The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-05-10
PROPHECY VERIFIED.
A Few Rule the Earth, and the Many
are Without Hope.

The time will come when there
will be thousands upon thousands
Of people who will have no place to
go, nothing to eat, nothing to wear
and nothing to do. Every civilized
country will see this same condition,
for the land and all it contains can
be bought and sold-it will become
the property Of q few men. \ piece
Of parchment gives them the right
to drive all other human beings from
it. These beings have nothing but
the labor of their hands to offer in eX-
change for their needs, will compete
with each other until they will work
for almost nothing. The time will
come when no one will need or de-
mand more than Il small number Of
them. They will posses no raw ma
terials; they will not he allowed to
make their own medium of exchange,
so they cannot work for one another.
What will be left for them? The
sea? The air? Will death quickly
and pitifully remove them? Or will
they cling to existance, painfully,
slowly sinking and dying, their mis-
cry prolonged by the sutierancc Of
aims or the risks and degradation Of
crime?
The ruin and destruction of civili-
zation will come unless the course of
civilization shall change
How much of the prophecy has
come to pass? Dare the cities, with
their boards of clamOurs hungry ut
their doors, answer? Can We look
the situation in the face and think
what it means?
In vain it is urged that this is an
emergency; that 4 crisis is upon It's;
that some mysterious, causless con-
dltion places really worthy working
men in idleness and want, that we
have only to be ''charitable' to tide
things over to the time when we shall
reach some incxplicable good some
where in the future. No one can
assure ia that it is true, or what is tC
come out Of chOas to relieve tho
situation. Nothing but the old re
lance in the teachings of an always
mistaken past, can SO assure It's.
We believe, of course, that some
how. some time, these crowds OF
hungry gry-unemploycd will disappear
because-because they never entered
into our calculations, they are not an
essential element of Il free society
(and such is not supposed we have):
they are not unexpected, unpleasant,
factor in problem we had believed
was nearly solved Their exlstance
spoils all the teachings of our Ole
conventional code, our patriotism, on,
line old thrifty prover!s-aIl with
we have been nurturel Throughout,
our lives. We may lay their exls
tance to account. to bad mar a aSemen'
of parties, to the ignorance Of the
working classes in clamoring fol
more than they get. but accident ano
mistakes can be rcc:i!ied. And sc
we continue to establish seuphouses
and breezy lodging places, to take ~
scavenger work for educated men t
do in return for charity tickets. t.
Jail starving petty thieves, to coax
bribe or silance the desperate, danger
Gus, clamoring horde. pending the time
when it will all miraculously cease.
How can We be so certain? How
can We know that that the present sit
uaton is not the slow outgrowth OF
deep lying, long existing causes
working through the strata of ages
tiinging up wrecks of humanity hk.
drlttwood and threatening destructio,
all along its way? How can we know
that peace will come soon when ,h!:
mighty force is still at work among
the foundations of society?
For what has made misery in al
the centuries past Is making Il clima,
of misery in this end of the nine
;ecu,h century. The earth Is still
bought and sold It's owners ma,
turn it INTO vast hunting grounds
pleasure fields or syndicate farms, Il
the destruction of happy homes FOL