THE LABOR-QUESTION. 607 



beer, whiskey, etc, ? How many, instead of selecting plain, whole- 

 some, cheap food, spend their extra dollars on pastry, rare fruits and 

 vegetables, etc. ? The business done in this line by the grocers and 

 bakers of the lower wards of New York will answer this. I have 

 eaten at the tables of rich and poor in many States, and my expe- 

 rience teaches me that, as a rule, the well-to-do mechanic lives better 

 than many merchants, bankers, and professional men, as long as his 

 wages hold out. The same prodigality is manifested in dress and 

 ornament. They will make any sacrifice to ape the rich or vie with 

 each other. Servant-girls often dress better than their mistresses. 

 Who will calculate the dollars wasted by that mechanic's family, be- 

 fore sickness or accident drove him to the poor-house? How much 

 did he throw away on rent, that he might live in a better house than 

 he was well able to afford? How many dollars were spent on thea- 

 tres, balls, sociables, fairs, or excursions, that might have been saved? 

 How much did superstition extort from him ? These are a feAv of the 

 many avenues through which his hard-earned wages escaped. Add 

 to these the physician's bills, for attending to himself and family when 

 overwork and uncleanliness brought on sickness ; and, last though 

 not least, consider the number of mouths he is himself the cause of 

 havino- to till, and the number of backs to clothe. If his income had 

 overbalanced this expenditure, when the crisis arrived he would have 

 been safe. With how many of our present paupers and tramps was 

 this the case ? Are the careful to be forced to bear the load of the 

 careless? Self-restraint is more important to the poor man than 

 legislation. This will sjive him a fitness for the battle of life, while 

 that but unmans and effeminates him. 



Again, are these men now out of employment the best types of 

 laborers or mechanics, and the most trusty and efficient servants 

 their employers had ? Are they the honest, careful, thoughtful work- 

 ing-men who labored most earnestly for their employers' interests? 

 Are those who have been retained the stupid and dishonest ? the 

 unpi-ofitable servants ? Are they but why proceed ? The case is 

 only too clear against the unemployed, as a class. Of course, there 

 are exceptions. Unavoidable circiimstances have doubtless thrown 

 adrift the worthy. When a crisis comes, employers will retain those 

 who have labored most faithfully and honestly for their interest. 

 All others must lose employment. The improvident at once become 

 paupers, demanding a living from their already heavily-burdened but 

 careful fellow-workmen. If, during the age of muscle, lazy, puny 

 men with diseased bodies, brought on by excess and vice, had de- 

 manded of the stalwart and vigorous that they must carry them on 

 their backs, even though at their own peril, what could have been 

 thouo;ht of them ? 



An array of unemployed men is clamoring for work, and the sym- 

 pathetic urge their claims, "Fate is dealing hard with them," say 



