The Labor enquirer., 1884-03-15
HuuAa SLAVERY.
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and sleep, except on the payment Of q
never-ceasing tribute or tax, which the
monster will not forego, upon which
tribute the monster grows fatter and
greedier, and by means of which his
strength is increased, SO that he is able
to reach out farther and seize upon the
homes of more people.
And what country is not better OH
without this capital ? Give us our
homes; save us from this eternal tribute;
and we can well afford to never see or
hear Of such capital. We can raise what
we want, and we can eat it ourselves.
We can raise the material, and make our
own clothing. We can be Independent
and happy; and not work half as hard
as we would be compelled to if there
we're boards of capital in our midst.
If by abolishing rent and interest and
dividends, we would drive such capital
out Of the country, it can only mean that
the people who are now such burden
upon us, who. collect rent and interest
from us, and use the money to, support
themselves, instead of working to do so;
who sap our vitality; who take from us
the very money we should be saving up
for "rainy day" that these people
would lift themselves from our shoulders,
and 60 and be burden upon and draw
rent and interest from other nations.
We can gladly say farewell to them,
for their leaving cannot harm us. The
broad and fertile lands will be left the
houses will be left; the farmers will be
left ! the factories will be left; there will
be grain and meat raised and eaten;
there will be coats made and worn. And
the communication between the farmer
and the factory constitutes commerce.
If we want money, we can dig it; or we
can load ships with grain and meat and
they will bring us shining gold from
Europe; and it won't have to 60 back
there as interest, either.
No nation can be depleted of money
where there is industry. The hearts
and muscles of the workmen and the
fertility of the soil constitute the real
capital of country. 1t is the kind OF
capital which feeds and clothes, and
iwarms and cures. Piles Of gold, noun
tain high, could not make us one particle
happier. So let the misers and sharks
go; and we will be all the happier. The
farms will once more be titled by the
owners. With no rent, nor interest nor
tax collector to sap the revenues, or
make doubtful the title or tenancy, the
farms will be improved and made more
fertile; and green hedges, fine orchards,
stanch, comfortable houses and fine
stock, will replace the shambling arrange
ments which now barely make the place
habitable. :
A man who rents a place he can never
expect to own has ne incentive to i'm
prove its fertility, or adern it at his own
expense; for as he may not occupy the
place another year, such expense would
be loss to him. And man who has
to pay interest upon mortgage cannot
afford to improve his place as we'll as if
he had no interest to pay. And he can
not feel the same interest in a mortgaged
farm, which half belongs to the mort
gagee, as he would feel if no one had any
claim on the place but himself.
But if it is his for life, if it is to be his
life home, he will soon be arranging
things for his comfort and convenience;
he will try to make his land productive,
and will freely expend the money for
that purpose, which had previously gone
to the. .mortgagee. because he knows he
will reap the benefit of it.
But it is said that capital, in the sense
of its aggregation in the hands of few,
is the friend and ally of labor; that
without the enterprises IF capital, labor
would suffer. If by this it is meant that
ittbenefits the people to whom it gives
employment, the proposition is false.
The direct effect of such capital upon
the people it employsis to degrade them,
e and make them mere machines, entitled
to nothing but oiling and repairs. The
operatives in the large factories, and the
lower class of employees upon railroads,
, have nothing to be thankful to capital
for. Their pay is reduced to the lowest
possible amount; and their labor in
- creased to the extent of their endurance.
And that constitutes human slavery. 1t
is unremitting toll for bare existence.
1t takes the sunshine out of life, and
leaves it an eternal night of toll.
n Before there were these large factories,
the work which is now done in them
was distributed in small shops or facto-
r ries scattered throughout the country.
And the smaller the shops, and the more
evenly they were distributed, the more
independent, intelligent contented and
prosperous were the people who worked
in them. This was the natural condi-
ton, and in this condition the laws of
supply and demand played little part,
and were easily regulated.
But capital has built immense factories,
and equipped them with machines and
faculties, 1t has induced the people,
the shoemakers and tailors, to work for
them; and gotten them under its control.
It has then gained power. The next