, 1869-06-16

WEDNESDAY, JUNE l6, 1869.
oREEIEY's POLITICAL ECONOMY,

eREELEY's POLITICAL ECONOMY. l
The third chapter Of 3lr. Greeley's '.Po-
hdcal Economy has been published It |
commences With few words oa the dis
t;nction which other writer's on the science
have Haade between wealth and capitalize |
latter being TINT portion Of wealth en-
l1oyed in reproduction Mr. Greeley !
holds that there is no room for the prevail |
ing distinction between the two terms. It
appears to Ms that while the distinction is a
proper one, it is, after al, only question
Of dehnitlonE-a mere matter of convent
cnce, n help in studying The science as CO.
cf6cients ere help in mathematics. A
br1shel Of wheat is denominated wealth in !
all cases It is called capital when it is re-
served for planting, but not when it is con-
ve1ted into bread Tor the owners con samp-
ton
From this point lIr. Greeley plunges
into an error Of the first magnitude. He
says:
when rraA that The wages of the poor neces-
salJ R.se OF tAli with the increase Of the wealth
ot the rich, hesitate aud dcInur. Put 1t in The
less positive form Of the rzst Of Ar. Auls Fun
dAnensai Propositions Respecting Capltai'-vtz-:
That industry Ia Limited By capital and deem
capital was rerJ scarce, As well II dear. Il Cali
fotnia throughout s-e year fssts) following the
where II nore eager demand, OF more bounteous-
" rrwkrded, than Just then and there. To-day,
per head a It VA IL 1s4a, either OF the three
following 1eats: Jet labo, IL neither in 6uea eager
demand nor 60 generously recamlensed as It then
WnA''
LIZ. NIL docs, indeed, say TINT s1industzy
e' is limited by capital" He adds, also,
.hat this proposition must be assented to
t. as soon as it is distinctly apprehendel. Il
is easy to sec that Mr. Greeley does not dis
hacuy apprehend it. He attempts to dis
proveit by saying that capital WIS very scarce
and dear in California in 1849, and get labor
9as in more eager demand and r.ort 1oun-
ftont!y r<srart7ttl then than now. Let us
test Nj. Miu'a proposition by the example
Of California. alr. Mil says that industry
was limited by capital in California, both in
1919 md 1860. A{r. Greeley says: "Eo;
labor was in greater demand in lsio,
when capital was scarce, than in 1869,
when it is abundant" In lsl3 the popu-
lation Of California was oe,597, and its
capital, real and personal, $22, ,s7e.
1t the present time its population
cannot be Less than 100000, OF
its capital less thnn $500, ,ooo, 600.
MIR. Greeley would have Us believe
[evidently himself believes) that il the
COO, 600 people nov in California had been
cast upon its shores in 1919 their labor
would have been in greater demand than it
is to-day! We undertake to say that there
would not only have been an enormous de-
cline in the rate Of wages, far below that
which now prevails, but that fou1-hfths Of
thewhole uumberwoald have persisted from
starvation, unless suecored by timely charity
from abroad. Industry Ihnt is, laboring
populatlon,) WAS limited in 1910 by The
amount Of capital there to employ it. Any
large accession Of industry without cor
responding increase Of capital would have
been followed By great depression OF wages
and consequent suffering.
Nov let US turn Nh. Greeley's PROPOSE
tion around, for We deem it important to
6lay it before going any farther. BE would
hare us believe not only that if 100000
people had been added to the population Of
Caldosnin in le49 their labor would have
been in greater demand than it is to-day,
but that If $500. 600, 900 bad been added te
The capital OF California in 1919 without
any increase Of Labor, the rnte Of wage!
would have been depressed by that circrm
stance, or at any ,ate would not hive bee,
increased. Our idea is that the rate o
wnges would have been enormous,
y advanced by the greater compe
ton Of capitalists bidding TO
lie limited number Of laborers
But, says Mr.. Greeley, labor was mort
bounteouEly rewarded" in California i,
1s4? than it is today. Keeping in viev
Mr.. Mills Proposition, which MF. Greelo.
attempts to overthrow, We maintain thu
labor {that is, the whole amount Of labor il
California to-dny,) is at least six times NOR
bounteously rewarded than the Who'll
amount Of nbor wan IN l649. II Nj
Greeley means TO say that individual lAbcz
e1s we're each more bounteously ) rewarde
in California in 1919 than individual labol
CTS are to-day, the statement may be t1u
or false without initiating in any degre
against Mr. Mills proposition, th:
Industry is limited by Capital But v
are far from admitting even that 1t Is t1u
The rewards Of labor consist IN the tot
amount Of comforts and enjoymcn
procurable By labor. Is it true that
greater anouEs OF the comot1s Ano enJo
ments Of Life could be procured with a dry
wages in California, in 1s4a, than with
f1aT'a rreaa r0ua We srurrhe.
not, Ar. Henry c. Carey
an author whom Mr.. Greeley is fond
holding ur to us as an authority on polite
economy. Mnny years ago Nj. Carey q
serted the proposition that in state
soe1''s where capital and ropo'a'ion a
sosnne'he' oho Improvements In n'aeo'oe
sno processes progressing we Pr
Te,''.n q rf.'fcaneeo "e''sn ~u'
i'aS 10 We ssaie u n'os increases oo'a !,
'"a''s "A'4 'e''',1'e iaa' A7 :" e.s, - - =
se aen' n''ooea' Nl'su - we e'lse ~ enu,
n'a 'Ae y. Sea41n "n'su ALL aa'
ta'is ~ '' shat' ~ 'A,Ns' - ao' oa!s
iae' '8'ser, o'1 Is niso se.a'lse's inset IL
LUG pe'ee1ae WHICH, ,AaS :" '.le s.iA1e
c1ll,a II .ne e.'1e u e'uao o1nta .a wv w
oo 'nes'e eon'''.''ns s1asS, w. '"e.o 80, :, -.
iafee amount o' ne" tAno A'a'Ao'o
purposes o' cu'u'anon' WIN ILLS eiene
Suoeo' "o 'o'4''aln tAl0' H. S11e, P3.t
aIon u onhssana'Ae' 1ao 1oe1et'te i
ofee'eS ensenao'e 1foIn ese15 punt
'eE-
Hf' ofeeles then goes On 70 ".aAe G.
ta1n assef'lons' oasupPo'eo % aane1
a1Ytr bat "a IfY1f&<S $NVSf