The Labor enquirer., 1886-05-29
The REMEDY.
Do Not Kill Him; but Perform
the Function in a More
Scientific Manner.
The Doctrine that BlOOdshed Will
Redeem From Misery is Based
on a False Premise.
How Can Socialists Sympathize With
Those Who Prevent Hungry
Men From W0rking9

Men From WOrking'
For The Enquirer.
All social evils are the results of land
monopoly. Land being the source of
subsistence, whoever cannot have access
to land, will suffer for want of subsist-
ence.
No one has yet found fault with the
above proposition. Its truth Is self-evi-
dent. All violent acts are due to ignor-
ance of it, or else faith in some other
doctrine which is false.
People who advocate violence to help
reform, can see and attack. effects only,
1t is great mistake to conclude that
to show sympathy for workers we must
applaud all their acts.
have been blamed for critlcising the
words and deeds of social reformers who
have in view the same object that l have.
| am captious about the polish on the
guns, and uniform; or blame others
for shooting slugs while prefer bullets,
etc., etc.
In defense would say that the illus
trations do not fit the case. Ny friends
are throwing shells at high bluff, when
l am certain the enemy occupies a
thlcket in the valley they insist on
using cartridges that L know are blank
or they fire at non combatants who are
neutral. mention these things and am
called hypocritical.
must retain the right to say whenp
in my opinion, an agitator bases his ar
gument on false doctrine.
One writer uses an ingenious parable
about colony of geese.
Suddenly few fat geese conclude to
cease laying eggs or doing anything use
full. They compel others to work for
them. This has no parallel in society.
The monopolist must gain foothold
by undertaking some function which
all society demands shall be per-
formed. He must continue to perform
that service to hold his power, even
though his efforts are chiefly for his
own benefit.
The remedy is, not to kill him, but to
perform the function in more scientific
manner. Or, in the matter of land, he
must be pioneer, hold land in the only
manner considered prope: by all for its
proper use. When the land acquires
value then the wrong begins, and the
heirs are monopolsts. There are ex-
ceptons, slch as land grants, but the
pioneer embodies the popular excuse
for land wning.
Another writer says, of the Lake
Shore railway strikein Chicago: Here
we have fine exhibition Of tho unan-
unity existing between the governm ent
and the capitalistic class. Here was a
deliberate plan between the railway
officials and Governor Oglesby to force
the strikers into submission. No COM
mite of the strikers was invited, not q
single individual present to represent
labor. 1t was clearly a conspiracy
against labor and the lives of American
Sovereigns"
The impression given by this is that
the conspiracy was to actually compel
the strikers to work on the conspirator's
terms or be shot. 1t was plan to en-
slave them to work under the rod or gun.
This would be horrible crime, but it
was not contemplated. What the con-
spirators wanted was that the new men
should be allowed to go on. with the
switching unmolested by the strikers.
do not Justify the railway company
for not advancing wages, vet l see no
good that may come from misrepresent-
ing the matter.
How can the sympathies of Socialists
ever be with strikers who prevent other
hungry human beings from working2
The strikers wish to preserve the exist
ing order by getting their old places
back by force, and, getting them grow
conservative, ignoring the wants of
"scabs." The true Socialist knows moth.
Jig of distinction between scabs and
union men.
The same principle will apply to the
circular issued Just previous to the meet
ing in Chicago where the bomb was
thrown. 1t contained the following:
"Your masters sent out their blood
hounds-the police. They killed six ol
your brothers OF McCormick's this after.
noon, because they, like you, had the
courage to disobey the supreme will of
your bosses. They killed them because
they dared ask for the shortening Of the
hours of toll"
Here. too, the strikers tried to attack
the scabs and also McCormick's factory.
They did not demand possession of the
factory; they only desired the opportu-
nifty to live by being a wage slave Of
Mccormick. And yet the Anarchists
!, embraced such cause The police are
condemned because they protected one
group of slaves from the attack of an
other group of slaves.
Slaves, not to men, but to landlords.
If the principle that all unoccupied land
81 ould be accessible to labor and capita,
had been in force, no violence would
have been offered. Men would have
heen free to work for themselves or
others, or to cooperate.
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