The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-05-11
1HE RIGHTS AND D1eN1rr OF LABOR.
The Views OF Cardinal Manning.

| marine OF all the other powers reaches 5000
| 600 tons, the mercantile marine Of Great Britain
| reaches 100000. What is the cause OF all the
| enormous development OF wealth? Some may
| cay II is capital l say there is something boz
fore capital: there is skill. Some may say 1t Is
| SKILL 1 say there is something before skill
there is labor, and we trace 1t up to labor
strictly. The first agency and factor OF this
great commercial wealth. and therefore OF the
greatness of our country in this respect, is
labor. In q book published first about the
year 1880, called the Results OF Machinery"
and afterward published under the title of
Capital and Labor" is to be found this sem
tence: In the dim morning OF society labor
was up and stirring before capital was awake"
There is no doubt OF this. and. therefore. may
affirm that labor Is the origin OF all our groat-
moss.
will not try to define labor. but will describe
1t to be the honest eIortion OF the powers OF
our mind and OF our body for our own good
and for the good OF our neighbor. do not say
honest for 1 do not account any labor which lie
not honest, which is superficial. tricky. and
untrusty. as worthy OF the name OF labor. l
call 1t exerton. because unless man puts
forth his powers. ana puts them forth to the
full. II Is not worthy OF the name OF labor I'm
less he puts forth his powers honestly for his
own good. l call 1t his destruction: and IL he
does not put them forth for his own good. and
also for the good OF his neiRhbor. call It sell
f1shness. I think. therefore, that my descrip-
ton Is just ono; 1t is the honest excrtion OF
the powers Of mind and body for our own good
and for the good OF our peighbor. And here 1
must put in plea. in passing, for the exerton
OF the powers OF the mind, and shall be safe
In saying that those who exert the powers Of
the mind and OF the brain are true laborers.
They may never have welded an axe. they
may never have guided locomotive. and they
may never have driven a spade into the
ground. but will maintain they are true la
borers worthy Of the name.
We will now come to what we call for the
present bodily labor. may say that this bod
lily labor Is In one sense the origin Of every
thing though 1t Is clear that mind must pre-
cede It In these days. perhaps, men are In
clined to depreciate mere strength without
skill because our labor Is become half skilled
and fully skilled. and our industry is becoming
scientific. Nevertheless, in the mere labor OF the
body there is true dignity. The man who
puts forth the powers OF the body. and that
honestly. for his own good and the good OF his
neiGhbor. Is living high and worthy life. and
that because it is his state in the world 1t ia
the lot In which we are placed and any man
who fulfls the lot Of his existence is In state
OF dignity. The condition on which Wa OBJ
tain everything In the world has always moro
or less OF labor.
Now there IL no limit as yet ascertained to
the fertility OF the earth. We are told that in
the time OF King John the productiveness OF
the soil OF England was about one-fourth as
compared with the productiveness Of the soil
all over the face OF England at this time. and
as about one-ffth compared with the produce
ttveness OF the soil round about London. What
makes the difference? Labor. skill. capital,
science. and the advancement OF agriculture
This calculation shows that We have been
steadily advancing in the productiveness Of
our soil and have never reached its limit.
Labor may be only in the dawn OF its work:
and II England has developed itself by its labor,
as l began by saying, to 80 vast an extent
do not let us for a moment imagine that we 4
have reached the limit Of what may be done by
the advancement OF that labor. I am old
enough to recollect whom the political econo-
mists OF England startled US by a statement
that there did not exist In England enough
coal under the earth to last for more than 800 |
years. 1t seemed to me even then that our |
nerves might stand the announcement Never |
theless. it is clear that We never yet have |
ascertained what is the limit OF the coal mines
In England. do not know that any man can
make even probable conjecture. But not
only is labor thela OF our state 1t is also the
low VI Jul uoFelOpu0lU 1T Is Inc law OF Ll9 |
development Of mind and body.
But further than this. labor is the condition
OF invention. Between the intelligence and the
hand there is a correspondence so delicate, so
minute. that 1t bears one Of the strongest owl
dences OF the wisdom of our Maker The YER
satiltty OF the mind in its operations can never
be measured: nevertheless the fexbility ofthe
hand Is such that 1t corresponds with the YER
satility OF the mind. The man who In tho dim
morning OF society made flint knife had a
hard labor to execute works of skill. The man
who. succeeding him. had Sheffield blade.
,ould do perhaps thousand operations which
he flint knife could not accomplish.
We have now happily come to a period when
our whole population, agricultural and manu-
acturing. recognize that the advancement and
multiplication Of machinery is the greatest aid
n creating labor. In order to give the simplest
'roof OF this. will mention one or two facts
which may not be familiar to some who hear
ne. Until the other day they were not famil-
ar to myself First OF all. in the last century. |
INVENTIONS followed one another In rapid suc- |
ession. AS you aro well aware. in 1743 the fly
huttle was Invented: in 1863 the son OF tho
INVENTOR constructed what is called
he drop box, in 1867 came the spinning I
emmy. In 1863 tho water frame. in |
779 the two wero combined into the mule. in q
s13 the power loom followed, in 1868 the d
team engine had been completed In 1911 I
team was applied to ships. and in 1924 it was Q
pplied to railroads. That Is to say, taking j
My one line of invention that which applies
D tho manufacture OF cotton and wool. this n
Extraordinary Advancement In machinery WAS Ii
ttaned In % years. Then the power OF locomo- |
on by land and by sea was added. Now what C
as the effect OF this? At first sight it might /
ave been supposed that it would have thrown Il