Year: 1871

bread, meat, and potatoes, with the lux
uries of two and q half pence worth OF
butter, sugar, and tea, sufficient for the
sustenance of workingmau, is eleven
and one half pence, leaving, according
to Dir. Taylor's statement, less than ten
pence per day for clothing, shelter, med.
icine, and all other demands.


We think Mr.. Taylor's estimate of
average wages must be too small, but
allowing the average to be double that
given, we have in it matter for serious
reflection.


When working men have the iutelli
gence to figure out such sum as this,
and compare their pittance with the un.
earned wealth of the nobility and State,
fed churchmen of Europe, need it be a
matter of surprise that they are dissat
isfed -? How long need we expect them
to remain quiet? What can courts of
arbitration, that can only fecbly affect
their earnings one way or the other, do
to convince such men that they are
Justly dealt with by society? That
they are unreasonable need not surprise
US; that they have been kept under re-
straiut so long is simply because they
have been, as yet, hopeless minority
in numbers and intelligence.


The above figures show that in En-
gland the part of society known as the
working class are only little more than
one third the entire population. The
history of the world has shown, however,
that to perpetually oppress even minor
ity requires more than the mig ght OF
numbers.


On the other hand it may be shown
that industrial capital is really hard
pushed as we'll as labor In remark
able letter, vouched for in the London
Builder as coming from genuine work
man, appears the following paragraph
relative to the condition ut English
manufacturers


Workmen and their leaders ought
to know that, in the industrial race, the
manufacturers are already closely run
Ia iron and cotton producing countries,
the people are beginning to work the
raw material. Any reader of the Times
or the statistical abstract eau see for
himself the steady advance in exports
which few years ago were peculiar to
England Writers in the 50 called peo-
pies paper may ridicule the idea that
other countries are making advance in
competition with England. But it is a
fact which no one can deny, that some
engines aud other goods have been i'm
ported into this country at much
chcper rate than English manufacturers
can produce them"


So it seems both labor and capital
are hard pushed to feed aud supply lux
uries to the drones in the British hive.


Now if capital and labor could make
common cause against the drones, in
stead of fighting each other, their COM
bined efforts would bring about better
state of things, and the result of the
present conflict will inevitably be in
time reorganization of society, in which
producers and distributors of production
VIII take pre- eWinence over tuoSc WHo
are at present fed from the public spoon.
In the latter class are included all the
paupers who live on homely fare in aims
houses, those other paupers who wine
and dine with liberal salaries in sinecure
Offices, those thieves who pick pockets
in by.ways az we'll as those who rob the
public purse by legislative jobs or fraud
ulent administration, gamblers in secret
hells or public gamblers. in gold and
stocks, unnecessary middle men who in
sist upon clutching bread on its way
from the producer to the consumer and
cutting off their slice from the loaf, in
short, all who, without doing anything
for the general welfare, make wages low
by making the necessities of life dear
through their demand upon the proiuc.
tions of the industrious. All these must
be turned out to gather their own honey.
Then there will b. enough for all.
Then will eight hours for days work,
and even less than that, be the rule
without special legislation, and strikes
will become things of the past.