The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1894-06-15
THE EM4NC1PlrIoN OF LABOR.

OF Tie elndHClpd Oh ldDOT UneTe is
ample evidence. The public schools
and the other great facilities for OBJ
tanning knowledge have been the
great moving power which gave the
laborer the primary stimulus of this
desire to raise himself mp and take a
higher and nobler position OH the
stage of life where his Creator has
placed him. In contrast 70 his for
mer position when he was generally
ignorant and in great measure under
the control of his employer, he is now
in condition to know his rights
and, knowing these rights, he is be-
ginning to think it is about time to
assert them. That he is not getting
his share of the good things of this
life is every day evident to him. For
instance let us take Il laborer in a coal
mine. In the morning he bids adieu
to the sun and the light of day, and
descends into the black and sitting
mine. All the beauties of nature,
which were prepared by the Creator
to make life more endurable, he has
left behind him on the surface of the
earth. A Pickering lamp carried in
his cap, shows him his disagreeable
work, and its dim and uncertain light
makes his surroundings appear the
more horrible. Never is he free from
impending danger to his life, for sud-
denly a hundred tons of rock and clay
may fall upon him, and crush him
out of all human shape; or perhaps
worse, it may fall behind him and i'm
prison him so that he suffers linger-
ing death, from suffocation or starva-
ton. Well, for all this he will proba-
bly, not be killed, but when the day
of toll is ended he will be drawn to
the outlet of the mine, and then he
will betake his way homeward. His
home is in one of a row of cottages, all
built alike by the owners of the mine,
and for which he probably has to pay
a high rent. There is nothing very
inviting about the appearance of these
cottages, but perhaps little farther
away there are some houses of much
better appearance. These are the
dwellings of the under bosses, and
are quite comfortable in their ar
engagements. But still farther away,
perhaps on pretty elevation, is a
beautiful dwelling, the residence of
the manager of the mine This makes
up, to a limited extent, the surround
ings of the mine. But if the miner
should have occasion to go to the rail
road station he would see more bril-
liant sight. A special train, with per-
haps two or three palace cars, draws
into the station, and there emerge
from them several elegantly dressed
gentlemen, who might, from their APP
pearance, pass as the scions of royalty
These men are the owners of the mine
and they certainly do not look as if
they had felt, to any great extent, the
effect of hard times. Now here are
the two extremes-the man who digs
OuU lille COAL dUu Cl6 man VINO gets
the money for it. Is the difference in
their situations not too great? The
laborer thinks it is, and he has many
sympathizers who think the same
way. From his present advantages
of education the laborer is perhaps as
good reader as the owner of the
mine. Good literature including the
all-powerful press of the country is
within his reach. He is beginning to
have a laudable ambition to advance
himself nearer the condition that he
feels his Creator designed for him, and
he will in time, undoubtedly reach it.
But he must have patience, and he
must be wise. The emancipation of
people, or class of people, cannot be
accomplished in a day. Revolutions,
whether of force or of thought, must
have time and their fulfillment is Of
ten baff1ed for period, but if they are
really worthy and are conducted with
wisdom they will in the end, certainly
prevail.