The Newtown bee., 1907-05-31
HOME NEWS.
LITTLE SERMONS.
THE COST OF L1v1Na.-BY o. o. wR1eH'

THE COST OF L1V1NG.-BY O. o. WRIGHT. Luke 10 2.
 A man is worthy of his wages if he earns them. But if he does not earn the money, he has no moral right to 1t. Something for something, just equivalent for that given and received, Of the commercial world. There IS one law, in the nature of the case, for the capitalist, and the working m an. Every one has right to the fruit or the labor of his capital invested. The mutual exchange of that which we about the sum of the whole matter.
 Whatever one does that is really necessary or useful in any way to him. self or to others may be set down as as cap1tal-workers, who labor with their money and other property in vested; Wage-WOrkerS who lend the use of their powers Of body and mind; common labOrerS who use their mus cles mainly for pay; skilled-workmen, trained m1nd and hands: mechanics, artisans, farmers, merchants, prOfeS- Sional men, etc., for the sake of con- venience, or distinction; but as mat ter of fact everybody who does any thing, works in one sense, doing some
 
 "Work' is word common to all lan- guages, and it's definitions include many shades of meaning.
 Mutual welfare and happiness is the only worthy motive of this work-a-day- life. Neither agitations, strikes, nor principles which underlie the social, industrial relations of men, except as they may lead men to love one anOth- CT. Men will not be just until they learn to be truly members one of an other, having the same care for each and for all, according to everyone's needs. The wages are according to the work. Such is the natural law. The welfare of the individual must be in harmony with the welfare of society at large. There must be demand for what man can do, or his work has no market, and he will get no
 ''The laborer is worthy of his hire." But what if no man wants to hire him? And what if he is neither will ing nor able to do the work that needs to be done? Wages depend upon the demand for the work and upon the supply of labor to be had. The value of anything, or of any service de pends upon how much anybody needs it, or wants it. And the wages of the workman equally depend upon the necessities of the case.
 The wages are according to the work, but of course the man who works must at least be able to live in health and strength or he cannot labor. He must have food, clothing and shelter. And on the other hand the man who pays the wages must get more for the mans work than the wages he pays, or he cannot live. And so it is that the cost of living becomes matter of supreme moment when we begin to consider ho uQ "Gettfng living" is the foundation of all world enterprise and activity. And how much more than good liv- ing does anyone get, or can anyone get, for all that he can do, or hold in his possession, The limitations of this life are really surprising!
 Now the laboring man does not al- ways realize that the chief item in the cost of living is the price of his labor. The more it costs to produce anything the higher the price of that thing must be. If the cost of living has in- year or so, as it is stated, and has gone up 30 per cent or more within the last 10 years. Why? Chiefly because labor has been made so much more costly, and difficult to secure. The forced demand for higher wages, and the cost of food, clothing. rents, and in short all the common necessities of life. Work and wages are in the na- ture of the case cause and effect. It is the law of life that we must earn what we have. The more we get for what we do, the more we shall have to pay for that which we want. This is the general rule, for the long run. If the farmer has to pay more wages for la Dor, the cost of his products being in- creased he must get larger market price for what he sells. And so it must be with the manufacturer, the landlord. and everybody else; and what better off is any one, after all?