Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1885-03-04
I..aoa N CAPITAL.

ing problem: as the present system Oh
manner whereby the products OF industry
are distributed between the various per
sons and classes Of the community salts
factory! Or, if not, are there any means
by which that system could be I'M
proved ?" Under the terms OF his git
conference has lately been held in London
which lasted through two days, and the
reports Of the discussion occupy fifteen
or twenty of the broad columns OF the
London newspapers. The conference
was made up OF delegates from chambers
of commerce., trades unions, and CO.
operative societies, and representatives
of various economic. social and learned
bodies, called together by a committee
which acted in conjunction with the
Statistical Society.
Sir Charles Dixie was the presiding
officer, and many papers were read and
discussed. The special question for the
first day was this: HAS the increase OF
the products Of industry within the last
100 years tended most to the benefit OF
capitalists and employers or to that OF
the working classes, whether artisans.
laborers, or others, and in what relative
proportion in any given period?" Sir
Thomas Brassey opened the discussion in
a twenty. minute address, in which he
gave statistics to show that the number
Of persons in easy circumstances, or at
least above want, is increasing much
faster than the population, and that En-
glish labor commands the use Of capital
at lower rates of interest than have yet
been accepted in any other country, with
the exception of Holland. Meantime the
tendency has been toward the cheaper
ing Of articles of daily consumption and
the increase of remuneration for labor.
Statistics lend no support, he said, to
1.-THE vague impression which prevails
that the rich are growing richer and the
poor poorer than before" To bring
about a more aver distribution of wealth
and a more complete identity Of interest
between capital and labor, he looked
forward most hopefully to cooperative
industry, advising that a beginning be
made only with the simplest forms OF
industrial organization, "those which
require the least amount of capital and
are most free from the fluctuations sc
painfully felt in international commerce.
Other industries can be conducted by
joint stock companies, in the profits Of
which workmen can participate as share.
holders. But, first of all, the laborer
must practice thrift and cultivate self
control. The rich man is not by any
means the enviable being he is commonly
held to be, according to Sir Thomas
Brassey, who was the heir to one Of the
greatest fortunes ever amassed in Eng.
land: ITO the truly wise man a life Of
ease presents no a~llurements. He knows
how hard it is to prevent giving provoca'
tion to envy and hatred. He is humbled
and saddened by the perpetual conscious,
mess of the misery around him. Taste
and the of duty alike point to the
simplicity Of life. Wealth, if valued al
all, will be valued only as a power which
it is his duty to use as a steward for the
public good"
Prot. Marshall said that SONS people
thought that if wealth was distributed
poverty would disappear; but in fact, il
the wealth of England was divided
equally, it would give only about $lst
a head, and many families in Lancashire
earned five times as much yearly. A
delegate of the Social Democratic FEEDER
alton asserted, in opposition to Sil
Thomas Brassey, the English working
classes were the most thrifty people
under the sun, which is absurd, and
declared that he had worked for twenty.
five years as a single man, and had been
unable to put anything in the saving.
bank-proof either of his thriftlessness
or his lack Of skill.
The question for the second day was
this: "Would the general distribution
OF capital or land promote or impair the
production Of wealth and the welfare Of
the community" In answer, Mr.. Bal
four attacked the theories of Henri,
George, and pointed out that if tn,
whole value Of the "original proper
ties of the soil" Of England wer,
divided equally among the population tn,
share Of each individual would be onl,
about ten dollars per annum. 9Th,
existence Of rich men may be a goot
thing in itself or q bad thing in itself,
said Mr.. Balfour, "but if there are to b,
rich men. it is not worse for the com
munity. but better, that their richeI
should be invested in The land Of thei
country" His views were assailed b,
representatives Of the w~orkinpmen. VIII,
cankandad that the Land MAJ IL