The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-20
Which Side of the Fence
Are You On?

~ SUBSCRIBER" asks, Do you not admire the prin
- cipes Of Robert Owen 9TH to 1851
Answer. Robert Owen admirable char
acter that bird, a rich devotng energy wealth
thought the unfortunate Wherever the good Just
and generous go after DEATH you will find Robert Owen
he lived today of he would have another set Of
principles and plans.
The child of five plans it's life plan different from
that of the child of two And the Of twentyone has
plans different from either, and he is himself child al
though he does not think
ALI children in this stage of civilization and
plans amount to anything except for generation
haps two They will all fade disappear and give place to
other plans, our knowledge increases.
Subscriber concludes his letter with this question
(Which side of the fence you Capital or Labor
It is a question often asked The only intelligent
is "BOTH SIDES" Sometimes the wise man is on both
sides once when Capital and Labor get along they
should; Capital which is frozen labor representing self
denial and intelligence treating the human labor unit fairly
as fairly as it possible for human nature to doand
when Labor realizing conditions and limitations contributes
its fair share.
Sometimes you are on the side of Labor when Capital
often happens, is unjust grating dishonest and brutal
Sometimes you are the side Of Capital, when Labor
fooshly imagnes that the world be made better by
Sinking the task that other workers can be made happier
because their fellow workers cheat their
employers and the nation, by cutting production below the
! honest minimum.
Intelligence must be both with Capital AND with Labor
The Capital of today the Labor of yesterday.
James Couzens Mayor of Detroit with his fifty
Millions checking coal and laborousy saving
few dollars not many years ago.
Still he is hard worker giving his time and energy to
the city of Detroit fighting to give municipal ownership to
the citizens actually GIVING IT in the face of corpora
ton persistency and cunning
Such Couzens represents well both sides Of IT,
fence He is for JUSTICE to capital and labor and TO
public control of both.
All of odays capital labor of mind, of muscle,
both yesterday You may that of is the resu
of cunning chicanery and lawbreakng Possession of
tai perhaps may be due to criminal methods. The cap
itself comes from WORK. Only work produces wealth.
1t is true that not all labor today will be part of cap
tasm tomorrow. But the product of all labor will
tribute its share toward capital And the highest ability
labor will live possess and manage capital to greater
less extent
j. j. Hill, who died owning great railroads. was a aborei
Thomas A. Edison, working at telegraph key
laborer. Abraham Lincoln, who saved this country
day laborer farm. Vanderbilt with heavy muscles,
ing his from Staten Island to Manhattan an
and back, a laborer and hard worker.
What will come in the future we don't know Today
need Capital AND Labor Labor striving to get Capital
Capital striving to produce capital by intelligent
of Labor and investment of money.
The millennium may come race that ended first cann
baism and then slavery eventually rise high enough
despise money and the brutal pleasure of getting thar
is needed
But for long years to CAPITAL will be
LABOR will be necessary will work only when driven
by greed need And the wise is first side OF
the fence and then on the other.
Had "ubscrber asked ssTo which side do you lean by
preference" the would have been this:
To the side of the working man, of He is more
numerous his needs greater He has fewer friends
If you help Capital when it is in the right to get
little money you only help to build another factory
or make well-todo richer
When you help Labor and work for and with it, far
as you can when it is little in the wrong you
helping get better food and better clothes for children
you helping to take the load of and from the
backs of mothers.
The founder of Christianity said Render unto Caesar