Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-08-08

Editor TIMEs:-In view of the inter
est conferred in the great strike of the
employees of the steel trust, and the
fears so often evinced by those who i
have no knowledge of existing condi-
tions, that Labor, when organized,
became, not only menace to society,
but an autocrat and dictator in its own
ranks, and strives to become such over
those who do not hold allegiance
thereto. Perhaps few words from a
laboring mans View, upon labor, and
labor organizations, will not come
amiss. We shall first try TO answer
the question, what is Labor" Labor
is the intelligent eXeytlon of physical
force, in such manner as to result in
the production of the necessities, the
comforts or the luxuries of life, This
force or eXertion may be of the hand
or brain. 1t produces the fuel we
burn, the food we eat, the flowers we.
love, the pictures we admire and the
printed page we enjoy.
Labor produces our homes, our bust
ness houses, our churches and our
schools. Labor weaves the swaddllng
clothes for the tiny infant. and the
burial robes for the aged. Labor sup
plies the dainty viands for the table of
kings, as we'll as the coarse bread for
the peasants board.
Labor creates the satin robe for no
bility, and the course cover for the
slave. Labor enters as a potent factor
INTO every phase OF life; without it, it
We're impossible to exist. Remove, ii
we could, every product of laber from
the earth, and almost before the set of
sun, human life would be thing of
the past; and yet, there are those who
affect to despise labor; as the English
LADY who remarked, that "the smut
on the face of the laborer is vulgar,
but the smut on the face of the soldier
is glorious"
There are in our country, large and
increasing class of laborers called
wage Gamers; men who perform labor,
and receive therefor stipulated sum
as remuneration, or wages. In other
words, he exchanges certain amount
of energy or force, for certain
amount of the necessities OF life; both
the labor and the necessities being
commodities. Is the man who sells
his labor entitled to the privilege of
setting price upon his labor, and the
other man setting the price upon his
commodity, or shall the laborer sell his
energy and buy the necessities, both at
price determined by the other party :?
Surely, if the man who has coal to sell
should set the price he is to receive for
the COAL the man who has the labor to
sell to mine the coal, should set the
price which he shall receive for that
labor, and so on throughout every
/ phase of trade and labor. Having re-.
fered to coal, we will use it as an Illus
tration. We think we hear some one
say that the mine operator, knowing
the price at which he can dispose of
of his coal, must compute the cost en-
tering into the production of ton of
coal. His investment in plant, ma
chinery, tools etc. together with the
cost of mining, but it leaves him a
margin, for it he pays for the mining,
a sum which added to the other OK
pences would equal or exceed the
price of the coal, he would then be run
ming at loss ard must soon go out of
business. But is there any danger of
the other man running at loss? We
maintain, and we wish to emphasize
the statement, that when ever the
wage Garner receives for his labor, wa
gss insufficient with reasonable econ
omy, to provide himself and family
with a home, and home comforts, 10
educate his children, and TO accumu-
late sufficient means to enable himself
and wife to pass their old age IN COM
fort, then he, too, is RUNNING AT a
LOSS, and ne can only look forward tC
the time when NATURE shall oppoin'
the receiver, and his family he left to
follow Ill his foot steps, aud more
when ever the wage Garner, in order t.
procure the necceSsaries OF life, must
work such number of hours each day
that he has no time for study, for rest
or for recreation. He is deprlvlne
\ himself, or rather being deprived q
. the greatest incentives to good citizen
ship and u christian life. Coed citl
Zanship is based upon intelligence, ant
no man can keep himself we'll inform
ed upon the current events, who mus
work with hand or brain from earl,
Z morning till late at night. The com
munity Is therefore deprived OF Il goot
I citizen, society loses, III that his child
rem cannot be educated as they SHOULD
be, and future generations lose in TIL
lack of education and refinement; blu
q is it not possible or even probable tina
if the wage Garner were allowed to de
n termine his own wages, that his greco
would lead him to demand such wage