Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-10-29
City and Township.
A Sop of wisdom From AbOu Ben
Ward.

ST wish every American voter could
see the poverty in this broad land, and
could have attended the meetings OF the
unemployed at Hyde Park, have listened
to their statements, and have been able
to appreciate what they said, as did.
He would not monkey with that very
dangerous buzz saw, free trade,
by voting for Cleveland and Thurman.
This is funny country. Old America is
good enough for me, you bet, for (out-
side of its possession OF things OF historic
interest, which are always pleasant to
see, admit, it isn't marker to the
United States."- Tribune.
Ben is a good fellow, frst-rate auc-
tioneer and knows how to make turn
in real estate about as well as the next.
But when it comes to the application OF
logic to social and political conditions he
is like the little boy who lost his bladder
and got beyond his depth. London is a
city of five million inhabitants. In such
q city it is not difficult to find unem-
ployed; but it does not follow that
this is the fault OF high or low tariff,
or no tariff at all. There may be relative
tariff reasons for the poverty and dis
tress in all large cities; but the main
reasons will be found to be one that is
inseparable from the aggregation OF great
masses of human beings in small spaces.
There is poverty and want and en-
forced idleness in Paris, and surely
neither free trade nor low tariff
obtains in France. But how about
New York? Has Ben seen any of the
anti-Poverty demonstrations in that
great hive? Has he gone through the
Five Points and the lower East-side of
of the Bowery? He will find as great
sgualor and distress and complainings
about pauper wages and want of work in
those quarters as he can find in the
vicinity OF the Seven Dials, Whitechapel
or any other part of London. Ii the
prosperity OF either country were on the
highest plane ever known to history in
any part of the world, the great cities
would still have their suffering classes.
That London, the focus of large popu.
lation, should present contrasts of ex-
treme wealth and extreme poverty is not
80 much to be wondered at as that New
} York or other of our large cities should.
Territorially Great Britain is as Ossa to
q wart compared with the United Statee.
There the land, the rivers and even the
sea have been for centuries concentered
in the possession and ownership of few.
The natural productions of the land and
the water belong to class. and there is
no new territory to which the redundant
population can 60. But in the United
States there are millions OF acres of
virgin soil, untold mines as yet
undiscovered and undeveloped. Vast
forests untouched, great rivers whose
finny inhabitants can be taken by any
body without let, and thousands of miles
OF territory where game abounds that is
free to the hunter. Is it not more to
our discredit that the same contrasts OF
poverty and wealth should be exhibited
in the large cities of country sc abound
ing in undeveloped resources and nat
ural untouched wealth as are to be seen
in those of densely populated country
like Great Britain? If that is the case
what would be the logical deduc-
fion Of a political economist who