The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1915-07-03
THE WAR At OUR DOORS
In Which We Would Invoke
the Aid of Every Pulpit
in the Land.


thr0ats Oh the highways. They
are the men who are buried in
mines where they Dig our coal,
They are the men who are cast
into fiery, furnaces where they are
blasting our steel. They are the
men whose arms are caught In
our looms, and whose blood dies
our tapestles. They are the men
who slip IN the night and fall be.
meath the wheels Of our trains,
All along the highways of our
industrial life are the bruised the
maimed the dead and the dying.
Suicide was never more preva.
lent. yet so accustomed has the
mad world become to such trage-
dies, that for the most part it goes
heedlessly Oh unmindful of the vic
tins that fall beneath its feet.
And yet in our sane moments
We are kind people. We
build hospitals. We provide fac.
tory inspection, and We pass laws
10 an sndeavor to check this ter
rible toll. But what about the
killing speed of our factories.
What about the mad rush of our
industrial life and reckless waste
Of our meni
Are men goaded by fear Of
wanti Ii this Is 90, is it because
God has been niggardly with us!
Is it because nature has not made
ample provision for all her chill
dren.
Is 1t not rather that at the core OF
our industrial life there is the can
Ger of special privileges Our gov
ernment is not yet RON in the IN
terest Of the life and property Of
all. 1t is not in league with
robbers who kill men on the high.
ways. But it is used for the de.
Tense OF the privileges of the few,
by which exploitation is Iegalized
and industry is rendered more IA
tai than war.
Investigation has developed
the fact that 46 per cent of the
entire working force OF the United
States receives less than 90 90 q
dsy.
For Q man With family % 90
. day means poverty. even while
he works. When an accident OF
sickness comes, it means pauper
ism or else It means vice OF
crime. He who knew about war
said it was hell Hut 90 is peace
hell on 81. 90 a day with family
to support by precarious employ.
ment, working six or seven days
q week and twelve hours q day.
In the face of such brutal con
ditlons the humanitarian will not
be content to build 0rphanages
and almshouses. He will feel the
need Of something more effective
than that. He will desire q gov.
ernment that will guarantee Sc
better chance tbsn this to al
men. These conditions exist be-
cause government IL not used In.
tellixently TO protect the lives
a0d property Of al. On the con.
trary, government 10 still used to
grant and defend special privil-
eges to the few.
We have in our penitentisrier
15O, 600 criminals. We have 49,.
600 in institutions for the insane.
We have 155, 900 fesble-minded
vards Of the state. We have IS,
600 In institutions for the deaf
ana "a, 900 In installations for the
blind. Yes, and We have five
million, Ave hundred thousand II.
literste persons, mostly Ameri.
cans. These are . few Of the lia'
biIities of the nstion.
A man could not be . bumani.
tartan In dealing with these
problems without having some In
stfuction in the Hrst principles OF
political economy. He who IN.
derstsnds how government has In.
terferod with freedom, how nnnc.
cessarily it curtails the opportu.
nities Of men, and to what extent
the Inherent iDj Djosticesof the laws
we make create poverty-he who
underetands this will see the ira.
gle helplessness Of most Of our
charities. He will see that pov.
erty, the sink Of our social aims,
cannot be successfully attacked
save By economic changes, to be
bronght about only through poll.
tioel action. The abolition Of
| poverty 10 the great work OF
modern times, for poverty is the
soil from which nearly all Oul
other ills spring.
A man can hardly be . humaDi
tartan today who IL unable te
look upon poverty - Shelley
locked upon II:
ssThou knowest what thing 10 Poverty
| AmOn4 the fallen Of evil days.
| 'Tie Fear and Crime and Jnfamy.
Aad h0aselese Want N frosen ways.
| Wandarinr unRarmented u Pain,