Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1885-02-16

great for human virtue The postoffice, for |
example, is great government monopoly, |
but as it serves the people and not the class |
of officeholders exclusively, there is no par |
ticular prejudice against it. Mormonism, |
on the contrary is an example of a harmful |
monopoly, land monopoly, dangerous as
the power of a class against the welfare of |
the whole country. That there is danger of
large private corporations swallowing up
smaller ones to the possible injury of the
whole community no man will deny But |
put the evil where it belongs, in the abuses
of power which are possible in complex
civilization, and not where it does not be-
long upon the right of every man to earn
what he can and to keep what he can get. I
had written brief statement of the princi-
Piles upon which individual ownership of the
tools and capital of industry rest, but I
omit it as the time has not come in this
country when one need defend the right of
private ownership of property. Yet as
against the individual and harmful combina-
tions of individuals, the Socialist is not Who'll
ly wrong, although he strikes blindly at a
sacred principle, for no man has absolute
ownership Of anything in this world without
any limitations or obligations to his fellow
men. The State has rights of eminent do
main. And as against threatening combina-
tons of capital or harmful speculations,
corners, and class monopolies, society has
human rights, and the State may find legal
methods of self protection; and as for the
principal of competition. which is a natural
correlate of the right of private property
suffice it to say that it would be dull world
without it. Ambition may assume Satanic
forms, but emulation could conceive as ami
mating even the angelic hosts on their errand
of peace and good will. I challenge the as
sumption that competition is necessarily
evil, and that all modern business is conse-
quently based upon selfishness, and is de-
structive from its nature of justice and hui
manity. As Christian man do not believe
in any communistic heaven, in this world or
the world to come, where there shall be a con-
slant monotonyof song and every saint shall be
fed and surfeited out of government spoon.
AS a disciple of that manifest of men, who
went about doing good, [ believe in manly
heaven of manly service through the eternal
ages.
Now let me carry this endeavor to locate
social evils just one step further, and 1 shall
have done for to-day. We have seen thus
far that we cannot locate admitted evils or
threatening industrial dangers either in the
existence of capital, or in the right of indi-
vidual property and its cor1elate principle
of competition; but must find it in abuses of
these fundamental functions of organized
social life. Where then shall we find their
root and source? Take again that loaf of
bread.
Suppose certain men meet in grain-bro-
ker's office in Chicago. They are intelligent
| men. Sometimes they have been poor;
| sometimes they have been rich; but whether
| they are rich OF poor, every man who does
| business with them seems to become poorer
| for the contact with them. These men, a
| few of them, take counsel together. They
have a right to do SO. But as the result of
| that meeting and counsel we will suppose
| the next day the price of wheat goes up, and
as result of that, in far off manufacturing
| village, some poor widow eats less bread her
| self thet she may have more to give to her
l fhInpC haya hnn1Onnn6
| There is wrong done, and as the Count in the
Saints Tragedy wanted to borrow halter
| for the merchant from his mules, would
| any generous friend of humanity like to see
| those men hoisted with their own petard.
| But keep to our analysis, and our endeavor
| to locate evil. 1t will never do in wild
wrath to seek to put dynamite under the
| whole arch and framework of justice, and
| blow up our own sky, for the sake of ami
| hilating wrong from the face of the earth.
| What is the last cause of that corner in
| wheat? Who has done this evil thing? Every
| man of you knows who has done it. 1t is
| the devil in men. 1t was Satanic greed in
| those mems hearts which did it. It was not
capital; it not the law of private
| property; it was not the princi-
pie of competition; it was the hard, reck-
| less, hellish selfshness in those mems
hearts from which proceeded their evil deed.
| Charge then the evil where it belongs. Lo-
| cate it finally in the lust of this world and
| the pride of life. Don't locate it upon the
| will of Almighty God, or the constitution of
| things, or in the law and order of society;
| but put it where it belongs i'll the selfish and
wicked hearts of men. These social lies are
| all of their father the devil. All; but the
| dreamers say, make your social laws and GUS
| toms right, and all these things shall disap-
pear, and there shall be no sin of man against
| his brother man. Yes; when I can make a
| bucket of muddy water pure simply by pour
| incr int hno ind ~
| it drop by drop. We have just glanced at
| what human selfishness will do in the Ex-
change. Let US be be fair Let us look all
around. Go into shop where men are at
work; can you remove any exaction or decep-
| ton which one man may practice upon an
other simply by making the workshop pleas
| snter! Can you keep that sub-contractor
| from petty, CALLING injustice simply
| by increasing his share of the business?
1 just supposed the Shylocks of the
grain market consulting together for their
| pound of flesh. But let me change q little
| the scene. There are number of men in
working dress met together They have a
| perfect right to do so. That iron clad con-
| tract which some of the coal companies have
| introduced, under which workmen
signed away their right to join labor unions,
| has been denounced by an employer of labor
as the beginning of species of white slave
ry. The State may yet have duty to per-
| form in declaring null and vsid any form of
contract in which the freedom of a man is
made part of the price. Labor organiZa-
| tons have rights, and they may yet have
| large and healthful uses. But suppose that
company of men, whatever may be their
provocation or temptation, determine to shut
| others out from free competition. Suppose that
on their part they attempt corner in labor.
What is the difference in principles do not
say what is the difference in the offense, for
l am not made judge and divider between
D,,k ,Ink Sc. 40:
pie between this corner and that? between all
combinations in any class high or low, by
which few seek to monopolizs
| anything on this earth for their pri-
vate gains Up and down through
| society, everywhere, in the Office and in the
shop, in the lordly mansion and the cheapest
hut, among us all, warning against our souls,
and making men slaves, l see rs the first
fount and principle of social wrong, the self
ishness, the greed, tho cruel lists of this
world. Next Sunday shall hope to con-
clude my subject by discussing some ways
and means of diminishing social evils and
wrongs While believing as Christian disci-
pie in an open and fair heaven above for all
who will, 1 shall in concluding abide by the
understanding which l had in the beginning,
and, in the name still of the Son of man, who
went about doing good, | shall inquire
further what may be done to improve the
condition of men upon this humming earth,
and to make present society better, fairer,
and happier.
close now with this final analysis, that
beneath all economic ills there lies in human
ity some moral wrong The ultimate trouble
is not that civilization has a money bag, and
that some one carries it; the difficulty was
and is the presence of Judas Iscariot upon
this earth. How to get lid of
the spirit of Judas Iscariot is the
final question of modern civilization.
The ultimate problem of human society upon
this earth is not, shall there be a money-bag,
and who shall carry it; but how shall we
Danish from among US the spirit of the be-
trayer of all manhood and all good?
/ Solid Comfort.
Every one likes to take solid comfort and it may
be enjoyed by everyone who keeps Kidney Wort in
the house and takes few doses at the first symp-