Rocky Ford enterprise. (Rocky Ford, Colo.) 1887-1950, 1902-07-25
CAPITAL
Is It Antagonistic to
LABOR?
A Bit Of Timely Discussion Aseat 10
Big Labor Strikes.
ARTICLE I.

differences between the man who Ia
bors and the nan who employs labor
has formulated itself into deciara.
zion Of war between labor and capital.
That is the way IL looks upon the sur
face. And the great majority OF peo-
pie are not looking much beneath the
surface OF thinss for the cause Of our
popular disorder.
All the diseases of the body polite
are thought to bo skin diseases. that
one more act OF the legislature will
positively cure,
Arc these two factors for the chang
in. OF the crude materials OF nature
into tho refined wealth OF art, nntag.
onistic because they are labor and cap
itnly No.
To illustrate: Force and energy arc
two terms used To denote two forms
OF one thing. power. As power they
can both be c3Vrtcd. In combination.
To attain one end. They can also be
set In opposition and made To nntns
onixc one another. made to pull In OPP
positc directions. The power OF .ravi
tation In n latent energy. Until some
thing In supplied for II to act upon
there Is no manifestation OF its power
no result. The power In mans arm
In mn active force tha, can apply IL.
self. These two forms OF power do
not constitute Inherent differences In
the law OF phyairs. They are the dit.
ference OF voiition and inyoiit!on. You
may use the poNur Of gruyitation to
MD the power In the arm Of the miner
In drawing u bucket full OF ore from
the mine by putting the empty bucket
on the other end OF Shc rope. You
can also let the empty bucket drop
without It's aiding TO draw the full
bucket up. Or with the power OF the
arm you can rcsiRt the force OF grayit.
alton and rctard tn. fall OF the empty
bucket k
Now. labor and capital are two like
forms OF positive and negative power
that are used for the changing OF the
crude matter OF the Earth into shapes
and substances that mike for the sub
sistcncc. the comfort. md the pleasure
OF mankind. And they cnn be used In
these different relations of hcipiulness
or nntasonism or held In quicsccncc
and are so used Ia our present cconom.
ic system. according to the moods of
the users. - ssz.t
One of the most cssa q tiai' things tn
he borne In mind by the student Of
this subject iS that there In no other
source OF wealth except the raw ma.
tcrial of the universe. Watcred stocks
are not wealth. They are only form
of inflntionism. Bear In mind that moth.
ing comes by fiat. Not even money.
Let me emphasize the fact that the
earth liz and has been the only possible
source OF all the real, tangible wealth
man IN any where possessed OF. Whcr-
ever there is a man living on the earth
he is living upon labor This own or
some one clsc's). applied to what was
n raw product of the earth.
He is living upon his own present.
every day labor, applied In some way
to the transportation or the transform.
alton OF this material. or he is living
upon the stored up surplus OF labor
so applied In time past or present by
or some one else.
IL Is true a man may seem to be
living upon something else. II we had
to Mr.. Bryans proposition,
and issued fiat money. or money that
was half fiat. and the owner OF intrin.
sic wealth had transformed that wealth
into fiat money, the half of II that was
fiat would represent no intrinsic value
and the man who held II
would be getting half of his subsis.
tence for nothing so long and so far
as the purchasing power of his money
was maintained by the peoples fiat.
Mr.. Bryan would have given all the
original coiners of silver the privilege
of getting. say. 30 per cent of their
out of the labor of other
people. These people would have
seemed to be paying for what they got,
but they would be getting half OF what
they had at the expense of those who
did not own silver mine. These peo-
pie could not do without the materials
of subsistence more than anyone else,
but just in proportion as they got
them. one-half Of what they got would
be the product Of other mems labor.
This leads up to the next important
point to be kept in view. namely, that
is essential to its preservation, as well
as to its reproductive power. Some
wealth Is vastly more perishable thar
other wealth. But all wealth must be
kept in the process of serving to pro.
duce other wealth or the time soon
comes when neither that wealth nor
any equivalent wealth which 1t has
been used to produce, remains. This
is just as true Of the tangible wealth
security that lies somewhere behind
good bank note as 1t is of the farmers
surplus sack of potatoes or surplus
bushel of wheat over and above what
he needs for the present feeding OF
his family. In this respect then, of
the capitalists capital
needs employment Just as urgently as
The laborer's brains and muscle. Boil
must be protected and used.
What is the difference between labor
and capital then? They are the two
factors used for the production of
wealth. Capital is the saved up sur.
plus of yesterdays labor power There
is no other source of actual capital
than this saved up surplus of labor.
Thus far they have no difference. They
are simply power to which we may
apply the terms force and energy as
their volition and involition.
Labor is active force. Given the raw
of the earth 1t can employ
itself, reproduce itself. Capital is inert.
Left to itself by labor it can do moth
ing but waste. That is the true and es-
sential difference between the two.
Bear it closely in mind. We hear a
great deal of talk in these days about
labor being dependent upon capital
that capital never pays out
a days wage until it has first got a
days work. Remember that there was
no such thing as capital until labor