The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-08-24
CAPITAL AND LABOR.
BY N. A. HARDAKER.

The advantage of capital over labor
is an advantage which has been won
and paid for by the intellectual disoip-
line of centuries. Capital has never
made step of solid advance without
giving sn equivalent. The practical
intellect which tees how to supply a
want or even to create a want, as
we'll ss to minister to it, certainly de-
serves to eucceed. II all the stages
of development are not apparent in
the successful business man, the
scientific judgment is still certain
that all those stages are embodied in
him. He stands tor tie accumulated
and Inherited energy of generations
Of enterprise and seli.denisl. His
misunderstanding brain is the pro-
duct of severe and loDg-suetaiDei
processes of refinement. He draws
the interest upO2 ancestral cerebra-
ton, and is the physiological "heir
of all the ages" Nor can be dare to
dispense with ethical capital. he
must have courage, tsCt, power Of
adaptation, honor, which will secure
him commercial standing and credit,
decision to act in an emergency, anu
caution to avoid rsshness; he must be
able to adjust the clashing of wills,
and act IS a frequent arbitrator
Even the capitalist who is simply an
investor, and not manager, repre-
sents either inherited industry, per-
sonal ability, or high character,
supposing the sum invested to be
borrowed. It is rare that fortunes
result from accident; still less rare
that they come by dishonesty. Talent
must be on toe spot 10 take sdvan-
tage of accident; and although high
moral ideal would decide some for
tunes to be fruits of dishonor, legal
ideals are the ones applied by the
fortune-maker; nor is /! the usus. aim
of the moneY-gette' to develop
ideaIsm. His materialism may
not be the hizhest product
of human nature. but, such
as it is, 1t is an expensive and pain
fully developed faculty. If We could
realize the immense capital invested
in producing a capitalist, we could
not begrudge him his gains. For
tunes are sometimes made by in.
stinct, by penetration, by sssiduors
devotion to one purpose, by such an
utter conservation Of the whole man
that the observer must declare them
legitimasely earned But lh5y srs
rarely accumulated By manual labor,
unless in conjunction with good in
telIectual power. The m2ster-Work-
man learns to coordinate other labor
with his own. He gives himself eight
or ten pairs OF hands instead of
single Gair. He strikes heavy blow
insiead OF Il light one, quadruples his
pro3ucs and appeals to "a larger
market. Tale ID tie embryonic form
capital. 1t begins when
a single man has the courage and
intelligence to employ another 10
carry ort his thought
There IS co iega! restriction 10 any
country upon u man becoming q
capitalist, but caste aud in Older C0un-
tries have erected difficulties. Yet
difficulties are always relative. and
are gauged by the strength or weak
mesa Of those who meet them. In
this country there is absolutely no
reason, except native inoapaciEy, to
prevent any man from becoming a
capitalist. II this were not SO, our
would be confessed fail
ures. That i is 60, our whole CONNER
oial and industrial record is q
demonstration. Should any one
attempt TO count the number of for
tunes acquired by personal effort, he
would find one fox every finger, with
out going outoI New England neigh
borhood. The reason why fortunes
are so rarely acquired by manual
labor is that manual labor ls the
smallest factor in economic success
Hitherto it h&s not been able to rals
itself above the tyranny OF the primi-