The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1885-03-25
Labor and Capital; OF. Slavery and
Usury.

] have been student in Political
Economy for years-have read Adam
Smith, John Stuart Mill, Fawcett
PrOudhon and Bastiat, To some extent
but the great puzzle, 10 my mind, is
what is called Capital. Il is said that
Capital is that which is saved To assist
further production" that Capital is
that surplus of unconsumed production
which is used for the purpose Of further
| production"
l. money Capital? Is money wealth
No. Money is Medium of Exchange,
aud Measure of Value; or, rather, a
representative Of value, and is, some.
times, the Instrument of Usu,y.
Money is not The rdiic, but the repre-.
sentative; nor tic ooGtth, but the meas
ure Ii Is IA creature, not creator
No, Capital j. not surplus production,
but Labor is, and 50 are all natural ma
terials.
They say Capital is production used
as Investment while Labor is pro-
ductive power, whose remuneration
comes under the head of Wages"
Capital is not natural material. but
Is the creature of iG,C, and is a thing of
usury. Capital is dead and Labor is
living. Capital EFFORTS usury, Labor
never does. Labor creates all wealth,
and is Surplus Production" itself, a.
well As the creator of Surplus Product.
ion. In Nature surplus Is surplus
production. But money is not thing
Of nature, aud when it is used as Caps
tai, so-called, II becomes tyrant to en-
slave Labor, and to extort usury. If
Capital has different Specification from
Labor il is asuy,
Fostered 10y legislation, encouraged
10y custom, having a distinctive appel
lation, Capital has enslaved and de-
graded Labor, and set up a caste dis
tinction! Then, instead of saying La
TOR and Capital, let us say Slavery and
Usuryl
Seed wheat is capital, because il il
surplus production, saved TO produce
more wheat. Land produces, labor
produces; but money never does. Why,
indeed, there was surplus production
before money was invented; and pro-
duction would go on were there not a
centof money in the World, ard pro-
ductive labor would continue TO exist,
by present labor
Labor is capital, money tcapital) is
usury, and the loye OF il the "roOt of
all evil"
Labor, freed from bondage TO capital,
is noble productive power, producing
surplus, general wealth, and
ennobling mankind.
But, alas poor labor is now in chains
and il considered low and mental by
pdruenmes and wealthy snobs.
Not only is labor, under the present
system, slavery, and capital uslry; but
private ownership of laud, high inter
est, money treated AS a commodity,
high 6arfis, speculative profits and
rack,rents may also lie included as only
different forms of usury. They are all
creators of monopoly,
They all exact and obtain tribute from
those who have neither land nor capi-
tai. In fact, the various forms of slavery
and usury are concealed 10y the spuri-
ousIy improper and misleading names
a false Political Economy
Commercial swindlers, stock gam
blers, money syndicates, bloated bond
holders, opulent national bankers, rail-
road magnates and lordly manufacture
ers generally hide their stealings under
the guise Of this treacherous, cruel and
false Political Economy"
The commercial swindlers and money
syndicstes are those fellows who "bull'
and bear" and 9th erwise manipulate
the markets, who get up corners"
who cry "overproductioD," who deiude
the toiling producers with the "Supply
aud Demand" and Competition" of
their special pleading Political Econo-
my, who rob labor with their "Pro-
lection" aud starve said unhappy labor
by their mOnopOlies. their tariffs, their
money System. and their usurious
interest rates!
Now, wealth is not anything which
has an exchange value" for notes and
bonds have IAN exchange value" yet
they may be burned and still the wealth
Of the country is undiminished. Wealth
is the creation of labor, from natural
material and living sources of power, Of
those things which have an actual and
tangible value of their own, inherent
within themselves by the offices OF lab
or, and of much OF little value accord
ing to whether much or little labor waY
performed in their production.
Hence, money is not wealth, though
it has "an exchange value" is "med-
ium of exchange" and has, by custom,
a relative value of varying ratios lin
the prices of gold and Bills of Exchange
and i'm different interest rates., but
money is the creation of Jaw, with
Government "for that it represents so
much udiae! ....
Capital, proper, is wealth, because it
aids production, or produces, like the
various seeds and plants of horticulture
and agriculture, work horses and dairy
cows, aud even man himself by his
productive labor. Man himself is the
unit of values, his labor the sum total
Of all wealth, aud the kind ami amount
of labor he performs is the only true
standard of value.
Capital, so called, is dead. and works
corruption; labor Is living, and works