Industrial freedom. [volume] (Edison, Wash.) 1898-1???, 1899-05-27
EQUALITY.
BY 7. C. WALSH.


senses have but human conditions. His cere-
monies laid by, in his nakedness he appears
but man."-Shakespeare.
We are all equal Can it be so?
Are the rich and happy, the poor in woe,
The proud and the humble, the weak and
the strong
The champion of Right and the champion
of Wrong,
The smtten, and he who giveth the blow
All equal, can it be so?
We are all equal Can it be true?
Are the martyr, and he that turneth the
screw,
The man who toileth from early morn,
Till magistrates fall, and is treated with
scorn.
And he who hunger and toll neer knew
All equal Can it be true?
All men equal. Can it be real?
That he who is crushed meath Monopoly's
heel,
And the fend who weareth the iron shoe,
And never pang or pity knew,
But ieers at them who for mercy kneel-
All equal Can it be real?
All men equal Is it Jest?
What! the oppressor equal to the oppressed?
He whose palace doth pierce the skies,
And he who at night by the roadside lies,
The demon of hunger knawing his breast
These men equal? Is it a jest?
All men equal Yes, tits true,
And the poor are many, the rich are few.
But the rich are strong in their bags Of
gold;
And justice away from the poor is sold,
And the poor won unite for their rights to
sue,
All men equal Yes It's true.
We are all equal, Every one,
But equality's crushed by robber Wrong:
Let but the toilers arise in their might.
And banded together press on the good
fight,
Till the welkin shall echo with truth the glad
song:
1--WE are AL equal, every one"
:z-zs4.z.ss.a2ss,z
The most revolving Outrages have
been perpetrated upon prison laborers
under this diabolical system. Read
the official reports and stand agh2st
at the atrocities committed against
these morally delo med and perverted
human creatures, your brothers and
my brothers, for the private profit Of
capitalistic exploiters and the adj
vancement OF Christian civilization.
What a commentary on the capital
ist. competitive system! First, men
are forced into idleness. Gradually
they are driven to the extremity Of
begging and stealing. Having still
a spark of pride and seli-respect they
steal and are sent to Jail. The first
sentence seals their doom. The brand
of Cain is upon them. They are iden-
titled with the criminal class. Society,
whose victims they are, has exiled
them forever, ard with this curse ring
ing in their ears they proceed on their
downward career, sounding every
note in the scale of depravity until at
last, having graduated in crime all
the way from petit larceny to homi-
eide, their last despairng sigh is
w.tng from them by the hangman's
natter. From first to last these un-
fortunates, the victims of social NAL
formation, are made the subject of
speculation and traffic. The barbed
iron of the prison contractor is plung
ed into their quivering hearts that
their fortunes may be coined into pri-
vate profit for their eXploiters.
In the investigation in South Caro-
lima, where the convicts had been leas-
ed to railroad companies, the most
shocking disclosures were made. Out
of 2S5 prisoners employed by one
company, 1913, or more than 40 per
cent, died as the result, largely of bru-
tai treatment.
1t is popular to say society must be
protected against its criminals. ! pre-
fer to believe that criminals should be
protected against society, at least
while we live under a system that
makes the commission of crime ncCes-
sarv to secure employment.
The Tennessee tragedy is still fresh
in the public memory. Here, as else
where, the conyicts, themselves bru-
tally treated, were used as a means of
dragging the whole mine-WorlSing class
down to their crime cursed condition.
The Tennessee Coal & Iron Co, leased
the convicts for the express purpose
of forcing the wages.of miners down
to the point of subsistence.
Says the official report: "The mi
ners were compelled to work III COM
petition with the low priced convict