Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-12-07
Washington, Dec. s.
The Omaha Bee Bureau.

factor in production, as the labor
is usually interpreted-workers are
human beings whose characteristics,
impulses, ambitions are exactly like
those of all other human beings"
Uncle Joe Cannon read this ex-
tract from recent speech by Sam
Tel Gompers to the Associated Ad-
vertising Clubs of the World at New
Orleans: read it again, puffed his
cigar and looked out of the window
then read it again with the follow
ing additional sentence: "Co-opera-
ton for production depends funda-
mentally upon good will. Good will
cannot be forced-it must be
earned"
Mr.. Gompers has stated the labor
problem correctly, and | wonder
why it is necessary for a man who
never worked i'll steel mill to call
a steel strike. or for Mr.. Gompers
to concern himself about the coal
strike more than any other worker
or consumer" soliloquized Mr.. Can
non.
LdDof Is Required.
Labor is the condition of the hui
man race and that condition was
imposed upon man i'll the beginning.
In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou eat bread till thou return to
the ground We can't get away
from it and we couldn't live if we
did get away from work and sweat.
II is the normal condition of living
and the census shows that we have
about 100000 people in this coun-
try engaged in gainful occupations.
That is two-fifths of the whole
population, and it shows that the
United States is a working mans
country and no monopoly on labor
is held by any one or several classes
OF the people. We all work, even
millions of women. and those who
do not work are the children who
are preparing their muscles and
brains, their physical and moral fl
Der, for the work which belongs
TO everyone, or those who have done
their task and are waiting to re-
turn to the ground.
OF course, workers are human
beings whose characteristics, i'm
pulses, ambitions are exactly like
those of all other human beings,
for we are all workers and all just
the same kind of human beings.
Desire Inspires Effort.
Il heard a missionary once tell
of his work among the savages of
Africa. He said the first step to-
ward civilization was to implant
in the mind want Or desire.
That desire would inspire effort and
the selfish hustle of the unit brought
civilization. | think he was right.
We all have our desires and we
are all willing and anxious to work
to realize our desires. But with
more than 100000 workers in
this country, why should we con-
found the definition of labor9 Why
should there be any classes in labor
in the mind of any one?
"But | like Mr. Gompers' other
expression more, that co operation
OF production depends fundamen-
tally upon goodwill that good
will cannot be forced-it must be
earned We abolished slave labor
half a century ago, and there is no
place in this country where man
or woman is commanded and COM
PEELED to work save by his or her
own necessities and desires, unless
a convict
Those little words individual ne
cessities and desires are the main
springs of all our endeavors, and
we cooperate to better realize our
wants: that cooperation cannot be
forced; it must be developed by
goodwill. and goodwill must be
earned. No man ever uttered bet
ter truism than this sober statement
of Samuel Gompers. 1t is another
application of the golden rule"
Another Misused Word
"But how about capital?"~"
Another misused word" COM
mented Uncle Joe.
Capital is the saving of labor.
Every man who works and saves a
dollar is a capitalist. He may have
his capital invested in hoe, a saw,
whole tool chest, horse or cow,
an automobile or a truck. suit of
Sunday clothes. a silk hat, fine
gown for his wife, or house or a
diamond ring.
When two men work side by side
and have the same earnings, and one
saves his extra dollar in the bank or
an old seek. and the other invests
his extra dollar in a new suit of
clothes, an automobile or a house,
thew arc capitalists alike.
The man who saves his dollar in
an old sock may lose it or the bank
in which he deposits it may fall, and
he ceases to be a capitalist, just as
does the other man who runs his
auto into a stone wall, or mortgages
his house and spends the proceeds
on drink.
Very General Commodity.
There is no royal road to the
rank of the capitalist. One meets
risk all along the way and tempta-
tons surround him all the time,
temptation to make his dollar null
tiply tenfold, or to have a good time
with it and wait for another dollar
for investment Some men have
more capital than others, and some
men have more fun than others and
prefer to have the fun than to have
the capital; and some take risks
more wisely than others, while some
fear to risk anything. like the serv-
ant who buried his talent But the
capital we have in this country
$3.50, 000,0 100000 Of wealth-was de-
veloped by cooperation and it is
pretty we'll spread out among the
people.
"The last industrial census cred
tied more than one half our wealth
to real property to land and i'm
provements, one-half of that on
farms. and the other half on the