The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1874-11-19
oAPTrAL AND LARoR.

History proves that there is not that har-
mony between capital and labor which
should exist. For the last few years there
has been very strong tendency to increased
antagonism, which has filed the Old and,
to some extent, the New World with
gloomy anticipations. The majority Of
mankind are poor and dependent upon their
daily labor for support. The decree to this
effect went forth when Adam was driven
from the Garden Of Eden. He was told
that in the sweat of his face he should earn
his bread. This is considered by many as a
great calamity, and they vainly look for
some expedient which will relieve them
from toll. 1t is an error, which generally
prevails, that the man who owns his mil
lions and revels in splendor and luxury
Is the happiest of mortals. Without
stopping to investigate facts, and car
ried away by the gaudy trappings
and glare of costly equipage, they are
led to the conclusion that riches are indis-
pensable to enjoyment; and therefore fall
out with their own condition, and complain
of the cruel injustice of society and the ac-
cidents of fortune. Such men do not de-
serve wealth, for if they were possessed of
competency it would not be wisely dis
bursed. The evidence of their incapaclty
is made apparent by their senseless COM
plants.
We would not'be understood to take the
position that riches are not desirable. By
no means; for if properly and wisely used,
they can be made instrumental in doing a
vast amount of good, and thus be the
source of genuine and lasting pleasure to
the owner. But when used simply in the
qualification of sensual appetltcs and vain
pursuits, they bring pain and sorrow, dis
appointment and disease.
While we have no sympathy for the
constitutional croaker, who would have
riches bestowed upon him by some
freak of fortune, we do feel for the
laboring millions, who, by divine decree,
are entitled to just consideration and com.
pensation for their labors. Not such men
and women as form the Communes of
France and fercely scowl at those who
chance to be able to surround themselves
with the comforts of life, but for the pa
tient, the needy, the industrious, who ask
for an equivalent for their labor, which is to
them an absolute necessity. 1t is just here
that avarice and injustice creep in and at
tempt to defraud the sons and daughters of
toll of right coeval with the necessity for
labor. Here is where the real antagonism
begins which has no justification or pallia-
ton. 1t is carried into the business of life; it
is studied, so as to enable the man of means
to obtain the work of his poor neighbor at
prices wholly inadequate to the labor per-
formed and the necessities which exist
Here is where the great crime begins to
crop out, which threatens the peace of the
world and the welfare of mankind. If the
cases were only occasional, and confined
to few individuals, their wrongs might
be redressed by the local courts of justice
it is organized into companies, and under
the forms of law sanctioned by our legis-
lators, pervades the land and gathers the
money, much of which should remain in
the hands of the laborers. Then it hides
behind forms and ceremonies which mis-
lead the simple, and secure immunity from
censure and punishment.
Witness the huge monopohes of the
land-tho banks, high tariffs and manufac-
tolies-where money is unjustly taken from
the individual, and weary hours of toll de-
manded for stinted compensation, which
leaves the poor creature with the marks of
pinching care and craving want. Again,
the exorbitant rates demanded for the use
of money of the tOiling masses call out for
redress.
This latter evil did not formerly exist to
any great extent. And when an Individual
so far forgot the right as to wiring from his
felIow-man extortionate rates for the use Of
money, he was dramatized as Shylock,
and held up to the execratioh of mankind
as q 1niser who would grind the face Of the
poor, or take the last pound oEAesh for un-
holy gain.
There should not exist any conflict be-
tween capital and labor. A just compensa-
ton for work done is all that ought to be
demanded. We need both. Labor is a ne
cessity which cannot be dispensed with.
In agriculture, in the workshops, factories,
mines, gardens, orchards; in building, and
in many other occupations, labor is essen
tiaI, and should receive ample compensa-
ton. It is true wisdom to act upon this
principle; its good effects wiz everywhere
be manifest in the increased and superior
productions. More efficiency, more faith
fulness, will be the result. There will be
fewer jars and more harmony in soci-
ETY., and a higher order of prosperity.
The poor will not then look upon
the rich as their natural oppressors, but as
friends who have q proper regard for their
rights and a correct appreciation Of their
wants. We, at the South, do not yet fully
comprehend the evils which threaten the
body polite from the clashing Of capital
and labor. 1t should, therefore, be the aim
of our people to take time By the forelOck,
and so regulate the relation that when a
vast population shall cover our fertile
plains, there viii be order, harmony and
unity IN the land.
The North is now threatened with serious
consequences from this cause, and many
look forward with apprehension and fear to
the future.