The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-04-29
The Wages Of Labor.


The Wages Of Labor.
Industry and its rewards are the topics o
discussion in every section of our country, am
good and evil are resulting from their exami
nation. Good is the result where an increas,
in the wages of labor is obtained by fair ant
considerate means; and evil, where rashness anc
overbearing exactIons mark the efforts of those
who desire change.
Whoever will survey the condition of society
throughout the world must perceive that wealth
and labor are seldom associated-that it is the
poor who labor, and the wealthy who are al
rest. That in the natural course of events, OF
in the Providence of God, this is the ordained
primary order of things, is believed by few ra-
tional and intelligent members Of the human
family, save such as false education and
selfish love of ease have blinded to the rights
of others The fruits of the earth of right
belong to him whose hand has reared them,
and whose provident care has gathered and
preserved them for his uses in their season
The right Of any other person to any portion OF
them is not founded in any principle of nature,
nor created by any commandment of revela-
ton, but has arisen solely from the conven-
tional usages of men. That the observance Of
that right, as it exists, as an important princi
pie of human society, is enjoined by the Di
vine law, as well as by our own convictions of
equity, will not be disputed; but this authority,
SO far from preventing any modification of es-
tablished usage, has, as we humbly conceive,
impaired to us a knowledge Of principles lead
ing by all safe and peaceful means to the pro-
gressive improvement that the present times
are developing.
The rise of individual man, as such, ia the
view of the world, and the recognition of his
rights, are incidents in he history of the last
half century that, at its commencement, would
not have been credited as prophecies had the
dead arisen to reveal them and no step has
been taken that was not denounced by the nv
per- conservative with as much yehemence as
are the most ultra of the assumptions in behalf
of the workingmen at the present hour,
not only as impolitic and dangerous, but
as at war alike with all safe precedents and all
authoritative commands. If, therefore, we refuse
to repress the desire of the laboring men of the
present era to advance their interests by all safe
and prudent means within their power, we
trust we may be neither misunderstood nor
1t is not our purpose to vio-
late any well-approved law, nor to compass a
cherished purpose by other than the safest and
most judicious means.
Labor and its aggregated product now hold
interests-the former being the ne
cessity of the poor, and the latter the privilege
of the rich. Yet without the continued exer-
else Of the former the latter is of little worth
while, without the alluring hope of the latter,
the former would become spiritless and enfee-
bled. Such are the strange and seemingly in
congruous relations of these things; and hence
it is that in every step that is taken toward
the diffusion of both labor and wealth, the more
certainly does the human family tend toward
physical and mental happiness, and moral and
religious elevation. In other words, let the
products of labor accumulate only in the hand
of him who labors, and the incentive of the la
borer and the enjoyment of the possession will
both be magnifed. This is the only safe and
truly conservative principle, as it is the only
principle sanctioned by the spirit of republi-
canism, which is the spirit of Christianity.
To the efforts of the laborer to obtain in
creased recompense are presented the objec-
tons that he is not economical and prudent,
that he will abuse the blessing, that " con-
tentment is better than riches" and that his
exertions will be correspondingly relaxed.
That these objections are urged in all kindness
and disinterestedness we are of course not at
liberty to doubt; but they are certainly less
potential than is often imagined. In the first
place, the product of his hand being entirely
his own, the duty of private economy must be
left entirely with himself; secondly, that he
will abuse the boon of full recompense for his
labors is an assumption made by those who,
without so good a title to IFS enjoyment, are
certainly guilty of such an abuse themselves;
thirdly, that wealth is not better than
contentment is no reason why the Iaborer
should not enjoy both; and, fourthly, that he
who now labors all the hours of the day NAV
to some extent relax his exertions, should not
be subject of regret in world in which there
are so many who do not labor at all
We have before us, in the Boston Daily
Courier, an article in which the working
mems declaration in favor of the sten hour
rule" and their combination for the promotion
of Its adoption, are deplored in unqualified
terms; and the writer very confidently pro-
claims:
"If they do less work, they will get less paw;
nothing is more CERTAIN
The assumption here may be doubted. We
have often heard it disputed, and with appa
rent reason, that men or women who are re-
quired to work more hours than ten, can &C
complsh more throughout the year than they
whose hours are thus limited. The fact de-
clared, however, is susceptible of more forcible
refutation. If they do less work, more of them
will be needed; and the increase of the demand
for laborers necessarily enhances their recon-
pense. A general refusal of all men to labor
more than five hours day, Were it practica
BILE measure, would both enhance the wages
paid for days labor, and coerce into the ranks
OF the worklngmen thousands and millions Of
those who perform no toll uhafovo-. 81 L.