The Labor enquirer., 1886-12-18

petent, for the division of labor now
adopted has increased each ones special
skill and added to his power of produc.
ton; not that we are drunkards, for the
amount of liquor consumed among mem.
bers of our industry is far less than that
which is consumed among the gamblers
of Wall street. Neither is our condi-
ton due to an insufficient amount OF
capital to keep the wheels of industry
in motion, nor has nature been mig
gardly in her bounty. But this bond
age has been imposed upon US because
| we have too long neglected the first
principle of social progress-organlza "a
ton; and also because we have been
governed in our search after knowledge
more by that craving after sensational
Ism to which our newspapers cater than
any application of our own inherent
common sense to matters of every day
life.
knowledge is power, it is true, but it
depends on the kind of knowledge we
acquire-whether this knowledge shall
be for our own benefit or for the further
aggrandisement of our masters. The
knowledge of prize fights, horse races,
Yacht races. murder, suicide, divorce
and all the follies and foibles of the p 90.
pie in general and the rich in particular
cannot better our condition; neither
can technical education" nor the
knowledge that comes from the mech
anical and scientific literature of our in,
dustry. In spite of these the conditions
of slow but sure deprivation of our
rights must become more inten 81 fed 80
long as We are compelled to work for in
dustrial barons And yet there is no
dearth of proposed remedies, for even
our masters have volunteered to furnish
the panaceas that will cure the ills
which they themselves have inflicted.
One Of their remedies ls mono N etaism,
with gold as the unit of value; but
would it be any more. consoling to
ourselves to have the opportunity
to carry gold instead of paper from
one set of lords to another set Of lords?
And again, there are phianthropists
who would solve the problem with BIZ
metalism, or union of gold and silver
as standards of value, with which we,
being commodities in the market, have
no concern. But there are none of these
self-styled benefactors who dare to dis
cuss the real standard of value-the
hour of useful labor-for on that basis
of exchange they could not become mo-
nopolists, and would, therefore, nave to
contribute just share of value for the
value which they receive.
And we have the free-trader with his
crv for the worlds market"
Without going into an analysis of
their arguments, to which the abstract
truths contained in the principle of real
free trade, lend themselves as cloak, l
will merely call attention to the fact that
England has had the practical expert
ence of the free trade which they advo-
cate for the last forty years with the
same result to the workers, as the sYs-
tenn of so called protection has had upon
the workers of this country. In fact the
worlds market" is but an extension Of
the industrial war 1t is the internaton-
alization of competition it is to inten
sify the fratricidal war, the bulletins of
whose victories are the mortality col
umns of the bureaus Of vital statistics,
wherein the disparity between the aver
age death rates of the gentlemen of leis-
ure at IS years, and the brakemen and
telegraph operators at % years bear wit
ness to the cold blooded slaughter which
the moneY-kings would unhesitatinglY
aggravats If it but increased their
boards
That which is wrong in these ques-
tions of social adjustment, be they polit-
ical or industrial, is not the character Of
kings or monopolists, but that they
should be at the mercy or whim Of
king by the grace of God or king by
the grace of gold.
Let US not, then, be misled bv any
side issues that may be raised by our
masters to attract us from the real issue,
which is:
The organisation Of labor on such
basis that it may, when opportunity Of
fers or necessity compels. assume the
MANAGEMENT of the industries Of the
country on a cooperative basis, and
whereby there shall be science in pro-
due ion, justice in distribution and
abundance for consumption. Having,
then, an abiding faith among the rank
and file of the workers themselves We
shall find those who are &b!e and will
ing to push forward the grand work, l
now relinquish the position to which
duty has called me, and request that you
inaugurate this initial step Of ours to-
wards the organization of our own in
dustry by nominating whom you wish
to serve as chairman of this convention.
Farewell Words.
I'LL. Sollo-;11 oomnu1io,ti0p from