The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-05-11

| inyiolable The patrimony OF a poor man lie,
| in the strength and dexterlty OF his hands
| and TO hinder him from employing this strength
and dexterlty In what manner he thinks proper.
without injury to his neiGhbor, lie a plain VIC
| lation OF this most sacred property" There
FORE first OF all, l claim for labor the
rights OF property. There Is no personal prom.
erty so strictly our own. 1t Is altogether and
| entirely personal The strength and skill tina,
| are in n man are as much his own as his life.
| blood; and that skill and strength which he
| has as his personal property no man may con.
| troll He has this property in him. Lawyers
| say q mans will Is ambulatory, that Is Il
| travels with him all over the world So the
workingman carries this property with him
as ready money. He can buy with IL and he
| can sell 1t. He can exchange 1t. He may set
price on 1t. And this ready money which ho
carries with him he may carry to every market
all over the world and what Is more. he will
not be impeded by any foreign currency. No
coins. no difficult calculations. decimal or
otherwise. obstruct his exchange with other
nations OF the world.
And further, in one sense It ia inexhaustibla
except that we all have limits and dimensiona
and our strength and skill are bounded By
what we are. But there 1t is. perennial, Holna
on always through his life till old age dimin.
ishes It; then what remains In him is to be
now. claim for labor land the skill which 10
always required by labor the rights OF capital
1t is capital in the truest sense Now our
Saxon ancestors used to call what we call
cattle live money" and we are told that what
we call chattels and cattle and the Latin word
CAPITA are one and the same thing; that 10
heads" OF cattle. or workers or serfs. This
was live money!" and 80 are the labor, the
strength. and the skill in the honest workman
live money" 1t Is capital laid UP in him,
and that capital ia the condition OF production.
For capital which Is In money. which will
call dead capital. or dead money. receives It's
life from the living power and skill OF the la
borer. These two must be united. The capital
ofmoney and the capital OF strength and OF skill
must be united together. or we can have no
production and no progress. And. therefore,
labor and capital must ride on the same
horse;" and It is said In a sort of mother.vit
way. that When two men ride on a horse one
must ride behind" 1t s said that capital rides
before. Well. now. II they cannot ride side By
side they ought to walk hand in hand. What
ever rights. then. capital possesses labor pos
sesses.
Once more: Labor has right Of liberty. A
laborer has right to determine for whom he
will work. and whore he will work. I do not
mean In any caprlcious and extortionate way,
but he must be first and last the Judge and
controller OF his own life. and he must pay the
penalty II he abuses that freedom. This car
ries with 1t also the right to say whether he
can subsst upon certain wages. This 10 undo.
niable He may set too high price upon his
labor, but then he will pay the penalty No
man can appraise It for him. Another man
may offer him his wages. and II he is not con-
tent he may refuse 1t. He cannot say, You
shall work"
In all the history Of civilization. II you 70
back to the Greeks or to the Romans. you ind
that trades and professions always had their
societies and fellowships by which they were
united together. 1t seems to me that this 10 Q
sound and legitimate social law. I can con.
ceive nothing more entirely In accordance with
natural right and with the higher jurispru-
dence than that those who have one common
interest should unite together for the promo
ton OF that interest.
From this 1t would seem to me to follow that
the protection Of labor and Of industry has at
all times been recognized right Of those who
possess the same craft: that they have united
together; that those unions have been recog-
niZed by the Legislature; that whether they be
employers or employed. whether they possess
the dead capital or the live capital, tho dead
money or the live money all have the same
rights. And do not see. I confess. why all
men should not organize themselves together
81 iOuR Do tuoy arc truly buQ QOQOBLly DuDmt8-
'ive to one higher and chief. who 10 superior
over US all: the supreme reign Of law which has
governed. at all times. the people Of England
l am one OF those who arc of opinion that the
hours OF labor must be further regulated BY
aw. l know the difficulty Of the subject, but
say the application Of unchecked political
economy to the hours Of labor must be met and
checked by moral condition.
II the great end Of life were to multiply yards
II cloth and cotton twist and II the glory Of
England consists or consisted In multiplying
Without stint or limit these articles and the
Ike at the lowest possible price. 80 as to under.
ell all the nations OF the world. we'll then. let
ID 90 on. But II the domestic life OF the people
20 vital above all; II the peace. the purity OF
ZONES. the education OF children. tho duties OF
wives ana mothers, the duties OF husbands and
4 fathers be written In the natural law OF
mankind and If these things are sacred,
ar beyond anything that can be sold
n the market. then I say. II the hours
i labor resulting from the unregulated
ale OF mans strength ana skill
hall lead to the destruction Of domestic life.
} tho neglect OF children. to turning wives
nd mothers into living machines. and OF
lthers and husbands into-what shall say,
of burden2-I will not use any other
ord-who rise up before the sun. and como
lck when 1t Is set, wearied and able only to
Ike food and lie down to rest, the domestic
10 of men exists no longer and We dare not
} on In this path l am not going to attempt
prescription: should fall II 1 were to at
mpt TO practice In any art which Is not my
Sn; but this will say: Parliament has done
already.
Do not lot 1t be said. therefore. that Parlla-
ent has not interDosed In the question Of
Dor and In the question OF the hours OF labor.
will ask. Is 1t possible for a child to bo edu-
ted who becomes lull-tImer at 10 or even
years OF age2 Is 1t possible for a child In
Q agricultural districts to bo educated who
ny be sent out into the fields at 81 will
X. can a woman be the mother and head OF a
mIly who works sixty hours a week? You
ny know better than l. but bear with me II
y do not understand how woman can
ain her children in the hours after they ccme
me from school II she works all day In a
tory Tho children come homo at 4 and 5
the afternOOn. thara IA No nnnthar In