The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-17
Quaint Bits of Philosophy From the
Pen of Robert Tressall, an Unlettered
London Laborer

J amt no use in tho likes OF us trubblln
our eds or quarrelling about politics
1t don't make a damn bit of difference
who you votes for or who gets in,
! They're hall the same: worl<in' tho
horicle for their own benefit. You can
talk till you're black in the face, hut
you won't never be able to alter 1t. It's
no use worrying. The sensible thing T.
TO try and make the best of things az
we find EN-; enjoy ourselves and do the
best we can for each other. Lies too
short to quarrel and wen hall soon be
dead"
At the end OF this lengthy speech the
philosophic Philpot abstractedly graspcd
n jam jar and raised Il to his lips. but
suddenly remembering that It contained
stewed tea and not beer, set IL down
again without drinking.
Let us begin at the beginning" con-
tinued Owen, taking no notice OF these
Interruptions. First of all. what do
you mean by poverty?"
why. IL you've got no money OF
course" said Grass impatiently.
The others laughed disdainfully. II
seemed to them such foolish question.
well, that's true enough as far as II
goes returned owen, that Is, az things
are arranged in the world at present.
of no use whatever"
At this there was another outburst
OF jeering laughter.
"SupposIng, for example. that you and
Harlow were shipwrecked on desolate
island and you had saved nothing from
the wreck but bag containing a thou
sand sovereigns and he had tin OF
biscuits and bottle of water"
make 1t beer." cried Harlow appeal
inrly.
"Who would be the richer man. you
, or Harlow"
"But then. you see, We ain't ship
, wrecked on no dissolute island at ALL"
sneered Grass. "That's the worst OF
your arguments. You can't never get
very far without supposing some bloody
ridiclus thing or other. Never mind
about supposing things wot amt true;
let's ave facts and common sense"
"'Ear. ear" said old Linden, chats
wot we want-a little common sense"
"What do you mean by poverty,
, them" asked Easton.
"What l call poverty Is when people
/ are not able to secure for themselves
all the benefits of civili2ation--the nee
essarles, comforts, pleasures and refine
, ments OF life: leisure, books. theatres.
I pictures. music, holidays. travel, good
and beautiful homes. good clothes. good
: and pleasant food"
? Everybody laughed. II was so ridicu-
lous. The idea OF the likes of them
d, wanting or having such things! Any
|, doubts that any OF them had entertained
, I as to owens sanity disappeared.
"If man is only able TO provide
2 himself and his family with the bare
necessaries Of existence, that mans
n family is living in poverty. Since he
a cannot enjoy the advantages of civiliza-
" ton he might just as well be a savage:
p better, in fact, for a savage does not
q know what he Is deprived of. What we
n call civiliZation-the accumulation OF
n knowledge which has come down to us
, from our forefathers-is the fruit OF
thousands Of years OF human thought
I and toll. 1t Is not the result of the
a labor OF the ancestors of any separate
class of people who exist to-day, and
therefore 1t Is by right the common
/ heritage OF all. Every little child that
= Is born into the world. no matter
? whether he is clever or dull, whether
he is physically perfect or lame. or
blind, no matter how much he may
v excel or fall short of his fellows
I in other respects, in one thing at least
he is their equal--hc is one of the heirs
: Some of them began to wonder
I whether owen was not sane after all.
i lie certainly must be n clever sort Of
| chap to be able 10 talk like this.
"Why is It," continued Owen. that
= we are not only deprived OF our inheri-
tance-we are not only deprived OF
nearly all the benefits of civilization,
: but we and our children are also often
4 unable TO obtain even the bare neces-
sares of existence"
1 No one answered.
"All these things" owen proceeded
s ARE produced by those who work We
4 do our full share of the work: therefore,
Q we should have a full share of tho
things that are made by work"
= The others continued silent. Harlow
2 thought OF the overpopulaton theory,
! but decided not TO mention it. Grass,
who could not have given an intelligent
4 answer to save his life, for once had
a sufficient sense to remain silent. IIe
, did think of calling out the patent
1 paint pumping machine and bringing
a the hose pipe to bear on the subject
: but abandoned the idea after all. no
l thought. what was the use of arguing
with such fool as owen?
, Sawkins pretended TO be asleep
: Philpot. however, had suddenly grown
, very serious.
I AS things are now" went on Owen
'instead Of enjoying the advantages of
I civilization we are really worse off than
: slaves for II we were slaves our owners,
2 in their own interest, would see TO IL
that we always had food and"
"Oh. don't see that" roughly inter-
I rupted old Linden, who had been listen
ing with evident anger and impatience
You can speak for yourself. but 1 can
tell yer I don't put myself down as a
/ slave"
"Nor me neither" said Grass sturdily.
"Let them call themselves slaves as
wants to-"
At this moment a footstep Was heard
; in the passage leading TO the kitchen.
Old Misery! or perhaps the Bloks
himself.
Grass hurrledly pulled out his watch.
: Linden frantically seized hold OF a
, pair of steps and began wandering about
, the room with them.
Sawkins scrambled hastily to his feet
and. snatching piece of sandpaper
from the pocket OF his apron, started