Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-02-22

thing more than grumblinG to get rid
of it. They looked around and saw
100000 people, roughly speaking.
whose lot in life was n funeral process
sion from the cradle to the grave. 1t
had been said by Solomon also, THE
fool has his eyes in the ends of the
earth" There had been n lot OF fools
in England during the past three years.
Laughter and cheers. They might
brag of the empire and the army and
navy, they might 'mafick' day in and
day ont. but all was unavailinG unless
they had sweet homes. The working
men had the matter in their own hands.
They had sent to the county council
men bent on building dwellings and de-
veloping iocomOtion. but it was neces-
sary that men should be sent to parlia-
ment who would help and not hinder
the councils efforts. Not always the
sty, but often the pig. was to blame
Many homes were vile and verminous
because the workers wages went to
the publican. the pawnbroker and that
curse Of modern society. the boolmak-
err. ICheers. II made all the differ
cnce to the appearance of home wheth-
er a little will. soap and love We're
brought into play or whether leisure
hours were spent in spotting winners
and catching losers. ICheers.l
The wOrkingmen he addressed were
of the better sort, and he laid upon
each the solemn injunction not only to
demand his rights and do his duty, but
to become a moral and ethical center,
whence personal advice, example and
inspiration should radiate to those poor
prisoners of poverty who had lost
heart. The pitiful sight was witnessed
of the tenpence an hour man looking
down on the siXpence an hour man.
What snObS working people We're. They
We're more snobbish than lords, who
had some reason for being so. London
was being divided into parishes of the
rich and districts of the poor. That
was very bad for the poor, but infinite
" worse for the rich, especially for
those who were getting sQuint eyed
by playing pingpOng all day. Laugh
teri BY that division the latter We're
deprived OF the ineXpreSsible luxury
of helping those who could not help
themselves, the only rich thing in life
worth possessing. and the poor became
bitter in their isolation. People of diff
ferent classes were no longer neigh
bOrs, and the effect of that would be
seen some day in some way that he
could not accurately predict. But the
rich would have been warned, and
they would have only themselves to
blame. Garden cities would not solve
the housing problem. for Mr.. Rown-
trees wonderful book showed that in
York, where all the conditions were
favorable to development on garden"
lines, poverty and misery were very
much in the London proportions. Ger
tainly he would like to see London
smaller, and in particular would he
be pleased to emigrate the pingpongists
to a place where they could do some
decent work, if only that their Belgra-
via tenements might be available for
people from Bermondsey. [Laughter.1
The best remedy for the housing evil
was for the overcrowded tenants to
think more and drink less, of their own
will to help reformers to help them, to
be persistent in rising upward rather
than vfldlant in sliding downward.
[Cheers.] They should have more care
for the homes of their children and
trouble less about horses in the beauti-
full stables of the enemy who exploited
their ignorance. Three out of five in
that room would before they died land
in the workhouse. the infirmary or
some kindred institution. IMurmurs
of establishment That was the cold,
statistical fact, and facts were so
nourishing that Carlyle had asked to
be fed on them.
Mr.. Burns went on to give statistics
of death, insanity and crime caused by
drink and to quote the case of Liver
pool as showing that where the number
of public houses was reduced an enor
nous drop took place in the figures.
drinking, betting and gambling" he
exclaimed, ''have got to be put down."