The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1879-11-13
CAPITAL AND LABOR.

There are those who think tn,
/ Capitalist, of al! meo, is the most OK
acting. Then on the other hand there
are Capitslists who would, no doubt,
/ grind tho face ofthe Iaborer down &c
q pretty thin edge il in their power,
Whist is Capital aud what is Labor,
ere the questions to solve, and then
the difficulty is a once overcome. -
Capital is nothing m1re or less than
accommodated labor, and labor is
where muscle is employed in the alb
sence of capital, For instance, il a
person desired to engage ia the mer-
cantile business and had no capital
such a desire would be visionary in
the extreme, for the laws governing
trade are Of such a nature that it is
almost an impoasibility for person
to purchase goods and sell them
within the time specified by CONNER
cial rules TO meet the payments
thereof. But there is way out OF
this dilemma, aud that ia to set the
muscles at work until such times as
an accumulation of sufficient
amount is obtained to warrant such
an enterprise The party socks work
land who must he apply to unless to
the capitalist) whereby he can earn
enough to start in business The
capitalist is in want of his labor, but
is willing only TO pay just what it
can be obtained az from others. -
Now if it happens that labor is 10
great demand, the wages paid will
probably be large if on the other
hand there is an abundance, the rate
will be low, so it depends entirely
upon the law of supply and demand.
This the Iaborer may tiud fault with
but it il, after all, the same law that
governs the price of the merchants
goods, and is subject to the same
hlctuation. The party does not see
it in this light, and the resalt is that
tho capitalist is berated as an OPP
pressor, tyrant and seeks only his
own welfare. The truth Of the mat
ter is just here, the relations existing
beween the laborer aud the capitalist
is simply that Of buyer and seller,
aud will exist 50 long as human ma
ture remains what it 10 Every
buyer wants a seller, and every sell
Ter wants buyer, and when they
come to mako bargain each seeks
his own interest The buyer desires
to buy as cheaply as he can, and
hence the lower the price the better
he is suited. The seller on the other
hand, desires to get the highest price
he can. Low prices suit the one,
aud high prices the other, because
they stapd in different relation to the
transaction. The conflict is more of
selfshness than Of Interest, for both
are Interested, which leads each to
make the best bargain he can, This
g precisely tho nature Of the contest
between capital and labor 1t is a
conflict between two classes indlspen-
sible of each other, each of which is
studying is own particular interest.
There 10 bat one true way of an
swering this question. AS matter
OF course the capitalist shall not be
allowed to pay just what wages he
secs fit to, tneither she'll the Iaoorer
enjoy the exclusive right of fixing
the rate Of his own wages. The an
swer is this, that the law of supply
and demand is the only way out OF
the difficulty. The capitalist must
buy labor at the average market
price, and the lab0rcr must sell his
services at the market price also,
the rule ia both cases being the
same. No matter how many upstairs
and strikers may come to the surface
this law is inevitable, and as we'll
expect water to run up stream as to
change it. The history Of all labor
Unions, strikes, etc, have failed to
disprove the law of supply and de
mand, and those who have been
foremost iu organizing such, instead
of doing their fellows favors, invari-
ably have led them into ruin. The
multiplied testimony Of hundreds Of
deIuded persons bear witness to the
above, while their empty s'omachs
aud pockets are drying out in angry
tones against those who led them on
to delusion to the verge Of starva
ton Detroit CommerciM.