The Labor enquirer., 1885-03-07

wv uuitCuy duu tuou Vic t1utn came Il
light that death was caused by starva
ton; and that the family also were ther,
nearly dead from starvation. The woman
was lying on bed with q newborn
babe, and nothing over them but q thir
quilt and no fire in the house. TIL,
neighbors were notified and food anG
fuel brought in, the man buried, and tn,
family put in tolerably comfortable cir
cumstances.
I need not give you the details of .
cigarmaker's family living two weeks OF
corn meal and water of laborer having
no wood OF coal in his house for thre,
days, during the coldest part of thil
winter, and the many, many cases O
destitution that hear about.
This is a glorious country of ours VIZ
ought to have more protection" from
the apauper" labor Of Europe. All, bul
these ~ ths times that make q tn1nsi
heart bieedl This IL the kind of civil
ization" that bleeds Revolutlonists and
makes human life cheap indeedl
And is there no remedy for all thii
misery and woe? / believe there is
Comrade Bray, of Pontiac, asked John
Swinton some tine ago to give us some
remedy for these social ills, and further
asks. "What is the ultimate2n When We
begin to discuss remedies we find thai
even those who have devoted lots o.
time to the study Of social science differ
as widely as the poles. /, too, believe
we ought to discuss remedies, but l dc
not forget that we are not all world
builders. The reason why we have not
made more rapid progress IN the con.
struction of a new social system is be.
cause 1t had first to be shown that in.
justice was done under the present one
1t is the work of some of our brightest
minds to pull down existing social insti-
tutions and remove the rottenness that
laws in their foundations. 1t is the work
ofothers to prepare new materials and
plans for the new structure. John Swim
toni destructionist He takes up his
intellectual hammer and smashes into
smithereens the social idols of to-day
HeIs doing a great good in showing up
the deplorable condition ofthings, There
are thousands, aye, millions, even in the
United States, who do not yet compre.
hend that things are in a deplorable
condition. Why, only short time ago,
| heard printer say, land one Of those
printers, too, who prates about printers
being "the most intelligent class OF
mechanics" that Capital has a right to
rule Labor" 1t is this kind Of cattle
who have the bHnd-staggers that must
be cured before any noticeable construct.
i've movement can bemade; and before
they can be treated for their blindness,
they must be made cognizant of the fact
that they are blind. Do you suppose the
great majority of the miners know'that
morally they havejust as much right to
the mines as those who call themselves
the mineowners Do the great majority
of working people yet know that they
have an equal right with the rich to the
gifts of natureP Manlfestly they do not,
and until they have some notion that
the present property system is wrong,
until their faith is shaken in the per
fectness of existing social institutions
there is plenty of room for such stingine
sarcasm, such bold denial of assumed
rights, such vigorous denunciations OF
social wrongs, such pithy, cutting, keen
and striking things as appear in John
Swinton's Paper every week. ] heartily
wish we had thousand just like it and
The ENQUIRER scattered throughout this
country. Show a man that he is being
wronged. and the way to right that
wrong is half learned. I know that
Comrade Bray is anxious to see some oi
his constructive ideas put into practice
A man who has been a social reforme1
for over fifty years and who has seen the
condition of the masses grow worse and
worse year by year instead of better may
welk feel impatient to see some social
structure reared that will guarantee to
tile laborer the fruits of his toll. But
then, "What is the ultimate p Tnat is
a pertinent question. 1t involves the
whole subject of social science. 1t might
be answered briefly: To establish justice
All! but how2 More pertinent still
Listen: For thousands of years men
have been ruled by government, ostensi
bly, for the purpose of preserving theil
rights. But they are, possiblS as fal
from their rights to-day as they evel
were. 1t. undoubtedly is q fact that
here is more misery and poverty in the
world to dav than there ever were be
fore; and yet the world never was be
fore so loaded down with wealth aEo
never was so much governed. Evidently
government has failed to accomplish
the object sought. May there not he
some truth in the charge that govern
ment is trick whereby the crafty ane
cunning absorb the substance of ths
honest and unshspicious And yet can
not see my way clear to the Anarchist,
ideal system of society in which govern
ment shall be eliminated entirely. !
hate government as much as anybody
but to look for the time when it will no