The daily gazette., 1878-03-13
CAPITAL AND LABOR.
THE LIBERAL LEAGUE PROPOSES A
PANAcEA FOR THE PRESENT BUSINESS
DEPREssiON,

fHE LIBERAL LEAGUE PROPOSES
PANAcEA FOR THE PRESENT BUSHES
DEPRESSION.
at The meeting OF the Liberal Leaoue
Sunday morning, "The Present Crisis
was the theme OF argument, and ID,
Samuel Marshall opened the dlscussion
ne argued that enterprise, capital an,
labor have been all prostrated tooetbe
III one common ruin by the cursed con
traction and resumption acts of Congress,
wnich YET hang over us like volcano IL
cloud threatening destruction TO all thu
business interests Of the country.
The Speaker said: The laborers musl
Understand the case first and then de-
mand their rights.
The right Of the capitalist Is to have
no more interest fer money. than The
business man can make out of If. after
ne has made living. and paid labor a
iair price for fair days work. How
much interest can enterprise pay?
That Is TO be found out by The amount
OF wealth gained each ten years, this YOU
can learn by the returns of the census
every ten years. The increase of wealth /
what do we mean by that We mean that
labor earns each year $31 per cent. over
and above expenses of every kind.
nat Is 81 per cent. is the very highest
rate That this Nation or England has ever
Increased their wealth for q series of
years. Then If you attempt to do busi
nest on borrowed capital for which YOU
pay more than per cent. 95 out of
every 100 Of you will fail and lose all
your own; capital and all the borrowed
capital in most cases.
Ahd you Will do that after you have
zone your best. i'll the days of the
glorious greenbacks, mean in 1866,
we had more money in circulation than
we ever had. And how many business
men failed in 1865 ? Contraction of
money commenced in 1886. What do
we mean by that? 1t is taking away
from the people part of the dollars with
which they boughJ aud sold. For in
stance | bave $4,000 in sore, il IS bor-
ro~ed capital, my friend says, want
s4,ooo oi my money, l take $4,000 out
oi my business, then have contracted
my capital down 10 ~, 900. Now can
40 The same amount OF business that [
done before +? No! you all understand
that.
Well, in 1865 we had in this country
money enough TO give $50 to each in
habltant. Now we have reduced it to
SlS for each inhabitant; and wages, labor
and The means to live are reduced sill
more Than that. Now think, if you can
i've as well on 81 day now as you
could in 1865. No! you can't, neither
can you all get 81 per day.
Well you all remember the days of '65
aud greenbacks, everybody got plenty of
work,and good wages. And credit, that
ruinous demon, was hardly known among
The common people. Then in '65, we
had cash enough 70 do business with. l |
long TO see those days return.
NOW remember the reduction of the |
number OF dollars in use commenced in
1868, the act OF ruin passed Congress
april IL, 1856; and ruin began Just as |
'oon as the money began to grow less
md harder to get.
In 1853 there were $40 failures In the |
mted States, about 10 10 a state. What
'aused 54O people to fail when times
we're 80 good, and money so plentiful |
think 1t was because ATS of them had
ieither capital, business, experience nor
brains TO do business with, and that class
Will always fail. But they did not shock
he business of the country Those failures
we're not heard of. They did not pro-
luce ripple on the massive sea OF busl-
less that was being done in '65.
NOW come along to 1867, when the loss
II money began to be felt by the BUSH
men or the country and what hav. we?
n 1857 we have failures to the
number OF 27gO