Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-09-22
grice ; Geuts

ntllI Vi lowering Wages, anu tlldC III
must lead to complications which
would inevitably break the back of
capitalism are objections which may
alright our enemies, but they have
no terrors for us. The sooner the
work of production is organized and
directed by the workers themselves,
the sooner will peace and plenty,
health and happiness, be possible to
all. Then, and then only will la
bor-saving machinery be used to
Tighten the toll of the workers.
Some two or three years ago |
watched with admiration the dexter
ous and skilful way in which a fine
body of men welded the pick on the
macadam of the Thames embank-
ment, but now "steam devil" has
taken their place, increasing, no
doubt, the profits of the contractor.
Where are those men now, and what
compensation have they received for
the loss they have sustained The
labor market is open to them, | ad-
NIT, and some of them have no
doubt got other jobs which some
body else must have lost the chance
of. Others may have vainly tried
for work in other trades, and then
gone in for lndividualism pure and
simple after the manner of Bill
Sykes or Charles Peace; while the
rest have probably become tramps or
paupers. The whole operation has,
however, been such a commonplace
affair that not one person in a thou
sand has given it moments
thought. "But surely" some critic
may say, ''you are overlooking the
fact that fresh work has been pro-
vlded for others in constructing the
machine" No, | am not; but in
the first place, that is but sorry
consolation for the displaced work
men; and in the next place, the
work required to construct the ma
chine is ,ofy small in com paf ioon
with the labor saved.
1t would be possible to refer to
hundreds of cases in which men
have been thus thrown out of en-
ployment by inventions, but | will
on y refer to one instance, so trivial
in it's nature that one could hardly
have believed that it would have any
effect had it not been conclusively
proved by legal evidence. An action
was recently tried before Mr.. JUS
tice Kay to restrain the infringe
ment of a patent in boot protectors
little patches of iron to be driven
into the soles or heels Of boots and
shoes where the wearing away is
greatest. Immense expense was in
Cured by the plaintiff, who had
made hundreds of thousands of
pounds of profit, many witnesses be-
ing called to prove what a useful in
! 'ention this was. One witness de-
clared that it was very efficient, the
best proof of which was that whereas
he formerly employed dozen men
in repairing boots and shoes, he now
only had work for three, owing to
the general use of these protectors.
Rather hard for the cobblers, but,
no doubt, they will be reminded
that the labor market is perfectly
free, and if they cannot all get work
they can 90 to the workhouse or
starve. Besides, they have the sat-
isfaction of knowing that somebody
else has made an immense profit out
of the invention, which, by the way,
the Judge decided he had not in
vented.
There are people who amuse them
selves by talking about these dis
placements of labor tending to the
common good by cheapening the
price of necessaries; but as the
cheapening of necessaries only tends
in the long run to the lowering of
wages, this is very questionable
boon, especially as "cheap" and
''nasty" go together. 1t is now be-
ginning to dawn upon the minds of
the working classes that SO long as
the present system endures, it is ut
terly impossible for them to secure
for themselves the wealth created by
their labo'; and that the only prac-
teal means Of securing that end is
by establishing Social Democracy.
1t is our duty to force home this
truth whenever and wherever We
can, so as to hasten the approaching