The Portland daily press., 1865-02-25
I.aborers and CAPITALISTS.

Laborers and Capitalists.
In the highest and truest sense every man
who contributes to the common veal, wnetner
by his head or his hand, his brain or ms II
Gle, is a laborer. The man who teacnes .no
child to read, who prescribes at tue oeusiuo
of disease who ministers at the altar OF re-
licion. or who nayigates ship, directs facto-
~. or MANAGES financial institution, is just as
mnch a laborer as he who holds plow, iorges
a.. ,,,acbauic's tools, or uses them after they
are completed.
But there is a more limited sense in which
the term laborer is understood, and that is to
mean and designate those who perform actual
physical manual labor. But understood in
this restricted sense, the laborer is often CAP
italist; that is, the man who tolls early and
late, making his muscles thrill with pain or
ianguish from exhaution, is very often found
to be contractor, or an employer OF otner
laborers, and thus he is capitalist. To meet,
therefore, the common idea of those who use
the term, we must understand the word labor
ar in an even more restricted sense, as desig-
mating those only who are employed to per-
form physical labor at an agreed-upon rate of
compensation per day, week, month or year.
And now we are prepared to say and to
maintain, that between this class and those
known as capitalists and employers, there
should be-there must be, to secure permanent
prosperity-the utmost harmony; just as per-
feet harmony as there is between the hands
and the feet; just as much as there is between
the lobes Of the lungs or the ventricIes of the
heart. To adjust nicely the relations be-
tween the laborer and the capitalist is very
delicate work; one requiring the broadest
views and the clearest sight; and he who seeks
to remove any elements Of discord between
them, and to promote their harmonious work
ing, is philanthropist, while he who labors
to place them in antagonism, or to make a
breach between them is foe to the common
good; as much an enemy to the peace and
prosperity Of a community as that man would
should seek to set the husband against the
wife, or the children against their parents.
The capitalist, without the cooperation of
the laborer, may continue to live, but all en-
terprise and progress must stop. His capital
Ia needed to stimulate labor and to make in
dustry available for the common good. On
the other hand, the laborer-who has only his
labor to dispose of, that he and his may sub
sist and grow upon the wages of that labor
finds himself at once in trouble when capital
Is no longer forthcoming to stimulate the in
dustry of a community. There is a mutual
dependence between the laborer and the cap
italist which cannot be ignored without detri-
ment to both, and instead of there being-any
real antagonism between them they are each as
much the complement of the other as the wa
ter is the complement of the wheel or the
steam of the engine. Together they are like
verbs which signify "to do" separately the
one is like verb which signifies "to De-" while
the other is like the verb which signifies 80
suffer-" The man who would make labor the
mere tool and instrument of capital is des-
pot, and pouLd be STAKEHOLDER, making the
capitalist own the laborer. The man, on the
other hand, who would ignore the capitalist,
and deny to him a voice in the management
of those affairs to the success of which his
capital is SO important, is no less despotic in
his spirit, and were he capitalist and in pow
er, he would be found the veriest tyrant
alive.
In England and other European countries,
class interests are a necessity. The right to
vote-if voting is allowed at all-rests on
property qualification. Whole classes are ig-,
nored, and have no other way to protect
themselves but by combinations into distinct
classes. With us there is very little reason for
such distinctions. The polls are open to poor
and rich alike; SO are all places of honor and
Of trust. The highest positions are often filed
by men of the most lowly origin. The Presi-
dent of the United States was once poor
boy-a trail splitter" The Vice President
elect was tailor's apprentice, and his wife
actually taught him to read. Let those who
think poor or humble man has no chance for
success in this country, think of John Lynch,
Sidney Perhsm, james G.. Blaine and John
II. Rice, of our Congressional delegation; Of
John B. Brown, T. G. Hersey and William
Moulton, of our merchant princes" of N. p.
Banks, B. f. Butler and U. s. Grant, of our
military officers; of Henry Clay, Millard Fill
more, and Lewis Cass, OF our past statesmen, of
Henry Wilson, Schuyler Colfax. and host of
others of the present generation of active pub
lie men. All these commenced life as poor
boys, and have won distinction, honor and sue
cess by brave hearts and strong hands, while
manfully laboring in harmony with the great
elements in our business or public life, and
not by striving to antagonize those elements.
Industry, thank God, is badge of honor to
any man in our part Of the country. Those
only who sneer at honest labor are despised.
Hard hands and bronzed faces are badges OF
distinction, and the man who is true to him
self will ind it as easy to rise to posts of hon
or from mechanics bench, farmers plow,
vessels deck, or weaver's loom as from a
merchants counting room, a lawyers office
an editors sauctuin, or professors chair. j.
YARMOUTH PAPER CoMPANY.-This COM