SOME COMMON EVERY DAY THOUGHTS. Editor Magazine:

In answer to your question, why have I not written? I must say that I cannot, feeling that 1 cannot satisfy your many readers. Your labors are much like others' work-most of it for the good of others, and in doing such work some good comes to ourselves and thus we all advance for good or bad as that we do or say moves the mind or body. Memories of old days past and gone come to me in the evening hour, and finding a few words on the question of labor in a book I am reading it awakens in me thoughts long buried when I heard the question of capital and labor talked of many years ago; perhaps, they too may set a slumbering chord vibrating, it was this: More than three-fourths of

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humanity still kneel like the camels to take upon itself the burdens to be tamely borne for its tyrants."

If a republic occasionally rises like a star, it hastens with all speed to set in blood. The kings need not make war upon it, to crush it out in their way, it is only necessary to let it alone, and it soon lays violent hands upon itself. When a people, long enslaved, shake off the fetters, it may well be incredulously asked: "Shall the braggart shout for some blind glimpse of freedom, link itself through madness, hated by the wise, to law, system and empire?'

All through this world labor is in some way the slave of capital, a slave to be fed only so long as his work is a profit to the owners of these human chattels. There is famines among the miners of Pennsylvania and in the old country, strikes in Chicago and on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, strikes for rights, for equal pay, for equal labor, striking against English tyrants, or the Hessians who they hire to do their dirty work, those who have ever tried to make slaves of labor, in their own land and this from the days of '76. What are they doing in Ireland? robbing them of nearly all Think of the dens in New York, Chicago and other large American cities, of misery, ignorance, brutality and vice that would make even hell blush,

their rights.

the insensibility to all shame, brought on by dispairing begging in these human cesspools, and what is the cause for it? The grinding down below living price for labor by tyranical capitalists, that they may revel in splendor, living on the blood of others. These robbers poison legislatures, bribe juries and judges, they live on the blood of sewing women, who are compelled to work at their price; yes, rich men, your wives and daughters will rob the sewing girl who makes their dresses; everything will come from their hands perfect and you, so as to cheat her out of the price for making, will say she has spoiled some part of it and decline to pay her. I know many cases of this.

I have seen a man worth over $250,000, a stockholder in a certain railroad, who was so penurious that he would pick up the cast-off overauls and patch them for himself. Could the world but see the true record of ninty-nine out of every hundred of the rich men, of those in the halls of legislation, of the tyrants who officer the great corporations and trust companies, it would show them as the givers and takers of bribes; yes, sell themselves at a price, helped with their money or sold their vote to help make this misery and vice and helped to fill our houses of prostitution.

Look at your half-starved sewing women! you great clothing manufacturers! See young girls prostitute themselves that they may get food on which to sustain life! See the coal robbers at home, and then the homes of the poor miners! Christ has said, "Woe unto the world because of offenses for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offenses cometh.” Will not the time come when those who grind out the life blood from the poor, who buy the virtue of the poor girl with the money they have robbed from her by starvation wages, call for mercy at the hand of a righteous judge, a judge oh tyrants that cannot be bought as you can and do buy the earthly judges?

Methinks I remember of a case where a rich old banker was asked to give a poor man a few crumbs of bread, but re

fused, and when he got to hell he tried to bribe Christ to let him out or send some one to tell his wife to be a little more benevolent. His name, I remember, was Dives.

Is there an officer, judge, a member of a legislature, governor, in all this land that capital cannot buy? not one. Every man who seeks office has his price. Men go to Washington expecting to be bought. Let a poor man be.brought up for trial on a charge of theft, seduction or forgery and ninety-nine cases out of one hundred he is sent up. Let a rich man come up on the same charges and it will be one case in a thousand if convicted, if he is the governor will pardon him very quickly.

Has there been a time in the world's history when it could be said, "All the world is at peace;" has there not been standing armies living off the toil of the husbandmen, war using up the resources, wasting the land, destroying the prosperity of nations, loading unborn posterity with crushing debts, filling the land with cripples, widows and orphans, all that the rich may have more and the poor less.

Where is the jury that ever found a rich man guilty of murder in the first degree? If such there be a monument should be erected to their memory that will outlast the pyramids.

Who pays the taxes? how many bonds are locked up in safes on which not one cent of tax is ever paid? The taxes are paid by the poorer or middle class, the farmers, not by bankers and bond holders. If a young man saves a few dollars and buys a farm on time, trusting to his industry to make a home, he pays part down and gives a note and bond to secure the balance, he pays taxes, the bond holder gets his interest but pays no tax when he may in reality own the greater part of the farm. Rich men cover up their property to avoid tax and thus rob the community.

What are "trusts?"-coal, oil, sugar, coffee and many others -Capital conbined to squeeze out a little more from the poor man. Coal trust says: Winter

is coming, put coal up one dollar more per ton, and who pays it? the poor man. Does not the rich man also? no; he has stock in the trust, it all returns to him with profits besides.

Let us take another view of these rich robbers; themselves, wives, daughters, sons, all think they hold noble blood in their veins, that they are thorough breeds, imported, short horns or Herefords. In this view I mean true nobility, nobility of soul, shown in the love for their fellowmen, no matter who they are. A poor blind man comes to one of these Goulds or Vanderbilts asking help. If someone is looking, or a reporter near, perhaps he will give him twenty-five cents. Oh, yes! noble Vanderbilt or Gould, "I have given you one five-thousandth part of my day's wages." A poor mechanic comes by, he gives the blind man ten cents, one one-twentieth of his day's wages. Here is a comparison of the nobility of the riches charity. Again take it in another light. Take some of the poor, lost, scorned, abandoned women and they have and will, without expectation of any reward but from the true nobility in their hearts, go and nurse those who are dying on every hand, utter strangers to her, with some contagious or horrible pestulence. Can you find such true nobility among the wives or daughters of these rich robbers? when, perhaps, it was himself or his son who made her the abandoned woman she is. The gambler, pickpocket, a beggar, will scale burning walls to rescue a child or woman, unknown to them, from the ruinous flames, risking their lives for others, helpless or suffering, with no hope of any reward, only the nobleness sleeping in their hearts showing itself. But what has crushed and warped this nobleness that it should be sleeping in these men and so cursed until this mo

burning building, the child from the water, was worth one million dollars, or even one-half that, can one instance be found?

Take the records of noble men among locomotive engineers, when in times of danger they have boldly faced death to save the lives of others and died at their posts of duty. Is there such a record of nobility among the very rich men? no, not one. No, nor never will have such a record. Now in the question of right as to these men, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, who only ask ninety per cent of what is paid for equal work by other roads, why the bull-dog English representatives of this road have spent more money for Pinkerton's murderers since the strike commenced than would have given the engineers the advance they asked for the next ten years. They have with money robbed from their employes, bought up most of the editors through this State. Thank God they could not buy the Omaha Bee. Bought mayors, the officers of several cities, bribed men to make false statements to the public, so that they now hold the belt for being the greatest Dick Turpin of this country, and the slowest and most dangerous road to ride upon. So then

we say

When impartial fate with diamond pen
Shall write thy history, oh! B. & M.;
When time shall give the needs of a Stone,
Who, once in power, did hold his own,
And delt with men, as doth an ass,
He bought the presses with a pass,
And bribed the judges, and juries too,
To let the Pinkerton's murderers do
As they did for Hoxey, on the M. P.
The time will come, the world will see,
They in thine own coinage can repay,
And in its history of thee shall say:
He was borne away as a golden calf,
With Nero and Herod on his staff;
We ask no more, we wish no worse,
But to deal to thee our lasting curse,
Unlike the caunsine tale of other times,
Not a single virtue, but a thousand crimes.
C.

REVISION OF TARIFF VERSUS PROTEC-
TION.

When this question is once placed impartially before the workingmen of the country it will be truly answered; but not until they appreciate that they are

considering a problem of economy, not a matter of politics or sentiment.

One important fact which I would like to impress upon your minds, which the workers fail to appreciate thoroughly, is that high tariff on imported goods is a creation of the Republican party. They have told the people that it embraces the success of all workers, and the cowardly Democrats, until very recently, did not deny it.

At one time possibly it did. But this is the age of progress. What was suited to the generation twenty years ago is not suitable now! What we want to know is what is best for us now and the future?

Our fathers did well, perhaps, under protection, but we are doing ill. We are the living generation, we are the ones to be benefited now. The Republican party has said that we must still have protection(?) and why? Because nine-tenths of the monopolists and capitalists of to-day belong to that party! That is why, brother workingman; not protection for us but protection and the enriching of these already surfeited monopolists. Are we again to allow this golden opportunity to pass away without an effort?

Fellow-workmen in the States do your duty for those who live in the Territories and redress this evil by the ballot this coming Fall.

I do not believe in this high protective theory. Pray explain certain facts, ye protectionists. How is it that protective Germany pays considerably less wages in all branches of labor than free trade England? As was said in an article in the last issue of this MAGAZINE, "Both are countries densely settled; both are ruled by hereditary monarchies; both are intelligent and enterprising, yet the condition of the working people is much better in England than Germany." Why? It is simply the question of supply and demand of labor; and in England labor organized while in Germany it is not. Organization and supply and demand regulates wages, not this gold-plated idol-protection.

How is it that in this country that wages are higher in the West than the East? Is it because the West has higher protection than the East? No! Labor

is better organized in the West and the supply is not much greater than the demand. This, oh, brother workingman, is the true secret of the wage question. When this country becomes as crowded and densely populated as Europe, let the tariff be even double the arrogant thief that it is now, yet will our wages but equal then the wages of the free trade foreigner.

It has been said by monopolistic worshippers of this golden calf "protection," that Pennsylvania workmen would be ruined in case of a revision of tariff. Oh, ye blind, why will ye not see? Why will ye follow these false prophets? Do you not see that your idol has but a veneer of gold and all is brass within? Do you not know that three-quarters of the laborers of interior Pennsylvania, in the iron and coal works, have been imported by contract, and whose wages now range from thirty cents to the munificent sum of sixty cents a day, and then are compelled to receive their pay from the stores of the companies in groceries at figures to suit the employers. The owners of these works make millions and millions of dollars yearly, yet hourly cry "protection, protection." Protect whom?

Poor silly moths that we are, fluttering around this brass candle held in the hands of the monopolists (who tell us it is gold) only to have our wings surely

burnt.

Is it not a sufficient danger signal for us, when we stop and think a moment and realize that ninety-nine per cent of the monopolists are the great high priests of this protective idol. Come, brothers, away with this idol! Let us unfurl our banners under the standard of the true prophet-Free Trade Limited.

This whole high tariff cry is a fraud, a swindle, a humbug. It commenced in the "protection" of capital invested in certain industries. It has been perverted unto the enriching of monopolies that from the look of the bloated bank accounts of these stiil more bloated owners certainly need no protection.

How is it that the workingmen of this greatly protected State of Pennsylvania are crying louder for bread than those

of any other State or Territory in the entire Union? Yet Pennsylvania is protected(?) "higher" than any other State, and the proprietors of its manufactories are far wealthier than the manufacturers of any other State, and there are a greater number of them.

These are stern facts. Ye idol worshippers, reply?

We must bring these calculations to the household slate and figure out for ourselves these God inspiring truths. Let us be deluded no longer. We are paying more for almost all of that we eat and drink and wear than any other nation on the face of the globe. Above all we must remember that we pay these high tariffs, not the manufacturers, not the hated foreigner. They come out of our own pockets. For years we have been falsely told that in taxing a foreign made article of import we are taxing the foreign maker. And yet any thinking man can prove this to be a lie. The vast sums collected by such taxes are in great part taken from our own humble pockets.

Summed up this protective tariff is robbing the whole country for the benefit of a few. With free trade or a revision of tariff even, there would be no sugar trusts, no oil trusts, nor wool combinations. Why should there be a heavy tax on coffee, starch, rice and numerous necessaries of life? If there was a reamount of wool would be used, the same duction in the tariff on wool, the same number of men employed, but there would be a vast difference; every person in the entire country would be greatly benefited except the wool monapolists satanic fatness with wealth_ground out who would not gorge themselves to of the workingmen, as they do now. Ponder over the following figures and

POLITICAL THOUGHTS.

The great Democrat convention is over and what do we find in their platform to advance the interest of the workingman. Before this is in print the Republican convention will be a meeting of the past, and we venture to say that after that august body shall have separated no plank will be found in their plans which will have any tendency to elevate that class of men commonly called laborers, and if there is any plank inserted in their platform which will help any class who have to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, that plank will be set up on edge so that scarcely any man can walk it. These are the two great political parties.

We learn that the Prohibitionists are could about to run a man for President. I wish for their successfor I think that if the wage-workers would give up drinking that they would soon be able to demand better wages, or put their money into co-operative enterprises so that they could control their own labor.

During the past two weeks the question has often come to my mind what is a Democrat or what is a Republican. In the minds of some Republicans protective tariff seems to be the principle plank whilst in the mind of Cleveland and some

of his party free trade seems to be the main plank. Yet I find quite a number of monied men, who call themselves Democrats, who are as strongly opposed to free trade as any Republican, and many Republicans are in favor of free

trade rather than have the tariff as it is. Another bone of contention is civil service reform; some prominent politicians and leading papers seem to have a great

desire to overhaul President Cleveland for not pressing this reform. If those men will look and ask themselves what reform do we want? they will be compelled to answer, a reform of some of the wrongs which were established under Republican rule.

To my mind both parties require a reformation and a great one at that. Four years ago we heard Democrats say, give us a Democrat government and you will

soon see how things will improve, but four years of Democracy has not improved the wage-worker one jot.

What then is, or should be the great important question by all workingmen and women? The question should be, where is the man who will do all in his power to improve my condition? Ask your proposed representatives, will you introduce and vote for such laws as the following: That no alien be allowed to own land in this country; that all lands shall be held in severality; that we have a graduated income tax; that no trust or corporation be formed to raise the price of the necessaries of life; that no corporation shall be allowed to take from the people anything more than a fair, reasonable interest; that no trust or monopoly of any kind be allowed to crush out some honest tradesman or owner of coal, oil, or any other of the earth's products within the limits of this republic; that we do all in our power to dispence with the upper house of Congress, believing it to be as unnecessary as the House of Lords in England; that bribery be made a criminal offence not only by the receiver but the giver of a bribe; that in every case where any offender is found guilty of breaking the laws, if he has sufficient monies, real or personal properties, that such shall be appropriated to pay cost of prosecution if found guilty.

These are a few of the demands the that no man is elected who will not faithworkingmen should make and see to it fully pledge himself to these things. Do not say men will promise but will not perform. There are men yet whose hearts are as pure and whose aim is as high as was ever the heaft of William Tell, of Switzerland; Washington, of America; Garabaldi, of Italy; Lincoln or Garfield, of United States. Try your men and if they prove untrue mark them as fugitives and vagabonds and try another, you will eventually find the right