The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1878-08-01
LABOR AND DEBT.

| AAk1O6 AMI OG0Es
! The notion 10 generally entertained
that debt only oppresses the debtor.
Aud the falsehood is frequently pro.
claimed that the laborer, owing no
debts and paying no interest, is not
affected by usury. Those who max
this assertion lose sight of first prin-
ciples. They forget. or they have not
yet learned, that labor pays for every
thing. Labor creates al values, there
fore pays oil bills. And - soon as We
lose sight Of this simple truth, we miss
the real philosophy Of the question,
and substitute falsehood for truth.
mere conjecture for facts. The delu-
sion rests upon the supposition that
all who hold value Ia their possession
made It, whereas hundreds who are
very wealthy never performed use-
full service, and their wealth is the re-.
suit of the accumulation of either usn-
ry or fraud-value that they have ab.
strcted from the earnings OF others.
Therefore whom they pay, they arc
merely disposing OF what somebody
else has earned. All who labor-all
who have mental or physical effort to
sell are injured by usury. Let us
specify: Take for example 2 large
railroad corporation. Supposs their
property 10 mortgaged for over halt
it's value as is the case with many Of
our corporations which employ labor
extensively. Now the interest on this
mortgage is the first debt that must be
paid; then what is left is divided
among the stockholders and laborers.
Interest must be paid to retain the
property and the money used for
this purpose is usually substracted
from the wage fund,or thefnnd out OF
which the productive labor is paid.
This is proven by the fact that many
of our corporations, for some time
psst. have been reducing the number
Of laborers in their employment and
cutting down wages, while they re.
tain the came number of officers and
pay them the same salaries. Neither
the interest nor the salaries have fall
en-, while the number of laborers em-
ployed and the wages paid them are
3restiy reduced. This shows who is
injured by the exactions Of usury. .
Now, we must not tumble into an
other error here by supposing that
those only, who labor directly for
these corporations are injured. The
productive interests are 80 related
that you cannot !abstract from the
profits Of one without relatively re-
ducing the profits of all. Let us make
this so plain that it will reach every
understanding. Suppose q communi-
ty has one hundred mechanics. and
that what they realize from their labor
is spent in the, locality whore they
live, and the remainder is sent to q
distant locality to collect in great Gem
ters beyo ond the point OF the highest
productive use. Now,it makes allth
difference in the world to the commu-
nifty whether these mechanics be en-
ployed at one or two dollars day, or
whether half the number be employ
ed at half the wages or the whole be
employed At full wages. If the whole
force be employed there will be twice
as much product made as if only half
were employed. And if this half on
ly receive half wages, there will be
only one fourth the money spent in
the community and since the con-
sumptive power of the average me-
chanic depends on the rate of wages
which he receives, and is nearly al
ways fully up to the amount received,
three. .fourths of their, consumptive
power is destroyed, thus affecting de-
mands and reducing the profits Of all
other laborers in that community.
Those half paid men will demand only
half as much service from the mer.
chant, the manufactures and the farm
er and out of those who receive no
employment, and consequently no
wages, there will be large per cent
that will require public charity, and
the community will be taxed for their
support. This 10 what 10 affecting ne
to-day. Usnry has drawn capital
from active industry, and thrown the
laborer ont of employment, destroy-'
ing his power to consume, lessening'
the demand for products, or for the
service of others, thus injuring the
whole community. The productive
efforts of one man always calls for q
like effort on the part Of others. No,
disguise the fact as we may, the inter-
ests Of those who live by labor aud
those who live by usury are diametrl-
calIy opposite. ,s
If any one asks q confirmation of
the theory which we have given, we
refer him to the number of railroads
and other corporations which haye
passed into the hands of creditors in
the last four years. A recent number
of The Railway Age of Chicago said
that in the last four years two-thirds
of the railroads. Of the United States
had been transferred to the creditor,
or were working all the time to satis-
fy his claim, and that the labor force
had been reduced one. fourth. The
agency of Dun & Co., as
sures us that one billion q year had
passed into the hands of creditors
since the year Of the panic. Creditors
are, as q class, inactive, and most of
the productive property that has pass
ed into their hands IL idle, and the la
borers which 1t once employed are
suffering.
Even IL it were true that every one