The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-08-30

and they had overwhelmingly repudiated
IL. Without entering into any discussion
~ 10 the truth of the assertion that the
people have in the past rspudiatsd the
principle stated in said resolution, but i'd
hitting such to be the case, for one can
see in that no good reason why (if the prin-
cipls Ia q correct one) we should fail to
snunciate it. How often did the people If
the United States repudiate the abolition
Of slavery, yet to-day chattel slavery Il
abolished. Suppose some, or all of the
leaders Of the abolition movement had, Af-
tor Their first dsfsat, entered such plea a.
was entered at Cleveland, what would have
been thought Of their consistency There
Ia not principle enunciated in the plat
form adopted at Cleveland, that has not at
some time or place been repudiated by ths
people, or their representative, and TO cry
pecavi ON that account would be TO &C
knowledge the past and existing condition
Of affairs, the only proper condition, be-
cause the people have not repudiated it.
That resolution contains the entire so
luton of the Labor problem, and for an In
dustrial Congress similar to the Cleveland
Congress TO meet and adjourn without
enuncisting it, would be q second edition
Of the play Of Hamlet, with the character
Of Hamlet left out.
Trade Unions are organized. and have
been conducted for the sole purpose Of Sc
curing from the immediate employers OF
the labor of their members fair share Of
Al g H.. Il av.1 lak
vested. Generally speaking, they have
succeeded in this, and maintain their or
CARNATIONS solely to retain what they have
obtained through their organizations. l
do not intend TO say that individual en-
ployers are not exacting-Ars not defraud-
ing labor-but 1 do say that the general
condition Of labor 10 due to causes beyond
the reach Of individual or associated en-
ployers. There are Thousands OF just and
honest employers, who willingly pay TO
labor all their business viii afford, who while
recognizing the fact that labor does not
receive its Just reward, yet feel they
are doing justice, and cannot appreciate
the efforts Of labor for advance Of pay,
and the lessening Of the hours Of labor.
Capital invested in legitimate manufsc-
turing or mercantile business does not pay
to the men who invest it the exhorbitant
profits that are supposed to be made in such
business We readily calculate the cost Of
material, and the cost Of manufacture, and
when we know the price for the manufAc-
tured article, we at once jump to the con-
clusion that q profit Of from 80 to 81 per
cent goes into the Employer pockets
This alone causes many Of the strikes and
lockouts caused by demands for increased
wages great losses occur to both parties,
and both parties are often-times right
they have a common enemy which they
fail to recognize, and which, while they
are fighting, is quietly reaping the results
Of the labor Of the one, and the capital Of
the other.
Statistics prove, beyond doubt, that by
taking the value Of the manufactures of
the United States, and then computing their
cost, as ascertained by the cost Of raw ma
terial, wages and legal interest on the CAPT
tai invested, We will find that the value is
from 80 to 80 per cent above the cost Ct
production.
Who gets this 80 or 90 per cent? We
know it is not our employers, for while We
recognize their greed, we well know that no
such profits flow into their pockets. Then
who is it that abstracts from labor and CAPT
tai invested in manufacturer, the profits,
the money that rightly belongs to it.
The present monetary system OF the
country robs both employer and employee
it forces the people, who invest In legiti-
mate manufacturing business, to become
an easy prey 10 banks, bankers, and brok-
ers. The census for the United States for
1870, shows that over 81, 900, OOO, 900, is
invested in manufactures, and the value
Of production, annually, is over u, $50,
OOO. 600 and to facilitate the exchange of
this immense amount, we have q circulat-
Ing medium limited to $500, 900, 600.
When we consider the greatness of our az
ricultural, railroad, and commercial inter
ests. and know that these immense inter
ests must be content to share with the
manufacturing interests the six hundred
millions, and when we further consider that
this circulating medium Ia in the hands Of q
monopoly, which plumbers under the law,
who can be surprised or object to our de-
mand, except those interested in the steal
ings
There are but few manufacturers who
are not forced to both give and take notes,
simply because there is not money enough
to supply the wants of business cash
business is almost unknown. The manu-
facturer selling his goods on margin Of
profit Of from Is to 80 per cent, is forced
to take the buyers note, running from sixty
DAYS to ak months. Before the note be-
comes due he finds he must have money,
and is forced to visit the Shylocks who hold
and control our circulating medium, and ia
Obliged to lose from IL to 80 per cent. Of
the face Of the note to get the balance in
available funds Where then arc his prof
its From what can he advance the wages
Of labor This is not an exceptional case,
for the great majority of business notes are
discounted as soon as given, and it would
be safe to say all are in the bankers or
brokers hands before maturity. il We
have enough money, as many assert, for
the business Of the country, why Ia il
that every business man inserts on his bill
heads " a IS or 20 per cent. discount for
cash ?" A man may be perfectly solvent,
have hundreds of thousands of dollars in
vested in q legitimate business, but with
the most unexceptionable security, he must
pay to the legalized robbers all the profits
Of business transaction, TO secure money
to pay his employees.
This is where the immense profits Of in
dustry 20 TO this is why the most honora-
BILE employer cannot do full justice to his
employees, and when we couple this system
with our railroad and land monopoly, the
wonder is not, that labor is 30 poorly paid,
but that it ia so well paid. Labor will
never receive its Just reward until the Prln-
ciple enunciated in the resolution at the
beginning of this letter, becomes part Of
the law of the land. h. j. WALLS.
FROM INDIANA.