The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-01-06
LABOR VERSUS CAPITAL.

In referring to CO operation in
former article, we made the asser
ton that in the proper application
of its principles great deal nigh
be accomplished in the way of al
leviating the hard fortune of thu
working man. and we vents far a
to assert that in it we believed wa
the only rational and legal means
that might be employed to do away
with the tyrannizing power of mon
opolies. But oae fact must be taken
into consideration before we pro
coed any farther, and that Is, that
the only way to fight capital is with
capital. and with no less capital
either than you are fighting Co.
operation of sentiment alone will do
but little; there must be as well a
cooperation of means to the same
end. And the only way for the
poor man to put himself in condi>
ton to fight his rich opponent, is to
lay by some of the means that he
earns day by day, go that when he
does make up his mind to fight, he
is ready equipped for the fray.
However much the laborer may
think that his work has produced
all the wealth in existence, he would
most assuredly be in sorry plight
if all the wealth now in the hanu s
of the rich could be wiped out of ex-
istence, and all men placed on a
footing of equal poverty. What en-
terprise of any Importance could be
carried on! But without going so
far, how many of us would find en-
ployment at all. Jet alone engaging
in any kind of enterprise? Let
every man think for a moment, and
he will discover how much he
stands in need Of capital, no matter
in whose hands it may be. One
half of pair of scissors might claim
to do all the work, and stigmatize
the other as worthless, just as the
laborer complains of the capitalist.
Let us reflect for moment on some
great enterprise, as, for instance, the
construction of the Union Pacific
Railroad, and then we can readily
see how impossible it would have
been for labor, no matter how pow
erful in muscle, to build such road,
without the assistance of money.
Many laborers consume every cent
as fast as they make it, go that they
could not live even a single week
without the assistance of the capital.
ist, and in fact most of them al de-
pendent upon capital not only for
their employment but also for their
means of subsistence, being always
behind so that their grocer, or
clothier is obliged with his accum-
ulated means to carry them from
week to week or from month to
II the labOrer then ever
expects to better his condition, he
must do it for himself, and need not
give heed to any scheme which pro-
poses to do the work without any
effort on his part.
Nothing so gals a man as to have
his hopes raised to some high pin
nacle and then have them rudely
thrust down into the mire Yet
this has been the experience Of most
all who have put their means TO-
gether for cooperative purposes.
Most signal failures have been
pearly all ventures Of this kind,
yet we believe that if the cases are
examined into no fault can be
found with the principle itself, but
rather with those who have been
made managers, and in many cases
also failure has been due to an at
tempt on the part of those who or
ganized these societies to curtail
the liberties Of the members beyond
any reasonable bounds; or because
the laws to which the members
anticipated mere than
those interested were willing toI
endure after they had tried the eX-
pertinent. That such societies as
these can be made complete sue
cess, we have only to consider what
some flourishing ones have been
able to accomplish. Among the
very best in existence are,
perhaps, those established in
France, where at the time
Of the Revolution Of 1913, number
Of workmen feeling that they were
now supported by a government
hat would take lively interest in
their welfare, started cooperative
Institutions. The government had |
Jet apart 100000 francs to be di.