Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1872-06-15


labor leagues everywhere forming, in
dicatc a determined war between labor
and capital. Such a coniicrstatcsmcn
would have foresccn as the necessary
result of combinations ofcvpitsE under
the classical name Of rings" foriscd
for the purpose of concentrating the
wealth of the country in the hands of
the few, and the consequent control of
the price Of labor-the sole source of
wealth. Statesmen seeing the danger,
would have averted it by the adoption
of such measures as are best calculated
to prevent combinations and, by keep
ing capital iii sused, maintiin the equi-
Abrium between supply aud demand,
tse ondy tra4 regulators Of prices and
all other values.
Since labor is the acknowledged
source Of all wealth, its. protection Is
the highest duty of government, with
in the legitimate sphere of its au-
thority. But since this Radical adj
'ministration has sought to centralize
the government by a lawless monopo-
ly of power, the formation and errour-
agmcnt of rings for the absorption of
capital and the consequent subsection
of every material interest 10 the
money-power, labor has Justly become
alarmed at the invasion of its rights
and at the poverty and oppression that
must follow the triumph of capital.
This rivalry is as unnatural IA il is
unwise and unnecessary; yet as much
AZ we dread its consequences, to the
welfare of the country, we cannot
sympathisc fully with the laborers
SO long as we see thousands of them
sustaining the party to which they owe
the existence of the evils of which
they complain. The usurpations OF
lcapital, through fraud and corruption
and the burden of excessive taxation
are all the work of the Radical party
and when we sec laborer throw W
his hat in admiration of that party
We must be pardoncd for not carin.
much whether he ever sees hat again
Strikes and labor leagues are unavilin.
against corrupt government bent upoi
STRENGTHENING itself and enriching it
tools, and 40 long az laboring men ar,
partizans of such government they ar,
entitled to little sympathy. If the.
want just protection, let them try t,
Luild up an honest and just govern
mcnt.
OF course, We speak of the condition
of things in the North--a condition
not likely to arise in the South, whcr
capital, though sufficiently conccntrat
ed to paralizc the efforts of public spiri
to devclopc manufactures, is not we
powerful enough to subduc the labor
er to it, will aud take sovereign contro
over All tbc lnlcltSlS VI W uiNh idboi ]
the soul and the representative. Tn
aggregate wealth of the South is to
much subdividcd, and the relation o
demand and supply tooevenlyadjuste
between employer and employee t
give rise to any such conflict, betwoe
labor and capital, as is now being wage
at the North. The capitalists of tina
: section, under the fostering care Of cor
rupt Radical government, seem cage
to revive, in this country, the days &
icudal tyranny over impoverished serf
to make wealth omnipotent and poN
crty seryile and degraded below eve
, the desire to redress its wrong
Hence the conflict between labor an
capital--a conflict that must result i
victory to capital, because the mo-
active partizans of labor are the SUI
portcrs of party and an administer
ton striving to make the rich richC
= and the poor poorer. This being tru
We can sympathise with the cause, b'
" certainly not with those who fcign
uphold it with one hand whilst the
stranglc ii with the other.