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Show j LAW Of M FITTEST j BRINGS TRIBULATIONS j Machine Displacing Labor fvct irx Only Thing I j Responsible for the Guif Between j Weslth and Poverty. j' (AVriii'cii for The I nternioun; aiu C'al!ulic.) j The winler monlhs now at hand ami the near I ." i i';-"a-h of Chrislinas are reminders to the rieh Ij of. the neeils of the ikxt. That poverty -is a crime j I i- i mc of tin; popular fallacies of ,.ur ineiierii civ- I i!iaii'ii, yet. even in what is termed prosperous I I lime-, poverty, will its chain of and woes, is to j j he found in all large eiiios. , ml, si ranjio as it may :;! ir ;rr, what tend, to ndvaMro the commercial con-f! con-f! of a nation adds'lo t!u- -;aises of poverty ineong the masses. We have, durin-j the hist two ! j ! -r.-Hles. Imilt tip more manufactories than any olh- j -r nation hn built in a century before. In all our I .iv2- cities where the hammer of indtMry may be . j j v heard, and where skilled mechanics are well paid y m fi'-l '"j".v prosperous times, ,v mu-t i.oi overlook ! ihe g'e;: ji.nii.V of Unskilled labor whos,- ph-c is : J Mipnlied by labor-saving maehinery. j In ihe lat piar:cr of a eentury mi per rent of j m.nni.d labor has been discarded, and its pi aw i Mippliol by new inventions in maehinery." i. e.. I v. hen- one hundred men were re-.fuired twenty-live j a ears ago twenty ean now do the same work, and 1 men satisfactorily, too. The pick and shovel are f replaced by the diamond drill and steam shovel, I which mean that prosperous times for the minority I . versed in tie- knowledge of the huest inventions i l'"-s-en aKo the rost. of production, making- it hope- f h'- for manual labor, which would be an increase ' r in production, to re pa in its lost ground. This ap- j pli- s equally to skilled anl unskilled labor, and ox- I tends to the farm as well asthe factory. Coni- pressed air with a diamond or'burloy drill has dis- 1 placed ihe old-fashioned hand drill and decreased j the number of miners to a largo exlent. The plan- j ing mills have disposed of the carpenters' shops, I whilst Mergont baler's linotype has made type- Kuinp an unproductive trade. The .same applies to ; all irades, and ihe consequences are, lhat in large i eiiies the number of employes is deerea.-ing, and it I i no lonper bone and sinew or phvsical strength j that are at a premium, but intelligence and inven- In ihis preat contest, is it only "the fittest' that ran survive when even the most skilled workman, t! to keep abreasi of the limes, nni-t be ready to han- ? ille new inventions which conslant changes ami im- I provements may require: if the fittest have to be I ever ready for fresh emerpency. then the simply fit I Lave no chance to compete, much less ihe unlit, ; who' are the overwhelminp majority, and who are, j even in the most prosperous times, poor. I Tl ii prave problem has at times arrested the I nttniiion of the greatest statesmen, but aH- the I remedies proposed have proved failures. The line "1 demarkation between the rich and the poor is I too pronounced to admit of any readjustment that i would improve the latter or elieil the sympathy I ot thr former. Iloih shun each other and want to I live apart. The rich for self-interest and through j pride, live exclusively in cosily mansions in what is 1 j lernied "ihe fashionable part of the city." whilst j tho poor. loo. for srf-intorest and pride, plus their j j k j.orerty. live in cellars, parrels and linpy tenements ! where ihe sun's rays seldom penetrate. It is an j in-tinet of human nature to shun those who strive io avoid your pi'esence. and as ride is not eon- l fined to the" rich, the natural pride of the poor i t makes them pravitate topother as a protest of their i coiidenination by ihe rich. Carlyle, in his "History f 'f ihe French TIevolution.v wrote' "Xature rests ! on dread foundations, and Pan. to whose music the J nymphs dance, has in him a cry which sends men I distraded." "Yes, "Xature rests on dread foun- laiions." and will ever send forth a wail of woe I which deprives some men of all reason when they l y t-cr their fa llow men siarvinp. Their Sunday ineet- i inps an- riiicipally devoted to haranguing the : unemployed and poorly paid employed against pre- I vailinp injusliees. For religion they give as a suD- Mitutc socialistic and communistic principles. 1 Their infidel orators appeal to the heart, and Use dau-ible and persuasive arguments with Icllinp 1 1 ctl'eet. The little mustard seed of revolutionary j spirit rinds a congenial soil in the hearts of the masses. With no religious restraint it grows j Mronger and more pronounced year after year, and I emboldened by its growing strength it becomes I more arrogant in its demands. Tn the beginning, 1 when ihe mustard seed is rir-t planted, it attracts but little attention. In its pernicious principles . people can apprehend no dread consequences. It j i ignored and attributed only to the insane vapor- ;' ings of a discontented few. But. like the real little mustard seed whi-h in time grows stronger and be- ? "ines one of the large trees of the forest, extending , its branches in all directions, so does the revolution- l aiw spirit grow. Then thinking men pause and be- ' 4 come ala nuefl. ' On the 8th of the past month 'we saw this 1 exemplified. The unprecedented vote of the social- i-t- caused alarm. The press of tin- country eom- ; Meisted on its growth since it was first planted in I ihe United States. Realizing its strength and the fact that it has attracted public attention, to 1 which may he added the alluring promise's made to 1 ihe masses, it cannot be looked upon as "a rolling stone that gathers no moss." Its promoters .can- I not be counied as mere adventun rs. They are men I -A of education, and subtracting the divine law which I T.hry ignore, their criticisms would be, in many in- siances. plausible. Religion they consider thei,r I deadly foe. ajid their appeals to the masses, i. e.. : ihe uneinployp and poorly-paid m ployed, engender engen-der irreverence and blasphemous feelings toward Supreme Being. k A few years ago in London a sermon on charity - vfls announced for the afternoon services in e?t- minster Abbey. The announcement attracted the attention of "the unemployed," who marched in procession to hear the sermon. Whilst the olo- ! qur nt divine was depicting the beauties of that ! Christian virtue, and the great love of the Good w Master, one of the small army of the unemployed spokp in i-inging tones: "We want a dinner." The' ! . very unusual interruption was a solemn protest against the words of the preacher and in favor of deeds. This protest meant for the hungry hearers; "Be ye not hearers of the law. but doers of .the law?" Verbal sympathy never fills an empty stomach. stom-ach. To win the good will of the needy, kind w ords must be accompanied w ith acts. It is as natural nat-ural for a hungry person to turn away with a sullen face and bitter feelings of resenlmeut from the rich who are indifferent to his condition as it is to sleep when weary, or drink when thirsty. The solution solu-tion of the grave question is the great problem of the age. F. I). |