The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-08-11
THEWoRKiNGMAN,S ECONOMIC MAN
AGEMENT IN EXPENDITURE.


strDments standing IL parallel rows
with just space enough between for
placing stool. {This, Of course, III the
Latin quarter. Furniture rooms show
The same close packing, and grocery
stores are a study in this respect A
shoemaker around the corner hammers
happily away in a room hardly large
enough for doll house and lighted
with one window. The home Of our
concierge consists of but one room, a
third of which is comprised IL its bow
window. Here she cooks, eats, sleeps
and receives her company, yet there is
not the slightest hint OF squalor OF dis
order in Ter domain. On the contrary.
there is always a bouquet of flowers on
her window sill, and her well kept
plants and singing birds, to say nothing
OF her beautiful manners, suggest that
both comfort and refinement may sur
vive IN such conditions.
Still, there must be some underlying
reasons Why this power to rise above
unfavorable conditions should be SO
general kere. The reason I think is this:
Whatever this nations faults, one fun
damentel instinct seems to exist, from
the government down, that is the dispo-
9hon to multiply work by every posi-
Ble means instead of lessening it or per-
hitting it to be lessened either by in
diyidua1 greed or tie indiscriminate
use of labor saving {and nan wasting)
devices.
Doubtless many defects exist in car
rying oat this instinct, but it must
make WORK: more assured, take the
sting out Of poverty, and leave courage
to make the most Of what one has. 4
am told that this government dis
ceurages In certain cases the introduc-
ton Of machinery. In certain small
towns where shipbuilding is the means
! Of livelihood the work is all done by
hand. The wood for the timbers is saw,
ed and planed in this way, and the iron
work, the bolts and screws, are cut and
fashioned BY the same means. Also the
making Of the thread for the sails and
the spinning, weaving and sewing of
these, ali furnish work for the hands
OF needy labo-ers.
a lire business man would say,
Why, could bring a sawmill here
and do this work up in no time and
without using a fraction of the men
now employed" And doubtless an at
tempt by oar government to interfere
IN this way would be considered by
even very Intelligent people as an un-
warranted interference with the rights
Gf free born citizens. y
And yet Goes being free born" mean
the right to make slave of another
free born, " as many are today the
slaves of poverty? A man may be-of-
ten has been-the slave of another man
and yet kept his manhood intact, but
man out OF work continually is the
slave of conditions in which manhood
can rarely survive. Why should not a
government liberate these slaves by put
ting in circulation work which already
exists, for work is not scarce, never was
and never Will be; it is simply kept out
of huEanity's reach by combination
sof Institutions TO see that this wcrk
was put IN circulation would interfere
with no ones rights.
Work which is paid for is scarce, but,
again, this is not because money is
scarce, if we use the word money" in
its legitimate sense. Man works fer
money In order that he may obtain with
it work Of some other kind. The money
IN its legitimate sense is merely an
agent for facilitating this exchange Of
work and is necessary only because it
facilitates it and also checks dishonesty.
Work is really paid for with work, just
as N the most primitive times, and this
instinct to exchange work would be al
ways On the increase if not deliberately
interfered with.
True. it would take the closest think
ing to keep money down to its legiti-
mate business of facilitating an ex-
change of work instead of serving the
purposes Of speculation, but it would
make 1t 10 longer possible TO cheek the
natural circulation OF work, as is done
now.
It is this interference with the nat
ural increase and circulation Of work
that is checked to certain extent in
this country. Of course this divides the
burden of discomfort more evenly be-
tween the workingmen and more inde-
pendent people, and to many this alone
would be sufficient reason for condemn
ing the governments interference. The
most noticeable instance Of this is in
the tram system Of Paris, in which the
motive power is mainly horses and
horses which do not hasten. In addi-
ton, while these tram lines are numer-
Gus, the number Of trans is limited be-
cause all above certain number are
taxed SO high that it hardly pays to put
them On. This is done,>I am told, to
prevent the trans from crowding out
the older and more expensive cab sys-
tenn, which gives employment in this