Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-29
PERSONAL ACQUAINTANCE.
rwRrrrrs roR THE DrsrArcH., !,

|
acquaintance. The opinion that Protestants
have of Roman Catholics, and that Roman
Catholics have of Protestants, is about as
| near to truth as caricature valentine. 1t
| is the result of distance and ignorance
met man one day in Munich who had an
idea that Americans were copper coloredI
| He had learned that, he thought, out OF geo.
| graphy. That is about as near as any book
| can come to an accurate description Of a
man. We get our ideas Of Romanism out OF
Foxes Book of Martyrs. Our estimates are
made from controversial pamphlets. and
from religious newspapers. Personal friend
ship corrects all that. Listen to q Protestant
| talking about Roman Catholics. You can
| tell at once whether or not he has any per-
| sonal friends who hold allegiance to the
Pope.
The estimate that the orthodox have Of
the heretics, and that the heretics have of
the orthodox, is an equally good illustration.
1t depends on personal acquaintance. The
orthodox who look at heretics through the
pages of orthodox books think that they are
near relations to the father OF lies. "Don't
| you know me7" asked an ancient heresiarch
| who met an ancient saint in the street of an
ancient city. To which the saint, with
| piously averted face, answered, Eyes; rec
| ognize you perfectly. You are the first-born
| OF Satanl'
Improve on Personal Acquaintance.
ONCE upon time in Pittsburg, man
was tried for blasphemy, and fined. and, in
default of payment, was given lodging in
the Jail. That was a good while ago.
friend of mine who was a small boy at the
time, told me the other day that when he
met that bad man for the first time he was
amazed. He looked at him with all his eyes.
He even walked all around him that he
might get better view. And afterward
he whispered to his father, 'Papa, he hasn't
any tailp' He had expected to discover a
forked tail, and horns and hoofs and other
familiar characteristics of the devil. He
has always had a good opinion, from that
day, of unbelievers. Now he is one himself
All infidels have horns and hoofs-until
we get personal acquaintance with them.
After that we have to make corrections in
our previous judgments. And all the ortho-
dox are bigots, regretting that stakes and
fagots have gone out of fashion, and
chuckling over the delightful prospect of
good time coming when the hungry worm
and the hungry fire will get their fill of here
tics-until we find out better by personal ac-
quaintance.
The capitalist and the proletariat have
their opinion of each other-not q compli-
mentary opinion. To the proletariat cap
italist is selfish, hard hearted, grasping,
avaricious, inscriptions, iron-fisted plum
oerer OF the poor. To the capitalist, the
prisoners of poverty are in a prison to
which they are justly sentenced by the
righteous law of the survival of the f1ttest;
every man can get work if he wants it; all
the olstresses or the masses are caused oy
laziness and drink; and, as my legal friend
maintained, the lowest coal HEAVIER, if he be-
haves himself, can become capitalist.
The System. Not the Man. Is Wrong.
Al,
I oa- % or 'ne ,., tUs"ip VI !"
.. " ~. t",.n. I..,.
.ss-. ."1. l- anu Sne oap.SV w noS ei'nel "
m,- ny "io vae @'ou''
.,n ne oap..slS. ,' 40 gueS ~eoenas gu gen-
,as ' 80 ~ i."s .n-- ~ -es anI
%nu ny .e"9 wants w 70 80 "u1n
U. Un a heiper III .nis nara "orlo as ne Is aDle.
-ne SiouD,o WIN nm 10 'no sys'en unuer
"niSn ne Ives nc Anomo no' "na' W w.
Anu, ,or 1nas naSer, nno ooes SNOW
a 'a.A ". - ~ y. san ian ae a nos ions
industry in this city, and he had no real way
out. He could not suggest anything only CO.
operation. That, indeed, seems to be a most
admirable suggestion. had another letter
last week from my friend, the tramp, and at
the end of it. enclosing newspaper account
of Alfred Dolge's distribution of profits at
Dolgeville he said: eff the masters want.to
do right why not do like this gent their is
a man what is a man and bet his workmen
put in good work for him why because they
are helping themselves at the same time"
And vet believe there are difficulties, more
than the men see, about the adoption of CO.
operation.
As for the workingmap he has the hardest
lines of any man that lives. I had an inuer-
view with German one day last week, a
conservative Socialist-if there is any such
thing-who told me that this is not a free
country; that wherever there is the presence
of a capitalist there is the presence of a.
master: that conditions are not changed
very much from the old feudal days of serfs
and barons. And surely if slavery means
ANYTHING, it means the plight of a man who
works from the dark of morning to the dark
of evening. and his wife works. and his chill
dren work. and all for the nav of a home
which is but a kennel and a dinner which is
but foretaste of starvation.
Fr;.,a.b,, wor,d p..+ +s...
NOW, "hat we neeo, IL seems TO me, Is
the help OF personal acquaintance. wish
that tne proletarlat couio know the capital
isS' anu nn% ..i.a JuoS soou man ne Is.
actual acouaintance with the nrisoners of
poyerty. and see with his own ewes inst how
hard their life is. and what their needs are.
There oupht to be a svmpathv GROWING ont
of such friendship that wouId solve soma of
our hard proplers. The most nrofitsbIe |
Kind of association that can think of would |
he an association here i'm Pittsburg of WAGE.
workers and EMPLOYERS of labor on perfectlv
equal terms. for the purpose of petter ac-
ouaintance
The observation that ia talon of q stor