The Labor enquirer., 1885-02-14

lilion in De l6bof m&tket EhetoFio
- ahpttine down ~ over the countr!
and zour already deplorabls condition
thiestens to become Infinitely worse,
Many Of our weaker sisters hsye beel
driven by destitntion or enticed BY th'
wealthy libertane to lives Of shame unit
icompetition is great even among thos'
| who have adopted this loAthsome mean
Iof prolonging y miserable existence.
Hoods Song of the SHIRT and sBridgt
Of Slghs" will apply IS forclbly to-ds,
in America a. they did in England wher
they were first written.
Had we voice in the administration
of the government, and in framing oul
laws we would then be responsible to {
certain extent for our present condition
As it is, however, our hands are tied
and it cannot De thrown in our teeth
that our misery is of our own making
We are quite willing to allow oul
brothers the credit of doing the besl
they know how. We do not even ask
the privilege Of voting, although, until
the contrary is proven, we shall continue
to believe that we could WELD that dan,
gerous instrument "the ballot" with less
injury to ourselves than our brothers
haYe inflicted upon themselves and poor
womanhood by its use in the. past,
What we demand is simply justice. We
feel, We know, that justice is not done
us, We are psor, obscure. half-starved
sewing women, only few days removed
from destitution and death, should our
present precarious means of subsistence
be suddenly cut of. Yes, we have the
hardihood to proclaim to the world Il. e.,
if the gentlemen of the press to whom
we send this address will allow us the
space in their columns to do SOY that we
are the victims of an ubiquitous social
system"
With starvation threatening us at
every turn we cannot afford to mince
words, we must speak facts. If our
words are nnheeded and we, by force Of
circumstances are overwhelmed in the
vortex of misery that now threatens us,
we shall feel the cons ciousness Of haying
done our duty as American women in
recording our feeble protest.
If large number of our brothers, on.
whom God have pity, have become 50
beer bloated and whlskey sodden that
they are incapable Of reasoning out the
problems of the day, and if majority
of the balance have in their insane thirst
for gold become SO intensely selfish as
to be. content to sacrifice unprotected
women and children on the altar of COM
merce to the. almighty dollar, then it is
time that woman took up the cudgel in
her own defense.
Brothers, men, stop awhile and think.
Does the fact ever occur to you that
we are living in land of inexhaustible
natural resource. That there lie within
our borders in unstinted profusion all
the elements necessary to supply ten
times our population with all the neces-
saries and comforts of life!
DO you know, Eve do, that improved
machinery which in the bands ofselfsh
capitalists has thrown so many of you,
and us out Of employment and reduced
us to . state of beggafy and dependence,
if applied as anssarxiliary to our labor in
developing the natural resources would
supply us with more of the necessaries
and comforts of life than we could pos
sibly use?
Do you know 1--WE do), that, under the
present system Of society and govern
ment, the land, the basis of all wealth,
is drifting into the hands of monopo-
lists (many of whom are foreign capital
ists) and that they are holding it for the
purpose of enslaving the present and
future generations as has been done in
Ireland and other portions of Europe?
Do you know 1--WE do), that they who
possess the land, the tools of production
and distribution hold in their hands the
lives and destiny of the nation, and can
decree whether we shall have an abun-
dance or whether we shall starve?
These being simple, indisputable scien-
tific facts, we ask in the name of God
and humanity, why should we who are
willing to work be deprived of the oppor-
,tunitY' to supply our needs, nature and
science having placed the means at our
disposal? Is it not clear to you that it
is only the selfshness of man that debars
us from enjoying the fruits that our
birthright as free born American men
and women entities us to-?
We have no issue with the store
keeper or our immediate employers; the
latter we regard as necessary evil OF
the present system; as slave drivers
whose business it is to obtain
from us ..as much labor as possible
for the lowest remuneration. The
storekeeper is a victim of the
same accursed system of competition