The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-10-07
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WAGES.
AURORA, Oct. 2,

n R'hAi CNb- iOOO-
EDITOR PRESS: Somewhat in con-
firmation of things | have heretofore
written you, / desire to have you pub.
lish few extracts from the October
number of the North American Re
view. | do not commend them to
your intelligent readers as very COM
plimentary 10 our age, to our common
sense, to our country, to onr civiliza-
ton, or to the names most prominent
in our politics for the last quarter of
century. They are a reluctant con.
fession, however, of wonderful, inex-
cusable blindness, in a a most boastful
period of self styled political pro ress
They confess to quackery, falsehoods
and delusions, and to an absolute
want of preparation to meet the issues
now threatening public order and ra-
LiOual government. They enter plea
of guilty, and ask for mercy at the
hands of those who feel none, or are
destitute of surplus. But you will
not fluid room for all / could say on
the subject. Before saying more let
the Review enter its complaint.
"Five years ago, person who
wrote on the labor problem was often
criticised as one dealing with pro
duct of pure imagination. There is
no labor question:" WAS the ceaseless
| refrain of those WHO did not have eyes
| to see PHENOMENA transpiring all
about them aud 80 confident was the
| faith of some of the most prominent
among them in their own wisdom, so
lofty their cont tempt for any who pre-
sumed To hold different opiniou, that
their very arrogance carried conNic-
tion to many of our fellow citizens.
But the movement of social events
has proceeded with such surprising
and unexpected rapidity, that the be-
lief IN the eXistence of a labor prob
lem of Ominous proportions Is now as
unquestioned rs the succession of the
seasons.
"There is still, however, an almost
universal failure to understand the
nature of the various social questions
involved in the words, labor problem.
There is aud there oan be no panecea
for the ills of the body polite, and he
who comes forward with the claim
that he has discovered one must be
set down as uuack. The labor prob
lem is scarcely mole Lhan another
name for the larger half of that old,
mysterious problem of human life OH
earth, with which men have been bat
Ting for six thousand years, or more.
1t is not Ope problem, but many COM
priced under one teInl, simply for con.
venience. The enIIre life OF man, i'll
all his relations to his fellows, i3 in
volved and that includes-if the ex-
| !. all ,INI. hi t,,
himself, or his individual life. Thus
we come back to the starting point !;
we are dealing with the labor questien
with the problem of human life
Viewed from one standpoint. il is the
temperance question anQtner, the
family question; from u third, the
personal purity question 4; from a
fourth, the wages question; from h
fifth, the educational question from
a sixth, the international peace ques-
ton from u seventh. the tariff ques-
tion from an eighth, the municipal
administration question and SD on
through ths euIire list of question j
which concern the welfare OF human
society,""
Why the writer of the above, after
exhibiting so much sagacity and scope
to his tho.g hts, should have inserted
so many things in his list as compris-
ed in the labor question, the relevancy
of which it is not so easy to perceive,
and leave out the ballot question and
the African slavery question, is one of
the IN ysterioHs problems" he speaks
of He seems to overlook the immedi-
ate causes of the ominOus troubles go
suddenly projected into into the social
and political docket, or prefers, per-
haps, to evade them. He admits that
the present troubles have been unex-
peetedly thrust upon US, that few
fOresaW them more than five years
ago, and that some remedy must be
Immediately devised, or danger is very
imminent. 1t is to be regretted that
SO comprehensiv writer did not tell
us who or what thrust these questions
so tiercely upon society at this time.
The principal business of the people
of this country for the last twenty five
years has been saving the Union, and
giving the negro wages, and vote
supposed to be supremely great and
glorious measures.
1t would be blasphemy almost to in
innate that there was any blindness or