The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-02-12

serious obstacle TO a complete develop
ment that our unjust and tyrannicai
banking law imposes upon us, the condi-
ton Of tho great mass Of the people has
been steadily improving for one hundred
years, and it is better to-day than 1t
ever was.
We print the following from McMas-
| ter's History Of the People Of the United
| States in evidence OF it;
There can, however be no doubt that
| n wonderful amelioratiOn has taken place
| since that day 07SO in the condition OF
the poor Their houses were meaner'
| their food was cOarser. their clothing
was of commoner stuff, their wages were
| despite the depreciation that has gone
| on in the value Of money, lower by one
| half than at present.
A man who performed what would now
| be called unskilled labor, VINO sawed
wood. who dug bitches. who mended
roads. who mixed mortar who carried
boards to the carpenter and bricks to the
mason or helped TO cut hay IN the mar
vest-time usually received a. the iruit
Of his daily toll two shillings (about ~
cents). Sometimes when the laborers
were few he was paid more, and became
the envy Of his fellows If at the end OF a
week he took home to his family 10
shillngs, a sum row greatly exceeded
by ST.
on such a pittance it was only by the
strictest economy that mechanic KEPT
his children from starvation and himself
from jail
I'm the low and dingy rooms which ne
called his home were wanting many ar
ticles of adornment and OF use now 10 DC
If tho n0DroNf OF
his class Sand sprinkled on the moor
did duty as a carpet. There was no
glass on his table, there was no emma
In his cupboard, there were no prints on
his wall. What q stove was he dld not
know. coal ne had never seen, matches
ne had never heard OF.
over a fire OF fragments OF boxes anu
barrels, which he lit from the sparks Struck
from "A flint or with the live Goals brought
from a neighbors hearth. his wife cook
ed up q rude meal and served II IN pewter
dishes lie rarely tasted fresh meat as OF
ten as once in "A week, and paid LOT IL Il
much higher price than his posterlty.
Everything. indeed. which ranked as a
staple of life was very costly. corn
stood at three shllings about 90 cents)
the bushel wheat at eight and siXpence
(about $40; an assize Of bread was
fourpcnce; a pound OF SAT- pork was
tenpence.
Many other commodities now 10 be seen
on the tables of the poor were either
quite unknown or far beyond the reach
Of his scanty means. Unenvlable Is the
lot Of that man who cannot In the height
of the season. when the WharVes ana
markets are hoaped with baskets ana
crates of fruit. spare three cents for a
pound of grapes or FIVE cents Tor as
many peaches. or when Sunday comes
round indulge his family with water
melons OF cantalOupes. one hundred
wears ago the wretchcd fOX-grape was
the only kind that found its way to mar
ket, and was the luxury of the rich'
Among the fruits and vegetables OF which
no one had then even heard are canta-
loupes, many varieties Of peaches ana
pears. tomatoes and rhubarb, sweet corn
the caulinower the eggplant, head let
tuce and okra.
If the food Of an artisan would row
be thought coarse. his clothes would be
thought abominable.
A pair of yellow buckskin or leatnerh
breeches a checked shirt, red flannel
jacket. a rusty felt hat cooked up at the
corners, shoes Of neats-skin set OF with
huge buckles of brass and a leathern
apron comprised his scanty wardrobe.
The leather he smeared with grease 10
keep it soft and flexible.
His sons followed in his footsteps or
were apprenticed 10 neighboring trades
men. His daughter went out to service.
She performed, indeed, all the duties at
present exacted from women of her
class. but with them were coupled many
others rendered useless by the great I'M
proVement that has since taken place
I'm the cOnVeniences Of life. shs mend
ed the clothes. she did up the runs. she
ran on errands from one end OF the Town
TO the other. she MIXED the COWS, made
al an hlOrl4 for nail
of water, spun fax for the family linen.
and when the year was up received -lO
about 500 for her wages.
But there is one other change which
has II must be admitted done far more
to increase the comforts OF the poorest
class than better food, higher wages
finer clothes. Men are no longer lmpris-
oned for debt
No crime known TO the law brought
so many TO the jails and prisons as the
crime of debt, and the class most likely
to get into debt was the most defence
less and dependent, the great body OF SER
wants. OF artisans and OF laborers-those.
I'm short. who depended on their daily
wages for their daily bread.
One hundred years ago the lahorer VINO
fell from a scaffold or lay sick Of
fever was sure to be seized by the sheriff
the moment he recovered and be carried
TO Jail for the bill Of few dollars
which had run up during his illness at
the huckstcrs or the tavern.
The entire system Of punishment wa,
such as cannot be contemplated without
mingled feelings of pity and disPust. Or
fences to which a more mercitul genera
tion has attached no higher penalty then
imprisonment and fine stood upon the
statute books as capital crimes. Modes
Of punishment long since driven from
the prisons with execrations as w rthy
OF an African kraal were looked upon
BY society with a profound Indifference.
The treadmill was always going The
pillory and stocks were never empty.
The shears, tho branding-iron and the
lash were never idle for a day
The misery for the unfortunate crea-
lures cOoped up in the cells even of the
most humanely kept prisons surpasses
in horror anything ever recorded in fic-
ton. No attendance was provided for
the sick. No clothes were distributed
to the naked. Such a thing as a bed
was rarely seen, and this soon became
so foul with insects that the owner dis
pensed with II gladly. Many OF the in
mates of the prisons passed years with
out so much as washing themselves.
Their hair grew long. Their clothing
rotted from their backs.
AS il such torments were not hard
enough 20 bear, others were added by
the half-maddened prisoners. No soon
er did a newcomer enter the door Of
cell than "A rush was made for him lV