The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-07-21

Rev. 7. B. Payne, Of the All Souls
Universalist church, delivered a strong
address yesterday afternoon at Guern-
| sey hall, on the subject of capital and
| labor. The audience which heard him,
while not overly large, on account Of
the threatening weather, was represen-
tative of the city.
The meeting of the Central Labor
| union was adjourned at o'clock, in
order that It's members might attend
the services and large number Of
| them filed Into the hall, shortly after
wards. The executive board was asked
| to sit on the platform and did so. The
members who complied with Rev.
Payne's request were: President John
II. Devine, Vice President Daniel Cole
man, Recording Secretary E. C. Pat
! terson, Financial Secretary George H.
Gothier and President William II. Cor
less, of the Typographical union. Ma
tional Representative c. o. Pratt, Of
the Street Railway Employees union
was seated with them.
Secretary C. s. Seamans, of the board
| of trade. was an interested member of
| the audience, in which could be seen a
| number of other men prominent in To-
cal industrial circles. The services
| were opened by the singing of Nearer,
My God, to Thee" Rev. Payne then
said
THE ADDRESS.
| 1t is a source of satisfaction, my
| friends, to welcome SO many Of you here
| this afternoon, to consider with me, at
| this time. one of the great question that
at the beginning of the Twentieth CEN
tury. are so profoundly commanding the
| attention of mankind-the present uni
versal conflict between capital and labor
l am not here to inveigh against capi-
tai, nor to make special plea for labor
except as the facts shall condemn the
| one and plead for the other I make no
prententions to superior wisdom or
knowledge. I trust that every word l
may utter may be indicative of inteli-
gence fairness, calmness, fearlessness
! honesty. So far as ! may be in sympa
thy with the one side or the other, I
trust I shall be able to conceal that SYM
pathy. Such sympathy. !, of course,
have. No matter to which side that
sympathy inclines. honestly believe it is
the logical result of my thought instead
of my thought being the outcome of my
| sympathy.
l am not here to tickle you with any of
the tricks of the orator. To Oratory I
make no claims. ] am not here to ap-
peal to your prejudice, your selfshness.
your hatreds. or your passions. I am
here solely, today, to do bit Of think
ing with you. And, certainly, If any
question engaging mans thought in the
present hours needs such dealing, it is
the question of capital and labor.
1t Is not my purpose, this afternoon,
except incidentally. to speak of the pres
ent contest being waged in these valleys.
Neither can I hope, in the short time at
my command. TO speak of many phases
of the problem that interest sou individ-
ually. But before l have finished,
trust l may have helped some of you, at
least, to see the matter little more
clearly.
CLEAR AWAY FALLACIES.
Now to do this, want, first of all. to
clear away from the problem a thick
web of falacies that we have spun
around it by our ignorance. prejudice.
selfishness, hatred. This web has already
become so thick that many honest, intel
ligent broad-minded Christian people to-
day are absolutely. it seems to me. un-
able to see the real problem at all. Now,
what are these fallacies?
I. The first of these fallacies TO which
I desire to call you attention is this:
Has not man right to do with his
property as he is a mind to?" My an
swer is mo" The law grants to every
man the privilege of using his own as he
is mind to, up to the point where. by
its abuse misuse or non-use, he invadcs
the rights of the majority. makes against
public policy or public morals Not for
insurance. but out of pure cussedness.
you set fire to your uninsured house and
burn 1t to the ground. You have done
with your own as you were mind to.
The law steps in and Furnishes you
verely. Another illustration: Suppose all
the farmers of the world tomorrow agree
20 NlyIn fityn
They will do with their own as they were
mind to. At the end of a year, men,
women and children in every land begin
to cry for bread, yes. starve for It's lack.
What would he the result? Why, up to a
certain point, the governments of the
world would do nothing; beyond that
point they would take possession of the
worlds wheat fields and till them them
selves. If the farmers would not since
1t is against public policy of the nations
that It's people shall die of starvation.
Now, suppose. instead of farmers" you
use the words "coal operators"
A COMMON ERROR.
g. Another common fallacy running
through the thought OF many people who
discuss capital and labor takes this form:
The fault. sin and crimes of a small
minority, they impute to all of the same
class or organization, or people. II this
Is IdlldClOuS anu IiloSlcdi "ucH ucdliIIS
with merchants. lawyers doctors, clergy
men, teachers, 1t is no less falaclous and
illogical when dealing with labor"
8. Still a third fallacy is this: That
labor has no right to say to capital any,
thing about the conditions under which
1t will work.
4. Here Is another fallacy pervadng
the thought of many people: That labor
is more dependent upon capital than capi-
tai is upon labor. Why, bless you! this
can't possibly be true 1t is capital that
is the dependent partner. Whenever it
seems to he otherwise, It is because
things for the moment are topsy-turvy.
Look at II. There was a day when man
stod alone upon this earth without a
vestige of what we call today, wealth or
capital. He had his brain, hands and
energy About him were the vast re-
sources of nature. Using his brain.
hands and energy upon nature, he has
provided for his own immediate needs
the surplus above those needs has made
the worlds capital. Men make dollars,
not dollars make dollars. The most capi-
tai can do Is to furnish better tools and
more of them. But how much wealth
could millions OF capital and the best
tools In the world produce II there were
no men to use them? Not another dol
lar. On the other hand, II tomorrow, by
some awful catastrophe, all the world s
wealth and tools We're destroyed and men
were left standing again upon the EARTH
with only BRAIN hand and energy, they
could quickly replace them both. No.
FtNI-