Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-09-08
W.th Dav.d's Assurance.

lever thought 81 any measures ior re-
licNing thu want and misery that will
~trt-I' w. VII i'm frIIti, = ami whether
or not they have any advice to oiler
the " di>inherited workingmen, whose
future looks so black, and from whose
sole hope is being bsni-hcd 10y de
epair.'
These questions seem to imply, first
that the "chaotic state" is solely or
mainly owing to NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF
government; and ID, That these Off
GERS would be able, had they any lust
conception OF duty. to afford adequate
and immediate relief. 1t is true that
Mr.. Miller asks only " advice" (and he
certainly knows from the advice he
has himself been giving so long, that
1t is productive Of little if any good
but he asks it in the manner that the
hlshwayman demands your money, a
"hold-up-your-hands-or-di intona.
ton that prccludes reply from any
body who possesses the average degree
OF self-respect, to say nothing of that
due the dignity OF the offices entrust-
ed to their stewardship.
Imagine for moment what a figure
the administrative or judicial officers
would present, in answering such a
challenge as is made by Mr.. Miller,
and in appearing at town meeting to
handy words with anybody who might
claim the" free speech" and equality"
privilege of American freemen! Anv
Tool could claim the privilege of par
ticipating in the discussion, and Mr..
Miller could not deny it to him, I'm.
der his oft.repeated liberal" ideas of
individual right. This would place
the disputants on an equal plan, and
very few fools are so dull of compre-
hension as to perceive that no matter
how the encounter may end they have
absolutely nothing to lose.
Cannot Mr.. Miller grasp the truth
that hard times have been brought on
by multitude OF causes, and that the
attitude of the government, either
general or the local, has had very
little to do with it, except it NAV
have been in setting the example of
profligate expenditures? The tariff
laws are blamed and the Sherman law
execrated as the cause of all our woes
by the unobserving, while the improv-
idence OF the people has led, in large
degree to their restitution when hard
times comes knocking at the door.
The labor agitations have contributed
much towards producing this result,
by arousing an antagonism where
nothing but good will should have
prevailed. Travelling delegates" have
sown seed OF discomfort, just as effec.
lively as did the malevolent goddess,
Discordia, spread dissension, when she
threw the apple amidst the guests at
the nuptial feast OF Peleus and Thetis.
Labor was content, and very seldom
did Industry go without a reward of
the thrifty home and some provision
for the "rainy day." Shorter hours
and higher wages were alluringly held
up to the imagination until Discon.
tent, the serpent that ruins so many
happy beginnings. produced its effect,
and the poor victim accepted the con.
illusions of some ignorant, conceited
ward politician, who by dint of severe
has acquired a superficial
knowledge of some pet theory of some
fanatical iconoclast, and he goes on
a strike against the very hand that
sustains him. These labor reformers
did not stop to inquire as to the ability
of capital to pay, but how much it
could be made to pay, and the insol-
vency courts give evidence in many in
stances how widely the masses were
off from a true conception of the exact
situation.
Labor agitation is by no means re-
sponsible for all the results of the
present crisis, but as Mr.. Miller as
sumes to be the leader of the labor
party, We have made the RESPONSE
bility of that factor prominent, to
show how poorly qualified he is to sit
in judgment on those he has singled
out for his oratorical target practice.
If, as he processes so devoutly, he has
the welfare of the people at heart, he
should sacrifice those selfish aspira-
tons for higher flight, remembering
the fate of poor Icarus whose waxen
wings melted when he scared beyond
the bounds of reason and take warning
from his rapid descent into the sea.