The Labor enquirer., 1886-02-27
.LoRD. THINK rHEE," ETC.

An officer of the Chicago Relief and
Aid society society said to reporter for
the Chicago Daily News: "We have no
material for bread riot in Chicago,
such as has disgraced London. The
majority of our poor are citizens. They
know what citizenship implies, and they
know that hard times effect the capital
ist alike with them. They rejoice in
good times and profit by them. They
are not mob material" 'a
This gentlemen, says the News, knows
the local causes and conditions of pov.
erty perhaps better than anyone else in
the CITY," Has he forgotten 1872 And
does he really believe human nature
acts differently under starvation in Chi,
cago and London He is whistling to
keep up his courage, and trying to
make his aid society a very important
institution. He is no doubt dispensing
loayes shoes, sonp and secondhand
clothes to Chicago capitalists, for he saws
"hard times effect the capitalist" alike
with the poor man. He knows better.
The capitalist can eat his capital but the
laborer cannot eat his muscle. "They
know what citizenship implies" Would
that they did They would soon abolish
the capitalist. The citizenship which
includes accepting of charity must be
valuable indeed. The self-reliance
which it involves is the bulwark of the
state, and the preventive of riots = The
gentleman proceeds: Then we have
found no class of persons who are pau
: pers from choice. They are in straitened
circumstances usually OH account of sick
ness, death, or temporary lack of work.
Nine-tenths of those we al / are tempora-
rilv the victims of adverse eircum-
stances How about the other tenth,
when no class are paupers from choice
We are to infer that some paupers are
such from choice. Where can one be
found? Are all the London rioters of
this class?
There are a few, according to this
charity man, but they must be careful to.
Sb be cripples, fools or inv&lids, to deserve
any attention "Few able-bodied single
men apply for aid here or anywhere else
in Chicago. They are not encouraged to
do so. Such persons should be in the
bridewell or in some other public insti-
tuition where they are compelled to
work. There is no excuse for making
such persons the object of charity. The
souphouses established for such persons
are nuisance, They bring to Chicago
those who carry the red flags and t1ans-
parencies of the Communists. The man
who has a permanent job, who has a
home and family, is not Communist" ."
Work is the only merit, the crowning
virtue, or essential qualification of the
able-bodied. If they can find no oppor-
tunity to work for private parties for
wages, they must go to the bridewell and
work for nothing. Work, work, is the
constant cry of those who produce moth
ing, and scheme continually to avoid
work. They are The people who own
homes and are not Communists, but
parasites. But why does this function
arY spoil his case bY mentioning the red
flag bearers, after saying there is in
Chicago no material for riots. The ma
terial is there, and in other cities also.
These charity men know it, and fear
them.
Justification or condemnation of riot
does not enter the question. A hungry
tiger may be loose on the street. 1t may
deyour child, yet no one would call
the tiger moral orimmoral, just or unjust
The result could only be called inevita-
BILE. So with mob they are hungry
and will eat. fanything iustifes undue
destruction, it would be the fact that,
taking them as class, they are the pro-
ducers of the wealth they get by mob
law.