Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-08-19
THE FLAG OF TRUCE.
DR. 1ALMAeE SUGGESTS A REMEDY
FOR STRIKE EPiDEMlcs.

Interests of Capital and Labor Are
Identical. and When They Cease to
AntaEonIzc Each Other Strife VIII
Ceasc-Bencfts of Cooperation.
Copyright, Louis Kopsch. 1901
WASHINGTON. Aug. l3.-In this dis
course DR.. Talmnge suggests how the
everlasting war between capltnl ana
labor may be brought TO happy END.
The text is Corinthians xii. u, THE
eve rnnnot say unto the hand, have
no need of thee"
Fifty thousand workmcn In Chicago
crasinu work in one day; brooklyn
stunned by the attempt to halt Its rail-
road cars; Cleveland in the throes of
n lnbor agitation. and restlcssness
among toilers all over the land
have caused M epidemic Of strikes,
aud, somewhat to better things, apply
the Pauline thought Of my text
You have seen All elaborate piece OF
machinery, with thousand wheels
and thousand bands and thousand
pulleys all controlled by one great
waterwheel, the machinery so adj
justed that when you jar one part of II
YOU lar all parts OF 1t. Well, human
society Ia a great piece OF mechanism
controlled by one great and ever re-
-yolving force-the wheel OF Gods prov
ldence. You harm one part or the ma
chinery Of society. and you harm all
purts. All professions lnterdependcnt.
All trades Interdependent. All classes
of people interdependent. Capital ana
labor lnterdependcnt. No such thing rs
Independence Dives cannot kick Laza-
rus without hurting his own foot. They
who threw Shadrncli into the furnace
got their own bodies srorchcd. Or. to
come back 10 the figure Of the text,
what strange thing II would be- If the
eye should say: oversee the entire
physical mechanism. | deSpiSc tn"
other members of the body: If there Is
anything am dis-uslcd with. il Is
with those miserable. low lived hands.
Or, what II the land should say: am
the boss workman Of l:ir wlol; pl!ysic-
nj economy: have 20 RESPECT for the
other membcrs OF The bU!y. II there
ls anything ! drspi$e. il is The eye
seated under the dame Of the forehead
doing nothing but lock.
come IN. and wave tie Hay OF
truce between these two contestants.
and say. The eye cannot say to the
hand. Il have no need Of thee.
Labor and Capital.
That brings me to the first sugGes-
ton, and that Is, that labor and capital
nre to be brought TO better under
standing by complete canvass of the
whole subject They will be brought
to peace when they find that they are
Identical In their interests. When one
goes down. they both go down. When
one rises. they both rise. There Will he
IN equilibrium after awhile. There
never has been an exception to the
rule. That which Is good forzone class
of society eventually will be good for
all classes Of society. and that which Is
bad for one class OF society will even
tually and In time be bad for all. Every
speech that labor makes against capt.
tai postpones the day of permanent adj
justment Every speech that capital
makes against labor postponcs tile day
of permanent adjustment. When capt.
tai mallSns labor, it Is the eye cursing
the hand. When labor maligns capital,
1t ls the hand cursing the eye. AS far
as have observed. the vast majority
of capitalist. are successful laborers.
If the capitalists would draw their
glove, you would see the broken finger
nall. the scar Of IN old blister, the
stiffencd finger joint. The great pub
fishers Of the country for the most
part were bookbInders, OF typcSetters'
on small pay. The great carriage man
ufacturers for the most part sand
papered wagon bodies In wheelwright
shops. Willie, on the other hand, In all
our large manufacturing establish
ments you will find men on wages who
once employed hundred or five hun
dred hands. The distance between
capital and labor is not great gulf
over which ls swung Il niagara sus-
pension bridge; II Is only step. and
the capitalists are crossing over to be-
come laborprs. and the lahorrrs are
crossing over to become capitalists.
Would God they might shake hands
while they cross. On the other hand,
laborers are the highest style Of CAPT
talIsts. Where are their investments!
In banks? No. In the railroads? No.
Their nerve their muscle. their bone.
their mechanical skill. their physical
health arc magnificent capital. He who
has two eyes. two ears. two feet. two
hands. ten fingers, has machinery that
puts into nothingness carpet and screw
and cotton factory. and all the other
implements on the planet. The capital
lists were laborcrs. the laborers were
capitalists. The sooner we understand
that the better.
Co-opcrative AsaocfatfOns.
Again, there is to come relief to the
laborIng classes Of this country
through cooperative associations. |
am not at this moment speaking or
trades unions, but Of that plan by
which laborers put their surplus to-
gether and become their own capital
lists. Instead of being dependent upon
the beck OF this capitalist or that capt.
talist. they manage their own nffairs.
In England and Wales there are S13
cooperative associations. They have
$40. 900 members: they have capital
Of SIS. 900. 600. or wlinr corresponds to
our dollars. and they do business
annually OF $G3.O00.0n0. Thomas Bras
scy. one OF the foremost men In the
British parliament. on the subject
says: Cooperation Is the one and the
only relief for the laboring populations.
This is the path" he says. "by which
they are to come up from the hand to
the mouth style Of living, to reap the
rewards and the honors Of our ad-
yanced civilization" Lord Derby and
tanIS