New-York tribune., 1886-05-15

BURNING As A MEANS or PROSPERITY.
Burn their factories, and then there will be
plenty of work." This is the deliberate belief
of Socialist, who declares that capital can be
controlled in no other way than by fear. Hence
he would burn, shoot and kill, incredible as it
may seem, in the hope thus to increase wages
and the demand for labor.
The sane citizens pronounce this man crazy.
Yet there are some thousands like him in this
country whose acts are governed by the same
fixed idea, that they can never get good times
until they kill some of the capitalists and burn
some Of the factories. If that notion Is insane,
as ain ost every intelligent trades unionist will
at once say, how much sanity IL there in the
warfare which many of these same trades
unions wage against captal1 They can see that
it is crazy to burn down the factory which
opens means of livelihood to hundreds of
workers. Can they not see that it is equally
crazy to cripple an employer by ruinous de-
mands or By n prolonged strike, or to drive
him out of business by boycott 1t is not the
wooden or stone building that employs men,
but the enterprise and the money of the owner
Those who would force or triGhten him out of
business are just rs crazy as the Anarchist who
would burn factories.
A great many intelligent workers are able to
see this, but are not able 10 see its wide appli-
cation. Their minds grasp the fact that.if there
were fewer factories there would be less work
for the worker, and if there we're fewer EN- /.
ployers, that is, fewer capitalists with money
which they are inclined to employ in productive
industry, there would be fewer factories and
therefore less demand for labor. Nevertheless,
tl,,i, IL .l
if this man were driven out of business, or by
Shrinking profits induced to put his money into
other uses, some other man would take his
place; that the things which the community
needs would somehow be produced and the
workers would somehow be employed to pro-
duce them. Have these people considered how
widely the consumption of things produced
differs in different countries " hat is the
difference between Mexico and tie United
States I There is disorder, lawcssness, vio-
lence, and consequently less security than can
ital waits. Men who have money will not put
it into permanent works in dsOrdcred region.
where the works are likely to be burned or pro-
duction to be interrupted. What is the conse-
Quence Do the people get things somehow.
Notwithstanding there are no factories in whicn
to produce them ! No, they 20 without the
things. Their lives lack large proportion of
the comforts and enjoymcnts which make the
lives of Americans so desirable. DO workers
in Mexico get high wages I If they believe in
that sort of thing, why do not the Anarchists
hasten to Mexico by the first train ! Why do
the trades unionlsts tIy to create another
Mexico here, by crippling capital and driving
employers out OF business, when there is Il
ready made Mexico to be enjoyed by all OF them
if they please
Here is the bottom fact of the business. Sc
curity ana adequate reward for capital invested
in productive industry mean great demand and
high wages for labor. The absence of security
the denial of adequate reward for capital, mean
little demand and low wages for labor. The
worker who strives to take from capital a por-
tion of its security or portion of its reasonable
returns is not bit wiser than the Anarchist
whom he calls crazy. who would burn the