The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1908-12-17
BY Robert Hunter, in New York
Evening Call.

=
Montaignc's most beautiful essays.
''There are some countries,N he
says, "wherc twas the custom for
children to kill their fathers, and
others, where the fathers killed
their children, to avoid their being
an impeachment one to another in
life, and naturally, THE ENPEC-
TATIONS OF THE ONE DE
PEND UPON THE RUIN OF
THE OTHERS''
Read that sentence again. 1t
explains much. 1t is worth the
thought Of many days. Bear it in
mind while at work, turn is over
and over and try to gather from it
the vast total of historic summary
it contains
Imagiue children killing their
fathers. Think of fathers killing
their fathers! Think of fathers
killing their children,
Yet such times were. For long,
long centuries multitudes of human
beings practiceu infauticidc and
parenticide. The expectations Of the
one depended upon the death of
the other.
The history of mankind is the
history of age-long battles with
starvation. Rather than Starve,
we ate each other; we were c;lnni-
balls. Rather than Starvc. we
murdered our own fathers, and
mothers, and children.
But that you say, was ages ago,
while today we are too advanced
morally to practice such crimes.
III would he impossible today, you
Ihlnk, Tor us to practice cannibal-
Ism, ln1antlclde or parenticiCIc.
buC let the earth grow cold.
Let fruits and grains disappear,
and cattle die off. Let mankind
once more be threatened by death
from hunger, and how long would
the moral standards Of today re-
main. How long would it take to
turn us into wolves. tearing at
each others flesh, if the world re-
fused us other food?
bil inns IS Il nightmare of Spccu-
latlon. Far from having too
little OF the necSS>arieS of l;fr. NO
have today more than enough
Untold millions of wealth in
palaces, III estates, in useless
ornaments. have been prodllced
ana put aside for the few to cnjoy
we talk no more Of how to pro.
uucc enough brands: we talk of
cities beautiful, of spacious parks.
OF the arts. of ships that ny.
And yet, Is there no longer fear
much bread, is there no one with
out bread! With all our vast
riches IS no one of us starving, or
naked. or sheltcrlcsS?
les, every third man about us
is III agony of spirit because of the
lear and dread OF want. No mat
ter bow hard he laborcrs, he is
never free from the terrifying
thought that at any moment his
dear ones may be hungry and
houselesS.
II Is no longer child against
iather, and father against child.
II IS now class against class. idlcrS
against workers. capitalists against
tolIerS. cNploitclS against the ex.
plotted. the who have against those
''N''' 'iii'i. Us VI OnI"3lUnp.
explains. THE FNPECTATTOE
DF + ONE DEPEND UPON
III KUN OF THE OTHER
ne wealth Of one means the
poverty OF the other, the freedom
Oh the one means the slavery Of tb.
other, the dividends of the one moan
the hunger of the other: the PALACES
"l the one mean the novels of tho
other viz
We have passed beyond infanti-
clde ana parenticidc: we have
lratrlcldc- When the exnectatior
OF the one depended on the rrin of
the other. fathers killed their
children and children killed their
fathers. Today when the exnec.
tatlons of the one depend mon
the ruin of the other. we have tho
class war, brother against brother
And those who see this w,,.
speak of the coming revolution.
and people are Mortified Eo;.
The fratrlcides Of today cling to
customs of today as connihaIS
once chung TO their customs Tba,-