Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1890-03-15

As Caliban learned to spell, philosoph-
ers, historians, journalists, novelists,
poets, astronomers even, all sorts OF
people who not only Use ink by the gal
lon and paper by the ton but like to be
read by everybody, began to write for
him. They sought his company aud
studied his tastes. Queer company /!
Queer tastes A new world had been
discovered-the world of Caliban, more
distant from the earth than Leverrier's
planet,
| would with pleasure, Gentlemen,
review with you that strange period
of fifty years, during which the strongest
thinkers of Europe, staggered in all
their previous notions of things by their
intercourse with Caliban, found that the
greatest of sciences, that without which
all other sciences can have no human
meaning and no true benehcence, had
never been so much as thought oeb'
their eminent predecessors and remained
to be constituted from its first principle
Bat this, of itself, would take far more
time than can be allotted to lecturer
This, however, | may say From the
intercourse or Caliban with the sCien-
fists the scientists learned much, which
they put together in fine language and
impraCticable form = whereas Calihan
acquired to a great extent the truly
scientific method of putting what he
! knew in practicable shape regardless of
style,
And so, while the scientists, armed
with telescopes and microscopes, were
respectively searching heaven and earth
! for such social phenomena only as would
sustain the various social theories which
they had already promulgated, Caiban,
armed with common sense, and feeling
within himself that greatest Of physical
and social Observation-Disclosures
rapidly converting his shop mates to the
simple doctrine that he who could work
should work, and that he who worked
should eat.
As this was time of great manufac-
turing development, the field for con
version was daily extending, From 1885
to 1916 the population of cities and ma
nufacturing towns had increased 600
| 000 all recruited from the agricultural
districts, for the mortality was such
among the factory operatives AMI espe-
| CialIy their children, that no increase of
| population could come to cities from
| their own inhabitants. According to
the vital statistics of that period the
| longevity Of n manufacturer child was
| 90 years that Of q laborers child was
only ID months.
At the same time. the great argument
-hunger-was becoming irresistible.
| From 1910 to 184S, wealth and luxury
/ had increased at an enormous rate. Yet,
| in the city of Paris, during that period
| the annual consumption of bread per
capita decreased 10, kilogrammes. or
! about % of our pounds, and that of
meat 46 pounds. OF course, Paris, with
! its many bankers, merchants, shopkeep.
ers, contractors, hondholders, officials,
property-owners, mobiles. diguitaries.
| foreign visitors, and domestic servants,
! could boast of larger consumption of
meat, per capita, than any other city
| Of France. 1t was there about l3S pounds
! per annum; whereas in the rural dis.
| tricts, which the first Republic had been
SO successful in attaching to he bour-
geoi lie by the sale of the public lands, it
was only kilogrammes, or about IL of
| our pounds--a fact that would be in.
credible if the figures were not official.
| VI.
OF the public work of the philosophers
! and other intellectual men bent upon
the study of the social question the
bourgeoisie had. of course. ample
knowledge. st. Simon and Fourier could
no longer be despised as insane dream
ers. Among their respective disciples
could be found majority of the great.