Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-04-03

AUSTIN, MIMI
THURSDAY MORNING. APRIL :, 1873
What Produces Wealth..
lie who is born the posscssor OF
competence: and grows to adult hfe
without feeling the necessity Of doing
ANYTHING to obtain a livelihood, very
naturally concludes that the possession
Of large quantities Of the precious met
ais. is the greatest and best evidence
Of wealth, individual or NATIONAL
Having found money sufficient in all
cases to supply tt 6 nessssarics Of life
and the luxuries required by fashion
able society, it is natural for him to
ascr'be all immunity from toll. to the
fortunate possession Of an abundance OF
gold and silver. Is this true? Does
money bear any true relation to those
things upon which lite depends?
or themselves, they possess not So
much life.sustaining power as the
,niasm that floats in the dir We breathe.
Man cannot eat or drink the precious
metals in kind, and they are Of no more
value as a covering to the head than
than the birch bark with which the
aboriginee covers his tepee. The value
which attaches to coin and gives it cir.
culation as money is purely fictitious
Conventional;ty gives it relative pow
or Of sale and exchange, without which
it would be no more valuable to US than
the trinkets Of savage life.
Wealth then does not consist Of mere
possession Of those things which only
represent value, but rather Of that tenn
7 oral association and estate which pro-
vide from the elements, supply for all
the necessities of human life, or the
means which satisfy to tn, greatest ex-
tent all human wants. To him who is
list in the l>p:hs Of the wilderness or
furnishing in the desert, the most valua-
bic Of all treasures are food and drink.
in the early days Of gold hunting in
the El.ivra SIZE 4 miner had atisfied
his .!i;rss fer the precious metal and
safely packing it upon his mules, start
cd from the mountain gulchcs for civil.
lized life He lost his way, wandered
until his food was exhausted, his
animals had died; and almost
delirious FROM travel, long fasti: g
aud anxiety, he sat down upon a
rock t" die when he was met by an
explorer who was supplied with food
and drink, but not in excess Of HE own
wants TO this man the posscssor ol
thousands Of dollars offered all his
wealth for cup Of water and a crust
Of bread. For this temporary relief
he was willing to sacrifice everything
he possessed.
This exigency in the life Of an indi
vidual fairly illustrates the wants of Q
nation. The great temporal wants oil
man, whether sinsly or associated, are
food, raiment and shelter, and their
capacity to supply these, in spite Of all
exigencies, is the measure of their true
wealth and power. The earth, is :
great storehousc, filed with the e!e
n"nts wbich-properly wrought up
are found to meet and satisfy every
bodily want.
T'rue ,eeauh then is found alone in
the results Of associated, system.tizcd
and intelligent LABOR. Capacity and
willingness to WORK constitute the onl,
sure foundation Of individual or nation
al prosperity. Let our people once
establish in their minds the fact tina
labor is money, and our iron mountain.
are far more valuable than our nation:
al uints, even though the capacity o
the latter be increased a thousand fold
If the great natural resources Of ou'
country are to be rn1asked and mad,
subject to applied skill aud industry
the wants OF the people will become 81
few comparatively, and their opportuni
ties so many, that leisure will be; fount
for scientific investigation, social cul
ture, and governmental reform. Thi
will grade up society, modify its in
tense extremes, emancipate men frdh
the seryitude by which mules aIon
should be bound, and demolish the bar
rier that BIZ. heretofore separated tn
money aristocracy from the workin,
masses OF the country. The burden
of hand labor will thus be more equal
~ distributed, crime be diminished, al
the government become more firm, be
cause more just and wise.
We hear it said that Minnesota need
capital, and men talk as thou: h thi
were A.- only necessity. We say, nay
rather let l., have an active intelligen
laborer upon every quarter section q
arabic la,n. in he State That woul
be degree Of wealth far surpassin
any which the gold mongers of tb
world can pour into our lap. Califo,
MIA excepted, there is not singl
gold producing country in the worl
which is uot pauperizcd in every ele
ment except its precious metal; an
this exception is the result Of dive,
sivied industry which is entirely inde
pendent of her metallic deposits. None.
will no: help Us only as it may con-
mand labor and enable US to direct