The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-05-31
KILLING THE GOOSE THAT LAYS
THE GOLDEN EGG.

All political economists, worthy of
the name, agree that all wealth or capt
tai is produced by labor. Now, for the
better understanding of what | wish to
convey, labor may be divided into pro-
ductive and non-productive labor. All
farmers, mechanics, artisans, railroad
ers, dltchers, fishermen, sailors, in short
all such labor as produces what man
wants and needs; necessary, useful, or
ornamental, belong to the productive
class, and produce from the bounties of
nature all the wealth and capital we
have. This class eats up, wears out
and destroys a part of the wealth it
produces. In the other class are mer-
chants, business men, clerks, agents,
doctors, preachers, lawyers, soldiers,
government and municipal officers and
all such men as employ their time in
legitimate business necessary in society
for the purpose of satisfying their
wants and increasing their capital.
This second class employ their labor
gathering the wealth the former class
produces, while they produce none
themselves. They, too, eat up, wear
out and destroy the wealth and capital
of the country. Then again we have
another class of non-producers, robbers,
road agents, burglars, thieves, conf,
dence men, ~pickpockets, gamblers, and
a host of "get there Eli" men, all of
which employ their time gathering the
wealth produced by others. They also
eat up wear out and destroy the wealth
and capital of the community. This
certainly makes it clear, that if the
former class fails to produce wealth
enough to supply the three classes, the
wealth of the community must decline,
and just in proportion as the productive
labor class is employed or non-employed
the wealth or capital will increase or
diminish; and just in proportion as the
productive labor class is well paid or
poorly paid, the non-productive class
will increase or diminish, for it is nat
ural for men to engage in such business
as promises to pay them best. Speak
ing with a business man on building
prospects, he remarked, II don't believe
there is capital enough in the city to
build the houses that shOnld be built
this year. There is evidently a shortage
of capital" | asked how comesi it there
is a shortage of capital and a surplus of
unemployed labor ready to produce
capital. He said because there is not
capital enough to employ the labor
The Repository r%eiterates his idea, and
recommends that we invite foreign
capital. Now this is certainly a serious
state of affairs, and much more serious
than people are willing to admit. Ii
labor is necessary to increase capital
and capital is necessary to employ
labor, and there is a shortage of capital
and in consequence a surplus of unem.
ployed labor, with an increasing popu-
lation to eat up, wear out and destroy
capital: Where are we going to wind
up? Is it not clear that capital will
continue to grow shorter every year
while labor will be more aud more un-
employed every year?
A money man comes TO the rescue
and says: 1t is all a mistake about a
shortage of capital; money never was
more plenty in this country; money is
now begging investment in the larger
cities at 3 and 4 per cent. Could we
have any better evidence that there is a
shortage of capital? If money was
capital then that might do, but money
is only a representative of capital, and
is useful only as a medium OF eXchange.
And when money seeks investment it
is simply seeking capital to secure it,
which it is unable to find, consequently
it accumulates. Men would ratherlen
money at B per cent on such security as
they want, than to lend it at s per cent
on such security as people have to give.
When capital is plenty money need not
go begging for investment. Capital
will gather it up for its convenience
To illustrate what capital is worth
without capital, suppose you land a
number of people on a Semi-deSert
island with plenty of money and plenty
of every thing else they need. AS long
rs everything is plenty money will COM
mand a fair price: but as other things
begin to get scarce, money will grow
cheaper and seemingly more plenty, and
when everything is used up, money will
be the only thing they have left. One
thousand dollars would not then buy a
pound of bread. Capitalists will
then suffer with the rest.
Now we are living on an island,
and unless we produce from the
opportunities nature has furnished us,
what would be sufficient for all, some
body must suffer. Labor will be the
first to suffer, business next and capital
last, but not least; because it is said
that the mills of the Gods grind slow,
but they grind exceeding fine" 1t will
be said we are not living on a desert
island; we have all the land and all the
natural opportunities that nature has
furnished us, and why should we not
have plenty?
l have already shown how wealth
and capital must be produced. l have
also shown that there is a shortage of
cnnitol of which wa have