The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-11-09
M. Wright's y y
y - Labor Essays.

| ~ND~NN~N~~NJ~~r~ N~r~~0S~ON|~&
| The widespread interest taken by the public
in the late coal strike has led to an interest in
the men appointed as commissioners to settle the
difficulties The individual opinions Of these men
on labor problems. their views on economic ques-
tons generally, their sympathies and prejudiccs,
| have been the subject Of careful inquiry. Some
OF these commissioners are we'll known having
enjoyed the confidence OF the public for many
years because of their good judgment their in
tegrity and their ability to both sides Of a
situation.
None Of these men except Bishop Spadng is
better known to the general public than Carroll
ID Wright. the recorder OF the commission. As
Mr. Wright has also a voice in the matter his
opinions on labor and capital are Of special inn
portance just now Consequently his recent book
Some Ethical Phases Of the Labor Question"
(Amerieau Unitarian Association, Boston, will
be read with unusual interest and his opinions
carefully weighed
The little volume consists Of four essays not
necessarily connected, except in the fact that
the subjects treated are brought under the general
principle of ethics; that is to say, the moral
element is applied to some of the most important
sociological questions of the day. Whoever
knows Mr., Wright knows him to be a man OF
facts and figures and not sentmentalist He is
man who takes account Of facts, but he does
not limit the word to any narrow interpreta-
ton. There facts OF the heart as there are
facts in the material world. Religion is fact and
is no more to be ignored than is the fact of
gravitation. Christian sentiment, which existed
long before Christ, has been dominant social
force and is fact to be reckoned with So in
his first essay, Religion in Relation to Sociology
Mr.. Wright maintains that society is the result Of
psychic forces, of the most important Of
which is mans emotional nature as expressed in
his religion.
It is, however, the second essay, The Rela-
ton of Political Economy to the Labor Question"
that will invite most attention. The term labor
question is often used as representing the
problem of working people in their struggles TO
secure higher standard Of living but Mr.
Wright uses it i'll a more limited sense as repre-
sentng the discussion of the just and equitable
distribution of profits or the products of labor
and capital. He chooses to the phrase in this
sense because it contains the vital elements of
the labor question, whether from an economic or
an ethical point OF view. The old school OF
political economy taught the laws that regulate
the production, distribution and exchange OF
wealth. They took cognizance of the con
ditions which, favorable or unfavorable, must
attend the participators in the production, dis
tributon and exchange OF commodities 1t was
content to limit itself to things and their rea-
tions to individual and National wealth The
creed OF the school, says Mr. Wright
recognizes fundamental elements of political
economy the humanity of the world and its moral
condition, because the best humanity is to be
found where the best morality prevails" The
school does not omit any of the tenets OF
the old school, but adds to them certain vital
principles that must be taken into account ms
tory is full of lessons from which the new
school will attempt to teach that the growth Of
healthy, intelligent and virtuous operative popu-
lation is much for the pecuniary interest Of
manufacturers themselves as for civilization
that the decline of the morals of the factory
means the decline Of the nation, and that the
morals, the force, the higher welfare OF the
nation depend upon the welfare of the working
masses
Mr.. Wright does not find in the new school Of
political economy any alliance with socialism OF |
with any of those so-called reforms which offer |
an easy panacea. IL knows, John Stuart Mills |
once affirmed. There is not any one abuse OF |
injustice prevailing in society by merely abolish |
ing which the human would pass out of sui |
fering into happiness" What the new school |
does demand is that labor and capital consult |
each other If both would be productive II |
will also be the business of the new political |
economy to point out the causes which have |
operated in the past in leading people to good or |
evil, TO prosperity or decline In this connec. |
ton Mr.. Wright refers 10 the remarkable pros
perty at the present time and sounds note Of
warning showing how closely prosperity is usually
followed by period Of decline This is not be
cause Of any inherent relation between the two |
but because prosperity without morality is sure
to lead TO that kind Of corruption and imitation |
which ends in disaster.
The other essays deal with The Factory as an
Element in Civilization" and The Ethics Of
Prison Labor" In the last the author shows
that the progress made in prison labor and
discipline during the last century is an index of
the real progress made in civilization during that
time. Mr.. Wright's book is clear and convinc-
ing. He writes because he has something definite
TO say and because it is of immediate importance
There is no attempt at style or literary finish 1t
is a plain speech TO thoughtful people who want
more light on certain pcrplexing questions OF the
Chronicle.