Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-04-16
TRUE AND FALSE POLITICAL ECONOMY.

quditS ~ Apply u very suPelhOiai az
quaintance with political economy to the
solution of great problems, and as result
much pernicious nonsense is talked and
written. The new Anti Monopoly League
of New York seems to have attracted to 1t
large number of the sciolists who think
their smattering of information complete
equipment and from speech made to
the League recently by Colonel Frederick
A. Conkling, we shall take text or two
to illustrate the laundering philosophy OF
this kind of experimenteIs. We read that
% in the course of his speech he referred to
50 the vast means voted to the New York
Central and Erie Railroads by the Legis-
"lature of this State, every dollar Of achich
GO lcas paid, as all taGeS leried on the COM
m,unity are paid, By the laJoring man. y
Let US examine the meaning of the words
we have italicized, for the thought they
convey is becoming so distorted and
abused that its economic significance is in
danger of being obscured completely.
When political economists have sought
to trace the genesis of capital, some of
them (but by no means ALL, have satisfied
themselves that all capital originates from
labor This, be it observed, is the ultimate
reduction of the inquiry but it by no
means follows that it supplies compre-
hensive definition of Capital and Labor
In these days the formula has been ar
ranged in way never dreamed of by the
economists. 1t is now read thus can
"capital was produced by Labor therefore
g Labor ought to own all capital" 1t is
| by such a fantastic dislocation of economic
principles that the current socialstic
theories are supported. 1t is by very
similar confusion of thought that Colonel
Conkling has been brought to assert,
grayely, that all taxes are paid by the
laboring man.
For the statement is not only not true,
it is absurdly untrue. Whatever may be
the genesis of capital, it does not, as it
exists to-day, depend upon Labor ex-
clusively, nor is it the fact that its increase
is altogether dependent upon Labor. If
labor were to cease utterly capital could
subsist for long time without its assist
ance and the owners of capital would
always be numerous enough, and have it
within their power, to supply the necessary
| labor themselves in the last resort. We
are of course assuming, as we have
a right to assume, that Colonel Conk-
| ling in speaking of =" the laboring
man" refers expressly and solely to
the class who gain their living by man.
ual labor. Now to say that this class pays
all the taxes is sheer nonsense. 1t is
doubtless true that all taxes upon commod-
tiles and real property fall ultimately
upon the consumer, but the consumers are
the entire community, and not one par
ticular class. Those who consume the least
pay the least, and the laborer certainly
consumes the least. As matter of fact
everyone knows that if the tax rolls of any
| SlLS1C lNal hClC IL hOulu appear
that everywhere the laboring man had paid
the smallest proportion of the taxes, and
in fact that very considerable percentage
of that class had paid no taxes at all. But
to listen to such speakers as Colonel Conk-
ling it might be supposed that the laboring
man had been actually compelled to pay
out millions of dollars which he never pos
sessed, and that in some vague and misty
way the people who really do pay the taxes
owe all their property to the laborers A
natural consequence of this foolish talk is
that every ignorant laborer thinks he has
somehow been robbed of an Inheritance,
and grows to regard those who have sue
ceeded better than himself in life as his
natural enemies. No good, but very much
harm, is produced by the propagation of
such fallacies.
We quote again from Colonel ConkLng :
"Do you understand that when one man be-
e" comes worth one hundred millions of
-" dollars, very great number of men are
prevented from becoming worth one
{" hundred dollars % To this we reply
that we do not understand any such state
of facts to exist, but we do understand
that Colonel Conkling has attempted to
discuss questions very far beyond his
capacity. What he says on this head is
ridiculous, but it is none the less calcu-
lated to do harm, because it is not likely
to be analysed by those to whom it is ad-
dressed 1t is not true that the man who
acquires hundred millions impoverishes
others necessarily. On the contrary, no man
can become rich without enriching Others
comes the larger will be the number Of
those who are lifted into prosperity by the
progress of his accumulations. The rich
man becomes rich by developing new
means of production, new channels of dis
tribution, new facilities of communication
In word, the "open sesame of his for
tune is the discovery of something which
so benefits the world that it is willing to
pay handsomely for it. Now when men
pay handsomely for benefit they take
care not to pay more than they can afford.
What they give is merely recognition of
their appreciation of the gains rendered
available to them. In such a case as we
have supposed every dollar they paid
would necessarily represent ten, fifty,
hunlredfold of benefits accruing to them.
In effect, they would be paying some one
for enabling them to become rich. And
this is the true secret of all wealth. 1t is
the product OF benefits conferred upon
others, and tangible benefits, for men will
seldom pay freely for any others.
The man who becomes worth one hun
dred millions has in accumulating that
amount raised perhaps ten thousand men
up with him into afiiuence, and has lifted
five hundred thousand above poverty.
There is an infinite deal of nonsense talked
about large fortunes in these days The
truth is that every large fortune stands for
a great number of smaller ones, and for a