Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-11-29

and bond-issuing concerns being the
property Of all the people, there would
no longer be any interest-drawing in
vestments. ALI would be assured Of
shelter, food, clothing, recreation and
enjoyment, and the accumulation of
money or riches, beyond fund for
sickness, old age and death, could inn
part no additional joy or convey no
more power or extra glorys two or
three hours labor each day would sup
ply all needs and fill all wants, and yet
these carpers are afraid that the innate
laziness, inherent in man, would impel
all men to seek employment in the
easiest and lightest avocations. do
not believe it But, even if it were
true, there is no danger of it, because
scientific socialism has thought out a
plan whereby all men would be put
upon plane of perfect equality. and
has devised theory or standard of
value" under which all men would
earn just the same amount of money
in an ordinary lifetime in all occupa-
tions, or as nearly so as it is possible to
figure such problems.
First. AS to the unit or standard of
value, so-called. 1t is days or an
hours labor, but not all or any days
or hours labor, but some special or
particular day or hour. To be brief, it
is some certain space or division of
time spent in those particular groups
or lines Of occupations in which the
workers enjoy the greatest average
length or duration of life. This is the
scientific unit of value. It is easily
found and ascertained by studying the
standard life insurance actuaries' table
of mortality and life expectation. In
deed, it is not even necessary to depend
| upon life insurance tables, for even
| now our individualistic government is
engaged in preparing the data and
tabulating the identical statistics need
ed from which to formulate table
upon which to figure scale of wages
based upon the average expectancy of
| life in the several industries and avo-
| cations.
| The critics. idea is that the terrible
and intense competition for employ
ment which, under the present individ-
ualistic, competitive industrial system
forces men to work at hurtful occupa-
tions rather than not work at all, is a
good thing, because, if it were not for
it, all individuals would want TO work
at the easiest and most healthful and
pleasant avocations. But scientific so
cialism proposes to so equalize wages
and hours of labor as to make it an OBJ
ject to workers to select the least in.
viting work, because of compensatory
benefits.
We need not at this time discuss the
rate of wage. We could, at the best
only approach an approximation. We
shall be well within official sanction il
we say that laborers now produce foul
times as much as they receive as wage
and that plenty of everything could b.
produced for every body if all were t.
: work three hours each day.
! Ben Franklin said, more than 10
years ago, that if all the people worket
four hours day and the wastes wer,
eliminated, we could produce enough
for all. What shall be said to-da,
: when we can produce thousand time
more than we could in franklin g time
Carol d. Wright, the United State
: commissioner of labor, who has neve
| been accused of being an anarchist o
: demagogue, says:
daily work by each ble-bodied man,
Systematically applied, would produc
all the food, clothing and shelter tn
people need"
We shall not stretch the limit if w
put the "unit" or minimum wage a
} 81 per hour. This, then, is the wag
l to be paid all workers in such lines O
occupations and employments wherein
t the workers enjoy the longest duration
2 of life-live the longest.
The scientific socialistic ''theory o
standard of value" is simple, but in it
. simplicity it partakes of the essenc
: of justice and equity.
t The basic proposition upon which tn
I theory is founded may be stated thu.
I Workers should be paid wages, not a,
I cording or in proportion to the tim
e expended in labor, nor in graded r,
e lation to the product of their toll, br
in relative ratio to their respective e,
r penditure of life, force and Wit;
energy.
Upon this proposition, thus form,
t lated, is based this theory: The wag,
n scale should be adjusted, not so tn;
: all may receive the same wage for a
l. hours or a days labor, but so that a
may have and enjoy the opportunity
: earning and accumulating the san
IS amount of wages or wealth in an ave
;, age normal or ordinary lifetime.
d A few moments consideration wi
II suffice to convince anyone that tn
e theory, fairly and rigidly apple
E. would revolutionize all present exis
d ing wage scales SO that those who no
II receive the lowest wages would recei'
the highest and vice versa
20 Now as to ''labor checks" so Gale
is The scientific theory or standard
sr value' herein briefly outlined, do
r not involve any transition from the u
ID of money to the use of ''labor checks
ic The labor ''unit" or standard
a value'' will be expressed in terms
'r the money of account of the Unite
er States and not in the terms of ar
Of specific division of time. While, the
c. retically, an hours labor in these o
!" cupations wherein the laborers Ii
,e the longest. may be the unit of tin
I'd or labor and value" yet such un
n will be expressed in monetary terms.
I'd The medium of wage payment al
1T of exchange of labor product will
q, full legal tender paper bills, agreein
Id in their numerical denomination
q. with the ideal and invariable .'un
at of oooo,1nfD Hho dol1.rl xv;-