Natchitoches populist., 1898-04-22
WEALTH AND WAGES.
HOW RICHES DO NOT REACH
THE WORKERS.

AS the Wealth of the Monopolistlt
Employers Increases the Wages OF
Their Employees Fail to Rlse--Life's
Labor lost.
With monopolistic control OF the ma.
tural sources Of wealth, the means oi
transportation and communication, the
medium Of exchange and the markets
Is it any wonder that the trusts which
thus command production and ex.
change should rapidly grow rich and
that those who have only their labor
to sell should, under such system, find
themselves becoming poorer and poor
er? Prof Deleon makes the actual sit
uation clear in the following dialogue:
Brother Jonathan looks bright and
happy, and rubs his hands.
Uncle Sam-What bit Of good luck
has fallen to you?
b. il am going to Hawaii
U. SIS it that that makes you so
happy?
B. J.-Yes; I can't help feeling hap
py. Here I've been these last seven
months without work. That in itself
Is bad enough. But it wouldn't be so
bad If before that I had had good
wages, and had been able to, lay by
something. 1t happens, though, that
before that my wages were so low that
I couldn't get along with them, and
ran in debt. On top of that was laid
Oft. Pretty tough. l tell ye. l never
went through such hard days.
U. S.-But what is It that makes YOU
happy?
B. J.-Now after all this suffering I
am going to have good times.
U. S.-Where? How? When?
B. J.-Where" In Hawaii; when?
when get there; how? because l can't
miss good wages.
L. S.-Me seems you go too fast.
Where have you got that certainty
from?
B. J.-Don't you know that Presi-
dent Dole of Hawaii Is in the country
now?
Y, 81 do.
B. J.-And haven't you read what
ne said to a labor reporter In Wash
ington?
y. S.-No; I haven't. Life is short:
to spend that shortness in reading tom
foolery were too long.
B. j. throws his arms up, tips his
hat back, and looks wild generality
Now, there you have it again. Here
comes a good man, with good news to
the workingmen, and you call that tom
foolery. OH
q. S.-Give us a rest with your
Whimperings, and let's see what that
good news to the workingmen" Is.
B. il have learned the passage by
heart; so we'll did | like 1t: I can give
it to you literally.
q. S.--Do, by all means.
B. J.-He said "The climate is sub.
tropical; that makes the conditions of
life easy; then also the planters are
rich and growing richer. Taking these
two things into consideration there Is
nothing to prevent white labor from
finding at all times profitable employ-
ment. work and high wages" There,
now!
U. s. raps with his knuckles on 3.
Us forehead.
B. What are you doing?
U. s. traps again)-Hollow! hollow!
B. What are you at?
U. S.-Poor Jonathan! Because Ha-
vail has "sub-tropical climate" and
because the planters are rich, therefore
you believe you are there sure of work
and Of high wages?
B. J.-Why not?
U. S.-Man alive, you don't need to
So w AAaWo AOi Il SuU-ITOplCal climate
or for rich employers: we have both
right here. Isn't Louisiana's climate
sub-tropical enough for you?
B. We'll, it is sub-tropical.
U. S.-And has labor there steady
and good employment?
B. Darn it, no; it is Just the low
wages paid down there that our bosses
are now giving as a ground for lower
ing ours up here.
U. Swell said. And are the bosses
here and in the sub-tropical South not
every bit as rich as the bosses in Ha-
waii?
B. Guess they are richer.
U. Sand yet that does not insure
permanent work or good wages. does
it?
B. ]. falls into brown study.
U. Snow, Jonathan, you have been
working almost lifetime, and still
you have not yet got hold of the lesson
that your daily experience teaches on
wages. You have not yet learned that