The herald., 1897-07-10
A CALAMITY HOWL


gave poison to his little daughter and
then committed suicide. Why? Because
he was out of employment and could
obtain no work. He was intelligent,
fairly we'll educated, had held a place
in the middle walks of life and was
not merely willing but was eager to
labor to support himself and his child
Fate, or something worse, was against
him and he sought refuge in death.
A short time previous, in San Fran
cisco, Professor LIE Conte, an artist,
starved to death. He had won high rank
in his profession, was an educated gen.
tleman and had been received into the
best society. Yet, with all these ad-
vantages. he could not support himself
He was too proud to let his friends know
his condition and SO he starved to death,
starved In the midst of plenty because
he could not get work.
1t was only two weeks or so ago that
two girls, sisters, took poison and died
together because they could not earn
enough to support themselves. There
was another alternative-there is always
the black alternative, no matter how bad
the times may be-but these girls pre-
ferred death to life Of shame. Let
us trust that they found rest and relief
from the too heavy burdens of human
life.
Sixty suicides In one month, two a
day, is the top notch record in Chicago
this summer. Does anyone suppose that
these unhappy and respondent people
getting better, because they had renewed
hope in the future?
A great army of $1,000 unemployed
men Is said to be headed toward Califor-
MIA in the wake of the Christian En-
deavor excursonists. They come from
the great, rich valley of the Mississippi,
where the harvest season is at hand
and where, we are told, prosperity has
already arrived. They want to come to
California because it is warm here, be-
cause though they may suffer for want
of food, they will not freeze to death
next winter.
And how is it in California? Thous-
ands of men and their families were
kept alive in Los Angeles by public sub
scription. Thousands of men were eager
for the opportunity to toll all day for the
pittance of dollar because they and
those that were dearest to them would
mot then, starve Tho ca N, @ n roo n f,,I nv, =
ditions existed to larger degree in San
Francisco. They existed all over the
country, but not all cities dealt with the
problem as did the California cities 1t
was not that there was more suffering
here, but that we did more for those who
did suffer.
What thoughts do these terrible IAN
nails of the poor" convey to the mind of
the Intelligent observer? Simply that
the laboring classes are being thrust
down into the dark and dismal depths
of pauperism and vagabondage; that
the legitimate field of occupation for the
laboring classes is being filled by men
who, in more prosperous times, worked
oSNuPoeAOiiS iCqutIlH6 ulSHGT Qe-
gree of intelligence and skill; because
the mechanic, the clerk and the trades
man cannot get work in his regular
line.
The laboring classes and the middle
classes 80 called. are going from bad to
worse. Are the moneyed classes going
down with them? Far from it! and
there is the rub. The trite saying that
the rich are growing richer and the poor
poorer is strikingly exemplified in the sad
conditions that prevail today. Our indus
trial and political systems favor the one
and discriminate against the other. A
wide gulf has been created, a gulf that
Is growing wider and which will be
bridged with dire disasters If there is
not a change for the better. If justice
does not prevail
That these conditions are not the re-
suit Of mere temporary circumstance,
time and experience have Clearly shown.
{7<1 st z 4s