Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-05-03
WAGES AND PROFITS.
Profits That Amount to Fair Wages Onl
Are Legitimate and Dn Not Rob Labor.

Are Legitimate and Do Not Rob Labor.
There seems to be a strange miscon-
ceptlon 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 con-
slderation 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 fair
wages for the labor he performs.
Take a ''boss" or employing carpen-
ter, painter, blacksmith, printer, timer
or a small storekeeper who hires or
| 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
societies and continue to prosecute their
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 a ''boss" or manager, to con-
tract for jobs, collect bills. buy mate
rial, etc, etc. If they should start a
cooperative store, they must rent or
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 that
more men might combine in co-opera-
tive enterprise than work for any one en-
ployer or buy goods from any one store
and SO a less number of bosses, employ
ers and store managers would suffice
and thus saving could be effected in
that direction, such saving being avail
able as an increase to the wage fund,
and to that extent increasing the wages
of those who actually did the work, or
making it possible for the co-operat tive
store to sell more cheaply.
The vast majority of our employing
managers of productive, distributive
and repairing or embellishing indus
tries only manage, by dint of hard
work, energy and prudence, to obtain
a fairly decent and comfortable living
and many thousands of them annually
are pressed to the wall, fail in business
and lose the small capital they had in
vested. Very few of them, if any, &C
cumulate any wealth, and they are
numbered with the II, $50, 900 families,
who own, upon the average, S1,255 to
each family land not with the $50, 900 who
possess, upon the average, 1886, 900 to
each family. Rent, interest and the
profit that robs the wage-worker, in
like manner robs the great bulk of en-
ployers and small storekeepers. These
men are not the robbers but should be
classified with the robbed, in switch
category they undoubtedly belong.
Where, then, shall we look for the fac
tor, profit, which robs labor. will tell
you. Look to the vast manufacturing
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 dividends
to multiplicity of stockholders who,
performing no labor about the estab-
lishment, yet holding shares of stock
representing, in most cases, more than
the actual value of the plant. Look in
the direction of the forty-three listed
trusts in the United States, with a
gross capitalization of 81, 352, 700, 900, OF
which $3.50, 900 is water. And YET
this list does not include some of the
largest and most greedy trusts in the
country, because no trustworthy infor-
nation concerning their capitalization
can be secured Look in the direction
of the street railway, water, gas and
electric light companies and many
other kinds of corporations, which are
bonded for all or more than they cost
and yet pay, in addition to the interest
upon the bonds, good. fat dividends
upon capitalization as great in amount
as the bonded indebtedness. These are
the profits which rob and Cypress al
productive and distributive labor anC
play an important part in the concen
tration of wealth In the hands of tht
few and the absorption of the total ne
annual increase in wealth. Then there
are the telegraph, telephone and ex
press companies, which must not be for
gotten. 1t is impossible to give ever
an approximate statement of the profits
extorted from the people by these trust
and corporations. 1t is estimated tina
the capitalization of telegraph, tele
| = IL. Il
trio lighting and supply companies i
more than one billion dollars, tn,
Western Union Telegraph Co. alon,
realizing net profits of 1892, 725 il
1890. / shall hazard the assertion tina
the net profits, over and above gooC
living for all who actually were en-
titled to living out of the various in
} dustries, businesses and occupations