Morning journal and courier., 1886-05-17
LABOR LYCEUnI TALKS.

An Address Last Evening by Rev. 1T. R.
 Bacon on Some of the Uses of Govern
 ment.
 Porter O. Moulton presided at the meeting of the "Labor Lyceumh at Loomis' Temple of Music last night. He stated the object of the meetings of which this was the first to be "the diffusion of knowledge of the rela- tion of capital and labor and the promotion of respect for their just demands" and that the association would continue it's meetings as often as desirable. and that membership would be limited, also that they did not pro pose to grind any axes either politically or otherwise. The gentleman then introduced the Rev. Thomas R. Bacon, who entertained the audience, composed of less than one nun m dred men, with an able address, selecting for his subject "Some of the Uses of Govern ment" In the course of his remarks MT.
 Bacon said: I come before you to speak up on the uses of government. have not
 made political economy study as some have done but will do the best can with the
 questions of the times. The solutions ot these questions must be made by ourselves. We must reach our own conclusions and not leave them to few great men ot the day That government has uses cannot be denied, and living as we do under the
 best government in the world we cannot ar- ford to adopt any other. There are govern ments which are poor, and to my mind the Russian government is the poorest and worst in this world It is full of tyranny, oppres- sion and misrule. They have turned their thoughts and their aims in one direction and
 have worked heroically to accomplish it. The speaker alluded to the bomb throwing in Chicago recently a. one of the results of such government, and said anarchy in this land 1 is a long way of.
 After speaking of the force we require to keep us good under our form of government I 4Iaf foa% hat oil l the earth. and as there is a billion of us we | cannot all have it. If Jay Gould got the l whole earth he would not be satisfied. He | would stretch out to take in the planets as l we'll. Can man who gains so much gain 1t truthfully and honestlys With these great 1 except by plodding. The question is what l kind of government do we need. The voice of the people in this land will decide the form of government we will have in the future. Socialists believe the government l shall be everything that is good, Anarchists any conception can be. The out and out Socialists want democracy to rule the gov l ernment. They want to run Dor, direct labor, wages for labor, and the more govern | ment the less liberty. Measures have been l passed by our government which are distinct ly socialistic. Its postoffice is run upon that plan. It employs it's own help, determines l what pay they shall receive and prohibits
 private postofGces. Our public schools, of
 which we are proud, are operated upon
 socialistic plan. French logical govern | ments have been tried and fell through HerbertSpencer claims that man existed before
 government and that government came from
 man, Educational work must continue te
 teach us to respect one another, and the
 progress which the race demands will pro | duce such virtues as constitute our govern | ment. The schoolmaster who teaches his
 boys how to make money is not the best in structor. He is the best who teaches his
 boys to grow up to be upright, virtuous
 honest and good to one another and willing
 to maintain his own rights and the uses Of z l yood government.