Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1853-01-25

there is surplus labor population ur
employed, who are driven TO starvation
or to the poor house and prisons. Thu
is the capitalist armed with fearful pow
er over the destinies of the working poe
pie and their families. Wages, the re
ward oflabor, does not depend alone Of
the profit which the employer can max
yearly in his line of business, but main
ly on the proportion which exist betweel
the demand for, and the supply of labo
10 answer that demand. IL the deman'
at any time exceeds the supply, then wa
gcs are high, and the workmen can lin
it reasonably the hours Of toll for day
work; but on the contrary. if the suppl,
Of laborers soliciting employment ex
cceds the demand for their services, ther
wages are low AMI the hours of labo
prolonged. In the latter case the work
men are compelled to underbid each
other, and to be willing to work for a
mere living or at starving wages, and
Tor Longer time, to satisfy the avaricG
of capital. This it is which gives capi.
tai tyrannic power over labor. The
laborer has nothing to fall back upon;
no sure homestead upon which he may
become his own employer if others do
not choose to employ him. He must
therefore sell the labor Of his hands for
mere daily bread and shelter, or perish.
TO this cause may be traced very
large proportion Of the crime tha, calls
for new prison. houses and more officers
Of justice, and causes on the face of our
infant society, unmstakeable traces of
premature dccrcptude. The landlcss
laborer must pay rent for a shelter for
his family, if not for ground to till, and
the price Of his rent depends not on the
amount Of labor which the landlord has
expended upon the ground or the house
that he lets, but almost wholly upon the
aggregation of lanlless persons in the
vicinity. Thus congregation ofindus.
trious artisans in any given locality, for
the purpose of exchanging the fruits Of
the earth for the comforts of life, such as
civilized people should enjoy, arc
made to pay the monopolist of the land
the increased value which they them.
selves have given to the settlement. The
farmers rent is increased, because he
has made his farm more productive; the
mechanic must pay more rent, because
by acting as pioneer he has formed a
society for the artist and man of sciencc;
the merchant or agent for the exchange
of products has, by industry and enter.
prise, established a well.known and con.
vcnient mart, and therefore he must
make large annual contribution to the
landlord, and add as much of it as he
can to the expenses Of his agency or the
price of his goods. All this, while the
landlord lives in idleness and luxury,
producing nothing, yet consuming the
best of every thing that is produced; or,
with the disposition Of a miser, he takes
The rents he has collected from one class
Of toilers, and with it employs other
landlcss men to aid house to house,
which, when completed, belong to him
who looked OH, ani not to those wh
built them.
There is no incident of land monopo.
ly so productive of intemperance, pau.
oerism, and crime, as that Of rent, The
enant whether of farm, work shop,
store, or a dwelling, being subject to
continually increasing competition in
lis labor, not only through the natural
Increase Of population, but through the
Increase Of the comparatively new elc,
nents Of machinery, is rarely able to
provide fund to sustain his family in
ase of sickness, a failure Of crops, or
he want Of market for his labor or
is products, but in any case, his rent is
formulating and mus. be paid. If he
as put by anything for old age, it melts
way in the form of rent, whenever from
ny casually he cannot labor or cannot
ell his productions. If he has no sur.
lus for rainy day, when the storm
ONES, debt, interest, AMI law expenses
re added to the rent and visions of the
oor house float before his eyes. Is it |
uprising that in these situations he ,
nould become disheartened, and be led ,
ito the excesses of intempcrance or the {
'mptations to commit crime? Our crimi. .
al statistics afIorl abundant evidence 7
at most of the petty offences against i
'oper'y are occasioned by hopeless po.
'rty, caused by the uncertainty of pro. S
able employment and .unceasing re. q
lirements Of rent. The desire TO escape .
o miseries and degradation Of servi. Q
de, and to be relieved Of the burden of v