Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-07-16

edge Of Justice and righteousness, which
enables him to abolish wage slavery.
What does nature say about wages2 She
says to the laborer, "All you make by
your unaided labor is yours to consume
or exchange. But if you want to produce
faster than your unaided labor will al
low and desire to use tho tools and seed
and animals Of others, you must pay
for them for such use, and this is in
terest. And IL you go upon land which
is better than the poorest in use, you
must pay the difference in value be-
tween such land and the poorest in use,
and this Is rent, Natural wages, there
fore, are that portion Of the laborer's
produce which remains after interest
and rent are paid.
But there is another deduction yet to
be made-from tho landlord g rent the
capitalists interest and the laborer's
wages there is taken share by the i'm
position of taxes.
The forces which operate and fix
wages are:
First The law Of rent For what
ever the laborer must pay for the privi-
lege Of living and working upon land
reduces the portion of his product which
he may retain.
Second. Tho law OF interest. For
whatever he pays for the use of capital
makes less what he may keep.
Third.-Taxes For what he pays,
either directly or indirectly. ON account
Of taxes lowers his real wages.
Fourth.-The productiveness Of Ia
Dor. Natural interest is fixed by the av-
erage natural increase Of all forms Of
wealth. Wheat and many other forms
Of wealth naturally increase. But iron,
gold, silver do not increase, and houses,
groceries and many others decrease. On
the average, however, wealth increases
by the forces Of nature. No one knows
what the average rate is. Where Just
scale Of wages will place the masses be-
yond the power Of the usurer, interest
will gravitate to its just rate, and tho
capitalist will receive only his propei
share Of the increased output made pos
sible by his capital.
The most potent force which bears
upon wages Is rent By rent I mean
what the laborer pays for land, whether
In lump, as purchase price, or by the
week, month or year. as rentals; for
land, repeat. for what is paid for
houses and improvement is not properly
rent, though 1t is usually so called. Let
us show you how it is that rent is the
strongest force bearing on wages
You pay $500 for capital-a thrash
ing machine or loom, You pay it direct
ly or indirectly to the man who made
It. 1t makes your work more produc-
tive Thrashing machines and looms do
not exist naturally. Some one must
make them and must be paid for max
ing them.
You pay $500 for n piece Of land for
farm or building lot. The landlord
to whom you paid the price did not
make the land. God made it, 1t was
here before man. The owner and his
ancestors may never have done o days
work or produced anything But he re-
ceives your ten years savings. II the
face Of nature was free. you might have
kept the $500. Your wages would have
been increased thereby. Our land system
permits those who do nothing to take
away the produce Of those who work,
thus lowering wages. By paying inter-
est or price for capital we get tools or
seed or stock, which increases our out
put. But the price Of land does not af-
feet production at all.
Furthermore, the price Of land. rent,
increases by the increase of population
and progress In the arts without any work
! on the landlords part. After all the