The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-05-31


evidence, and that under the present
administration of things this shortage
must continue to increase. We are
feeling the effects of it., and labor or
carnations, trades unions, strikes and
boycotts, business mems associations,
business combinations and trusts are
simply like drowning men grasping at
straws. We are killing the goose that
lays the golden eggs, and unless there
IS a change in this arrangement of
things bankruptcy, population and
ruin is our certain doom, sooner or
later.
| know it is generally understood,
n taken for granted, that we have all
the land and natural opportunities that
nature has furnished in abundance
from which to supply our wants. But
is this true?
Is 1T not rather a fact that all the
land and every coal mine, ore mine,
lead and copper mines, gold and silver
mines, all timber lands. in short every
natural opportunity that nature has
furnished to industry and enterprise
is today owned by somebody, and
held by legal right as against every
body else. SO that the productive labor
class is almost entirely excluded from
these natural opportunities. This forces
productive labor into an unnatural DO
sition, i'll which it is compelled to give
a large share of what it produces to
satisfy those that lave m~onOpolized
these natural opportunities in order to
employ itself on these natural OppOr-
tunities, or be employed at all. Should
labor wish to to till the soil, it must
give at least the half of what it pro-
duces from the soil. Should labor wish
to employ itself in any of the mines, it
must give from one-half to nine-tenths
of what it produces from the mines to
satisfy those that have monopolized the
mines.
Should labor wish to be employed as
laborers, mechanics or artisans, in the
cities, it must give at least one half of
what 1t earns, to satisfy those that own
the soil on which they must live. To
Illustrate: A mechanic that lives on
a lot worth a $1,000 must pay $50 a
pear to satisfy the legal interest at
b per cent as his ground rent. This
will be said is not half of what he is
supposed to earn, but take into consid-
Grafton his grocer does business on a
/ lot worth $4,000, who buys his goods
from a wholesale grocer, that does bus
mess on a lot worth 100000, all of
2 which must be added to the cost of
his groceries, this same holds good
with everything he buys, and if the
exact figures could be carried out in
detail, of the ground rent, he pays
through what he buys, it would be
found fully half of what he is suppos-
ed to earn, and perhaps more than
half of what he does earn. But in or
der to present the idea that | wish to
convey intelligibly say that he has half
he earns left him, after his ground
rent is paid. He must then
pay out of his half to satisfy the de-
mand Of capital, house rent and the va
riOus amounts business nell pay for
room rents, and interest on the money
thsy have invested in their business
which is added to the cost of what he
buys. Then the tariff that the govern.
ment adds to raw material and manu-
factured,articles, in order to protect
home industry, is added to the cost OF
, what he buys. Then the cost to the
! government for collecting the internal
, revenue and taxes which amounts per
! haps to three times as much as the
|, government gets in revenue and taxes
must be added to what he buys, AL
. this must be paid out of his half. Sick
! ness, death and loss of time, too, must
> come out of his half. Some men believe
: that labOrers, after paying all this, have
| enough left to support their families
= pay their debts, and maintain Churcl
: and State withoat stealing. Whel
mankind see, and they will sooner o
! later, that labor must have a chance
: Z then l am ready to discuss methods
! but men must first know that they ar
: sick before they want remedies,
= A. j. KNIT.