The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-09-03
THE RELIEF OF THE U.EM-
PLOYED.

|
| II has been well said that the poor are
always in evidence, or with US The
complaints of the great army Of the I'M
employed are not of recent date. foV-
erty and distress have been the eva OF
every civilization, ancient or modern.
Long before the agitation of the money
question the tramp of the unemployed
was heard in every city and town i'll this
country, as well as in every city ana
town under European or Asiatic civlllza-
ton.
| Nowhere on the face of the earth has
society been able to organize on a basis
of universal prosperity, and 1t has not
been the fault of the organizers, but
rather is it attributable 20 class that
inspired lips have assured us will always
be with us. 1t may be an original trait
of aziness or it may be cultivated
trait. but we are certain that such
class exist, have always existed and will
always exist to puzzle the philanthro-
pists. Reformcrs have sought means to
abolish poverty and distress, but the ten
derest hearts and the wisest heads have
never been able to solve the problem
Back. long before silver and gold came to
fret us with their relative merits or rela-
tive circulation, CoXey and his army of
tramps moved through the country. levy
ing contributions on the kind-hearted and
invaded the sacred grass of the national
capital with their ill-shod feet. Long
before that. every city in this country
and Europe were working upon the
problem of relief to the army of the UNI
employed
That army is not more numerous now
than it has ever been. In fact, the alb
sorbng political issues of the day have
diverted us from our construction of
some Ethiopia in which all alike would
revil in the oil and wine of plenty.
Neither the gold standard nor the agita-
ton of free silver coinage has added to
or diminished from that army and to
neither cause is their existence attrib-
utablc. Henry George attempted to
solve the problem by proposing to limit
the occupation of land to the number of
acres that could be utilized by each land
holder. but even his theory has never ap-
pearcd to the congressman of this cOun-
try as n cure-all for the evil of unem-
ployment and poverty.
We believe that the question of relief
lies much deeper than philanthropists
have ever reached All of these reform
ers have offered a mere tentative and
surface relief. We believe the fault lies
either in the nature or the education of
the men who enter this army of the UNI
employed annually and supply recruits to
take the places of those who have fallen
by the wayside. There are no condi-
tons with which such men may be sur
rounded by which they will maintain an
independent existence. The demands of
the socialists might be yielded to and a
division made equally of all the property
in the country between all the men in the
country and it would not he ten years
before Il few men would have it back
| again and the same old army of the UNI
employed would be tramping the streets
of our cities and towns seeking employ
ment which it would gricvc some of them
to accept. The probability is that the
| tendency of many men towards idleness
and dependence is SO great that the best
education would not do more than dimin-
ish their numbers and as far as numbers
are concerned that this army will always
be respectable, but that education and the
proper environments would tend TO ma
terially diminish these armies or parts
of armies there can be no doubt. If men
are taught sef-rcSpect and independence
they will never be permanent recruits
to the army of trampS. That education
and an aid TO better environments we
believe would so materially relieve the
conditions Of poverty that it would be
much less perceptibe. We can never
be relieved from all the poor, but by
proper efforts of philanthropy we can so
reduce their numbers as practically to
make poor or an unemployed man an
exception and not a general rule.