The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1917-08-09

with him and their representative has
$1,000 worth of labor to sell It In.
creases his chances. Again, by acting
together the thousand men speak with
SO powerful a voice that they can
secure safety devices for dangerous
tools, can secure shorter hours, bet.
ter conditions, light, ventilation, Tor
through mass and multitude they force
recognition from the occasional selfish
employer. By acting together at last
they have shortened the hours for the
woman worker and passed q law
against child labor. The cry Of the
children I'm the coal breakers Of Penn
sylvania. the cotton mills Of the south
and tho woolen mills of New England
Is very bitter, and the new child labor
bill represents a great advance. But.
insisting upon all these gains, the
worker has also lost much. Witness
the bright, eager, ambitious man and
beside him the careless. half drunken
workman. The former is keyed down
to the level OF the other man until the
heart and hope are cut out Of him.
Dangers Of tho Mediocre LeveI.
Edison secures his invention by toll
forty-eight hours, gathering momentum
until ut last he succeeds. II the young
lawyer, young physician. farmer, in
ventor, orator or author were limited
to eight hours, so Us to give work to
other doctors. inventors, writer's, this
country would be reduced to a level
OF mediocrity that would ruin social
progress. There are three errors, there
fore, that are fundamental First many
workmcn have been taught to hate
capital as little children hate the bogy-
man or the devil. Capital is that dread
full ogre, Mcphistopheles, that Is al.
ways maneuvcring, undermining and
destroying tho workman. You have
heard workingmcn pour forth bitter
dcnunciatlons of capital. But this Is
as II the workman should hate the
trade wind that fills the ships sails,
should hate the river that turns his
turbine wheel, should hate the steam
that pushes his locomotive, should hate
the electricity that multiplies his hand
and his foot.
What Capital Does.
Capital Is simply yesterdays labor
granaried. Forethought saves the har-
vest I'm many varieties OF glass jars, but
capital cans, preserves and hands for.
ward in 600 different forms the accu-
mulated harvests OF labor. Any man
who has Two lOaves OF bread and needs
but one, two coats and can wear but
one, two spades and can dig but with
Onc-that man Is capitalist. The
rich man OF today is the poor man of
yesterday, carrying his many days
work forward with him In the form of
capital. For the workingman to hate
capital, therefore, Is for him to hate the
natural forces that multiply his per-
sonality through tools and the human
forces incarnatcd in property-that
reaper that gives him bread, the loom
that gives him clothing, the car and
I ship that bring him comforts. tools,
| convenieuccs, from distant lands.
Alone, capital cannot fling bridge
, across tho river. Granted. But alone
an Indian, representing labor, cannot
fling steel cables across the river.
Both must unite In the great achieve
ment.
Tho Need Of Ability.
What this country needs Is a few
men Of ability to show the working
men how TO convert coal directly into
electricity without the Intervention Of
steam. Today we are wasting 80 per
cent OF our coal There Is doubtless
some poor boy living I'm the country
who has the latent ability to solve this
problem. When he solves 1t he will
save the people OF this country $780,
100000 a year, expressed In coal. II
he received $3.50, 100000 year and the
people received $3.50, 900 more as q
free gift, never having done anything
themselves, would 1t not be fair? In
gratitude Is like acid on a plow. This
republic is suffering grievOusly at the
hands OF aSitators, who nre going up
and down the land sowing tares amid
the wheat The rose never bates the
gardener. Tho purple clusters never
tear Off the bOugh and turn 1t into a
club against the husbandman digging
about the vine. We need as leaders
men with the spirit of Abraham Lin.
coin. Richard Golden and Benjamin
Franklin. The cause OF the working
man and labor IS the cause OF the re-
public. One OF the bitterest expert.
ences that poor boys who have finally
won out suffer Is the suspicion, envy
and Misrepresentation that work like
poison in the hearts OF their people.
We need to distinguish between the
true and false ideas OF equality and
work out some practical plan Of coop
Grafton that will solve the problems
now confronting our generation.