, 1891-05-12

AAAAaA sANNEHA@6 go
ing in order to secure a good position
near the gates, waiting for h chance
which often comes less than once a week
to work for a few hours, at a most peril
GUS occupation, for nine cents an hour;
of the n-eedlewomen who make button
holes at two cents a dozen, and who, if
they work very fast, can make eleven
~buttonholes in an hour, and of other
pitiful features Of the hard struggle for
life in the great city.
WHY is it there is this wealth and
this poverty side by slider said Mrs.
Besant. 1T is because of that spirit of
selfshness throughout our boosted civil
zation, the spirit that always claims in
stead OF surrenderiug, that clamors for
its rights instead Of its duties. 1t is be
aus Of that spirit in man that looks on
all around as enemies to be struggled
with instead of brothers to be served;
that separates man from man and class
from class, because hatred has taken
possession of our hearts instead Of love,
and because we think Of ourselves in
stead of others. You may cha your
politics and alter your systems, It you
will never get rid Of these extremes until
you alter the people as well as their sur
roundings; until you mold men and wo-
men worthy of the name instead Of
classes that hate and struggle with each
other for life.
This problem will be solved when
each man and each woman forgets to
claim right, and when brotherhood
Is love and not a word spoken
from the teeth outward, as it Is
today, aud on this island of life, with
the eternity that stretches before
the cradle and beyond the grave, is
it hopeless that you and l should learn
the lesson of human brotherhood, n so
learn the only remedy for human illT OF
all your joy in living there is no joy like
the Joy of self sacrifice, and Of all the
pleasure in life there is nOn like giving
it for human service and huTuhn need.
There is no peace where there is no love.
Suffering is nobler than pleasure while
others are in pain, and until the last Of
our brethren is redeemed there ought to
be no peace, no JOY, no happiness for you
or for me"
'DANGERs NENACISG SOCIETY"
For an account OF the second lecture l
turn to the columns Of the New York
papers, and l find that all save one, The
Recorder, has ignored the fact that this
widely known woman Is relating i'm
portant truths in II midst. On this &C
casion the subject was, Dangers Men
acing Society" and Mrs. Besant wished
it clearly understood that her remarks
about London were equally applicable
TO our own large cities.
In London, with its population Of be-
tween 5000, 600 and 1000 900, one in
every five dies in the workhouse, hospital
or ja,L This condition was largely
brought about by overproduction in the
industrial world. In London there were
thousands Of sldllful, honest and indus
trious workmen who were unable to get
work because the very industry had pro-
duced a glut in the market.
The social reformers tried TO cure this
evil, but the workmen had tho bad taste
to flaunt their rag in the face Of the
rich. The speaker became incisively
sarcastic when she said, IF these people
will starve why don't they have the good
sense TO do it in ~silencey' Then the sol
diers were called out, and they killed II
few men, but that did not solve the rid
die. for society can never be cured OF its
ulcers by killing men. Law should be
the expression of an enlightened CON
science.
When anarchy comes those who have
sown the seeds of anarchy must be
blamed. The English mobiles were mush-
rooms, the dukes strutted around with
fne feathers like barnyard fowl. En-
ployes were now called hands Con-
sequently the employed and the employ
er hated each other cordially,
u.sl.u .l4,,. ,,.l4,l ,,nsV. tI. .,F,,.
ton worse was that education was max
ing men intolerant Of poverty. If you
give education and deny justice you
shiver civilization. 1t was the duty of
the educated middle classes 10 hold the
two extremes together IN unity. Mrs,
Besant hen introduced the questions OF
religion and materialism
She said that there had been u divorce
between religion and morals. The re
ligion of today was organized hypocrisy
kept up by the wealthy to insure sub,
mission of the masses. An archbishop
Of England received 81, 900 a year, anL
preached from the text Blessed are tn,
poor" The bishop Of Peterborough sale
that IL the Sermon on the Mount wer,
carried out society would not hold to
gether for a week,
Society would be saved If enough me
took hold of it in time. This would b
done through the evolution Of s~pirituali
ty and its accomplishments of love, pit.
and tenderness. Mrs. Besapt closed he
remarks with the expression, "Purif.
yourselves, and out Of the purity of eac.
shall grow the flower Of perfect purity.
1.-THE LABOR MOVEMENT / ENGLAND"
Tho third and last lecture of fine geria
was upon The Labor Movement i
/ England" Mrs. Besant sketched tn
history Of labor agitation and ~organiza
ton in Great Britain since the first ei
forts at combination. She told of tn
almost insurmountable difficulties whic
the workers had TO meet from 1880 I
a 1874, during all of which time union
were illegal, and those who joined thel
or participated in their proceeding
were amenable TO the laws as criminal
+ That those who were brave enough
+, try to better their condition were pers
cuted goes without saying. Then can
: the time, sixteen years ago, when Il
e unions were recognized by law and 4
: lowed charters the same as other organ
Q cations.
g She said that they have in EnglaI
; now two kinds OF unionism-the "ol'
Il and the new trades unionism.' /
e this she did not mean opposing organ
II cations, but that different views we
l. held by the leaders, sometimes in Il
|" same union. The "old trades unionisn
d believes that the condition of the wor
=. ers must be bettered through strict
l. trades union methods, while the neN
NJ a