The weekly examiner., 1901-08-31
A LABOR REVOLUTION.
The Fessimist and Optfmfst and fhe
 Middle Ground Between Them.

The FessfmtgG and 0pffmfat and FM&
 Middle Ground Between Them.
 Time was when hoboes and labor saving machines were unknown; when railroads and nervous prostration had not come in style; when capital and la bor got along in harmony because it never entered the head of labor to pro test against the exactions of the mas ter
 PessImists rsfer- to that period as the "good old daysY and yearn for rever- sion to more primitive ways of living, unharassed by labor agitations, untrou- bled by the fear of some invention: which would take the bread out of their mouths to fill the storehouse of the plutocrats. The poor, they say, are growing poorer and the rich richer. Railroads and manufacturers are com bining to extort the last dollar from the producer, lawmakers are subsi- dized in the interest of capital, and Justice is moribund, If not already dead.
 Then our poor pessimist winds up by predicting a bloody revolution in which the masses will rise against the classes and dispossess them of their i'll gotten wealth. He stops there. The prophecy does not state whether in the general overturn the masses are to become the classes and lord it over their erstwhlle masters or whether an equal division of the spells is to be made. Tn the lat ter case our shortsighted pessimist overlooks the fact that the same as tuteness which now enables one man to accumulate millions while another runs into debt would soon restore the old order of things
 On the other hand, the optimist scoffs at the idea of the good old days being any better than the present. He de scribes the ceaseless labor of the work ingman of that time, leaving him no leisure for recreation or mental im provement. In those bad old days, says our smiling optimist. the laboring man was too stupid to rebel. He was like dull OK yoked to the blow, ann bitionless. knowing nothing, caring nothing, save to rise in the morning. go through his round of drudgery and eat and sleep enough to enable him to pursue the same course on the follow ing day.
 Where were the public schools, hos pitals, asyiums, public libraries, free collegiate scholarships and other de vices for the amelioration of social con- ditions? he triumphantiy asks. Has not the poor man of today chance of be- coming the rich man of tomorrow q Have not the labor saving inventions. even though they do temporarily em-
 
 perseded, proved blessing in the end. creating greater demand by the cheap ening of commodities? Have they not shortened the hours of labor? and so on indefinitely.
 As usual, the truth lies between tho two extremes, with leaning toward the optimistic end. The laboring man has had his troubles in all ages, varied in nature by different conditions. 4 revolution is not only 1mm1heff7 6i7f 1a- actually in progress. It is not bloody affair and is not likely to become such. Nevertheless two armies are narshaIeds represented on the one hand by organ ized labor and on the other by organ ized capital, backed by unorganized la- bor, the latter composed largely of men and women lacking either in abil- ity or the courage to make them will ing to run the risk of antagonizing their employers. It is true there are many whose family ties seem to make 1t imperative that they accept half a loaf rather than take the chance of having none, or, being in destitute cir cumstances, they are in way forced into taking positions at lower wage rzfu ucsA workers.
 The fact that mechanical devices have thrown the labor market out of balance, making it impossible under present conditions for every worker to hold a situation causes the unemploy- ed to become the chief obstacle in the way of bringing about more equita- ble state of affairs.
 All the finesse of the hnancier could not avail against solid union of the laboring men and women of the world When this union Is accomplished, which will not be long hence, the golden era of human equality will be ushered ins when the worker will share in the ad- vantages of labor saving appliances, and what seems now like curse will prove a blessing. The hours of labor will be shortened to such an extent as may be necessary to give every one q share of employment. General tnteHi- gence will have greater opportunity to develop, and the extremes of poverty and wealth will become matters of his- tory only.-Lola E. Git in Los Angeles Herald
 To Teef the Label.
 The committee on publications of