Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-08-24
" ANT TO KIN 0W.
SOME PRACTICAL MEN ASK
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS.
The Able Business Man Who Creates"
Nalue-ilis Place Among Work
ers-Wh hat Becomes of the
Small "lndependent"
Pr0priet0rs.
70 the NOyhmen'S .Adrocote:

To the I''orhmenS Adrocate:
A, who is an able business man, is
the proprietor of factory which, under
his management nets profit of So.
900 year. A sells his factory to b,
by whose inferior business capacities
the annual profit of the concern is re-
duced to $1,000. AS the workingmen
OF the factory in this instance have moth
ing to do with the success of the estab-
llshment, the above difference in the
value merely created by the factory, is
solely due to the superior brain of the
first proprietor. A slight exertion of
the mind of a wide awake business man
will often create more value than a
thousand workmen could mpart to the
raw material. The bulk of the national
wealth of an advanced country is thus
made up by the value produced by the
brains of employers.
think it's common sense, and |
should like to know how Socialists get
around it. GEORGE b. DWIGHT
Price must be distinguished from
value. A commodity may fetch a large
price without representing much value.
Price is determined by supply and de-
manH Y alun 10 tha ,f f,,l
well-directed labor. Remoteness from
the market, for example, will ruin the
price of commodity, while its value is
unaffected. When thing is soid foi a
price exceeding its value it is exchanged
for too much value
Now, if the inside workings Of the
above factory are not affected by the
change in the administration, Mr. b.
simply makes 5000 mlemned dollars
less than his predecessor contrived to
derive through the same house. If,
however, AS genius extended to the
interior of the department he might
increase the productivity Of the work,
and in that respect he actually created
value as a part Of the working force of
the factory. But this does not mean
that he Is to get credit for more value
than the other "hands." In his ca
pacity as superintendent he merely
performs one of the functions the
combination of which results in the
creation of value. His brain alone il
not enough to make the article; neither
could the carpenters, blacksmiths, brass
workers, etc, of his factory do without
his wise instructions. 1t is the integra-
ton of the various modes of physical
and mental labor-that value which is
represented by the idea of value. If
A is good superintendent he produces
more value than bad superintendent,
but in no wise more than blacksmith
who does his work as well as A does his
OF course, the expenditure of vitality
attendant upon some branches of work
may be greater than upon others, which
might justly entitle the one to, and in
deed make necessary, greater amount
of recuperative leisure.
The case cited above is, at any rate,
exceptional. The great majority of cap
italists want no recuperation, as the
work Of price e-adding or value-creating
is left to their employed superintendents.
c..
WHAT WILL BECOME OF HIN?
A. G, Q. puts his case thus: Il have a
small shop with tools of my own, and
hire nobody to earn my living; am my
own boss, and my business is of a nat
ure outside of a factory general repair
shop. What | want to know is this,
Would |, under socialistic regime, be
obliged to give up my shop and work in
common? Would every small cobbler
or other workman who has a small shop
of his own be obliged to give up his
business and property and work in
common with others?"
First, we assume that you have a spe-
clal object in carrying on your business,
namely, earning your living. Ifyou ac-
cepted the position Of postmaster of
your town under the present system
you would undoubtedly improve your