The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-09-09
CAPITAL AND LABOR.
Industrial Problem the Theme of DR..
Talmage's Sermon.
Tells How the Continual War Ue-
tween Them May De Ended
Lessons Drawn from Re-
cent Strikes.
copyright, 1899. by Louis Klopsch.l
washington.

w uoiiil WI,
In this discourse DIR. Talmage sug-
gests how the everlasting war between
capital and labor may be brought to a
happy end. The text is 1. Corinthians
1921: "The eye cannot say unto the
hand, have no need of thee"
Fifty thousand workmen in Chicago
ceasing work in one day, Brooklyn
stunned by the attempt to halt its rail
road cars, Cleveland in the throes of a
labor agitation and restlessnesS among
toilers all over the land have caused an
epidemic of strikes, and somewhat to
better things I apply the Pauline
thought of my text.
You have seen an elaborate piece of
machinery, with thousand wheels and
a thousand bands and a thousand pull
leys, all controlled by one great water
wheel, the machinery so adjusted that
when you jar one part of it you jar all
parts of it. Well, human society is a
great piece of mechanism controlled by
one great and ever revolving force-the
wheel of Gods providence. You harm
one part of the machinery and you
harm all parts. All professions, inter-
dependent. All trades interdependent.
All classes of people interdependent.
Capital and labor interdependent. No
such thing as independence. Dives can
not kick Lazarus without hurting his
own foot. They who threw Shadrach
into the furnace got their own bodies
scorched. Or to come back to the fig
ure of the text, what a strange thing it
would be if the eye should say: over
see the entire physical mechanism. l
despise the other members of the body.
If there is anything am Disguised
with, it is with those miserable, low
lived hands. Or what if the hand should
say: | am the boss workman of the
whole physical economy. ] have no
respect for the other members of the
body. If there is anything ]. despise, it
is the eye, seated under the dome of the
forehead, doing nothing but look.
I come in, and wave the flag of truce
between the two contestants, and
say: 1.-THE eye cannot say to the hand:
Il have no need of thee
That brings me to the first sugges-
ton, and that is, that labor and capital
are to be brought to better under
standing by a complete canvass of the
whole subject. They will be brought to
peace when they find that they are iden-
teal in their interests. When one goes
down, they both go down. When one
rises, they both rise. There will be an
equilibrium after awhile. There never
has been an exception to the rule. That
which is good for one class of society
will lie good for all, and that which
is bad for one class will event
ually and in time be bad for all
Every speech that labor makes
against capital postpones the day OF
permanent adjustment. Every speech
that capital makes against labor post,
pones the day of permanent adjust
ment. When capital maligns labor, il
is the eye cursing the hand. When la
Dor maligns capital, it is the hand ours
ing the eye. AS far as have observed
the vast majority of capitalists are sue
cessful laborers. If the capitalist:
would draw their glove, you would SEE
the broken finger nail, the scar of an ole
blister, the stiffened finger joint. Thu
great publishers of the country for thu
most part were bookbinders or type
settlers on small pay. The great car
rage manufacturers for the most par
sandpapered wagon bodies in wheel
wright shops.
While, on the other hand, in all oul
large manufacturing establishment
you will find men working on wages
who once employed 100 or 500 hands
The distance between capital and labo
is not great gulf over which is swuns
a Niagara suspension bridge. tits onl.
a step, and the capitalists are crossing
over to become laborers, and the labor
ers are crossing over to become cap
italists. Would God they might shak'
hands while they cross. On the othe
hand, laborers are the highest style o
capitalists. Where are their invest
ments? In banks? No. In the rail
roads? No. Their nerve, their muscle
their bone, their mechanical skill, thei
physical health, are magnificent cap
ital. He who has two eyes, two ears
two feet, two hands, ten fingers, ha
machinery that puts into nothingnes
carpet and screw and cotton factory AM
all the other implements on the planet
The capitalists were laborers, the la
borers were capitalists. The sooner w
understand that the better.
Again, there is to come relief TO tn
laboring classes of this country throug
cooperative associations. am not a
this moment speaking of trades union.
but of that plan by which laborers pu
their surplus together and become thei
own capitalists. Instead of being de
pendent upon the beck of this capitals
or that capitalist, they manage thei
own affairs. In England and Vale
there are s13 cooperative associations
They have 340,0 600 members. They hav
a capital of $1S,OOO,OOO, or what corr,
spends to our dollars, and they do
business annually of 500, 100000. Tbou
as Brassey, one of the foremost men
the British parliament, on the subjet
says: Cooperation is Che one and til
q e a L L..