Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1890-02-15
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maignity, and withal the profound |
ignorance Of the advocates Of capital.
ism whenever they attempt to speak on
matters concerning social and political
science, were graphically illustrated on
a recent occasion.
DR. d. w. 7. Bliss, Of Boston, came to
New York last week to deliver an al
dress in the lecture room Of All Souls
Church, of which lIrber New toni is rector.
His lecture was extensively advertised,
and the knowledge that large numbered
prominent divine4. such as Heber New
ron, were ready to join hands with the
! Christian Socialist movement of Boston
attracted a large, intelligent and SYM
pathetic audience. DR.. Bliss read an
| able address depicting the condition of
the country and pointing out the need
there was for the ministry to stop talk
ing phrases and begin to perform deeds.
The lecturer was frequently interrupte I
with applause and SO on the fol-
| lowing day a strong Christian Socali-t
organization was launched in this city
with Heller Newton as the President
No sooner, however had DR. Bliss
closed his address on the day previous,
and almO before the storm Of applause
had subsidized, George Gunton, the we'll
known employe of Capitalism, who has
recently been perpetrating no end of
articles AMI addresses in which Stats,
tics are most viciously and shametully
falstied with the view to make it appear
that labor gets very large share of its
proddct while capital only receives a
very small percentages, rose to his feet
and endeavor ed to make out DR.. Bliss
an ignoramus and falsifier of quota
tons. DR.. Bliss had, namely, given
literal quotation from Hallam, in which
labor in the Middle Ages was stated to
be in a better condition than at time
Of the author. Gunton claimed that
DR.. Bliss made his quotation at second
or twentieth hand; that the first one
who ever made that quotation did not
omit from it certain words which showed
that HaIlam only quoted another author
who wrote in 1884; that consequently it
was not the age Of Hallam, hut that of
1884, that Hallam was comparing with
previous conditions: but that he quota
lion had been SO often made and re-
pealed that the people now took it
in this mutlated shape Gunton closed
with the statement that it was utterly
false that the working classes were now
worse than formerly and that he Oh
Jected to such reasoning or misquota
lion as DR.. Bliss had made.
But here is the rub. 1t is just to such
ridiculous reasoning and btrefaced mis-
quotations as GuntUn usually makes and
repeated on that occasion that every
right.minded and intelligent men OBJ
Jects. Passing by his ungentlemanly
manner toward Dir. Bliss, Gunton was
totally wrong in his understanding of
HaIIam. He showed himself utterly
ignorant of fundamental principles of
Interpretation and demonstrated his in
ses. A. IA matter of fact DR.. Bliss quo
tation was literally true. 1t is Halam
and mot a previous author writing in
1884 who spoke. But Hallam may be
mistaken. Was he?
Why go to Europe for our facts when
we have them here thick as pies Let
Gunton read up the " orks of Madison,
Franklin, the Adamses, even Hamilton,
and he will SEE what they thought of the
then condition of the people in this
country. The people were by very
large majority the owners of or aspirants
to property, and there was no substan-
lial inequality among them. Is that SO
to day? What of our large army If the
unemployed What Of the large patches
of tenement houses were humanity
testers like a sore. What of the lowness
Of wages? What of the virtual Unequal
NY before the law arising from gross
inequality in wealth when poor man
who loses his temper and assaults ano
Their gets years of imprisonment, whereas
The agent of a powerful trust receives
but light punishment for the crime of
arson committed by him at the instigna-
ton of his employers and for their pri-
waite gain?
There is nothing more shocking and