The herald., 1895-02-18
THE LAND AND THE TRAMPS
By E. o. Roberts.

the world beyond if they bear the humil
ation and oppression of this world in
meekness of spirit and with submission;
and so on. The next man will agree with
the first.
These men will go on speaking and
whereasing and resolving, and in the end
the poor starving men and women will be
the same as they were. Get man who
has felt the pangs of starvation to express
his views on the subject, and they will be
something like this: have felt the pangs
of starvation and | feel that cold stern
facts would not be pleasant to some of
you, as they would seem more like cen-
sure than advice.
suppose it would be shock to some of
YOU to hear me say that do not believe
in this so-called charity, for if justice pre-.
vailed there would be no demand for it.
You gentlemen meet together and
agree to build soup houses, etc. Mere
soup house charity would only make
them able to work cheaper than
before. Free soup will not increase their
chances to make a living or diminish
the number of idle men who can find no
work to do. If you believe the church is
able to abolish starvation, explain to me
how it is that in more than eighteen
hundred years you have not accomplished
that result. If you believe charity wood
yard would benefit these people | ask
you to tell me what is to become of the
men who are already engaged in that oc-
cupation? By taking their work away,
you simply. change the persons who are
needing aid. In this way | might follow
each attempt by which you strive to
avoid the real cause of the trouble and
only temporize with the main question
On the one hand we find individual for
tunes that the mind cannot measure. On
the other, we find men and wo-
men and children whose only
possession is their ability to work. Fail
ing that, they die of starvation in our
streets. These miserable, wretched, God
! forsaken human beings appeal to you for
help. The city papers are crying out,
For shame, that such things should be
allowed in a Christian country" But
you console yourselves by saying that
your resolutions meet popular approval.
| ask you, and | do so in all Kindness of
spirit, Can you look upon these wrctched,
dying men and then believe that an all
wise being created them with every nee
essary power to produce the food by which
they might live, and then failed to pro-
vide them with the opportunity to lapor2
Such creator would be brute beneath
the notice of self-respecting men. Cali
this power God or Nature, as you choose.
/ cannot but believe that the same power
that created them also gave them the
right to use the opportunity by which
they can produce their daily bread. And
believing this, l am forced to declare that
you should fearlessly proclaim to the
world that no man has the right to de-
prive them of the chance to freely use
those opportunities.
| would urge upon you, even though il
be unpleasant or unpopular; for it is your
duty to proclaim the truth regardless of
your personal interest. These natural OPP
portunities were given to all men, not a
chosen few and the natural lords OF creal-
ton are the producers. They alone have
the right to the name. The mere accu-
mulators of wealth who live in luxury
upon the tribute taken from the product
OF their toll, can become lords and masters
only when they succeed in locking up
their opportunities to live.
My friends, our brothers are crying for
bread. Can we find it in our hearts to
offer them Il stone? When the people are
ready for the change, the laws that male
private proderty of land will be Cancelled,
and occupancy and use will be the title;
and land that is not in use will be made
as free as air to those who need it all
taxes will be collected in proportion to
the advantages each one has received
from public Improvements, and private
property will not be taxed at all. All mon
contract, so that they cannot take more
than their just share for services rem 4
dered. Insanity, poverty and crime will
rapidly disappear. Strikes and conflicts
between capital and labor will soon he
unknown. The tramp and the millionaire
Will nc gradually IHerSeu llto Il prosper
Gus and contented people who willingly
go about their work, and whose patriot-
ism and love for the country which gave
them every blessing their hearts could de
sire, will be a marked contrast
with the sentiment of those who
but little while ago would have
destroyed it in the desperate hope of bet
tering their condition. 1t will become
evident that industry guarantees each one
a comfortable living, the pressure OF the
throng that has formerly struggled for
political preferment will gradually lessen
and the office will seek the man who is
best able to serve the people. The great
est difficulty is to make the people UNDER
stand the fundamental cause of their
troubles.
Possibly | have not been as plain as |
should have been, but have done my best
for suffering humanity.