The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-11-02
THE LABOR MARKET

THE LABOR MARKET
III nur last issue, we referred t" the law
"t supply ana demand lii or present We
purpose CHANGING at the labor market. the
CAUSES that affect 1t, and the remedies t.
U.s. applied Tie idea II labor market, in
which the lahorer may be, and is interest
rd may he houted at and rdIculed 10y some
people tut to the worklngmen IN general
% Is matter ~ which they ought t. and
should be- posted IN every particular In
order that we may the better understand
our subject. We viii first establish what l.
labor, and It's position IN and its claims
upon the world VI commerce ANA manufac-
turr.
Fn,f What then Is labor Labor is
that amount of physical power applied by
the individual 10 any material substance,
uut II which definite thing il produced.
Mental labor Is the eXertIon Of the mind,
WI It's application tu the study If sciences
III other words mental labor is brain work
We have here demonstrated that labor is
A quality inherent in, and Inseparable from
the individual It therefore belongs to and
is the exclusive property IF the individual.
But it differs from other property lnsomuch
that It cannot be separated from the indi
yidual Hence It Is not an eXportable or
commercial article
Necod What is the position Of labor
The position of labor III the world is a
most important one Labor is the produ-
GER uf an things. ana the source of all
wealth Without it the world would be a
barren waste. and civilization hv a thing
unknown.
Tbui What are the claims # labor
upon thv commercial and manufacturing
world As labor IS the source Of dN pro
duotion and wealth, and from it commerce
and manufacturers derive their existence
ANA subsistence II has right to clam mu-
tuaI recognition at their hands, and liberty
to Accommodate itself to the wants Of the
demands made upon IL We have thus
briefly answered the lnterogatories We pro
posed M the beginning of tins article, and
We are inclined To the opinion that the
humblest intellect among US, can under
stand our propositions. We now propose
to review the causes that effect the labor
market We will take it as an established
fact, that if left to its natural course, the
supply Of labor never would have exceeded
the demand for it, for according to the Law
of nature, there are born into the world
more consumers than producers. But at
ter the partriarchal age, labor became diyi-
ded, and the cupidity Of men gave rise t.
a middle class, and this middle class, after
the dawn Of civilization and the introduce
ti9n Of machinery revolutionized the labor
world.
Hence We ind to-day, that the middle
men Of any country by the aid Of machin-
cry and the monied power, have entire
control Of the labor market, and at any
time car create a panic among the labOring
population. Thus we see that through
these two agencies money and machinery
an artificial supply of laborer is kept in
the market, and through this artificial
supply, a surplus Of labor is thrown upon
the market Now, as we have heretofore
shown that labor is quality, inseparable
from the individual, and not an eXportable
article, in what way can It regulate itself to
the demand for it As it is III commerce
and manufactures, the products Of labor
are subject t. the control of the individual;
So it is with labor. Labor being an inhe-
rent quality OF power Of the individual, 1t
il naturally subject 10 his control. Hence
the aggregation Of the owners ~ labor, OF
As they are more commonly called " work
mgmen,' have an indisputable right To
put AS much Of their labor in the market for
sale as will be conducive to their best inter
est. Thus if tits found that ten hours labor
has a tendency to reduce the market value
Of labor, the owners Of that labor have
an equal right to reduce the supply in
order to sustain the market value Of it,
As the merchant has to ship his goods to
find market. or the manufacturer to stop
his mills in order to reduce the supply to
the demand, and thereby maintain the
value Of their goods.