The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1910-12-01

t' 10 me attempt of one class to ,iv, =,
ana ana &c appropriate for It's ,,s., ~.
sreater part of the roduct 81 ,ba ot,o,.
The workers produce the necnss;,.,.
=, looaF. and the capitalists Uwn
.neni' In the days of slave prod,,c.
'ioh the, slave toiled and the m.ste,
tooN me product In feudaIttimsy ~,
seri tiued tho land and the fonda,
iori appropriated n share OF 'bIs ,r,,.
ouct. To-day the wage.worl1nrs nro.
dnce and the capitalist, TAXI ~
iioh snare of what they produce
"hhout the toll of the workers bc I.
mental or manual, the production or
wealth would be impossible M
mine would Yield its ore. nf, st.,.,,,
ooat or railroad would transport it:
no steel mill would turn it into fin.
'Shed product: no land wouid Weld
the food We consume; no forest woi,Id
yield the lumber for our. homes stIn.
man labor applied TO natural rcsour.
ces is the foundation on when so.
cfcty rests. 1t tproduces all the nec4s.
sitles and luxuries. Today the nat
urai resources OF the oartn arI IN,
machinery used in turning ihcs,. into
nnished products are owneu by tn.
capitallst class How t1iis ownership
was obtained does not concern us
mere Let it suffice to say, in the
words OF Karl Marx: Capital comes
dripping from head to foot, from ever =.
pore with blood and dirt" In order
TO use the natural resources OF tho
! earth and the machinery of produc.
'ion the worker must turn over to the
capitalist all they produce and re.
ceive for their services wages ca;I.,l
/ TO about one-seventh Of his prodt,ct
| And right here we have the basis o;
the class struggle. Statistics toll us
that the average wage worker in this
country produces $4,000 in wealth caci,
year anC that he receives S437 Please
remember that this is the average an.
plying to thirty million wage.worL.
ers. Part of the difference between
| what the workers produce and what
they receive is used up for raw mater.
| ial. Part for necessary supervision.
and part for deterioration of nIacnin-
cry, but even after deductins these
the share of the capitalist is more .han
| '''' ~ INC piOuuct ndJ Is the cap
itallst's profit. That is his profit on
the work of men. women and children
who toll in the mines, the mills, tho
factories and workshops, the stores
and offices of this country. The
workers bear the brunt of the work
OF productions. They toll long hours
sometimes to exhaustion, sometimes s
under conditions which sap their
health and strength They are The
victims Of the mine disasters which
snuff out the lives OF hundreds in :
moment: they suffer when the molten
I metal bursts from out of the oven at
4 one of our great steel mills: their
! bodies are torn and twisted in the
j! machinery of our factories. a half
million each year are killed ana In
jured in the industries of this nation
And in return they receive, the neces.
sites for mere existence. The cap
italist. although able to live in lux.
ury and spiendor. although nc need
not soil his hands with product -:
work. although he may enjoy ninscIs
in foreign travel, or spend his tine
} in F'loridL or California while his
waSe-slaves toll for him. is never salts
fled with his share of the product OF
the workers. In his struggle FOR
greater power and more wealth his