People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-03-03
THE LABOR QUESTION.

pubic
To a close and critical observer and
student of current events and social de-
velopment, there is no more startling
phenomena noted than the apathy and
Indifference with which the general
public regards the social and political
evolution, expressed in general terms
as the labor question" This appears
the more astonishing and unaccounta-
BILE when it is remembered that the la.
Dor question is the issue of issues now
before the American people, paramount
in Importance to all other issues and
vitality con corning all individuals who
procure a livelihood by honest efforts,
exerted in all legitimate channels of
toll and labor There may be those en-
gagged in the various professions and
employed in the more genteel (?) avoca-
tons and employments. who consider
themselves superior to those who
perform the more laborious and uuplas-
ant kinds of labor and who do not
classify themselves as belonging to the
''laboring class, but this does but en-
phasize the fact that there exists per-
verted and unnatural public sentiment,
which is dangerous to society and per-
versive of democratic simplicity in that
it seeks to degrade and dishonor the
term labor" and tends to establish
the idea that men can procure an hon
est living without the expenditure of
honest labor therefor. Indeed, the very
fact that such phrases are found in our
common language as 1.-THE labor ques-
ton" and 'laboring classes" would
seem to indicate that a portion of hu-
mainly consider themselves exempt
from the natural condition of things,
wherein all who reap must SOW and all
who eat must earn their daily bread
Blind indeed is he who fails to APP
prehend the fact that the next issue to
be permanently settled, the next prob
lem to be righteously solved is the old,
old controversy improperly character
lied in the past as the war between
capital and labor The ''irrepressible
conflict is waging and has ever been
waged between capitalists and laborers
between the labor which produces all
wealth and those who. without return
ing any equivalent, absorb the wealth
produced by labor, and, idly reveling
in luxurious splendor, teach that the
laws of God and man assign to laborers
a humble sphere and that they should
be contented with a bare subsistence
as the fruits of their toll and account
themselves fortunate indeed that
they are allowed the privilege
of even subsisting at all. The
great civil war in the United States set
tied forever the question of chattel
slavery-the conflict fast approaching
will emancipate the laborer, white and
black, from industrial slavery; peacably,
it is to be hoped, but the day of eman-
cipation must come. Not much longer
will the privileged few continue to
grow richer by the enforced impoverish-
ment of the toiling many Not much
longer will the system be permitted to
exist which makes it possible for a
small per cent of the population to alb
sorb the total net results of a whole
nations energy and enterprise and APP
pirate to themselves the total product
of nations toll and labor. Soon must
cease to exist the reign of moDopolistic
capitalists, under which the reward of
a lifetime spent in constant, arduous
toll for bare subsistence upon coarse
diet, is an old age of poverty and de-
spair and at last an unwept and union.
ored burial in pauper's grave. The
pilgrim fathers came to America to es-
cape persecution and tyranny and our
revolutionary forefathers fought and
bled to establish government of liber-
ty, equality and fraternity. The
worthy sons of revolutionary sires will
not tamely submit to the establishment
OF a plutocratic oligarchy upon the
ruins OF the United States republic.
In proof that these assertions are not
the mere vaporings of a disgruntled
calamity bowler" submit the follow
ing statistics: The wealth of the United
States January, 1891, expressed in
round numbers, was $4,000, 900, 900.
The population of the country was 6S,-
100000; divided into families of five
each and we have l2,6OO,OOO families.
Thomas G. Shearman, the eminent
statlstician, says that 40, 900 families"
had at that time secured one-half of
the wealth of the country, sSl, 900, OOO.-
900, an average of s755, 900 each. Again,
he says that fewer than $50, 900 fami-
lies had in their possession three
fourths of the wealth of the country
46,5OO, 100000, an average of slS6, 900
each. As a result, if $780, families
have secured s46,5OO, 900, 900, there re-
mains $4,000, 900, 900 for 10, $50, 900 fami-
lies, which would give an average Of
Sl,225 each. Tabulated, the showing
is as follows:
$4,000 families at 1885, 900 each SAC 800 900 900
l259,0J0 families at Sl,255. ....... $500 900 O %
1850, 900 families Total s62 OO0 900 900
That it is strictly true that the priv
LEGGED few have absorbed the total net
product of the nations toilers is shown
by the following tabulation from the
United States census reports:
Workers Non producers
share Up rGSitssl
Year. per cent nor cent
lS5O-l6OJO, OOO,OOO. -. ara, SOL