Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-05-24
"CALLUSES."

An imported labor speaker, at a recent public
meeting, undertook to array the with zeal
luses" on his hands against the rest of the COM
munity. He meant cali" but we will use his
word. OF course, this a most brazen and con-
temptible appeal to class prejudice. A wiser local
labor leader took issue with this avowed breeder OF
envy and hatred
Pray tell us what virtue Cor lack of vrtue)
there is in "calluses' on the hands? A ditch
digger, capitalist who works in his flower
garden develops them. A matchmaker labor
business agent does not develop them. The dis
tinction between is not dependent on "caus-
es" or no "caluses" Such talk is pure buncombe
and only the thoughtless will fail to resent such
unjustifiable effort to arouse their prejudces,
letter carrier is a laboring man. If he has
"caluses' at ALL they on his feet Is he less a
aborer by of their location? The poor,
dragged-out, over-worked boolkeeper has his "cal-
uses" a fatigued brain. The of the "callus'
argument is transparency silly
Any laboring worthy the name, works
with his head The of his hands is purely in
cidental They necessary TOOLS just his
saw and trowel and wrench. An hour spent in
visuazing a blueprint, is as legitimate labor as is
saving the boards. Yet the former makes no
"calluses" and akin to the work of the man who
studies the plans for his business,
All productive labor is mental Again say
the handS are tools, just as IS a noe HANDS, I'M
directed by an intelligence, can do no useful
thing An idiot may have perfect hands and
muscles but economically they useless appen-
dages The dignity there is in physical labor is that
the body does the bidding of its master-the
mind.
Is it not true, then, that any distinction lies in
the manner in which the mind employees itself to
direct the body? To carry brick from "here" to
"there" is called manual labor. To carry them
"there" for intelligent is dignifed labor To
carry them there" only. to carry them back
here" again, is an insult to intelligence, and any
sef-respecting man, set the task of idly carrying
them back and forth, would quit the job in anger.
He would feel himself a fool
The makers of our constitution sat for weeks
doing nothing physical more strenuous than MAX
ing speeches pushing quill pens Yet they labor
ed noby and productivity for all mankind through
all future ages. Howe was producing" when he
thought through the way to make the sewing
Notwithstanding prodigously, for he multiplied
human productivity for all time to come.
How apparent a fraud all this effort is to
drive wedge between manual laborers" and
people of other occupations?
Where, then lies the line of demarcation be-
tween men? Is it in their empoyments or in their
mental attitudes? 1t surely is not difference be-
tween being capitalist and laborer for the
average capitalist labors long hours and the
surplus laid by for tomorrow's meals.
The distinction it would seem, is in the mental
attitude. Those who think in terms of property
rights" as superior to human rights" belong in
one class We have come to call them capitalists
with a capital c. Those who think in terms Of
thurman rights" superior to property rights"
belong in the other class. We call it Labor. This
believe, is the real distinction between men, in
their economic thinking and acting.
The banker who regards his business as q
great trust to be administered solely for the hap
piness and prosperity of the people of his
munity a whole, may be designated a
capitalist, but in his thinking and acting he is
a laborer His first regard is for human rights"
The laborer who thinks only of how much money
he wiring for himself out of his employer,
without regard to his employers rights or welfare,
is a capitalist in his thnking-using the words
have come to apply them. He is thinking of
dollars instead of thinking of human rights.
Unfortunately, there those engaged in
cumulatng money, who have become so obsessed
with that accumulation, that they think only in
terms of property rights" They ignore all human
rights in their endeavors But many so-called la
borers possess the identical mental trait Of getting
all they can, in any way they can, without regard
to other peoples welfare the effect on people
in general
Property was made for man, not man for prop
Private property rights have come into being be-
cause society has deemed such rights to be best for
human beings. But the future existence of such
rights is contingent upon their continuing to be
best for mankind Property rights must add to the
sum total human happiness-or must disappear.
The day of the sweat-shop is ending. Property
must not be acquired at the expense of human
rights. The day of the theorst who would abolish
property rights is about over also Society be-
rio IN ha
sential to human happiness. Man believes in home
of his very in which to rear his children as
instinctvely as a bird believes in nest of its
in which to its young.
We need to keep ourselves sane in order to be
able to think straight Over-emphasizng either the
bank-roll or the "calluses" dstorts perspec-
tive. Glass distinctions do not lie at the point
where the agitator would like, for his purposes, to
have believe. ..
The world know surcease from strife
unti we all come to think of human rights
paramount. with property rights made useful