, 1877-10-27

or too wicked 10 provide such protcc
tion. If such rule Of apportioninG
wages and divilcndS shorld result N
these last bciHg - small that some capi-
tai would he withdrawn from the hU,i-
mess it would leave the business healthier,
and les, competition would soon give To
the remaining capital employed mlscr re.
turns.
but THE MAIN CONSIDERATION
is still another point. What constitutes
"such wages rs men can comfortably live
on. Who shall settle and define the
amount of these This is the ground OF
the present quarrel, and peace will never
come ill this is settled. The employed
have something to sell it Is labor. men
who have coal, metal. or corn to sell, do
not let the buyer iiX the price The price
is settled after mutual conference. The
employed claim the same right oi sctt-
ing the price Of what they have to sell
Uhat is labor in the sane way that is, by
mutual conference.
Corporations that employ n large mum.
her of wurking.men should from time to
time, appoint II committee to meet II
committee Of working men. Before such
Joint. committee should he laid open all
the details nt the business. The price of
raw mutcrlnl, loss of interest in process
of manufacture, interest on dead capital,
repairs to keep the stock good, etc, and
the price Mt which the goods nre finally
sold and in what quantity; all the acts
| necessary to make up IN opinion as to
what rate of wages the company can at
ford to pay,--Of course only such facts.
After mutual consultation, such commit
tee should decide the amount ot wages
to be paid. II they cannot agree, an UNI
pire should be chosen to make the final
decision. Such n method has been &C
cnsionally resorted to in New England,
and with good results. But to secure
content and harmony this should be the
regular established, and recognized
method. such course has been followed
in England in u very large number Of its
manufactures and wherever il has been
adopted strikes have been for twenty
years unknown. Thomas Hughes, well
known in literature. has been frequently
chosen us an umpire. Christianity die
talcs and sound political economy indors-
es such procedure. How broad and
sound must be, in years, the education
gained by
WORKING MEN ACTING ON SUCH COMMIT
TEES,
and brought to the close, practical con-
sideration OF such large interests, acting,
too, under such grave responsibilities !.
The effect has been very marked in Eng
land. Mr.. Mundellu, member of the
House OF Commons, assured me he lmd
known instances where the wOrkmcn on
such committees proposed even II greater
reduction OF wages than that named by
the employers declaring rs the result of
their examination, that the corporation
could not safely pay as large wages MS il
offered. This shows how acting under
grave responsibility educates men, both
morally and intellectually. Weak and
embarrassed companies would never be
obliged to make such an exhibit OF their
affairs. Half dozen firms or corpora
tions doing so would fix the rate. The
rest would follow, and those companies
unable to pay it must show cause why
they do not, or 60 to the wall. And
such result would be no harm to sound
business concerns.
We have more than enough of the bab-
bic and claff of supply and demand"
That is political economy which forgets
God, aholshes hearts, stomachs, and hot
blood, and builds its world rs children
do, out OF tin soldiers and blocks Of wood.
Here every man reads, votes, and carries
arms. The physical force, the voting
majority, and large share of the intel
lcc,ual ability, are in the possession of
the employed. Hence such questions
ARE far more complicated than in coun-
tries where despotism holds iron sway
over dsiranchised ignorance. Equally
out Of place and absurd is the argument