Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-10-03

tin bucket is splashed with mud from the
carriage of the millionaire who but yester-
day himself carried tin bucket: and the
man on the road is much tempted to send |
geological specimen after and aimed at the |
man in the carriage.
The power of accumulated capital over
labor is immense. 1t comes to be crushing
when the weight OF the government is added.
This will last until actual starvation comes
in; then, a. old almanacs used to predict,
.'look out for storms about this time"
There is a disturbing element that has
entered the field. and that am surprised 40
few have taken note of. | refer to lmple-
ments that do the work formerly done by
men. An ingenious arrangement of steel,
iron, and wood driven by horse or steam
power accOmplisheS more perfectly the
work than mems hands. This machinery
neither eats, drinks, nor suffers from sick
ness or fatigue. 1t has no 1iscontent, can
not strike nor boycott. 1t throws men by
thousands out of work. aud 1t is owned by
capital.
Now, capital in any form is oppressive;
and as | said, when the weight of an OPP
pressive government is added, it crushes;
but both these, potent as they are, create
less suffering than that made through the
possession of this machinery by capital. 1t
creates what is popularity called oyer-pro-
( duction, but is in reality nnder-consump-
| ton. We lessen the number of consumers
| in proportion as we throw out operators.
! We make a monopoly of our machinery and
wonder that so few take advantage OF the
cheapened production. As arranged, that
which should be a blessing is curse. and,
as inventive genius subdues dead matter to
our use, we spread poverty abroad.
Take my farm, for example. When l
was a boy, the five hundred acres called for
the steady work, the year round, of five
men. At harvest time ten men were re-
! quired to get in the hay and grain. Now
! two men and a boy do all the work, and
every year the new machinery makes the
labor lighter. | can break my fields with a
sulky-plow, that has an awning to shut of
the suns rays and shield me from sudden
rain.
The vast army of agricultural laborers
crowded into towns and mining and manu-
featuring centres is clamOrous for work 1t
cannot get, or, if got, is only to be had al
starvation-wageS.
And what, you ask, is the remedy? My
dear friend, don't know, and, if did, IL
would not be applicable. All reform, TO be
effective, must come from the men possessed
of the power to enforce it. These are capi-
talists: and. if one appeals to them. he
learns the truth of the old proverb, Ask q
buzzard for a feather, and he will tell you
that he has just enough to fly with"
Then. all of you in Springfield, for exam
pie. labor under the impression that the
prosperity of your town hangs on the capi-
talists This is an old error. The real
prosperity of Springfield IS under the paper
caps, and the mOney-bags are dead weight
to it. have not time nor space TO demon
strate this, even if it had not been demon
strated before. 1t lies, however, in one sen-
tence:-Wipe out labor from the earth, and
humanity would starve TO death In thirty
days; wipe out the capitalists, and they
would not be missed.
As am not a reformer and propose moth
ing, trust my words will not be considered
incendiary. What a convenient word that
is. 1t is cdd that it is applicable only to
labor. To say that a capitalist is an incen-
.iiary Is as ludcrOus as the act Of the aged
darkey who stole the big knife from his
mistress .'foh feah de ole missus rise on him
in de night and start de insurrection."
Yours sincerely,
DOM PIATT.
Mac-O-cheek. Sept. 81, 1886.