Pueblo chieftain., 1921-12-18
Labor and Wealth

lne Pueblo our editorial IN this
mornings ISSUE December 4th is of compelling interest
and principally for the that it is actually msead
ing.
Instead of analyzing from beginning of first prn-
cpes the question you discuss you fall into just such
error Of concurrence in fallacies as you warn
others against.
Lincoln performed service to the world and the
ages when he issued his memorable con-
cerJng labor and capital and Henry George supple
mnnted the same philosophy with analysis supplying
phasis and reinforcement in language of selfevdent
truth
Lincoln said in message to Congress, in 1861, I
believe it was, that is assumed that labor is available
only in connection with capital that nobdy abors unless
somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of
it, induces him to labor This assumed it is next con-
sidered whether it is best that capital shall hire aborers
and thus induce them to work by their own consent or
bny them and drive them do it without their consent
Having proceeded far is naturally concluded that
all laborers either hired aborers what we call
slaves Now there is such relation between capital
and labor as here assumed. LABOR IS PRIOR TO AND
INDEPENDENT OF CAPITAL, CAPITAL is ONLY
THE FRUIT OF LABOR, AND NEVER COULD HAVE
EXISTED IF LABOR Had NOT FIRST EXISTED"
In another connection he said ''Inasmuch as most
good things produced by labor follows that all such
things ought to belong those whose produced
them But it has happened in all ages of the world that
some have labored and Others without labor have
Joyed large proportion of the fruits. THIS IS WRONG
AND SHOULD NOT CONTINUE To SECURE TO
EACH LABoRER THE WHOLE PRODUCT OF H1S
LABOR AS NEARLY AS POSSIBLE Is A WORTHY
OBJECT OF ANY GOOD GOVERNMENT"
Henry George in "Progress and Povertyv saws:
Let promise the inquiry which we are about to un
dertake by saying that the miscarriage of political
omy which think has now been abundanty shown can,
1t seems to be traced to the adoption Of an erron
eous standpoint. Living and making their observations
In state of society in which capitalist generally rents
l'nd and hires labor, and thus to be the under
taker or first mover in production the great cuyators
CT the science have been led to look upon capaI a II
prime factor in production land as its instrument and
labor as its agent tool This apparent upon every
page IN the form and of their reasoning in TIE
character OF their illustrations and in their choice
OF terms Everywhere capital the starting point the
capitalist the central figure So does this 60 that
ootn smith and Ricardo use the term natural wages
to express the minimum upon which laborers can live
whereas UNLESS INJUSTICE is NATURAL. ALL
THAT THE LABoRER PRODUCES SHOULD RATR
Err BE HELD AS HIS NATURAL WAGES This habit
of looking capital the employer of labor has led
p" 10 'ne ncory hat wages depend upon the relative
abundance Of capital and the theory that interest
varies inversey with wages while it has led awav from
truths that but for this habit would have been apparent
In short the misstep which, far as the great laws of
distribution are concerned, has led political economy into
the junges instead of upon the tops was taken
when Adam Smith, in his first book left the standpont
indicated in the sentence Thc produce of labor con-
stitutes the natural recompcnse wages of abor to
take that IN which capital considered as EMPLOYING la
Dor and paying But when consider the origin
and natural sequence of things this order is reversed
and capital instead of being last instead of being
the employer of labor IT Is, IN REALITY EMPLOYED
BY LABOR. THERE MUST BE LAND BEFORE LA
BoR CAN BE EXERTED AND LABOR MUST BE Ey
ERTED BEFORE CAPITAL CAN BE PRODUCED
CAPITAL is RESULT OF LABOR AND IS
USED BY LABOR TO ASSIST IT IN FAR
Their PRODUCTION. LABOR IS THE ACTIVE AND
INITIAL FORCE AND LABOR Is THEREFORE THE
EMPLOYER OF CAPITAL. LABOR CAN BE En-
ERTED ONLY UPON LAND, AND IT is FROM
LAND THAT THE MATTER WHICH 1T TRANS
MUTES INTO WEALTH MUST BE DRAWN LAND
THEREFORE,, is THE CONDITION PRECEDENT
THE FIELD AND MATERIAL OF LABOR THE
NATURAL ORDER Is LAND, LABOR, CAPITAL AND
INSTEAD OF STARTING FROM CAPITAL AS OUR
INITIAL POINT, WE SHOULD START FROM LAND
LABOR EXERTED UPON LAND CAN PRODUCE
WEALTH WITHOUT THE AID OF CAPITAL, AND
ntr