The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-03
THE LOGICAL END OF 1T.
The Present Disturbances Prove the Fallac,
of Agitators' Arguments.

OF AgitatOrS' arguments
''Gath's'' New York Letter.
We are told that by law wages ought to be
established. 1t is said that the laborer is enti-
tied to more than he now gets. and the asssump-
ton is made that this wage can be ascertained
exactly and can be made invariable, with the ex-
ception of the fact that it must be always rising.
1t can not only be wel!-ascertained wage,
which grows all the time, but it must be earned
by less labor than before. Eight hours is to be
the limit of all work, and if man wants to
take two hours more and work for himself or
sell his time to somebody else, he must be boy
cotted. But, suppose that a business does not
pay up to the standard wage. and that the pro-
prietor cannot get enough money to live himself
and pay the exact sum demanded for the eight
hours labor, where is he to get the rest of the
money! Why then he must shut up his place of
business. That is what all this labor foolery
will come to if it is pursued far enough individ-
ual men will stop employing people, and go to
work themselves, they and their wives and chill
dren; cook their own food. and have some indie
pendence, at least
Again, when a strike occurs on large rail-
road, lot of workingmen, who know nothing
whatever about the economical and financial
facts. and have no general capacity for reason
ing upon them, proceed to address the country
upon the fact that the railroad was watered,
blaI It's STOCK was OV6rlSSueu, etc. w nat nave
they got to do with that question? It does not
meet the crisis of the time, which is simply
question of wages How is agitation on the
stock watering matter going to benefit that
corps OF men who are on strike on that es-
pecial road2 If the road is illmanaged the pun
ishment lies there in the fact that it its Access
series are already in the hands of receiver ap-
pointed by court-a constable indeed-who is
running the property for other than the owners,
Instead of there being any occasion for fright
carfi oh Path 70 ha
welcomed as premature affrmationS of q general
series of fallacies During the past hundred
years number of ingenious men have endeav-
ored to solve the problem of idleness for man
without coming to any conclusions The near
est form of idleness, rather independence.
that any man can have is to go and get a little
piece OF ground and till 1T him
self and marry woman who will
cook for him. But there can be no eight hours
for that man or woman In all such conditions
of independence the hour for rising is the earli-
est dawn and the hour for knocking off work is
night. Few persons who are now upon strike
will stand life like that They want, idleness
with intercourse and are under the impression
that politics is going to give it to them. Nobody
is blind to the fact that these present labor
movements all converge upon politics. and mean,
through the ballot, to affect the laws and the
government In nearly every State in the Union
politicians and editors have been encouraging
fallacies of this kind, and now they will have to
meet them. They will probably endeavor to
throw upon the people, who are carrying the
country on by their brains and business knowl-
adge, the responsibility of meeting this issue.
There can be no doubt of the fact that these men
who have made this country, who promote these
great enterprises, and who have given employ
ment to tens of thousands will beat the poti-
clans on this question however they may pre-
varicate upon it. There can be no compromise
upon any mans right to employ or not to en-
ploy, using the general market for the standard
of what is right or wrong.
Many things have been at work in the United
States to demoralize the average plain and hum
BILE man. Beer-gardens, pool-roo,ns, concert
halls, ball-playing, education itself, have made
work more and more onerous, not to the body of
man, but to his mind It is the vagrant in the
mind rather than the burden on the back which
is destroying good many people who are out on
a strike. How to shake off to-day's duties and
play truant like boy from school tempts us
more or less from the beginning of our days.
Yet what boy ever played truant from school
who cheated anybody but HIMSELF The time
comes along and there is something he
failed to learn that day which is out of the sum
and utility of his life SO it is with q mans
daily labor. He may go through life as he likes,
but nothing will be so sweet at last as occupa
ton. A holiday now and then is good, and it is
all provided for by law. Singularly enough,
these very people who are declaiming against the
workingmans hours of occupation would take
from him his Sunday ALSO Men like Herr Most
and Schwab would have everything open on Sun
day, and how can these things be open unless
everybody worksl