The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1919-04-18
WORKINGMAN-CAPI-
TALIST-MIDDLE

This article is reprinted from the
current issue of The Outlook. 1t ex.
plains in simple language one of the
of the Bolsheviki. The Outlook's con.
clusion that the capitalist and middle.
men are getting the lions share of the
profits of the triple combination ex-
plains the reason for unrest in Amer
lea. The workingman is entitled at
least to an equal division of the re-
turns.)
If we may trust the reports of the
daily press, partly confirmed by the
testimony before the Senate Commit
tee, the Bolsheviki of Russia regard
the capitalists and the middlemen as
parasites who live off the labor of the
workingmen, taking the lions share
of the worlds wealth and contribut-
ing nothing. If we believe this to be
a fact, we should be compelled to
sympathize with the desire of the Boil
sheviki to abolish the capitalists and
the middlemen, however strongly we
might condemn their methods. Is it
the fact?
A shoemaker is engaged in making
and repairing shoes in a country vii
lage. What is necessary to enable
him to carry on his trade? First, he
must live. And he must be able to
support his wife and children and to
give his children an education which
will fit them for life as useful citizens
in free Republic. That is, he must
secure for himself the equivalent of
Giving wage" Second, he must own
or hire a shop and the tools necessary
for making and mending shoes, and he
must be able out of the proceeds of his
business to keep his shop and his shoes
in good repair. These are his capital,
and this capital is absolutely neces-
sary to enable him to carry on his
trade. Third, he must deliver the
shoes when they are made to his GUS
toner, or one of his children must de-
liver them, or he must depend on his
customer to call or send for them.
That is, he or his messenger or his
customers messenger must render the
service of a middleman.
When machinery was invented and
a shoe factory took the place of a
shoemaker's shop, these three func-
tions continued to be necessary. To
carry on the factory there must be
men to make the shoes-that is, work.
ingmen; there must be machinery with
which to make the shoes and build
ing in which that machinery is housed
that is, capital; and when the shoes
are made there must be some men to
convey the shoes to the customers
that is, middlemen. To every indus
try, whatever it is and however it is
carried on, these three functions are
indispensable: making the goods,
housing and keeping in order the
tools, and getting the goods when
made to the would-be purchaser.
These three functions may be per-
formed by the same person or by three
different persons. But they must all
three be performed or the work can
not go on. Three farmers live side by
side. All three gather their hay in
the summer, house and care for their
cows, and sell their milk. All three
are workingmen and must earn the
equivalent of a living wage or they
cannot permanently go on. But one
owns his farm and peddles his milk;
he is capitalist and middleman as
well as workman. Tn second owns
his farm and sends his milk to
creamery; he is a capitalist but hires
middleman to distribute his milk.