The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-08-22


In this letter l proposed 70 speak oi
usury. 1t 10 not usury, or interest ON mo-
ney, ! think II may be shown, that 10 al
the bottom Of the inequality % condition
10 soeietys though 10 must aid powerfully in
perpetusting aud Increasing that inequality.
II this is so, Of course TO destroy usury
would not be wholly TO destroy that ine-
quality. The fundamental cause Of the in
equality as to wealth in society is, 40 I
believe, dishonesty, or going beyond natural
right in individuals in acquiring property.
BY natural right | mean the right that may
be opposed to might. II might 10 necessa-
rily right, ! is as much natural right ~
any other right. But doubt that might is
right from the evil in the world tbat can
clearly he traced to (which could moi, II
believe, be traced to the right which re-
spee.s all alike.
Every person born into the world seems
born with the natural right to the means ..
livelihood-sc far that society sbou not
put any thing in the way % bis employing
Z these means, If honest. There can be no
question Of the right of the parent in
bringing child into the world, as long as
the world not filed with people. Till the
period whe.- be world is filed with inhab-
itsnts, so much ground as viii support a
man must be the natural right Of every man,
who does not prefer to get bis livelihood in
arJ other way Tran from the coll. Aud
more than that ia not his natural right to
possess longer than some other person may
come along aady TO occopy it to earn from
il his own livelihood. Surprising the world
TO contain but two persons 10 IT, each (we
viii saw would blve a natural right to
half of the sod upon the globe. One for
being physically stronger, or mentally more
capable, or constituted with less sense OF
justice, would not have a right to more thar
half 81 this soil, unless such superiority
Cof strength or mnd) or such inferiori'y
(Of c0nsciencs) gave him the right The
weaker person might convey his bali or
part of it, for a just equivalent; but that
we will net 20 30 far az TO consider. Sup
posing these two persons to be the first ha-
msl pair created Surprising them to have
ese offspring 10 this soil? But here We
discover thai We have run into an error
We have gone too far in sappCsing each Of
tie raEent, 20 Lave natural right to haii
Of the soil Of the earth We tnd instead Of
that, that their natural right would be 20 50
much Of the soil ouly as would ield them q
support. And the participation OF the OF
spring would b in 80 much besides a.
Cd. IL
were 10 have more, il would cause the next !
conner, or comers to be further removed /
from the center Of society.
So We tind, or should ind by carving out I
the investigation, that every man and wo- /
man has natural right-if they prefer to I
gain their livelihood in that way-to - \
much land as viii yield them comfortable 4
subsistence by cultivating II, together with /
their offspring while they may be rearing |
them-to At least The same number AS them 4
selves, Or - many more az they please # /
the world Is MT with people. And |
they would not have night to more than l
that.
AS, however, all may not want to be /
farmers, there is the ,ame right for every /
man to gain livelihood BY the means If /
any trade or profession, if honest, that j.
open 20 him, or Is not preoeeupied. Ana /
they have a natural right as | think, to no \
more than a comfortable livelihood 10 such ,
trade or profession. az the farmer would \
nave a paura' right 10 no more than that 4
livelihood from his land This may be the 4
same as 70 say that none in the woi!d shal Il
be rich. And, if you please, as all cannot I
be rich, perhaps aOne have natural right Z
60 be.
1t is said, in trade, that a vender IN any
article has right to what price his Article 4
viii fetch But if be has more than liv- 1
ing price labor is taxed without anything
being rendered for it, In Jaw We know "a
note Of hand cannot be collected unless il .
is shown il Vas given for valuable con I
siderauon. This seems to contain the prin-
cipie here advocated. Competition, as a
rule, will prevent re1 IA trade from get
ting an exorbIIaut price for his articles a.
compared with the market price. Ba: | may
not say that will prevent hiIn from getting
more than living pIiee, for Of it Jid) aby
10 merchants get 60 excessively rIch they
DO sometimes, when merchandise is u thing
open 10 competition a. vel as any other
krnd of buslnessY There must tbe7, il
would seem, be always god IN a trade or
profession Tor more TO enter 1t as long as
more than living prof. = made IN Il.
But there Is another reaSNn Why a thing
may not be worth what il will BRING
turn in afairs may raise prices before
competition can begin to operate. Or q
ercbani may get tie market" On an ar
ticle Of traffic before II can be genera ally in
PRODUCED.
SO then, we see, while there IL dishonesty
ard Iuhumanity In the world. and while
these rsmaIn in the asceDden-y, there . III
be an inequality of condiuon az 70 wealth
among people.
But the aids to this inequality (brc ught
about by dishonesty and inhumauiEy,l vr
hat which perpetuates and increases II, ar
officially, which usury does, might be re-
moved BY law, or be put under greater le-
gal disability than it is-If there can be
found majority Of honest OF humane men
60 90 it.
Usury, or an equivalent FOX the u@ OF
money, IL, in itself, in violation Of no moral
pa II siple that know Of The princip l. OF
returning something FOR the loan Of thing
sc ems to be notural rigtt
Ia what then does ID wrong Of usury
consist That 4 will try % consider in
another letter. A SAEKER or truth.