Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1890-11-24


should not be engaged in until he hal
worked in the ground for forty days
This is the time which is allotted for &
man to provide the years bread. It il
held that physical labor does not inter.
fere with intellectual activity, but or
the contrary increases the power and
dignity of the mind, and both the phil
osophic novelist and the peasant declare
that he who does not perform the labor
in tilling the soil necessary to provide
his bread robs those who do till of just
so much. 1--WE must work with oul
hands because life consists in battle
with nature for the means of existence,
and physical labor is the law of life."
cannot do better than to quote some
Of the more striking portions of this
wonderful little book. The opening
pages are from the pen of Tolstoi, and to
show the similarity of his and Bonda-
refs views few thoughts are taken
therefrom. Says the philosopher: 'All
human misfortunes, direct violence ex-
copied. result on the one hand from
hunger and privation Of all sorts, and
from encouragement in labor, and on
the other from riches. idleness and the
vices they engender. Ought we not to
endeavor to destroy this inequality by
which some are plunged into the evils of
misery and want. and others into those
which belong to the temptations Of
wealth." This can be done only by
obeying the law which commands each
man to earn his bread with his own
hands.
I'VE have invented so many COM
mandments in announcing, as Isaiah
says, line upon line, precept upon pre-
cept,' one rule for this, another for that,
that we have lost all clear perception of
good and evil. One says mass. another
recruits for the army or collects taxes,
third is judge, fourth is student,
a fifth cures disorders, sixth teaches;
all, in fine, by these or similar pretexts
evade the law of labor, leaving it for
others, and forgetting that there are
around them men who are dying with
hunger and fatigue. But before giving
che people priests, judges, soldiers, doc
tors and professors we should know
that they are not perishing with hun
ger"
Labor for bread is remedy that saves
mankind. If mer world recognize this
primitive law as divine and immutabls,
and regard labor for bread as an indis-
pensable duty, all would then be nour-
ished by their own work, be united by
the same faith in God and in love for
one another, and thus destroy the poverty
from which so many suffer. No
one would die of hunger. If man could
not earn enough for himself and his fam
lily his neighbor would help him. He
would do so because he would have no
other use for products that he could not
SELL" The logic of this is that, each man
working and producing his own bread,
there would be no one to buy and conse-
quently no place to sell.
To those who attempt to justify their
failure to engage in productive labor on
the plea that they do this, that or the
other service for society without actual
ly working Tolstoi speaks plainly, and
denounces the "crafty and diabolical
theory of the division of labor"
"Whoever thou art, whatever may be
thy qualities, however good thou art, in
whatever condition thou art placed,
canst thou take TRANQUILITY thy tea and
eat thy dinner, canst thou OCCUPY thy
self with politics, fine arts, science, med
icine or teaching, when thou seest and
nearest the man who is lying at thy
door sick and starving? No! But thou
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