Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

not hesitate to say that those who most passionately adhere to what they deem etymologic spelling, preserving historic usage, as they claim, but without warrant, are "mainly of the class of half-taught dabblers in philology." It is a helpful thing to know that "our common English spelling is often," as Professor Hadley reminds us, "a very untrustworthy guide to etymology." It will lead a merry harlequin dance in the wrong direction those who submit themselves without caution to its seeming indications, or who follow in the path of its apparent clear pointings. Professor Matthews, in the volume above noted, says:

"For example, the 'u' in honour-which English spellers assuming to stand for superior propriety are so jealous of preserving-simply suggests a false analogy; so the 'ue' in tongue, the 'g' in sovereign, the 'c' in scent, the 's' in island, the 'mp' in comptroller, and the 'h' in rhyme. And many more of our orthographies," as he reminds the reader and as the scholar knows, "are quite as misleading from an etymologic point of view."

The letters in each instance here noted have been introduced into the language on a mere pretense of superior usage—the guess of some dabbler who fancied he was historic and was learnedly restoring what ought to be because it once was. It can be readily shown that in the earliest English, and for a long period after the English language became definitely settled, the letters designated, vowels and consonants, are not found in the words above markt. They are, in fact, interlopers or upstarts. It is true, they are very old intruders now, and respectable, if it is ever possible for mere age to give respectability. But they are simply "creep-ins," pretentious or "shoddy" proprieties. They are parasites upon the words as originally spellt, or according to the oldest and best usage. And the same remark, moreover, to a greater or less extent applicable, can be made of a number of other terms. It is a class of would-be English purists -who seem to feel themselves to be, but on very insufficient grounds, the especial guardians of the language, as if they particularly owned it because they happen to live in a favored corner of one of the British Isles-that are most obnoxious to the strictures made by Professor Matthews in the essay which gives the title to the little book previously mentioned.

"A London journalist," the latter says, "recently held up to public obloquy as an 'ignorant Americanism' the word program, altho he would have found it in Professor Skeat's 'Etymological Dictionary'"-universally acknowledged as the first of authorities on the subject. "Programme was taken from the French,' a recent writer reminds us; but it was in violation of analogy, seeing that when it was imported into English we already had anagram, cryptogram, diagram, epigram, and so on."

We had just as much reason (and no more) to stick the French terminal "me" to the latter words as to the first of them here mentioned."City and State."

Dr. Frank M. Boyce, of East Schodack, N. Y., and member of the N. Y. State Senate, renews his subscription and says: Am well pleased with your journal, and especially your Monthly Talks.'"

Our Monthly Talk.

The presumably "educated," professional men, as doctors, lawyers, preachers, teachers, etc., know very little about the movements going on among the laboring forces for better government. It is my purpose to give information along this line from time to time, hoping that the so-called "educated classes " will follow the example of the organized industrial classes, and work for the improvement of social and political conditions.

Politics and Labor.

The convention of representatives of labor organizations in the State of Ohio, which was held at Columbus on June 1st and 2d, resulted in the adoption of the following demands: 1. Compulsory education.

2. Direct Legislation, or the Initiative and Referendum.

3. A legal workday of not more than eight hours.

4. A more rigid inspection of workshop, mine and home.

5. Liability of employers for injury to health, body or life.

6. Equal pay for equal work for male and female.

7. The abolition of the sweating shops.

8. The municipal ownership of all public utilities.

9. The nationalization of telegraphs, telephones, railroads and all public highways. 10. Abolition of contract prison labor. 11. Prohibition of contract system in the letting of public works.

12. Abolition of government by injunction. The chairman of the convention was Mr. John F. McNamee, a member of the Executive Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, The Conductors and Trainmen and many other trades unions were represented. The purpose of the convention was to adopt a program and insist upon political parties ratifying the same in their respective platforms.

The following are the demands of the Socialist-Labor Party:

With a view to immediate improvement in the con-
dition of labor, we present the following demands:
1. Reduction in the hours of labor in proportion to
the progress of production.

2. The United States to obtain possession of the
mines, railroads, canals, telegraphs, telephones and
all other means of public transportation and com-
munication; the employees to operate the same co-
operatively under control of the Federal Government
and to elect their own superior officers, but no em-
ployee shall be discharged for political reasons.

3. The municipalities to obtain possession of the local railroads, ferries, water works, gas works, electric plants and all industries requiring municipal franchises; the employees to operate the same cooperatively under control of the municipal administration and to elect their own superior officers, but no employee shall be discharged for political reasons.

4. The public lands to be declared inalienable, revocation of all land grants to corporations or individuals, the conditions of which have not been complied with.

5. The United States to have the exclusive right to issue money.

6. Congressional legislation providing for the scientific management of forests and waterways, and prohibiting the waste of the natural resources of the country.

7. Inventions to be free to all; the inventors to be remunerated by the nation.

8. Progressive income tax and tax on inheritances; the smaller incomes to be exempt.

9. School education of all children under fourteen years of age to be compulsory, gratuitous and accessible to all by public assistance in meals, clothing, books, etc., where necessary.

10. Repeal of all pauper, tramp, conspiracy and sumptuary laws. Unabridged right of combination.

11. Prohibition of the employment of children of school age and the employment of female labor in Occupations detrimental to health or morality. Abolition of the convict labor contract system.

12. Employment of the unemployed by the public authorities (county, city, State and nation.)

13. All wages to be paid in lawful money of the United States. Equalization of woman's wages with those of men where equal service is performed.

14. Laws for the protection of life and limb in all Occupations, and an efficient employers' liability law. 15. The people to have the right to propose laws and to vote upon all measures of importance, according to the referendum principle.

16. Abolition of the veto power of the Executive (national, State and municipal), wherever it exists. 17. Abolition of the United States Senate and all upper legislative chambers.

18. Municipal self-government.

19. Direct vote and secret ballots in all elections. Universal and equal right of suffrage without regard to color, creed or sex. Election days to be legal holidays. The principle of proportional representation to be introduced.

20. All public officers to be subject to recall by their respective constituencies.

21. Uniform civil and criminal law thruout the United States. Administration of justice to be free of charge. Abolition of capital punishment.

And these are the demands of the Social Democratic Party :

1. Revision of our antiquated Federal Constitution, in order to remove the obstacles to full and complete control of government by all the people, irrespective of sex.

2. The public ownership of all industries controlled by monopolies, trusts and combines.

3. The public ownership of all railroads, telegraph, telephone, all means of transportation, communication, water-works, gas and electric plants and other public utilities.

4. The public ownership of all gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, coal and all other mines; also of all oil and gas wells.

5. Reduction of the hours of labor in proportion to the increasing facilities of production.

6. The inauguration of a system of public works and improvements for the employment of a large number of the unemployed, the public credit to be utilized for that purpose.

7. All useful inventions to be free to all, the inventor to be remunerated by the public.

S. Labor legislation to be made national instead of local, and international where possible.

9. National insurance of working people against accidents, lack of employment and want in old age. 10. Equal civil and political rights for men and women, and the abolition of all laws discriminating against women.

11. The adoption of the Initiative and Referendum, and the right of recall of representatives by the voters.

12. Abolition of war as far as the United States are concerned, and the introduction of international arbitration instead.

DEMANDS FOR FARMERS.

The Social Democratic Party of America does not hope for the establishment of social order thru the increase of misery, but, on the contrary, expects its coming thru the determined, united efforts of the workers of both city and country to gain and use the political power to that end. In view of this we adopt the following platform for the purpose of uniting the workers in the country with those in the city:

1. No more public land to be sold, but to be utilized by the United States or the State directly for the public benefit, or leased to farmers in small parcels of not over 640 acres, the State to make strict regulations as to improvement and cultivation. Forests and waterways to be put under direct control of the nation.

2. Construction of grain elevators, magazines and cold storage buildings by the nation, to be used by the farmers, at cost.

3. The postal, railroad, telegraph and telephone services to be united, that every post and railroad station shall also be a telegraph and telephone cen

ter. Telephone service for farmers, as for residents of cities, to be at cost.

4. A uniform postal rate for the transportation of agricultural products on all railroads,

5. Public credit to be at the disposal of counties and towns for the improvement of roads and soil and for irrigation and drainage.

This is an impartial presentation. I am not ready to accept and support either of the last two platforms entirely, but I can find many good things in them. Can't you? Then would it not be a good plan to take these "good things" and work to have them embodied in the platform of your own party?

MAYOR JONES' PLATFORM.

Here is the platform of Mayor S. M. Jones, of Toledo, O. Naturally, it is devoted chiefly to city problems:

Equal opportunities for all and special privileges to none.

Public ownership of all public utilities: the wealth created by the people should be for the people's benefit rather than for the private profit of the few. No grant of new or extension of existing franchises.

The abolition of the private contract system of doing city work-a source of corruption equally as great as that occasioned by the granting of franchises-and the substitution therefor of the day labor plan, with

A minimum wage of $1.50 per day of eight hours for common labor; organized labor to be employed on all public work.

Amend the bribery laws, punishing only the bribegiver, letting the poor victim of this despoiler of our liberties escape.

It will be seen by the above and other platforms of labor organizations which I have here tofore publisht in these columns, that labor organizations take a very active and intelligent interest in public questions that should receive the same earnest and intelligent attention from all classes. But what are the facts? Did you ever hear a question of public policy discust at a medical convention? It is all right for physicians to discuss scientific topics, but have they no duties as citizens? Should they allow mechanics to be better citizens than they?

What do clergymen talk about in their meetings? Do they ever discuss the evils of child labor, and the moral as well as the physical importance of factory inspection? Why are they willing to neglect such important matters, and give their attention to another world that none of us know anything about? We do know that God made this world and put us into it. Then what right have we to neglect the duties and responsibilities of this world? When we reach another world will be the proper time to attend to the duties of such new existence, and we cannot do so before, try however hard we may. Some who think they are very religious consider politics "worldly" and irreligious. The fact is that to neglect making this world better is irreligious. To neglect present conditions of child labor, to neglect unsanitary and immoral conditions of factory and work shop labor, etc., is decidedly irreligious. The trying and frightful conditions of labor in the past have been greatly mitigated and the hours of labor have been much reduced, but the clergymen didn't do it, nor did the church people do it-yet these are "religious" things that have been accomplisht, and there is much more of similar "religious" work to do. Why leave it to the labor organizations to work for these things? Are mechanics more

"religious" than clergymen and the members of their churches? This seems to be true if we judge from practical work and accomplisht results. The main trouble is that the bug-bear of theology is such a burden upon those who consider themselves very "religious" that real religious duties (the task of making this world a better place to live in) are crowded out. Questions of humanity in this world are religious questions; questions pertaining to a future life are theological-we don't know much about such things, nor do we need to know until our duties are there instead of here. "If we do well here we will do well there," covers most of the ground, and "to do well here" in the fullest sense of our duties to each other and to humanity in general will keep us very busy. Ben Adhem's "Write me as one who loves his fellowmen," turned out to be the most acceptable, and among "the names whom love of God had blest," his name "led all the rest."

How many farmers know how vitally the railroad question touches their interests? Not many, I am sorry to say. Yet their products must be transported to the centers of population, and that process can be so managed as to take practically all the farmer's profit. In fact, it is so managed, but the average farmer is still stupidly ignorant of it. The freights on farmer's products could be much less if the "water" (the fictitious capitalization) was "squeezed out" of the capitalization of our railroads. But what do the farmers care? They are paying the interest on this fraudulent capitalization, but they haven't found it out yet, and they wonder why they don't prosper as they should. I will say, however, that the Farmers' Alliance was composed of active and intelligent farmers, alive to the interests of agriculture, and it did much good in the way of awakening farmers to their own interests; but the Alliance has now almost or quite past out of existence as an active agitating force. Also the Grange movement has done much good in the same direction, but both these movements have included only a small fraction of our farmers. However, they show what should be done among our farmers, but it can be done only when farmers quit wearing party collars and learn to think; when they quit confining their reading to a partisan press, and learn to read books (there are plenty of them, and cheap) on the transportation question, the money question, and other branches of practical economics.

The point that I wish to urge in this "Talk" is that the members of our organized labor forces are better citizens than our farmers, doctors, lawyers, preachers, "business men, " etc. They know more about, care more for, and work harder for movements for the general good than do our professional and wealthy classes. The thoughts of the average" business man" seldom go farther than a customer and a profit; the average doctor's chief interest is a good paying patient; the average clergyman's greatest interest is a prosperous church or parish, with the accent on the prosperous-wealthy members, without much question as to where the wealth came from; the average lawyer's first interest is a fat fee; the chief object of life of a capitalist is a good investment, without compunctions as to whether the profit of the investment comes from child

labor, woman labor, excessive hours of labor, unsanitary and debasing conditions of labor, etc. All profits come from labor, yet what has the profit taker, or the interest taker, or the rent taker done to elevate and ennoble labor? These same profit-mongers are the chief enemies of the labor organizations in their efforts to humanitize the conditions of labor.

A College at Your Door.

The College of Social Science started at the Buffalo Conference will have a correspondence department, and the matter is being pusht vigorously. Those who wish detailed information now before establishing headquarters at Boston, please address for the present Prof. Thos. E. Will, Manhattan, Kan. The circular contains some surprising facts, and it is well worth reading and thinking about. Here it is:

Have you ever stopt to think of the value of an education? Have you reflected upon what it means to have one's powers developt and strengthened and brought under control? Do you desire to be truly great and do you know that you may be? Do you realize that the world's larger work is being done and its affairs managed by men and women who have prepared themselves for their work? Do you know that "statistics show that but one-half of one per cent. of American young men go to college? From this one-half of one per cent. come fiftyeight per cent. of the legislators, judges and other prominent public officials, the remaining ninety-nine and one-half per cent. furnishing but forty-two per cent. of our public leaders, while a considerable proportion of our professional men, newspaper editors and business men are also college men. Have you thought that if you will but get ready you will be asked to help manage the affairs of this country? Have you considered the fate of those who fail to get ready? Do you realize that "in the struggle for existence the fittest survive" and prosper, and that those less well prepared for the struggle are, in good times, the bearers of burdens, the hewers of wood and drawers of water-performers of work which, after a little, machines are taught to do better and more cheaply-and in bad times, are discharged and thrown upon the highway as tramps? Men insure their property against loss by fire and cyclones, and insure their lives against accident and sudden death; what insurance do you carry against the results of inadequate preparation for life?

What would you think of a ship captain who embarkt for an ocean voyage in a leaky ship without a rudder; or of an aeronaut who dared to ascend with a rotten balloon, or of a general who would hazard a battle with wet powder and mutinous troops? Are your chances better than those of the captain, balloonist or general? With the myriad opportunities for failure to-day can you afford to venture into modern competitive society without the fullest preparation attainable?

Do you say you cannot afford a college education? Let me inquire, Can the farmer afford to buy seed corn? Can the hunter afford to provide himself with ammunition? Can the mer(Continued over next leaf.)

The Medical World

The knowledge that a man can use is the only real knowledge; the only knowledge that has
life and growth in it and converts itself into practical power. The rest hangs

like dust about the brain, or dries like raindrops off the stones.—FROUDE.

The Medical World

C. F. TAYLOR, M. D.

Editor and Publisher

kinds of cathartic medicines made every year.

Naturalists have carefully studied out the distinctions between man and the lower animals, but they have missed one point; man is the constipated animal. The large annual production of aloes, senna, etc. is for poor, constipated man (emphat

Subscription to any part of the United States and Canada
ONE DOLLAR per year. To England and the British
Colonies, FIVE SHILLINGS per year. Postage free. Single ically including woman, however). How

copies, TEN CENTS. These rates must be paid invariably in advance.

We cannot always supply back numbers. Should a number fail to reach a subscriber, we will supply another, if notifiled before the end of the month.

Pay no money to agents for the journal unless publisher's receipt is given.

[blocks in formation]

The world is constipated. Of this there can be no doubt, for the evidences of this truth are seen on every side. The billboards delineate it in flaming colors and beautiful pictures. The fences declare it, the sides of the barns emblazon it in letters of prodigious size, and even the rocks on the way-side advise the traveler what to take to move his bowels.

The great quantity of pills, syrups, etc. produced every year to move the bowels of constipated humanity would surprise any one not familiar with the facts. U. S. P. compound cathartic pills are made by the bushel and barrel by all prominent manufacturing pharmacists, and this is only a hint as to the total quantity of all

does the remainder of animated nature get along without cathartics? By living more naturally and choosing food more sensibly.

Our food is too concentrated. It should have sufficient bulk to distend the alimentary canal normally.

We don't drink enuf water to keep the various secretory and excretory organs going properly.

We don't respond to nature's calls promptly (animals do).

We don't exercise properly, and our habits are not regular.

These are perhaps the reasons that we are constipated. Correct the causes, choose food according to bowel need, as fruits, prunes particularly, corn bread, graham bread, oat meal, etc., massage the abdomen when necessary, and establish regular habits of defecation, and cathartics will seldom be needed.

The Broad-Gauge Doctor.

The narrowest conception of the duties of a physician is that his chief duty should be the giving of pills and potions. That is the easiest thing to do in the practice of medicin. Frequently it will answer, and then his work is simple and easy. Lazy physicians won't do anything else: if one potion should fail, another is given, and so

etc.

on until the patient dies or goes to another to thoroly liquefy the bile, bowel contents physician. Physicians of limited education or ability do not know how to do any thing but to give drugs. This is the least and the easiest of the duties of an able and "all 'round" doctor.

What to do besides the giving of medicins opens a field that would require volumes to exhaust. The first thing to do is to make a careful physical examination, but what is of more importance is to analyze your patient, as we will style it here. That is, inquire carefully into the habits of the patient particularly as to ingestion, excretion, surroundings, habits of exercise, sleep and rest, etc. Very few human beings live correctly. The excretions from the bowels and kidneys can be controlled and regulated as certainly by food and water as by drugs, and it is much better to do it so. The patient will say that he passes urine freely, but have him to measure the quantity he passes in twenty-four hours, and you will probably find it to be deficient in quantity. Now, don't give him diuretics, but order him to drink more water. Don't leave it in the indefinit way: "Drink more water"; or "Drink plenty of water." That won't do. Tell him the number of glasses of water that he must drink per day, and tell him the best times of the day to drink it; for example, one glass upon rising, one at 10 a. m., one at 3 and one at 5 p. m., and one or two upon retiring. No liquids with meals. As the normal adult needs thirtyseven ounces of water per day, and as the average glass holds, level full, eight ounces, five glasses make only forty ounces, about the normal quantity. Instead of the rather indefinit "five glasses per day," it is better to fill a bottle of given size, and have him to drink the contents during each twenty-four hours. Let him fill this bottle each morning, and require that he must empty it before going to sleep. This puts the matter in a tangible shape. His task is not done till the bottle is empty. It is likely that he needs more than the normal need for water, to flush the system and

Then two quarts of water, or pos sibly more, per day, for a number of days can be prescribed with great advantage. Patients at famous watering places are required to drink large quantities of water. and improvement is due more to this fact than to any other. The same thing, with like results, can be done at home, but the water should be of good quality. This alone will cause many obscure or obstinate troubles to greatly improve or disappear entirely. Chemical analysis and microscopic examination of the urine open up another field, which will not be considered here.

The broad gauge physician will care more for the food that is put into the stomach than for putting medicin into the stomach. The average patient knows little of self-denial. The average man or woman would rather indulge the palate, resulting in an over-loaded stomach, and then take a pill, than to apply sense and reason to the subject of eating. Gluttonous dinners, either with or without the pill, are a prominent cause of rheumatism, gout and many obscure maladies. The debt for indulgence must be paid, and if it is postponed by the aid of "dinner pills," the interest exacted at the time of settlement is very high-a painful usury. Yet many doctors will temporize and indulge with pills and potions, either ignorant or careless of the fact that the dietetic debt must be paid, with pathologic interest added. The broad gauge doctor inquires carefully into the dietetic habits of the patient, noting quantity and quality of food, hours of eating, etc., and then gives specific directions. A skilful dietetic prescription faithfully followed is of far greater value, as a rule, than a medical prescription. Simple foods in moderate quantity at seasonable hours will do much to restore and maintain health. French cooking, pastries, iced desserts, irregular meals, midnight suppers and gluttony are utterly incompatible with continued health. However, dietetic errors are not

« ÎnapoiContinuă »