Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-03-14
ORGANIZED LABOR AND CAPITAL

ORAnAHlLED LADOAs ANIL N1AA AA&Aes
Kiss very common thing for great
many wealthy and well to do men, who
having started in life good many years ago
with little or no capital, and have BY their
own industry and good management, at
tanned their present competence, not to
take much stock in the clsmor raised BY
the workingmen Of the country. They say
tina. they themselves, were once just as
poor IS the poorest nottingham OF the
present day could possibly be, aud they
keep telling them to be industrious, eco
nomical and watch opportunities, and
there is Just as good chance of success
as the wealthy man o! to-dsy once had,
They even at times feel angry at working
men for organizing in order to smetorste
their condition. They feel very well salts
fed themselves with the present condition
of things and they don't want to be dis
turbed.
The Injunction Of industry and economy
upon the workingmaB is good. If this is
not observed, AMI men live from hand to
mouth, il makes little difference whether
they get good wages or-nOt; they can never
riss from their present condition. Bat that
men DOW have equsl chances with those OF
thirty years ago is not true BY any means.
There are several reasons for this. One
is that fields OF industry that thirty
years ago were calling for men to occupy
them are now filed or nearly filled. At
some points, cotton and wooden msnufacto
ries were badly needed. These have been
built and men have gotten rich from them.
But the field is now occupied. One CT the
richest men in New York made great
part of his money by dealing in furs. He
got the start OF all other men and establish
ed trading posts all over this country and
grew rich. But no one else can
ever do this. Another man
bought for a mere pit:ance large tracts of
land. A city sprsng up upon it. He
sold out the land in lots and farms and be-
came rich. But no one else will ever have
this opportunity st the same place
And so it was in nearly all fields
Of industry. Where men become
very rich hereafter it viii have to be in
newly discovered fields, aud they will have
to be the first ones to occupy those fields,
This feature, if correct political economy
is observed, ought to crafty the masses
rather than make them discontinued. 1t
will tend to prevent men, in the future,
except in new fields, from accommodating
such mammoth fortunes, and will cause
wealth to be more equally distributed.
Another thiog that prevents man from
now rising by his own efforts is the comb
nation of capital. The day has passed
when BENNETT could found Herald in
q cellar or GREEDY start Tribune upon.
few hundred dollars capital. Everything
is now done on G large scale. If aman saves
few hundred or thousand dollars from
his earnings and starts q manufacturing
establishment of his own accord and tries
to run it according to his own ideas, the
chances are that some large corporation
will crush him out if ne does not join tie
corporation or association.
This unites capital in powerful organize
tons. The result is that labor is also Or
ganizing in self defense against the en-.
csoschmsnts and dictates Of capital. While
capitalists proceed by organizations it will
heuceforth be considered necessary for ls-
Dor to proceed in the same manner. The
muscle of tie working man Is as much his
capital as machinery, buildings and money
is of the capitalist. Both should have
their increment of pro6s. The wage earn
er is as much part Of the State as the
capitalist is, ana he is IS much to be pre-
tected By it.
IT. after our powerful organizations Of
LABOR and capital have fought one another
for time and become tired and wish to
proceed to business again, they will come
together and reason with one another, it
viii Oe within their power to revise detective
points in our political economy and place
the industries Of this country upon firm
er basis than ever before. And, while
natural advantages will not permit the
workingman to become as rich asin years
past, vet every man who works may have
the assurance that heis getting what profits
belong to him.