The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1886-08-19
Cooperative Industry.
BY C. S. GRIFFIN.
NO, \,


| cooperation, and if our government would
strive to carry out those same principles all
trouble from foreign paupcr labor might be
removed. When Congress enacted the pre-
cmption and homestead laws it made a noble
stride in the right direction, and it is quite
time to make another. Governments are gen
orally maintained for the good of the wealthy
few at the expense and to the disadvantage OF
the great majority, and this is well proven by
the fact that poverty, crime, misery and law
all accumulate together, and country has
more of them as it grows older, and the Oldest
the most. General prosperity seems to flourish
only under very Young governments. The
cause of poverty in every country has always
been aserbed to immigration and over popula-
ton, and this false doctoring still clings to
shallow minded people. Wherever all the real
estate and personal property is in the hands OF
a small minority of the people that country is
Immediately considered over-populated, no mat
ter whether it has a large or small population
compared with its area. Or in other words,
whether it has ten thousand acres to the indi-
vidual or only one acre to the individual
it is over populated if Il small minority of
the inhabitants own it all. No country ever
yet had SO dense population that its soil if
cultivated would not amply feed ten times as
many. Place three men on an area of ten
Thousand acres and then establish among them
a principle Of property by which the smartest
can make himself owner of it all, and imme-
diately We shall find it over populated. The
,,f Q
the other two to do all the work necessary to
supply his wants and feed and shelter the one
he hires, and the one not hired is over popu!a-
ton, and all over population in every country
has been produced on exactly this same prin-
cipc. 1t is therefore not over population but
monopoliZation that fills country with pau
perS and criminals and this being the fact, who
are the actual criminals. If one man owned
the whole state of Maine nine-tenths of its
present population would immediately become
the most miserable, depraved and unprinciplcd
bcgYars. The .jals woul,l be over-crowded and
the peace, and keep rioters. murderer> and
highway robbers in subsection, and every other
state in the union would enact stringent laws
to keep from their soil the pauper labor and
criminal classes of Maine, exactly rs we slun
similar people from other countries. The
puhlic mind i, beginning to view these matters
iii new light and it is time for Il change.
Rome and all other ancient nations fell when
the whole property got into the hands of the
few. The science of preserving national life
is the science of preserving the rights Of the
many, and this is especially true of Il republic.
A legal right of freedom with only the posses
>ion> of a bcggar is no right at all. The mean
est slavery is All Improvement on such free
dom. If Il few people in the United States
get possession of majority of all the wealth
in the country how much will it relieve the
situation by proving that these few cot all this
wealth by strict business prihcjpieS. How
they got it is of no consequence, If they are to
retain it, for their retaining it will ruin us, no
matter what kind or how many apologies they
offer upon their manner of getting it. When
all the earth, all machinery, means of travel
and means of employment have been turned
over to the few, either by law or otherwise. the
great majority of the people must be slaves,
pauperS and criminals. The fact is so well
settled that it needs no argument The qtlcs-
ton is can our government do anything that
will remove this impending danger: Under
the homestead laws an attempt was made to
gift. This was good as far as it Went but it ac-
compi>hed but little. The man who took one
of these farms, outside of the small fee for eX-
animation, survey and record. had to have con-
siderable capital. He must be able to move
himself and family out there to the farm, must
be able to buy team and tools sufficient to
cultivate it. and must be able to buy at least
SIN months provisions to keep him and family
until he could raise and sell IL crop. AS re-
suit men who actually needed assistance could
~ ,,-,,,l ,r.1,. Al.
the homestead law only helped those who We're
already well situated. What is wanted is help
for the helpless. When person has a family
Oh his hands and has 10 work, no money and
no credit, then he wants help, and if he cannot
have it he and his family are i'll danger of be-
coming bad citizens. and this alone ought to
demand relief even if we have no humanity in
the matter. Offering charity and pauper sup
plies is in itself debaSing and ought to be
tolerated only when such measures cannot be
improved upon. If a nation has right to de-
mand that all men shall stand by it in time of
need, so too has each man right to demand
that the nation shall stand by him in time of
need. In dull times when working people are
sorcly pressed they have frequently demanded
employment from the government, stating that
the government can afford to make public i'm
proyement> for the sake of giving them en-
ploymcnt. This, like the aims house, is better
than no relief but that is about all that can be
said in its favor. 1t is only temporary and
sooner or LATER m,1st bo n,il' for in t.ynS In
time of need each nerson wants relief tben n,1I
Mrrp and has n rirbt TO demand if Uo also
has a rioht TO demand that that relirf shali he
actual permanent and honorable. ond tbn
business of statesmen is to find th,t raiinf ~,
stem down and ont of offrn I claim tlot tha
Government can render this all and cam 40 if
without diticuItv or cynense and will nro-
cepd TO exnIau ono of thn w,vS in ,yhi.h If
can he done If should incornor,tn and eouin
co-oneratiye industries in ,lI tbo statas ,nI tar
as are hest sIitcI to Tho ,orio,s innaItias W.
should not evnet nnIon, to ;r
Maine or harvest irn in rioy,S 1,rou u,ooI in
Florida or cotton in Vermont w should or' "
meet each coIonv to hn n,,m;rnoJ fnn thot in
'luStrv best suitnL 70 IT, ionaIit,, anJ tIn"n in in
dustries not denen,lcut mon lnc,titv shonIL ho
stimulated in each Of thn coioniaS' Iamd for
each colony shonIJ he hnu~ht hy tbn ,rnvornl
mert. if if did no + own tbr Land -aIrnafy All
stock incJ,,linp live stocE hu;Lj;nv ,natari.is
tools far Mi thr ind,Istrios n hn arr;ad on
food and rIothns onou~h to s,,n,J tho ,lm, '',',
until tho noIony noni1 s,,n,Iir NE ,n,,i!,,
hc sIInnlied Inv thc wovernr,rnt ti'ha ,,,an,Inrs
of thr colony sboulI mt ~, NJ, hniII;nr,n sa,
ali machinery I,,;lJ MI fnno co.. ''I hri "II
soil nt thn eynonsn of tha roIornnnnt - r. az a.
wav thn coJdnists 1rnmI ooi, tho;, f1 - o,,'
clnfbin~ mill thnv romlJ nrad,na 4ha,o ANU All All
this i,Ior wonlI IJ ~, .,,t ."o,,t H.,
of tbe coonv and lilo tbo VIII ~ f thn 1,,L
cost of stock and ator;all - sho '. ni o rni
onnJ as the rnnt Of lonat;n,, +hn '.ain , " M
colony in conSiGer,tion Of 77b";r ;'sLt 70 a,in1
rote + shonlJ la nIIil,oI 70 ,.; ~ ~. " r.
~overnmnnt m"rt,,oto hoM1 al n"In IN " , enc
ertv of the colony SLiect to forn.iosnre VI