The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-03-13
ONLY A TRAMP.
NO s.

The concentration of wealth into a
few hands is winning the fair glory of
America today. In truth the Bible
statement, Unto every one which
hath, shall be given; and from him
which hath not, even that which he
hath shall be taken away from him.
Is being carried out, and this. too hv
statutory laws enacted by monopoly
influence. And monopolies have no
personal responsibilities. Perhaps some
some men who belong to them person.
ally are good men, but when numbered
With a corporation which neither has
"a body to be kicked, nor a soul to be
damned" he is fearless. No one can
honestly earn by his own labor a mil
lion dollars in a lifetime, vet see the
number OF millionaires we have. Each
one represents the labor of thousands
and thousands of others. How did
they get the result of mine and your
la6orf By unfair legislation. How
can this wealth be driven into it's
proper channels if not by fair legisla
tloni The shackles on labor's form to-
rattle in the voters a pleading for
freedom from plutocratic serfdom.
Thomas Carlisle puts it this way:
"Plugson, of st. Daily understood, buc-
cancer like, says to his men: Noble
spinners, this is the hundredth thou
sand we have gained, wherein l mean
to dwell and plant my vineyards. The
hundred thousand pound is mine, the
daily wage was yours. Adieu, noble
spinners; drink my health with this
penny each, which I give you over and
above"
All, what a question, what a deep
question, is that of capital and labor
Peter Cooper, of glorious memory, in
1871 gave this as his thoughts on it:
But, having also acquired what is
regarded al riches, if the use 1 have
made of them renders it proper for me
to give any advice or speak a word of
encouragement to others who, by the
will Of God, are intrusted with the
great responsibility of wealth, I feel
impelled to record my conviction, de
rived from personal experience, that
the rich man tUhO regards his UeGlth as
q sacred trust to be used for the Welfdre
of his fsLLOw men, will surely derive
more true enjoyment from it in this
world than from the most lavish eX
penditure on mere personal enjoyments
and social display. I do not pretend
to prescribe any standard of expendi
ture for others; and I am quite ready
to subscribe to the doctrine, that a asst
and faithful trustee should be literally
paid for his St rvices, and should not be
restricted in the reasonable gratifca-
ton of his desires so long as the rights
of others are not thereby infringed;
and 1 desire to give the fullest recogni-
ton to the saCredness of private prop
erty and the conservation of capital, as
for the best interests of society and all
the members thereof; but l cannot shut
my yes to the fact that the production
of wealth is not the work of any one
man, and the acquisition Of great for
LlLlCS 10 LII pOoSAOAO 4bA4OO SAO w
operation of multitudes of men; and
that, therefore, the individuals to whose
lot these fortunes fall. whether by in
heritance or the laws of production and
trade, should never lose sight of the
fact, that as they only hold them by
the will of society, expressed in statute
law. so they should administer them
as trustees for the benefit of society, as
inculcated by the moral law.
when rich men are thus brought
to regard themselves as trustees, and
Door men learn to be industrious.
economical, temperate, self denying,
and diligent in the acquisition of knowl-
edge, then the de~plorable strife between
capital and labor tending to destroy
their fundamental foundations, neces-
sarv. and ~irrefragable harmony will
cease, and the world will no longer be
afalcyed with such unnatural industrial
conflicts as we have eenduringthe past
century in every quarter of the civilized
globe, and latterly on so great a scale
in this country, arraying those whom
nature intended to be firm allies and
i~nseparable friends, into hostile camps
in which the great law of love and
mutual forbearance is extinguished by
selfish passions"
But how few Peter Coopers we have
to-dayl
I took a notion last Sunday that 1
would 20 to preaching, and being in
ono IF North Cardinals larger towns