Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-05-06

created. Capital is only stored-up
labor, and. as Adam Smith, the father
of political economy, defined it, sis
that part OF what we intend to use in
producing more wealth." 1t is the
creature of labor, and it would be sub
versive of all human knowledge, aid
experience, of all the grist "the mills
of the gods" have ground for Us, to
say that there could possibly be any
divergence or difference of interest be-
tween the creator and its creature
la Dor and capital. 1t is one of the
most discouraging things, to the intel
ligent student of political economy,
that so many persist in the notion that
there is a positive conflict of interest
between them. The only difference
between labor and capital is the same,
and due to same cause, too, as the diff
ference between two laborers where
employment is limited and the wants,
as well as the ability, of the laborers
are unlimited. Give the laborers, or
give capital, unrestricted access to
natural resources, and competition is
substituted by emulation; and the con-
fiict of interest is turned into rivalry
of effort, in which of two IabOrers the
strongest or most assiduous would eX-
eel, or as between labor and capital,
labor would always be the employer
and capital the employee. The Knight,
or champion of labor. has only to dis
cover why labor and capital are forced
to compete with instead of emulating
each other, or rather why labor is fore
ed to go to capital instead of capital
coming to labor for employment. and
remove the cause in order to protect
the interests and vindicate the rights of
his protegee.
The conclusion thus reached by an eX-
animation of the nature of both capital
and labor is proven by the facts of ev-
cry day experience; for where and
when the wages of active labor are
high the wages of stored-up labor, or
interest, is also high, while when and
low. This proves that they are iden:i-
cal in interests, and the question
changes, for we must find what it is
that lowers the wages Of both active
and stored-up labor, or capital. We
have not far to look; but in order to
prevent labor from seeing this fact, as
palpable as any fact can be, this idea
of a conflict between labor and capital
is constantly put forward. Wherever
the speculative value of land is high
the wages of labor and interest upon
capital are low, while wherever the
speculative value of land, as measured
by the value of its products is low, the
wages of labor and interest upon capi-
tai are high.
Instead then of disputing with each
other they should unite to remove the
obstruction that lies in the path that
both must tread-rent. Bar labor from
the land and you bar capital, too, from
employment. Compel labor to pay a
price for the use of it's natural resource,
the second factor of production, land
using the term in the broad sense of
natural oproitu;;es-ard you c mpel
Ia5orers TO compete with each other
and labor to compete with capital for
employment.
So true, yet so easily seen, are these
facts that it is a hard thing TO credit
our statesmen, and legislators, with
honesty and not charge them with a
mental weakness bordering on imbe-
cility.
The whole secret is, not only to les
sen, but wholly destroy, what we are
constantly trying to increase: the value
of bare land. This we must do; it is
the only thing We can do. Until this
is done it is folly to hope for anything
from education, arbitration or any
thing else. This is the fundamental
error we have committed, and until
we correct that we can only go from
bad to worse. The remedy is to make
land values the sole subject of taxation
and so make ownership and improve
ment inseparable. This would open
an lllimitable field of employment for
both capital and labor.
"Whatn eXclaims some poor man,
"would you tax man with eighty
acres of laud and log cabin on it as
much as a man who had eighty acres
of the same kind of land alongside of it
and a $4,000 house and barn on it?"
Yes. And so would you if you would
stop and think moment. You are
laboring man;wouldn'ty you rather have
another put $4,000 worth of work on
an eighty than to put $4,000 in
mortgage on somebody else's land?
Then why discourage the employment
of labor by taxing and virtually filming
the man who has the products of labor
in his possession? Would it not be
more sensible to tax, fine, and punish
the man who holds land out of inn
provement, and SO plays dog-in-the-
manger with that by the use of which
we must all live?
There is, practically, no limit TO the
improvement of land. We could inn
prove it so as to improve our climate;
and the better wages labor would re-
ceive would improve the mentality
and morals of the laDCrer But the