The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1904-10-20
LABOR VERSUS CAPITAL.

Garden of Eden, when God said
to Adam: SIN the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread. "
The first recorded strike was
that Of Cain, wheh he struck down
his brother Abel, because the Lord
had respect unto Abel's offering
but had none for Gains. Ever
since that time the animus of Cain
has shown itself in very many of
the strikes that have happened be-
tween labor and capital all over
the world
When strikers destroy lives or
property in their effort to gain
point of advantage or an equitable
principle their methods are wrong
and subversive Of the very object
that they wish to gain. III so do
ing they loose the good will, re-
spect and sympathy Of the inno-
cent public who are not parties i'll
the case. When you tie up a rail
road or trolley lite in a strike for
better wages or for reinstating a
union man that has been laid off,
you hurt the travelling public and
business men all over the country.
They loose confidence in you and
the road that you seem to have
the drop on. You hurt yourselves
by hurting the road that gives you
employment. The more travel
and freight that passes over a road
secures more employment of CON-
petent men at better wages. The
more prosperous the road, the
better for the employees.
There should be perfect harmo-
ny between labor and capital for
the relationship is very close.
Capital is the natural legitimate
child of labor. The work of hands
produced it, and careful savings
increased it. This child, capital,
has grown so large that the parent,
labor, can no longer control him
by force of arms or bind him with
throngs of strikers. 1t is folly for
a parent to fight his stalwart son
in this unequal contest between
labor and capital. In the long
run labor gets the worst of it. In
our Legislature are many lawyers,
who will work for the client who
pays the biggest fee. Souless cor
porations, with millions of money
in banks and in bonds, can pay
the fee for special legislation.
Large capital in the hands CT q
few becomes q menace to our free
institutions. The majority do not
always rule. The moneyed mi
nority, too often, is the power be-
hind the throne, and has laws en-
acted for it's own special benefit,
and detrimental to the people at
large.
During the last twenty years, or
more, labor has organized and put
up stubborn fight for larger
share in the profits growing out
of this partnership with capital.
What has come of it? In some
cases labor has made a gain; III
others, loss. Capital has organ
lied. All kinds of trusts have
been formed to cheaper prcduc-
ton by concentration of capital
and by using less manual labor.
The law of supply and demand
governs the price of nnskilled
labor just as it does the price of
wheat and potatoes. Then shut
out the Huns of Van6als-the
scum and criminals of Europe.
Poverty breeds poverty, criminals
breed criminals. Our peace and
prosperity are threatened by their
very presence and power for evil
Now, my American workman,
how can you improve your condi-
ton in the struggle of life against
capital? Can you starve out cap
ltal? Can you make q golden
eagle scream by shutting HIM up
in a vault? Can you put money
in your pocket by blowing up
mines or cotton mills? Can you
dress yourself in fine wooden
clothes, or dress your wife and
daughter in silk and satin fabrics
by blowing up WOODEN and silk
mills? You had much better put
a stick of dynamite in your mouth
and blow your head off. Peace is
more profitable than war to both
labor and capital.
Just consider for moment some
figures taken FROM the Cleveland
Plain Dealer, Of Saturday the 10th
of September, in regard to the
butchers strike at Chicago, which
run 60 days;
THE BIG STRIKE IN FIGURES.
''SJrike called July 18th, 1904"