The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-07-09
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
THE LIGHT OF CONTRAST.

THE LIGHT OF CONTRAST.
| African Slave Trade and The Convict Mines
of Kara.
| Some Of the most important lessons of
life are learned in the light of contrast.
We know the sweet JOY of health, as we
never did before, after days of pain and
suffering. We paint our pictures on a
dark background, and appreciate the
beautiful only SO far as seen in contrast
with the deformity, and the good as re-
vealed by the shadowy form of evil
ready to touch us with its gaunt fingers.
In this way we may perhaps more
wildly catch glimpse of some forms of
inhumanity that now gives us no un-
easiness because they are so common.
A succession of pictures will help to
focus the thought now in our mind.
The first is taken from a sketch of the
African slave trade, as recently seen by
Mr.. H. f. Moir, of New York. We give
itasnearly in his words as space will per-
nit. When slaves are captured, yoke
is placed upon their necks and is allow
ed to remain day and night. The yoke
is the forked branch of young tree,
and is generally about five or six feet
long and weighs about % pounds. Re-
fractory slaves are often placed in yokes
OF more than so pounds. The end of
the yoke is dashed to the corresponding
end of another yoke that holds another
slave. They are then started to the
East coast traders, marching all day and
all night, and the slaves that fail to
keep up are dealt terrible blow on the
nape of the necks that ends their life.
Children are often torn from the arms
| OF their parents at the slightest sign of
| fatigue and their brains dashed out
against a tree.
The second picture is taken from Mr..
George Remnants description Of the Con-
vict Mines of Kara, in a recent number
of the Century. Speaking of the place
where the Car works his State prison
ers, he says: ga person who has once in
hailed that odor can never forget it; it is
so unlike any other bad smell in the
world, that hardly know with what to
compare it. can ask you to imagine
cellar air, every atom of which has been
half dozen times through human
lungs, and is heavy with carbonic acid;
to imagine that air still further vitiated
by foul, pungent, slightly anlmoniacal
exhalations from long unwashed human
bodies; to imagine that it has SUCCESS
tion of damp, decaying wood, and more
than suggestion of human excrement
and still you have no adequate idea of
it." In this black hole, in the cold ST.
berian winter, men and women are COM
PEELED to live and sleep on rough benches
without blankets or fire, packed in rows
and fed on the coarsest food. The first
picture is a glimpse of an industry now
carried on in the wilds of Africa, and
the second, peep into Russian State
prison. Well,.of what value can such a
vision of woe and wretchedness be to
us? No such evils would be tolerated
for day in our happy land.
Wait moment. 1t is true these pic
lures are taken from region far away
and from social system now happily
fast becoming obsolete, but there are
other pictures that show what is taking
place under our social system, that con-
sidering our relative position are quite
as painful to contemplate. Here is one:
A little ragged urchin is timidly watch
ing number of well-dressed boys play
ing ball. A kind gentleman approaches
and says: "You seem to be enjoying the
fun; would you not like to take part?"
"They won't have me, sir. The good
man what breaches in the little old
church behind the livery stable, said
last Sunday, we are all brethren. See
sir, these boys have nice clothes and
am in rags; they have plenty to eat and
l am always hungry. 1t don't look like
it, sir, it don't look like it," And ye1
there are thousands of boys in all oul
large cities that are being educated il
that school of poverty and Indebtedness
If they grow up atheists in religion and
anarchists in politics, would it be
strange?
Here is another The scene is laid ir
New York, but may be duplicated any
where. A workingwoman tells us how
she and her daughter manage to live en-
gagged in making clothes:
How do we live? It's all in this LITTLE
book. It's foolish to put it down, ant
yet always liked to see how the none.
went, even when had plenty, and it,
second nature to put down every cent
Take last month. 1t had 81 worhin,
days-S22. 95. Out of that we took frs
the $40 for rent. I've been here l
years, and they've raised dollar on NJ
twice. That leaves $1295 month 70
provisions and coal and light an
; clothes. '1isn't much for two people
is it? You wouldn't think it could b
done, would you? Well, it is, and here
the expense for one week and for wha
we eat:
7 Sugar, 90; tomatoes, q; potatoes, 5........so
Tea, Is; butter, 30: bread, l2.................
! Coal, Ia; milk, 10; clans, l0...............
OIL Is; paper, /; CLAIMS, 10; potatoes 5.....
. Cabbage. 3: bread, 7; four Is; rolls, d..
Total ......... I.
You see there's nomeat7 We like i
but we only get a bit on Sundays som
J times. The coal oughtnot to be in wit
J. the food, ought it, unless it stays b
d cause have to use it in cooking; v
It oughtn't to spend so much on food, b
}. / can't seem to make it less. Reall
>. when you take out the coal and oil al
/, the paper-and we do want to see p
d per sometimes-it is only $l.62 for
10 both, 81 cents apiece, almost IL cents
Is day. If it weren't for Emmy's missil