The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-06

man. The term worxingman needs to be
broadened, too. Whoever gives to the world
a day of honest effort is a workingman
The man who runs the furrOw and sows the
seed and reaps the fields of gold that feed
the world is a workingman much he
who turns the million wheels of transpOrta-
ton distributing 1t among mankind. The
miller who grinds the wheat or weaves the
cotton and the wool, the wholesaler and re-
taller who bring the finished product to the
customers door. all are members of the no
bility of toll Every proper. honest agency
in our complex civilization is but form OF
labor. And so ii is that whoever is the
friend of labor is the friend of man. For
we are woven together In TINS TREMENDOUS
fabric OF the ages called civilization. Every
man is necessary. Every honest occupation
is essential. Every man depends on every
other man. The just prosperity of one is
necessarily the real prosperity of all. So
c1ety is a family, not a group OF hostile
camps. The interests of labor are not OPP
posed to the interests of capital or the re-
verse; and the capitalist who regards labor
as his foe~the employer who looks upon
his men as hostile force whose wages are
TO be cut down TO the lowest living point IS
not only out of time with the times, but is
an idiot of seifshness rotting out the
foundations of his prosperity. Indus
| trial selfishness-gain at the expense of our
fellows welfare-is the method of savagery.
Industrial interdependence is the effect and
the purpose of civilization.
There is no such thing as sudden rem
edies. There is no such thing instan-
| taneous and universal reforms. Even COO
proceeds gradually. The daylight does not
come with a flash. Consider His method
|. with the blooming of rose and then think
! of the method of kellar or Hermann.
| The latter steps upon the stage and tells
| you that he will perform miracle-he will
| make rosebud grow and bloom before our
| eyes from a pot OF sand. He shows us the
! sand-it is sterile; he covers it with an
! empty paper, mutters word, whips away
| the cover and rosebud covered with lowell
ness has risen from the powdered silica.
! That is the method of instantaneous reform.
But the rose is not rooted in the sand-iitt
is stuck there. 1t has no life. 1t Will
wither in an hour 1t is only a make-be
lieve. Gods method involves the seed, the
! SOIL the seasons, the sunshine air and dew,
and the attention of that ancient gardener,
Time. And when at last, after weeks and
months. the rose tree blooms in royal glory,
and self-renewing fact and not whiting and
visible death So With With every reform in
patience, with endless toll and thought ev-
| cry period of human development must be
worked out. No perfect system of human
! government was ever devised at given
time by the brain of man.
Il am not here to discuss any particular
reform to-day. In every proposed reform
| there is probably some good. But that good
must be separated from the inexpedient
bad which surrounds it, and applied to prac
! tical human conditions by the fingers of eX
perience. Whoever comes to us. therefore.
| with a general proposition of reforms to be
accomplished in day, to be achieved by an
| election. is an unsafe counselor. drunk with
| his own devices-a false prophet raising
! hopes sure of disappointment and creating
| unreasonable discomfort But he who says
to US let us do what we can in our day
and time to better in this or that practical
particular the conditions of labor and of
| life which we know how to improve here
and now, the same Is the only helpful
| friend of you and me-the only one who
speeds the coming of the hoped-for day of
social and industrial perfection. For these
| little reforms will finally work out. naturally
and wisely, the larger reform that which
| is apparently incidental will be found to be
| rooted in the eternal
WANTS CULTURED MASSES.
1.-THE better the workman, the better the
work; the better the product the larger the
demand and price; the larger the demand
and price, the greater the profit the greater
the profit the higher the wages-such is
the simple logic of the brotherhood of
labor and capital. And, besides the purpose
of this Republic is the culture of men. The
noblest product of the Nation is citizenship.
l have no patience with the so-caled Gull
tured classes--I want to see the cultured
masses. But all this cannot come in an
hour Patience is the word to be repeated
! by every friend of the people-patience and
vigilance and courage. The social bigotry-
| the industrial savagery of the past cannot
| be overcome at a blow. Perfect industrial
| conditions cannot be builded in day. There
| is no lamp of Aladdin in nature or society.
Slowly we must progress toward our ideal.
| Day by day, doing with our might what
our hands find to do, we must improve
| human conditions and sweeten human life.
| This is the method by which all good has
| come to us. The progress made in a single
| generation in behalf of labor and therefore
| in behalf of man has been Unreasonable.
| The statute books are rich with laws lift
ing burden here, creating a right there,
protecting privilege yOnder. Even the Con-
| stitution of the Republic is interpreted to-
] day in the interest of the toiler and in
the interests of all society The 'pluck-me
! store laws of this State are unconstitu-
| tional according to the rules of strict con-
structionists and would have been SO de-
! clared twenty years ago. / could name
scores of kindred legislative acts which the
| bench of a generation since would have
stricken down. But by the broader princ-
| have. grown out of vital human needs
| which have grown out of the new idea that
and not the people for the Constitution
| such laws are to-day sanctioned by the Judi
larry and upheld by all the power of govern
ment. And more progress is yet to be made
| than has already been achieved. And final
| ly, out Of these laws written by present
necessities, out of accommodating customs,
| the plant cell on cell, growing as grew the
common law of England, precedent on pre-
| during things in the realm of thought as
well as matter. stage by stage. we shall
eve evolve eat at last perfect system of industry
But powder will not help that growth.
violence is a poor gardener The torch
| it. The way to hatch an egg is not to crush
it. The boy who digs up the bean he plart-
| ed yesterday to see whether it has sprouted
L
/ The eternal analogy holds and nature will
| have her way with the progress of man no
| less than with the progress of plants
| If any man says that in all this there
| is promise of the immediate perfection
| of social and industrial conditions / answer
| that whoever so promises is a vender Of
| Dead-Sea apples, Which will turn to ashes
| on your lips; | answer that 1 prefer to be
| the preacher of vital faith, the prophet of
| a fruitful hope, than the momentarily pop
| ular Apostle of gospel of deceit and
| creed of Representatives, ! Know that it is
| hard to await the slow methods of natural
| development. We feel that complete relief
| of progress helps me too tardily. / want
! higher wages now. | want prosperity to-
| day. / want life while l live con-
| gested situation increases this impatiencc.
| But yesterday it looked as though wise
counsel might go Gnheeded, so desperate
were the times. SO shamefully stupid. so
| criminally selfish one or two of the Inightier
I kings of capital so desperate the dena-
| gogues, so pitiable the plight Of industry.
| But recent events, children Of Providence
| have relieved conditions for a quarter Of a
| century at least New markets nave been
| created for American labor to supply The
! liberation of Cuba, the annexation of Ha-
/ the very least a liberal government of the
| Philippines, where property shall be safe
| and commerce with this Republic free and
| untaXed. will furnish investment for idle
capital and work Tor idle hands. The de-
| Velopment of the incalculable resources of
beef, and tools, and implements and cloth
| ing to the teeming millions that under the
| protection of liberal laws justly enforced,
| will now pour into these rescued countries,
will stimulate industry throughout the en-
| tire Republic, raise prices, increase wages,