The Labor enquirer., 1888-01-14
The Problem Of The Ages.
Will II. Can II, Be
S0lved7
The AMERICAN REPUBLIC
Travels In the Pathway that Led the
Roman Empire 49, Graveyard
or TatiOns.

VI tllS disieie NH''pN' NV fhPceh-
costs OF the plutocrat' by w. M.
Dickson, copied from the Maya
sine Of Amrnew History:
The story Of the race in its ef-
forts after national life may be
thus written: Small beginnings
in poverty; rustic habits; manly
virtues; prosperity; commerce;
wealth; division into classes, a
few becoming very rich, the many
very poor; luxury above, misery
below; corruption; civil commo-
tion; loss of liberty; loss of civil
ization; death.
"rhere IL the moral Of all human tales;
'Tis but the same rehearsal oi the past;
First freedom and tLen glory, when thst
fnils,
we,ith, vice, corrupt on-bar barism at
last"
May we escape this destinyi
The problem ofthc ages, unsolved,
is how to reach that equality of
which Aristotle speaks; how to
merge the highest and the lowest
classes into the middle class, in
which none shall have either
riches or poverty.
The problem presses for solu-
ton now as never before. One
would hope that valuable sugges-
tions might be obtained from the
leisure and study of the college
cloister. But our professor is dis
appointing; he finds no disease
and of course has no remedy. He
generalizcs. He styles this the
age OF contract, rs contradls-
tinguished from an age OF slavery
or the feudal age. The laborer,
indeed, is not a slave; he suffers
not the degradation of that state,
and here much is gained; but he
loses its protection when age and
helplessnes, come. But as the
laborers only capital is his strong
arm; as day of idlencss is day
10 him forever lost; as he cannot
wait and capital can; unless he
combines, strikes, boycots, is he
not helpless in the presence OF
the eapitalist1 And yet the pro-
fessor would take his weapons
from him; rcmitting him to the
Implying laws of supply and de-
mAnd to remorscless competi-
ton. If he is not the strongest he
must 90 to the wall. If he is, he
moves To the front Let the sue
ccsslul. the rich, eat, drink and be
merry, but know for all these
things God viii not bring them to
Judgment. Let the unsuccessful
the poor, keep the peace, be still
be content with their wretchcd'
ness. But, alas! he will not; and
here comes the danger to society
for which the boasted "economR
laws" of the professor provide nc
remedy. Like the ghost OF Ban
quo, the suffering laborer will mo-
down at the professors bidding
yet, like that ghost. he is honest
and will not disturb society II /
is not organized in injustice t.
him. lie knows that the law o
competition takes from the veal
and gives to the St;ong. IL,
knows also that in his number
and in combination he is strong
and why shall he submit; VIII,
shall he not reach for what he dc
sires and his strong arm can take
We are not justifying this; we ar
stating the facts which the poli'
zeal economist may not ignore
The laborer looks abroad; he see
everywhere rising noble palace
in iiowery gardens. with all tn
dazzling splendors OF ostentatiou
wealth. These are the product
of his labor and lN enjoys theI
not.
He reads; while his home is b'
coming more wretched he learn
Of the hundreds of millions tn;
a few cunning gamblers have in
few years accumulated. He ask
himselfis is this all right. The pre-
iessor tells him each are the ine'
prable laws Of economic scienc'