The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1891-02-20
The Independents Elect Their
Man.
THE BATTLE OVER.
TIE Legislature will Undoubtedly get
Down to Business now.
Tho Rich Richer; th. Poor Poorer

luo NiCu Nlcsler, Tue FOOr tOOEcC
The Deadwood Pioneer OF Feb. 10th,
prints a column article on this sub
ject that utterly refutes the idea that
modern civilization is a failure. 1t
proves by reference to Iallam, tile
"Ency yclopedia Brittanica," Lecky's
"History of England" and whittaker's
"Almanack," that the proportion Of
pauperism to population was nearly
twice as great in 1886 as in 1876, and
more than four times as great in 1903
as in 1888. The annual numt.er Of va
grants, now arrested in London annu-
ally is no greater than it was sixty
years ago; but the population has
doubled. Wages, meantime have in
creased fifty per cent. for each work.
man on the average, while prices have
fallen another fifty, showing that the
laborer is twice as we'll of. "Another
set Of statistics show that the annual
import Of tea and sugar in Great Brit
ain, in proportion to the number of in
habitants, trebled in between 1910,
and 1880, while that of cheese, wheat
and flour became FIVE times as great,
that Of butter seven times, and that of
bacon and ham more than a hundred
and fifty times. Some allow may
be made in the last case for decrease
in domestic production; but there is no
such difficulty in the ,case OF tea and
sugar, and very little in that of cheese
and butter. England is much better
supplied than she was fifty years ago
with bread, butter, cheese, ham, eggs.
tea, sugar and other common articles
of food. The rich man does not eat
more of them than before, but ess;for
he has greater variety before him.
The increase of importation is due to
the increase of consumption among
the poor. who now use as daily neces-
saries of life what formerly were al
most unattainable luxuries.'
"The condition of the poor during
the present century, may be made
palmer by referring to the times when
only princes could have glass windows
and tumblers, white bread, stoves and
chimneys, lamps and candles, carpets,
cotton, clothing and bedding, books,
clocks or newspapers. It would be
very difficult to make out a list, Of in
ventions and discoveries which have
not benefited the poor even more than
the wealthy. Even the slave was bene.
fitted by the prosperity and injured by
the adversity Of his master; and ii
ought always to be remembered that
there are no slaves any longer in civil.
lied lands. No one tries to prevent
any class from getting the full benefit
of every increase of the general pros.
perlty. On the contrary, great efforts
are being made to assist those who en-.
joy the smallest amount Of happiness
to increase it; and it cannot be that
these efforts are altogether in vain
The plain fact that large part Of oul
people are constantly ,mprov
ing their condition proves that We
are all advancing continually.
Enough has been said to show how
little there is of self-evident truth in
such assertions as that the poor are
growing poorer in the essentials Of
human happiness, and that industrial
progress increases and intensiies pow
erty, and that modern civilization is ;
failure.