The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-11-29
TlR1|)AlfPB OPINION!
= KNIGHT OF THEROAD WHO
is AN AGITATOR.
ne Says: "A Thief or = CUT Throat Ii
More Highly Respected by Society than
. Cringing Mendicant'-How VIII IT
End7 Will tie People Save themselves.

Cleveland Citizen: One evening this
week, while waiting for AGAR On the
Public Square, the editor of this paper
was approached by a man of respectable
appearance, as the world looks at it,
and solicited for a contribution with
which to pay for something to eat. Tn
doubtedly nine men out Of ten would
say that such an occurrence is not
worth noticing. And they are right, for
the streets of this city swarm with
beggars after nightfall, and every citi-
zen is accosted for aid on every hand.
But this particular beggar was an ex-
ception to the general rum. He was a
philosopher, a fine conversationalist,
and a man who, under ordinary condi-
tons, would command respectful atten-
ton anywhere.
1T is not a pleasant task" said he,
for me to solicit aid from strangers.
Ny soul revolts against it; but an hon
est mans natural pride is unable to
withstand the horrors of hunger. | real
lie that | am a beggar; a social outcast;
~ oSS Iva ~ / S11o y LIZ
the abuse of those who never knew the
meaning of an actual want. 1t is Il
bitter pill to swallow, but it must be
forced down. Sometimes, when I look
back over my past life, and when I
think OF the happiness of others who
are no more honest than l am, l become
desperate enough to commit any crime;
and let me tell you that I do not intend
to follow the life that I am now leading
much longer. A thief or a cut-throat
is more highly respected by society
than a cringing mendicant.
"A dozen years back said the cut
cast, in answer to.a question, Il owned
a small business ina town in South
ern Ohio. | am a ropemaker and had
a good trade. But the cordage trust
was organized and very soon. the weak
lings, as the newspapers and big cap
~italists call the smaller concerns, were
driven to the wall, and I.among the rest.
We simply could pot compete with the
trust, with its very latest improyed ma
chinery and abundance Of working cap
ital. Well, to make along story Short,
| quit, scraped a few dollars together.
and landed in Chicago where, as. a rec
concentration that / have will show, I
worked owe six years as a collector.
But I could not get ahead Of necessary
expenses, and two years ago, the firm l
worked for failed. Since then l have
been knocking about from place to
place, working a day here and a day
| +1oro c4oruinr hoorinr on1 4froa1i,1r in
turns. Would you believe it, ! walked
almost the length ofsyour Euclid avenue
offering to work for my board and
couldn't get a job! The rich won't hire
anybody that they don't want. They
are even more economical in that re-
spect than the poor.
"Now, why is itthat those who are
willing to work for their living are pre-
vented from doing so? and what is all
this coming to? These are the questions
that ! think about and PROFOUND to
everyone / meet. You say the reason
men are deprived of the opportunity to
make an honest living is because Of
monopoly. That is true. I don't pre-
tend to be we'll up in economics, but |
know that those who enjoy special priv
ileges, such as bankers, %railroaders,
landlords and those who hold securities
prosper while the common people suf-
fer.
How will it end? Stranger, go down
along your docks; go down into your
slum districts; go into the poorer To-
calities; talk with the idlers upon the
streets; talk with the poorly-paid labor
ers who are but n degree removed
from homeless, hopeless wanderers,
and talk with the Migrants and tramps
who are chased from place to place like
wild beasts and who are thrown into
prisons because they will not sit down
Snd starYe-men for all that, made
after the image of their God-talk to
these people, who are being hemmed in
on every side by laws, passed by
damned ignorant and corrupt legisla-
4. tors, restraining their liberties and
driving them to commit all the crimes
in the catalogue-talk to these people, ]
say, and you will find that there is
growing a sullen, d~eep-rooted hatred for
all law and for the rich. Can you con-
ceive Of a natural, human or divine law
that decreed that the many should SUI
fer while a few rot in luxury? No, sir
!. Such a condition cannot last long, and
especially in this enlightened age. Nc
doubt you have read of popular upris-
ings in the past, and you are far-seeing
ann1lph ia understand that clouds are