The Labor enquirer., 1883-09-01
Hard Times.

pound. u A
Ia f." Hard Times. ~
Every sign of the times indicatsea
recurrence of ''hard times" Fail1es
are constantly increasing. Large nan
ufacturing industries are curtailing heir
output. The railroads, feeling thD de-
crease Of transportable commoditiS, are
discharging from their machine shops
all superfou8 help. Wages are on the
decline Or q standstiH. The "man out
of work ismet on every corner. These
are signs tht indicate the approach of,
hard times
What is he cause of all this? Shall
we lay if to Srotection or to free trade !?
to too mucHor to too little of the circu-
lating mediSm? to the payment Of IN
terest? to DER production? Let the
reader look p and, enlarging his thori-
zon, take in Cher countries and other
peoples, and le will see that tree trade
England unprotected France are be-
ginning to fel the grip of hard times;
and that all civilized countries are
complaining o-stagnation in trade
No, these thlgs are not the cause of
hard times thtlgh some of them doubt
less intensity be sufering), else some
some countriesEould escape the blight.
There is anothe and greater reason for
the regularly recurring panic. Its
origin is no secft. For years able men
have stated the cause and pointed out
the remedy. BUN our ignorance and
hostility to new Reas that overturn long
established cuslms or preconcelved
notions, we seehngly neither care fol
nor try to avert nsfortunes, and we.say
to those who raisehelr voices and warn
us of our impendig fate: Away with
you! Sufficient rto the day is the evi
thereof
J There is one grei cause, for the recur
renee of hard times land this cause is ou
present capitalistibro Capital
: istic production is comprehensive ter n
embracing our wh6 system of industry
1t means that the PRODUCERS of wealth
are not the owneH of their means o
: labor, such as la1s, houses, mines
machines and Transportation. 1t mean
tbafNthe producers fwealth must sci
their TorSking force to the owners 0
tLese means of labor and thus tiii
community is divided into two classe
-PsasowurKers or 'Iaborers, and employer
or capitalists.
But capitolints do not pay the wax,
worker all he earns. He keeps O. PORTO
to reward himself for the loan Q
the means of labor. He make
the laborer work more hours a day thai
Is needed to refund the outlay of capita
and the outl~y of wages. Says D. Doua
writer of eminence on economic sui
jects; "Capitalistic production means
lawful state of things in which the ms
joroty of the population are unable t
own the means of labor so as to work O.
their own account and to keep all thei
earnings for themselves, but must ente
into the employment of some owner {
means by which they can make thei
livelihood, and leave in his hands par
of their earnings, called surplus labor, G
surplus value"
Here is the trouble in a nutshell Tb,
wageworker receives for his labor bu
portion Of the wealth he has created.
is therefore evident that the capitals
must constantly increase his wealth
while the labOring classes are brolBh
more and more under their power. EOl
with the increase of wealth comes tn
increase of opportunities to oppress ant
enslave. Thus the laborer, receiving
as wages but a portion of his products
the capitalist is constantly increasing hi
surplus of wares which he is unable t,
sell as fast as manufactured; and sool
the avenues of trade becomes dogged
for the laborer, being the consu mer a
we'll as the producer can only bhy sucl
portions ofproducts as is lin proportion
to his wages. The surplus of wares con
Stantly increases, the cry of " over pro
duction" is raised and the capitals
shuts down his manufactory until thI
glutted market is cleared: But labol
being idle is unable to buy, COZ nsumptioi
is retarded, and all the horrors of hart
times press themselves upon Us.
AS the cause of hard times iB capitals
ic, production, wherein labor receives al
wages but a portion of the wealth it has
created, the remedy for hard times is
system whereby everyone will receive
for wages all he produces, and thereby
be enabled to purchase of every other
one all he produces, thus re hdering ini
possible ''over production" And this
system is call cooperation. There is no
other way under heaven by which th e
wageworker can be saved Detroit
Spectator. l.
s. i !
Y New Misfts. i
b. We buy large number ps the above,
aas we'll ag nartlv worn s11Is for lodioo