j'MOD
I. No. 8.
iCdjntai and wage Labor Opposed
LFsraat The Weekfy People. j
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#ren if we keep ourselves
within the relation of capital and
wage labor, we see that the inte
rests of capital and the interests
of wage labor are diametrically
opposed to eachoih°r.
A rapid growth of capital is sy
ponimous with a rapid growth of
profit?. Profits can grow rapidly
rnly when the price of labor
the relative wages-decreases
just as rapidly. Relative wages
may fall,although the real wages
rise simultaneously with the nom
inal wages, with the money va
lue of labor, provided only that
the real wage does not rise in the
fame proportion as the profit. If,
for instance, in good business
years wages rise five per cent,
profits rise thirty per cent, the
proportional, the relative wage
has not increased but decreased.
If therefore, the income of the
worker inerea es with the rapid
growth of capital, there is at the
same time a widening of the so
cial chasm that divides the work
er from the capitalist, an in*
crease in the power of capital ov
er labor, a greater dependence
ef labor upon capital.
•*- lo say that the worker has an
interest in the rapid growth of
capital” means only this; that
the more speedi y the worker
augments the wealth of the cap
italist, the larger will be the
crumbs which fall to him, the
greater will be the number of
workers that can be called into
existence, the more can the mass
of slaves dependent upon capital
be increased.
>
We have thus seen that even
the most favorable situation for
the Working crass, namely, the
most rapid growth of capjtpl,
however mnch it may improve
the material life of the worker,
dees not abolish the antagonism
between his interests and tire in
forests of the capitalist. Profits
and wages remain as before, in
inverse proportion.
W If capital grows rapidly, wages
may rise, but the profit of capital
lises disproportionately faster.
The material position of the wor
her has improved but at the cost
cf his social position. The social
i haem that separates him from
the capitalist has widened.,
| Finally, to say that “the most
favorable condition fpr wage la
bor is the fastest possible growth
j of productive capital, ” is the
same as to say; the quicker the
working-class multiplies and aug
ments the p <wer inimical to it—
the wealth of another which lord*
it over that class the more fav
orable will be the conditions un
der which it will be permitted to
toil anew at the multiplication of
bourgeois wealth, at the enlarge
ment of the power of capital, con
tent thus to forge for itself the
golden chains by which the bour
geoisie drags it in its train.
I urowtn oi productive capital
and rise of wages, are they
really so indissolubly united as
the bourgeois economists main
tain? We must not believe their
mere words. We dare not believe
them even when they claim that
the fatter capital is the more
will its slave bp pampered. The
| bourgeoisie is too much enlight
| cned and keeps its accounts much
too carefully, to share the pred
judices of the feudal lord, who
makes an ostentatious display of
the magnificence of his retinue.
The conditions of existence of the
bourgeoisie compel it to attend
carefully to its bookkeeping. We
must therefore examine more
closely into the following ques
tion; -
In what manner does tbe
growth of productive capital af
fect wages?
j If, as a whole, the productive
capital of bourgeois society
! grows, there takes place a more
many sided accumulation of la
bor. The individual capitals in
crease in number and ip magni
tude, The multiplitation of indi
vidual capitals increases the com-j
petition among capitalists. The;
increasing magnitude of individ-.
ual capitalists provides the means
for leading more powerful armies
of workers with more gigantic
instruments ot' war upon the in-!
dustrial battlefield.
( Continued ne: t week. )
About Potatoes.
A Dialogue that occurred in
t' e course of Wickersham’s thi ee
day speech on the Railroad Bill.
Mr. Smith. Will the gentleman
tell us what they raise?
■*"« Mr^ vicl<ersham. Weraisethe
finest potatoes in the world. We
raise barley and oats that car*
not be beaten in any climate.
Mr. Ferris. The gentleman said
a moment ago that they raise the
best pot itoes in the world.
Mr, V/ickersham. Yes* sir.
Mr. Ferris. I would like to ass
the gentleman if it is r.ot a fact
that the agricultural report from
the men in charge of the stations
does not show that it is almost
impossible to sell those kind of
potatoes at all cn the market in
Apiiybanks, because they are in
such a watery condition, and that
the price < f potatoes from the
states, are not even doable or tre-1
ble the price? i
Mr. Wiekersham. No; that is
not true,
Mr. Ferris. Does the gentleman
deny the reports from Alaska?
Mr. Wiekersham. 1 have not
seen such reports.
Mr, Ferris. The geptlemap !
knows the facts, no dohbt.
Mr. Wickersham I am not ra>s- j
ing potatoes.
My. Ferris. Does the genthr'
man say that potatoes raised in
Alaska are not watery and infe-T
ior in value to potatoes broui ht
in f-om the outside?
Mr. Wic ersham. The gentle
man says nothing of thu kind,
j^he gentleman says that when
the land is first prepared for
; croi s, and when potatoes are juct
put in the potatoes are not so
good as they are later, when the
ground has been tamed, just as
jt was in the ease of Illinois and
Indiana apd Ohio, where pota
toes were pot good until the
ground was first tamed.
Mr. Ferris, Then the gentle
man insists that the potatoes rai
sed in Alaska are as good now as
those brought in from the out
side.
Mr, Wickorsham. No; but they
arc just as good as those that
were raised in Indiana, Illinois
and Ohio for the same identical
reason. Those raised on ground
which has been cultivated two or
three years are just as good and
even better than any shipped
from the outside and sell for bet
ter prices.
Mr. Ferris. Is not the price of
potatoes from the States higher
than that of potatoes raised in
Alaska?
Mr. Wickersham. I will state
that the price of potatoes from
the States was higher a few
years ago.
The Socialists of Belgium have
established a special department
to push the work of moving pic
tures as a means to educate the
working class. In Holland the So
cialists have made a very success
ful use of tl e “movies” In Ber
lin a circulating library of films
has been established which has
prepared more than 70,000 feet
of films f r u^e in the schools.
The Bohemian Socialists hav«'
made great use of the “movies”
m their anti-war cam, aigns.
ESTER
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