People's voice., 1893-04-28
WAGES AND PROFITS.
Profits That Amount to Fair Wages Oh
Arc Iaoitiuata and no Not Pol, I a IN,

ceptiOn as to the nature and identity of
the factor Profit. which economists
have in mind when they state that the
factors which conspire to rob labor are
Rent, Interest and Profit. An unnat-
ural enmity and jealous rivalry exists
between labor, as wage-workers, and
labor, as employers, or "exploiters, -
and, more foolish yet. between labor on
the farm and labor in the cities and
towns As declared in the preamble to
the Omaha platform: The interests of
rural and civic labor are the same;
their enemies are Identical
The true economic definition of legit-
innate profit is wages. Legitimate profit
does not rob labor, because it only Sc
cures fair wages to industrial man
ayers or ''exploiters" of labor A full
and exhaustive discussion of the various
relationships to labor of the factor
profit would necessarily involve a con-
sideratioa of the entire wage-working
system, and would transcend the space
allotted to this article Hence l can
only briefly point out some of the
special features and divisions of the
subject.
Profit not only appertains to the ex-
ploitation of labor in productive and
distributive industries or channels, un-
der the wage-working system, but also
inheres in the distribution of wealth,
by stOrekeepers and sellers of goods,
wares and commodities, even though
the seller or storekeeper hires no help.
If the profits received in such businesses
do not aggregate more than the aver
age wages realized by productive and
distributive labor, it is clear that such
storekeeper or seller robs no one. be-
cause he renders to society or the com.
munity valuable services and receives
no more from the community than fan
wages for the labor he performs.
Take a boss or employing carpen-
ter, painter. blacksmith, printer, timer
or a small stOrekeeper who hires OF
does not hire one clerk or more. if such
employer or storekeeper does not make
more than decent, comfortable living
out of his business or employment, it is
clear that he does no injustice to any
one and rObS no man. If the several
employees of such men were to organize
themselves into cooperative firms OF
societies and continue to prosecute theil
several occupations, the first thing they
must do is to rent premises for the occu
pancy of the business and its materials
and tools: next, they must buy material
and tools; lastly, they must guarantee
to one of their number propOrtionate
average wages to pay him for his ser.
vices as boss or manager, to con,
tract for jobs. collect bills. buy mate
rial, etc, etc. If they should start q
cooperative store, they must rent OF
buy location, lay in a stock of goods
hire manager, clerks, etc, and pay all
necessary expenses. So that, so far as
the small businesses are concerned
nothing can be gained by dispensing
with the boss or employer, except thai
more men might combine in co-opera
tiveenterprise than work for any one EN-
ployer or buy goods from any one store
and so less number of bosses. employ
erS and store managers would suffice
and thus saving could be effected il
that direction. such saving being avail
able as an increase to the wage fund
and to that extent increasing the wage,
of those who actually did the work. o.
making it possible for the co-operatiy,
store to sell more cheaply.
The vast majority of our employing
managers of productive, distributiv,
and repairing or embellishing indus
tries only manage. by dint of hare
work, energy and prudence, to obtail
fairly decent and comfortable livin!
and many thousands of them annually
are pressed to the wall, fail in busines
and lose the small capital they had in
vested. Very few of them. if any, ac
cumulate any wealth, and they ar,
, numbered with the 12.3jO,OOO families
who own, upon the average, S1,25j t,
each family, and not with the 80, OOOwh,
possess, upon the average, $lS6.O0O t,
each family. Rent, interest and tn
profit that robs the wage-worker, il
like manner robs the great bulk of EN-
ployerS and small storekeepers. TheS
men are not the robbers. but should b
classified with the robbed, in whicl
category they undoubtedly belong.
Where, then. shall we look for the fac
tor, profit, which robS labor. | will tel
you. Look to the vast manufacturin,
establishments which, after paying sal
aries to managers, heads of depart
ments and foremen, after paying inter
est upon borrowed capital or bonded
, Indebtedness, yet pay goodly dividend
to a multiplicity of stockholders who
performing no labor about the estab
lishment, yet holding shares of stocl
representing, in most cases. more thai
the actual value of the plant. Look il
the direction of the forty-three listet
trusts in the United States, with
gross capitalization of 81, ,S52, 700, 900, o
which $3.50, 100000 is water. And We
this list does not include some of tn
largest and most greedy trusts in tn
country, because no Trustworthy info1
nation concerning their capitalization
can be secured. Look in the directio,
of the street railway. water, gas an
electric light companies and man
other kinds of corporations. which ar
bonded for all or more than they cost
and yet pay, in addition to the interes
; upon the bonds, good fat dividend
, upon a capitalization as great in amour
as the bonded Indebtedness. These ar