Wichita eagle., 1888-09-04
us THERE ANY WRONG WITHOUT a
REMEDYw

held in our city has created no little dis
cussion in politicle circles.
They answer every argument with tn
question: ''Is there any wrong withou
a remedy" That is their only wall
They point to the fact that hundreds o
little girls have to work eleven hour
per day in some of our eastern factories
that the laboring mans wages are low
that the laboring men have to work tel
hours per day: and that all of the farm
ers are in debt with mortgages on thei
farms. Then they say these are wrongs
and there must be a remedy, and thu
remedy is what we are trying to get.
Now we deny that the condition of tn,
laboring man and the farmer is wrong
1t is merely a condition. A condition
we admit which is not so conducive tx
comfort and happiness as is the condi
ton of the capitalist. But it Is condi
ton for which there is no Legislative
remedy. There is no wrong without {
remedy, but there are conditions with
out remedies. 1t is unfortunate to be IL
the condition of the blind, the lame, the
weak, but it is not wrong and conse
quently there is no remedy. 1t is not
wrong that one man should be weaker
than his fellow man and hence there is
no remedy. He cannot be made strong
by law. The prices of labor and the
hours of work always have been
and always will be regulated
by the law Of supply and demand. Cap
ltal never has and never will pay any
more for labor than it has to. Capital
never will pay one man two dollars per
day when there are plenty OF men stand
ing around begging to be put to work
at one dollar per day. Capital never
will employ the man who is willing to
work but eight hours per day when
| there are plenty of men who are anxious
to work ten hours per day for the sake
Of getting employment. The hours of
work may be reduced by law, but it will
not change the condition of things. AS
consequence the price of labor will be
| reduced proportionately, or the price of
the manufactured commodity, which
the laboring man must buy, will be
raised proportionately. The only thing
that can raise the price of labor and
reduce the hours of work is a reduction
Of the number of laboring men and that
cannot be done. We must deal with
things as they are. There always will
be- majority of men who will work for
the minority and who will be dependent
upon that minority for their living.
There always will be a few capitalists
and large number of laborlng men.
The labor union might as well try to
regulate the price of produce by law as
to regulate the price of labor by law.
They might as we'll try to pass a law
making wheat worth five dollars per
bushel. That would be an excellent
plan would it not: Then the farmer
could pay off his debts!
The situation is just this: capital is
superior force to labor and superior
force always prevails over lesser
force. Two pounds always will
weigh more than one pound,
and legislation can't change it.. The big
fish always will live on the little fish
Legislation can not change this state of
affairs. The only remedy is for the lit
tie fish to become big fish; for the labor
ing man to become, by his intelligence
and energy, the capitalist. Legislation
can not make a poor man rich man.
The remedy for the laboring man is the
same as the remedy for the small fish.
The small fish must by its unf1agging en-
ergy and watchfulness keep out of the
way of, and thus overcome the force of
the big fish until it develops into big
fish itself An inferior force can not
legislate itself the power to overcome a
superior force. Can the mouse pass a
law giving itself the power to swallow
the cat: Is it not true that there always
will be labor and capital? And if always
labor and capital, then always an inferior
and superior force? And will the time
ever come when little thing can swal-
low big thing?
What the Labor Union wants to do is
to legislate money out of the rich mans
pocket into the poor mans pocket. In
other words the inferior force thinks it
can take more from the superior force
than the superior force can take from
the inferior We can all experiment a |
little in natural philosophy. Take tub
of water; place two blocks of wood upon |
it to float, one a large block and the other |
a small block: place them a foot apart:
draw a line exactly between them, leav- !
ing each of them one-half foot from the |
line; let them go, and the
small block which is smaller
attraction will meet the larger
block, which is greater attraction, on
the other side of the line. The labor |
union wants to pass a law providing that
the larger block shall cross the line and |
meet the smaller block. Not till they
can change the natural relative attrac-
ton of small block and large block,
or the relative power of a small force
and a great force: not till they can
change the laws of nature will they be
able to change the law of supply and
demand.
What is the remedy they propose for
the supposed wrong: They propose to
issue fiat money enough to pay off the
lebts of all who are in debt In the
first place, that kind of money is utterly
worthless. 4 true dollar represents a
dollars worth of energy. The bulk of
he money may be increased beyond the
value of the energy required to create it,
out the value of the whole bulk will not
Use above the value of the energy ex-
pended in the creation of it. One hum
Ired dollars created without 500 worth
If energy and put into circulation will
make all of the other dollars. which are
represented by dollar worth of energy,
worth just enough less to absorb and de-
troy the existence of the 800 OF fiat
money, leaving the situation the same
There is another defect in the Labor
Union party's remedy. If you issue
,nough fiat money TO pay the debt of
very debtor in the United States, viii
lot labor and capital still retain the same
citation TO each other? Suppose there are
10, 600, 600 debtors and 10, 000, 900 creditors
II capitalists in the United States. Loan
he 30 nln 600 debtors an0uCh fat money