The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1894-09-15


How shall we gst back to normal
conditions Of national prosperity ?
Where d the road which No must trsv.
q to reach the wished-for gOal3
Certainly this road u not the crooked
and thorney path Of strikes and war
faro between labor and capital. A
strike suspends production and destroys
wealth. It Oils capital with distrust
and diminishes the demand for labor.
Even the most ardent advocates Of the
recent railway strike now acknowledge
that It WAS huge mistake. Whist We
want II not to decrease BY sntagonism
and strife the total output Of our
wealth-producins forces, but to increase
them in order that Al may get larger
share.
Neither will the road TO prosperity be
found In the direction Of political agi-
tauon. The government can not make
u rich. II b not producer OF wealth.
On the contrary. 1t IL constant and
hungry consumer. 1t lives on what It
takes from the people. We shah not
convert 1t from . burden which we
must carry into bountiful Providence
BY any change Of the men at Washing
ton or In our state legislatures. Some
new laws may be needed; some old ones
may be improved, but no great improve
ment In the affairs Of the masses of the
people will come from the field Of poll
tics. II 10 only loss OF time to organ
ize new parties or TO sweat In the ser
vice Of the old ones. Food and raiment,
comfortable dwellings and savings bank
accounts for rainy day are not gotten
In this way. A few leaders who are in
TO Office profit by the struggle Of parties.
but the multitude Of voters get nothing
for their labor and worry.
After all. the only road to prosperity
that will bear investigation and that
does not 60 into swamps or over preci-
pices. or end 10 squirrel track and run
up 4 tree, Il the old beaten highway Of
thrift and industry. Let everybody do
the work that is nearest At hand, and
do II - well as he can. Let him get as
good wages As he can, but let him not
stand idle because he can not get as
good wages as he thinks he ought to
have. One man diligently welding the
tools Of his trade Is doing more just
now to advance the cause of labor than
a hundred meeting in some hall and
passing resolutions. Wind il not
wealth. There are loo many agitators
and would be- reformers In this country.
Talk Is the cheapest and most plentiful
thing going. What Is needed most Is a
restoration Of confidence between labor
and capital, SO that both may pull to.
gether in friendly way. Capital seeks
employment just rs eagerly as does Ia
Dor, but il labor threatens it with des-
truction by boycotts and strikes, it runs
away and hides. We want q larger
production and a more generous con-
sumption Of all the comforts and neces-
xaries Of life, and this can be attained
only by the full employment Of all the
labor and all the capital in the country.
With better times will come better
wages and better returns for invest
ments. Meanwhile the duty of the
hour Is activity. Get to work as soon
rs you can get any work to do. II you
are an employer Of labor, employ all
you can with the means at your com
mand. II you are an investor Of CAPT
tai, cease TO hold 1t timidly in bank
vaults. There's \ good time coming,
and II Is not far OF, either Northwest
Magazine.