The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-11-01
THE LABOR PROBLEM.
BY PROF. DAVID SWING.

That moral cause enters the relation
between capital and labor you may learn
not only from those old ages when the
aristocratic idea doubled the laborious
toll and reduced the hire, but from the
recent influences of Christian sentiment
to increase the hire of the toiling class
es. Our political and social economists
bring in all forms of natural causes to
explain the advance of wages. They al
lude to abundant harvests, profitable
business, trades unions, and the decima-
ton of labor by war and disease, and to
the opening of goId-mines; but evident
" in addition to these agencies one must
confess the regular and potent effect OF
humanitarian views and the new estimate
placed upon the common people by
church and state. The same philan-
thropy which built asylums for the in
sane and the blind, and which built free
schools, has gradually acted upon wages,
and has swelled the old sixpence into
shilling.
To show that labor and capital do not
adjust themselves like oil or water, or do
not seek an equilibrium without any aid
from morals, you may return to events
in history, such as for example the eff
forts of English aristocracy to become
shepherds instead of farmers. In the
course of events the growing of wool be-
came more promising thar tbs growing
Ct grair.ls,, Ind d ioa,Ie landowners began to
import and rear immense focks OF sheep.
But ten men could take care of the sheep
of 10, 600 acres, whereas it had required
hundreds to farm those acres in the old
way. Now the law of supply and de-
mand would send into exile vast multi
tude of men, women and children. I'm
der that law that multitude must seek
their fortunes or find their graves as wa
ter finds it's level When water flows
from one cup to another it seeks level
without the help of charity or religion.
Such is the political law about migration
and pay of labor. But this principle
failed and always will fail when the thing
under consideration has soul in it. The
English nobility had to give up in part
their sheep project, and the English
Parliament passed the Poor Laws-that
every man must be permitted to work.
Before the right to vote came, before
the right to worship God as one pleases
came, there came to the English the
right to have work.
This opening up of social philosophy
to insert religion or morals does indeed
greatly comp1icate the question of labor
and capital To let men find work
where they can and receive for the work
what they may, and patiently to die if
the work and pay cannot be found, is
certainly simpler science. Dying OF
poverty is q simple process, but it is
terrible. One would better complicate
the argument more and have less idle
ness and death. All along the road ove1
which man has iourneyed this quantity
called the soul has come In to disturb
the theories of the historian, and econo.
mist, and philosopher. Nautilus thought
that the world was becoming too full Of
people. The great Christian, Dr. Cha
mers, inclined to the Malthusian theory
The pagans have generally killed of
children that bid fair to become super
fuous. In all times the labor question
has presented itself as riddle of the
Sphynx. Unless we are perfectly Ger
tain that the laws of nature are 10 take
care of the multitude, unless we arr
most perfectly assured that men will gee
work 80 far as they ought to and viii
receive all they earn, and will Justly die
if there is no work, we would bette.
until full assurance can come alone
seek work for the most possible and Civ.
them the best possible reward.
Is it natural law that tells the labor
ing man to sleep an hour later in the
morning Oh no; it is the progress O
humanity. Is it law that withholds Lit
tie children from the factory in tende
years? 1t is no more supply and de
mand than it is that law which impel
Bergh to take away the needle-whip
from drivers and to place along tn,
streets fountains for the comfort O
brutes.
| The astronomer who has recentl,
passed from this little star out into TIL,
great immensely wondered long year
ago what unseen hand there was tina
was DETECTING Uranus from its path
He had measured all the forces tina
were pulling at that ball by their gentl,
strings, but these hands would not ex
plain the movements of that planet il
its circle of eighty-four years. Lever
rier declared that some other perfcrme,
was hidden behind the scenes. HI.
pointed out where and when this tricks
ter should be found, and 10 the teIe
scope pointed in obedience to this pro
phecy found the planet pulling at IRA
nus; and standing within two degrees OF
the spot where Leverrier had seen it by
the eye of his profound art. Whoever
will look into this system where capita
and labor aye revolving around eacE
other will find that there is hidden
star which is disturbing all the circles
which the old theorizers have marked
out. 1t is pulling wages a little highe,
up than the theory of Ricardo or Nautilus
can explain, and this new attractive
force is nothing else than the soul in the
bosom Of the capitalist attracted by the
soul in the bosom of the laborer. The
law of supply and demand stands as 6