also affect to look down > with stu-
preme contempt upon, the working peo-
pie, from whose ranks they sprang.
TBelowtohis class are the 'Ivsil-tosdo
trades people and middle men, who,
while5 worshipp1ng the5 wealth they
covet, and who are very obsequious to
their moreJ lucky neighbors, never 40
any work and also regard all labor
and iaborers with GREAT contempN And
thus this grading of the classes might
90 on, until we reach the class who
do all the labor and have little or
nothing to show : for 1T, and even
they look down upon their more unforI
tunate brethren, the outcasts of society,
the beggarsl and tramps, and consider
them far below them in the social plane.
etThis is all the result of that curse of
the earth, the custom of holding private
property, which, I believe, to be the di-
rect cause of nearly all the crime and
suffering there. It lisa breeder Of envy,
malice, hate and the worst crimes. and
is direct incentive to robbery, misrep-
resentation and fraud. -....
"a very curious custom of these people
is that in relation to marriages. The
young girls are, for the most part,
brought to regard marriage as the chief
aim of their existence and when girl
arrives at manageable age, all sorts of
schemes are resorted to. in order to cap
ture husband having wealth and social
position ). even the parents lending their
assistance, and STOPPING to the meanest
and most contemplate measures to bring
about the desired end. The girls are
trctted out at the fashionable watering
places, or brought out into society in the
large cities, much in the same way as
they would show. off a horse or piece
of goods exposed for sale in their mar
kets-and, in fact, their marriages are
little bettert than trades, and when once
welded the woman finds her identity
entirely buried in that of her husband.
She cannot even retain her name, but
takes that of the man, and is supposed
to yield to him in everything. She is
absolutely his slave, and he may outrage
her at his pleasure, and, in some coun-
tries, may even beat her and otherwise
illtreat her.
"When couple are about to get mar
| ried the services of third party are
necessary to perform the ceremony, so as
to make the transaction legal. Other
wise, it is not considered 4 bona fide
marriage. This third party mutters a
lot of gibberish over the young couple
about the duties of each to the other
as if they did not already know what
their duties were-and after enjoining
upon the woman, to obey the man in all
things proneunees them man and wife,
for which service he is, of course, paid a
sum more or less large, according to the
wealth of the principal parties to the
transaction. If, after living together for
some time the wife or husband can
show just cause for a separation they
must again call in another person, who
is called a lawyer, and who separates
them for another handsome fee-for no
one will do anything on earth without
receiving pay. Thus, you see, even-the
most sacred of all things, the marriage
relation, is made dreadful burlesque a
matter of trade and profit
"1tis generally conceds "a the woman,
before marriage, must be absolutely
chaste and pure. This is demanded not
only by the husband, but by society
generally Mott 50, however with the
man. He is allowed the fullest license
before marriage, and maS,ao to any Ak
treme, even 50 far as to ruin other vir-
tuous women oSnrn whose love ihej has Won.
All this does not prevent him from being