The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1890-06-27

zation of the producing and laboring classesf
Much OF the real advancement in the last hal.
century Is due to combinations among the
wage earners. So long as an opulent manu-
iacturer or wealthy mine owner could deal
with the individual workman, he was COM
pieteiy master OF the situation. There was
no alternative for the laborer except starya-
ton; others would labor for the wages offer
ed, even If he would not. But in dealing
with labor en mdsse no such advantage is
secured to the employer, since he needs the
laborers as much as the laborers need EN-
ployment. Equality of condition is thus an
proximately secured in the negotiations be-
tween the two parties. The employee feels
sense of independence and the EMPLOYER
realizes that he must not be too naughty in
his demands.
Another method that has generally proved
successful and has bettered the condition OF
the workman almost uniformly is co-opera-
tlon. sometimes factory is operated by
the workmen themselves and sometimes is
operated jointly by the proprietor and en-
ployees. The resultant advantage TO the
mechanic Is the same in either case; in what
ever capacity employed, he feels direct
personal interest In the prosperity of the
factory. A better grade of goods is produc-
ed, better care is taken of tools, and much
less time is lost Yet, after ALL the main
advantage is psychological one; the en-
ployer feels sense of prOprietorship. When
the interest OF all are the same there are no
strikes and no lOckOuts. Capital and labor
are really united. Cooperation is no
untried experiment, either on this side of the
Atlantic or the other.
Socialism, which is now spreading and
taking deeper root in the hearts of the dis
contented. would receive severe and per-
manent check. A sense of proprietorship,
either in home or in business, is the best
guarantee against socialism and communism.
1t is not the contented and prosperous artis-
an that demands division of property and
the sportation of the rich.
lI.) Yet when the wage workers have
done all that lies within their power, they
are far from having won their rightful posi-
tiOn in society. Further advancement must
be accomplished through the agency of the
state. Although volumes have been written
In reference to the sphere of state action, it
Is fundamentally true that no state is worthy
OF continued existence that does not protect
the weak against the strong, and does not
provide the conditions necessary for the pro-
gress Of its citizens individually and collect
lively; this statement does not mean that the
state should direct and control individual
action, but it does mean that the state should
guarantee equal opportunities to all its citi-
Zens.
What direction the increase of state action
should take must rather hint at than dis
cuss. There are number of industries,
whose nature fOrbids either all competitions
or continued competitions; railroads, tele-
graphs, gas works, street car lines, are ex-
amples of industries that conform to the law
OF increasing returns. The evils that result
from private ownership and management
are too well known to warrant repetition
here; see no economic reason why these
industries should not be owned and operated
by the state. MonOpOies they are and must
always be. Why should not these monopo-
lies be operated like the postal department
OF the government solely for the, benefit of
the public?
What action should be taken in reference
to the corporations and trusts that threaten
to destroy competition in all that large class
OF industries that conform to the law of con-
slant returns? The answer to the question
will be easier when the nature of a corpora
ton is thoroughly understood. All corpora
tions exist by virtue of an act OF the state,
| and should exist for the benefit of society
| and not for its detriment. They are quasi
public institutions, receiving their franchise
| from the public and created for the public.
The Onlyvalid reason for ever granting char
ter is the public good; otherwise, it is legsla-
ton for the few against the many, and is re-
pugnant to the republican idea of govern
ment. Since corporation exists by virtue
| of an act of the state, and since it secures
| special privileges from society, Unnecessarily
owes society corresponding duties. AS Mr..
| Bonham says in his Industrial Liberty" ""A
power derived from the people, the exercise
nfx in otTa.
or economic conditions, either toward each
other or toward that power, of necessity
| carries with it duty from the creature or
| the corporation to the creator"
If this view be the correct one, corpora
| tions and trusts must serve the public or they
have no right to an existence, and such legiS-
| latlOn should be enacted as will most speed
| lily and effectually destroy them.
So, had l time, l would urge that the
state pass further factory acts, restrict immi-
grafton, make the legal days work less than
ten hours, suppress the liquor traffic and
| other measures that believe would tend to
solve the labor question. But / am not will
| ing to close without referring to the necessi-
ty of additional educational facilities. Prof.
Ely says: Education is the right of a child
| the right of existence, carrying with it the
| right of an opportunity for the unfolding of
its powers, and if parents fail to do their
| duty it only remains for the state to step in
and protect the child. This is more sacred
duty even than the protection of property,
| for property is but means to an end"
| In conclusion can sum up the ''labor
question" no better than by quoting pass
| age from Rae's Contemporary Socialism" {:
''The final arbiter of institutions is always
| the conception of right prevailing at the time;
contemporary industrial arrangements are
| out of harmony with the contemporary con-
ceptiOn of right; and stability cannot be
| pletely adjusted"