THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA THE COLLECTION OF NORTH CAROLINIANA ENDOWED BY JOHN SPRUNT HILL CLASS OF 1889 C630.6 A42L c.2 k > '^ v i j5a r 7 ^ k Vt 3$L h3 ^*bl "9^' - jj*\ s u3 J irjf V 1 ' ' _*£ D$j 'SjSjJ w^y r *^t- Srvgr L5*£ ^^ 3HC' jf^f -A. FOR USE ONLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION • *-. (>W- J c° TERENCE V. POWDERLY, SCRANTON. PA. GENERAL MASTER WORKMAN KNIGHTS OF LABOR. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/laborcapitalcontOOalle ~4&>=l€— I jvbor and Capital CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF The Various Organizations of Farmers, Planters, and Mechanics, for Mutual Improvement and Protection against Monopoly. BY THE PROMINENT AND WELL-KNOWN WRITER, E. J±. ^.I_,I_,3i33Sr: Author of "The Golden Gems of Life," "Bible Companion," "History of Civilization," "Scenes Abroad," etc. ASSISTED BY COL. L. L. POLK, Washington, D C. President National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. JOHN TRIMBLE, Washington, D C. Secretary National Grange, The Patrons of Husbandry. MORTIMER WHITEHEAD, Washington, D. O. Lecturer National Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. HERBERT MYRICK, Springfield, Mass. Secretary The Farmers' National League. COL HIRAM HAWKINS, Hawkinsville, Ala. Master Alabama State Grange. AUGUST POST, Moulton, Ia. Secretary National Farmers' Alliance. JOHN P. STELLE, Mt. Vernon, III. Secretary General Assembly, Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. H. M. SMITH, Cairo, Mich. Secretary Patrons of Industry. f i The R. D. Robinson Publishing Company, RALEIGH, N. C. 1891. w "3ftt" Ik COPYRIGHT BY S. C. FERGUSON, E. A. ALLEN, and W. H. FERGUSON. 1891. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link ; the real happiness of a republic is no more than the hap- piness of its most helpless and hopeless classes. As a nation then, there is no higher duty ahead of us than to lighten the load of anxiety and trouble which, in this smiling land of peace and plenty, weighs with such an oppressive force upon a large portion of our population. Only enthusiasts can imagine that any social system will bring unmixed happiness to those who inhabit the country in which it holds sway. Not until sin and selfishness are banished could such a condition be even approximately true ; but still, a vast amount of suffering can be alleviated, much of wrong can be righted, by suitable changes in our social system. The author has spent many years in studying the development of civilization in general. In the dis- charge of his duties in this connection he was com- pelled to make extensive research in the primitive history of mankind, and to study the gradual unfold- ing of social institutions. He believes that his exper- ience in that field of research is confirmed by all who have made similar study and research. Mankind 3 4 PREFACE. generally has advanced, with many a halt, on substan- tially parallel lines from plane to plane of culture. With almost the beautiful regularity of an expanding flower have the several departments of culture devel- oped, but it has extended over a flight of many centu- ries. Increased knowledge gave birth to new desires which were satisfied by new social developments. And so it will ever be, at least as long as humanity remains as it is to-day Only when there is nothing more for man to learn will progress cease. It follows from the foregoing that it is only a form of self-conceit that bids us believe that our present social institutions are the final product of development. All we can say is that when they came into existence they were an advance on what went before, they will in turn pass away when they fail to satisfy the wants of advancing civilization. There are not a few who think we are even now on the threshold of sweeping changes. They think that our laws in reference to property will have to be most radically changed, and many think the whole function of the state will be changed. Whether right or wrong there is certainly a vast amount of speculation on these topics. They are discussed in the press and on the platform. We desire to set forth briefly, yet with clearness, the story of man's industrial development. If we can only form a clear mental picture of various phases of industrial life in the past, to see how easily and natur- ally one stage of growth gradually supervened on the PREFACE. 5 life of the past, we can with confidence await the results of the future, however dark and lowering now the clouds in our industrial firmament they will be dissi- pated by the light of increasing knowledge making us acquainted with new social expedients. Changes of this nature, however, are but slow and gradual. In Part I. we have gone somewhat carefully into the history of man's industrial development. It is quite necessary to understand what has gone before if we would understand the present. Only as we see how naturally tribal society gave place to political so- ciety, can we understand how the village community and the gild gave place to the age of capital. Only as we see how previous systems passed out of exist- ence when they no longer met the wants of the times can we realize that our present industrial system is doomed unless it continues to satisfy the claims of ad- vancing culture. Having considered the history, tendency and present results of our industrial life, we turn to con- sider some of the steps taken by labor to counteract the increasing power of capital. In this part it requires an effort to keep from plunging into the consideration of mere theoretical questions. But as our work is simply an historical survey of Labor and Capital we are only to consider what has been done. The work thus far accomplished from the standpoint of labor has been simply preparatory. Labor is now organizing, disciplining and educating its recruits, picketing the D PREFACE. advanced position, throwing out its skirmish lines. The real conflict is yet in the future. We have tried to be especially full and accurate in describing the great farmer movement of the day. This movement is of great importance. Fortunately we have been able to secure the aid of prominent officials in each of the more prominent organizations. They have kindly prepared articles giving our readers exact information as to the history, plan of organization, methods of work, objects sought to be secured and present results of their respective organizations. Our especial thanks are due to each and every one of the gentlemen who so kindly responded to our request for information. We also wish to return thanks to Mr. A. W. Whelpley, Librarian of the Cincinnati Public Library, for granting especial facilities for investigating the historical and economical side of the question. Cincinnati, May i, 1891. TABLE OF CONTENTS. F>ART I. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. The present Century — The present system threatened — The nature of man — The development of man — The rewards of research — Dangers ahead — The state organism — Remedies proposed — Our special advantages — Such advantages rapidly passing away— The inevitable end — The present problem different from preceding problems — Inequality in advance now making — Degradation of poverty — Hope- lessness of labor — Reward of Agricultural labor — Hope for the future Page 17 CHAPTER II. PRIMITIVE UFE. Tendency of thought — Social institutions a growth — Probable order of development — Means of obtaining information as ,to past times — Late conclusions as to primitive times — How to proceed — The communal band — Primitive rights — Illustrations from Australia — Tri- bal society — Outlines of a tribe — Tribe ruled by custom — Internal government of a tribe — Ideas of property — Development of a tribal society — The Aryans — The Teutonic Aryans — The primitive Germans — Rise of agriculture — Territorial divisions of the German tribes — The common ownership of land — Development in England — Roman period — The Saxon conquest — How the Saxons settled in England — The English village described — How the common land was divided — How cultivated — Each village an isolated one — Slow changes in the village community — Growth of the kingly power — General conclusions... Page 38 CHAPTER II VII^ANAGE. Introduction of Feudalism — The Doomsday Survey — The con- dition of a Villan — His duties — His relations to the Lord — The Cotters — Slaves — Socmen — Free tenants — Officials of a Manor — Population of England in the nth Century — Commutation of Villan obligations — A new Legal Theory — Outbreak of the plague — Scarcity of laborers — Statute of Laborers — Combination — Tyler's Insurrection — Condition of England in the 15th Century — The Golden Age of Laborers — Inclosures — Sheep Husbandry — Bacon's Description of the Evil — Condition of England in the 16th Century — Decay of the Yeomanry — Conclusion Page 94 (7) 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. Increasing Importance of Trade — Towns in Ancient Greece — In Early Britain — How Towns were formed — From the Village Com- munity — Around Monasteries — From Danish Times — The Government of Towns — Rise of the Gild-Merchant — Powers of the Gild — How the towns gained a local government — The Gild and the Town Authorities — Town Life in the 12th Century — Foreign Trade — Foreign Gilds — The Medieval Fairs— The Stourbridge Fair— Rise of Craft-Gilds— Development of the Gilds — The Decay of the Gilds — Conclu- sion Page 121 CHAPTER V. CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. Progress of the 15th Century — A New Industrial Age — The New Spirit of Nationality — Social Changes — The Age of Capital — Definition of Capital — The New Power of Capital — Primitive Equality as regards Capital — Capital the Master — Economic Goods — Definition of Value — Use-Value — Exchange Value — On what Exchange Value Depends — Depends on Labor — Surplus Value Division of Surplus Value between Capital and Labor — Labor a Commodity — The Exchange Value of Labor — Conclusion Page 146 CHAPTER VI. AGRICULTURE. Present Condition of the United States — The Importance of Agriculture — The Welfare of the Farmers — What is Property — Increased Productiveness of Land — The Nature of the Farmers' Work — The Disadvantages of the Farmers' Work — The Exchange Value of his Products — His Work Compared with that of Manual Labor — Table of Results — Wages or Salary — Land and Population — Increase in Size of Farms — The Bonanza Farms — Small Farms cannot compete with large ones — Farmers' Lot not improved by Improved Machinery — The Standard of Comfort — Coming Changes in the Industrial System — Conclusion Page 176 CHAPTER VII. TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. Slow Growth of Social Institutions — Advantages of a Settled Life — Introduction of our Present System — In what Respect an Advance on the Preceding — The Evils of the Same — The Principles on which Capital must depend to make Profit — Necessity of getting Cheap Labor — Ricardo's Law Again — Wages affected by the Necessities of the TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9 Laborers — Labor a Perishable Commodity — Capitalist Production one- sided — The Situation Summed Up — Capitalist Production must be Judged by its Fruits — The Story of Spring Valley — Booming the Town — Dooming the Town — The Lock-out — The Results — Sufferings inflicted— The Warning to be drawn — Conclusion Page 207 CHAPTER VIII. INTENSITY OF I,ABOR. The Second Principle on which Capital Depends — The Length of the Working Day — Freedom of Labor — Capital Desires to make the Working Day Long — History of the Subject— Extracts from Karl Marx — Legislation in the United States on this Subject — Piecework — Evils of this System — The Sweating System — How the Poorer Classes are compelled to Live — Some of the Tenement Houses of New York — Workings of the Systemin our Large Cities — The Moral to bedrawn — Conclusion Page 234 CHAPTER IX. AGE OF MACHINERY. Introduction — Genesis of a machine — Definition of a machine — Advantages of machines — Present aspects of the case — Capital ren- dered more productive by machines — Exchange value affected by machinery — Prof. Rogers' opinion — Progress of the last century — The tendency of the age — Disadvantages of machinery — The displacement of labor by machines — Machines lower the standard of labor — Child labor — The value of labor — Conclusion Page 259 CHAPTER X. COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. Where we stand — The two stages of the present system — Age of competition — History of this stage — The doctrine of " Laissez-faire " — The defects of this doctrine — Modern Legislation and this doctrine — Freedom of competition — Individual self-love — Benefits of competi- tion — Incentive to exertions — The abuse of competition— Competition tends to lower the grade of work — Individuals powerless to effect a change — Capital benefited by competition — The age of combination — Growth of large factories — A struggle for existence — The " trust " — Growth of trusts — Benefits of the plan — Effects of the new system — The trust the logical outcome of competition —Conclusion Page 289 CHAPTER XL RESULTS. Test of preceding statements — The wealth of Great Britain — Table — Darkest England — Contrast with richest England — The work- ing of this system in the United States — Difference in our condition — Examples of great wealth — Table of results — Conclusion to be drawn — Congestion of wealth increasing — Great fortunes a menace to our IO TABLE OF CONTENTS. national prosperity — The general tendency of our present industrial system — Parallel between our present development and Villanage — Quotations from Danisthorpe — Words of warning — Hope for the future — Who are interested in this matter — The moral side of the question Page 318 PART II CHAPTER XII. LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. Changes in Public Opinion — Civilization can not be Stationary — Trade Unions — Results in Great Britain — Slow Progress at first — Combinatiou Laws — Early Difficulties — The Dorchester Case — What Trade Unions Are — Unions of Skilled Labor — Success of the Move- ment — Results of the Movement — Confederation of Trades — Trade Unions in this Country— The Ten Hours Agitation — History of the Movement in this Country — Legal Difficulties in this Country—Civil War in this Country — Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers — History of this Organization — Confederation of Labor Unions in this Country — The Knights of Labor — History of the Movement — Aims of Labor Movement — Conclusion Page 349 CHAPTER XIII. THE FARMERS' MOVEMENT. The Importance of the Movement — The Ricardian Law and Agriculture — The Necessity of Combination— The General Nature of the Various Farmers' Organizations — Plan of Work — Conclusion. Page 383 CHAPTER XIV. the national farmers' alliance. By August Post, National Secretary. What the Alliance is— The Objects of the Alliance— Results- Methods — Principle of Non-Partisanship — Declaration of Purposes Officers— Aims — Resolutions — Different Alliances — Preamble of the Iowa State Alliance — Objects of the same — Who may Join — Nature of all Alliance Bodies — How to Organize — The Peculiar Nature of the Farmers' Calling^-The Farmers' Needs— Present Results Page 391 CHAPTER XV. THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. By John B. Stelle, Secretary General Assembly. History of the Movement — Objects of the Association — Decla- ration of Purposes — Necessity of Organization — Preamble — Motto — General Assembly — State Assembly— County Assembly— The Subordi- nate Lodges — Requisite of Membership— Who can form a Lodge — Officers and their Duties — Present Condition of Agricultural Interests — The Memorial to Congress— Conclusion Page 409 table: of contents. n CHAPTER XVI. the grange. Reviewed by John Trimble, Secretary National Grange. The Oldest Farmer Organization — What Led to its Formation — Its Triumph — Declaration of Purposes — General Objects — Specific Objects— Business Relations — Education — Grange Non-Partisan — Out- side Co-operation — Preamble — Why the Grange does not Unite with other Agricultural Organizations — Wherein it Agrees with other Organ- izations — In What it Dissents — Conclusion Page 426 CHAPTER XVII. objects of the grange. By Mortimer Whitehead, Lecturer National Grange. The Grange Tested by Experience — The Broad Character of the Grange Organization — The Grange Means Education — Educates the Farmer in Business — In Co-operation — Shaping Public Opinion — Its Teachings Tend to Elevate — Quotations Showing its Tenden- cies ,Page445 CHAPTER XVIII. the farmers' eeague. By Herbert Myrick, Secretary National League. What the League is — It is a Political Party — Its Relations to other Bodies — Plan of Organization — Growth of the League — Work of the Local League — Objects of the League — How They Prepare to Work — Conclusion Page 456 CHAPTER XIX. PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. By W. H. Smith, Supreme Secretary. Not Confined to Agriculturists — Preamble — The Objects — Growth of the Order— The Working Machinery— Co-operative Features— Sys- tem of Arbitration— The Patent Laws— Scheme for Saving Money— Their Relations to other Organizations Page 469 CHAPTER XX. achievements of the grange in the south. By Coe. Hiram Hawkins, Master of the Alabama State Grange. Introduction— The Great Debt the South Owes the Grange- Political Condition of the South at the Close of the War— Carpet-Bag Rule Overthrown by the Grange— Specimen Laws— The Educative 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Influence of the Grange — Government of the Best Classes Rendered Possible by the Grange — The Victory — Grange Legislation — Improved Financial Condition Due to the Grange — Breaking up Monopolies — Conclusion Page 477 CHAPTER XXI. THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. Reviewed by Col. L. L. Polk, President of the National Alliance. Distinction Between the Two Alliances — Plan of Organization— The Constituents of the Alliance — The Movement in Texas — The Union of Louisiana — The Wheel in Arkansas — The Union at St. Louis — Who is Permitted to Enter — Objects — Sketch of its Constitution..-The Sub- Treasury Plan — Historical Precedents — Present Condition of the Movement....... ,. — Page 494 fist of Jlliistpatiorjs. PAGE. /. E. A. Allen. Authors Portrait. (Frontispiece.) 2. The Oppression of Labor in Olden Times, 3. The Farmers' Alliance Exchange, Dallas, Texas, 4. A Modern City — Paris, 5. Triumph of Capita/, .... 6. Hon. Jere Simpson, .... The "Alliance" Congressman from Kansas. 7» Laying the Atlantic Cable, 8. The Old Way, .... 9. The Beginning of the Age of Machinery, 10, Inventor of the Bessemer Process, . //. Baron Rothschild, • • • • 39 95 122 147 177 206 235 258 288 3/9 d3> 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 12. Terence V. Powderly, .... 848 General Master Workman, Knights of Labor. 13. August Post, 890 Secretary National Farmers' Alliance. 14. John P. Stelle, 408 Secretary Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. 15. John Trimble, 427 Secretary National Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. 16. Mortimer Whitehead, . . . . .444 Lecturer National Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. 17. Herbert Myrick, 457 Secretary The Farmers' League. !8. Hiram Hawkins, . . . „ „ 476 Master Alabama State Grange. 19. L L Polk . 495 President Farmers' National Alliance. PART I. Review of the Industrial Develop- ment of Man from Extremely Early Times to the Present Day. SHOWING HOW INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS SLOWLY ARISE, ENTER ON AN ERA OF PROSPERITY, AND THEN PASS AWAY, WITH A Special Consideration of the Ten- dency of the Present System. ds) LABOR AND CAPITAL. While Labor serves a master's board, And bows the knee in mad despair To gather crumbs mid want and care; — And Capital piles up its hoard. While Faltering Age slaves to be fed; While woman stitches life away; While babes are worked for sordid pay;— And Capital withholds their bread: While pearly drops, 'neath lash and foil, Conceal the wounds that men endure; While penury finds not a cure; — Like gall is sweat of honest toil. When each man tills his plot of soil, When Labor wins reward that's fair, — When Capital gives each his share, — Sweet then are beads of honest toil. OHIO UNIVERSITY, WllyUS BOUGHTON. Athens, May 2, 1891. (16) COPTER 1. Introduction. — The present Century — The present system threatened — The nature of man — The development of man — The rewards of research — Dangers ahead — The state organism — Reme- dies proposed — Our special advantages — Such advantages rapidly passing away — The inevitable end — The present problem different from preceding problems — Inequality in advance now making — ■ Degradation of poverty — Hopelessness of labor — Reward of Agri' A cultural labor — hope for the future. NO century of history has mankind made more rapid progress than in the one just closing. Every part of the world is now thrown open to com- merce ; the productions of one coun- try readily find their way into other lands by the system of exchange, which has been won- derfully improved and simplified. It is a common- place remark that steam has annihilated space, the new world itself being now but a few days distant from the old. Progress in this direction still contin- ues. The interior of Asia is being surveyed for com- mercial purposes, while the jungles of Africa will soon be utilized for their immense stores of valuable tim- ber. When we consider the field of practical and theoretical science, it is really a pleasure to review 2 17 18 LNTBODUCTION. recent conquests. Over the continents, under the ocean, that subtle, unknown force we call electricity carries our message, or enables us to talk familiarly with our friends many miles away. This is but one instance. Numerous illustrations, equally as striking, must occur to all. It is simply a waste of time and space to mention them. In all healthy states of society, wherever civiliza- tion is free of develop, advance in one direction is the forerunner of corresponding change in other direc- tions. Now there are many grounds for thinking that development has been, on the whole, one-sided during the nineteenth century. Pure and applied sciences have indeed been developed to a wonderful extent; commerce has been correspondingly active, and, in general, advance has been made in all the arts which minister to man's physical wants. But the reverse of this picture is that man's attention has been wholly taken up with the physical side of his life. His social life — that is to say, the social institutions under which he lives, ideas of government, the distribution of the wealth created by labor, not to speak of religious cult- ure — is still dominated by the learning of the past. As an experienced navigator, however, can detect the signs of land long before it is in sight, so can those who watch the present course of events, and compare them with history, detect the signs of approaching change which threaten to not only revolutionize every department of science, but seem about to invade the INTKODUCTIOX. 19 field of religion, and is especially portentous with change for our existing social institutions. As all know, in one direction at least the political sky is rapidly overcasting. Our whole industrial sys- tem is threatened, and there is a decided tendency to re-examine the theory of government, of private prop- erty, especially of property in land, and the distribu- tion of wealth created from year to year. Such a state of affairs certainly exists, and the danger ahead of our civilization is that if this investigation is not undertaken in an earnest, candid manner, and the truth or falsity of the new views that are finding ex- pression here and there be established, the impulsive mass of people may conclude they are right anyway, and proceed to carry them out by main force. In such a movement as that there is nothing but danger. No matter how desirable changes may be, time must be given them in which to take effect. Brute force is not the best way to make a flower unfold. A few moments' reflection will convince us of the necessity of making haste slowly in this matter. And hence the necessity of having a good general understanding of the whole question. We cannot do better than to begin with general principles, try and outline the gen- eral subject, so as to obtain a clear idea of the whole. There is united in man many contradictory ele- ments. Bound to the earth by the necessities of his be- ing, he has aspirations, hopes, at times faith even strong, enough to give him the assurance of a higher destiny. 20 INTRODUCTION. Civilization has resulted from attempts made to satisfy his wants, which happily increase quite as fast as the means of satisfying them are found. This is one great dividing line between man and other animals. The horse to-day has the same wants as the first horse that grazed on the primitive meadows of the prehis- toric world. The case is vastly different with man. Conscious of his superiority, he has risen in the scale in proportion as he has triumphed over natural diffi- culties and advanced in the domain of science. . Prog- ress in all these directions is but slow. The first steps are but few and feeble, with many a halt. In general his first advance was with animals. The herdsman precedes the farmer. Man clothes himself with the skins of various animals, later weaving their fleeces into garments. He uses them for food, and compels them to labor for him. But agriculture follows on apace. Nutritive grasses are cultivated which, under his fostering care, change their habits of growth, and develop into the various cereals upon which the civil- ized world so largely depends. Man never lived isolated and alone. Primitive man united in groups, from which slowly formed gentes, phratries and tribes. This advance corre- sponded to advance in other directions, and thus or- ganized society arose. Tribes united in a confederacy ; the confederacy in turn gave way to the modern state. Apart from greater security of life, most important consequences follow from the mere union of man with INTRODUCTION. 21 man in society. Mind acts on mind; one spurs on the other. He yearns to know the very secrets of nature, not only from the mere love of knowing, but he turns knowledge so obtained to advantage in a very practical way — makes it also minister to his wants. Thus arts and sciences arose. Such knowl- edge was at first mere childish, even foolish, explana- tions of the simple, every-day occurrence that man sees happening around him ; but observation is added to observation, fact wedded to fact, and so in time primitive theories grew into our modern ones. The rewards of such researches are many. What branch of life is it that has not been enriched by scientific research? So true is this that new inven- tions have served as dividing lines between various ages of culture. We talk of the age of bronze, of iron, of steam, and we are even now talking about the fast coming age of electricity. But nature guards her secrets well. One conquest gained simply brings forward other problems. Thus, the wiser we become, the more we see there is to learn. With advancing knowledge man becomes ambitious. No longer con- fining his attention to this revolving earth, he would explore the sidereal universe, weigh the fixed stars in his balance, analyze the nebulae of distant space. It is but natural that when we consider the mar velous progress man has made in the past, we should give free reins to fancy and dream of future con- quests. Having accomplished so much, we entertain 22 INTRODUCTION. no doubt as to further progress. We are in danger of forgetting that the way has been long and dreary ; that all progress has been the result of labor, and that what is true of the individual is true of mankind generally — life is a warfare, a struggle, that we rise only by meeting with and overcoming opposition. If, then, as we have stated, there are dangers ahead of our present civilization, we must not suppose that they will settle themselves. They must be confronted, the remedies considered ; necessary innovations must be made. The mere fact that there are dangers ahead is by no means alarming. The individual who has every want satisfied will probably not amount to much. The same is true of a nation or of society. When once it reaches a state where no change is desired or looked for, then it becomes stagnant. Changelessness is an attribute of death, not of life. The dangers bravely met, the necessary changes, if such there seem to be, once made, civilization will enter on a higher stage. Each stage of culture brings with it dangers peculiar to itself, even as it has its own wants and means of satisfying them. When ancient Greece changed from tribal society to political society, she found herself confronted with evils before unknown. Some centu- ries ago the principal nations of Europe, abandoning the feudal system of society, passed through the in- termediate stage of gild system and entered on the stage of industrial development, which it still pursues. INTRODUCTION. 23 This may be called, for lack of a better name, the capitalistic system, and has been distinguished in the past by fierce competition. As might have been fore- seen, along with whatever of excellence there is in this system, it is accompanied by great evils. These evils have rather increased as time has passed, and there are many who think a change must come soon. In all the principal nations of the earth, in America as well as Europe, there is a widespread feeling of discon- tent. Broadly speaking, the discontent is mostly con- fined to what are known as the laboring classes, as opposed to professional men and moneyed classes generally. This statement is of course broad and general. It is extremely difficult, in many cases, to trace the exact line of separation, but within the classes as here pointed out the discontent is general, widespread, and does not depend on local causes. The agriculturist, the factory operative or the simple laborer are in this respect united. It is not a question of nationality, since the American, English, French and German nations are equally involved. It does not depend on the mere form of government, or follow as a consequence of free trade or protection, since nations the most diverse in these matters find themselves con- fronted with the same problem ; their citizens are slowly dividing into two great classes ; the propertied class on the one side, the laboring class on the other, and the relations between them tend every day to be come more and more strained. 24 INTKODUCTION. All such influences as these have an effect far beyond what we at first allow them. Of late years we have learned that the state is an organism. As such it can no more be in a healthy condition when there is such a state of affairs between its class divisions, than an individual can be said to be healthy, when his digestive system is out of order. The whole body in the one case, no less than the whole state in the other, is speedily involved. To carry out the comparison we might refer to the fact, that without well defined reason we have regularly recurrent seasons of "hard times." The whole body politic is thrown into alternate fever and chill. Without a knowledge of the whole situa- tion, we are apt to apply merely local remedies. In our own country we see various bodies of laborers organizing to protect themselves from the tyranny of capital without any special regard paid to the state as a whole, or any organized effort to remove the cause of the trouble itself. However, at the present day, other ideas are rapidly coming to the front. We now see vast com- binations of laborers and wage workers taking place, who propose to do something more than merely com- bine for protection. Whether right or wrong, they are under the firm impression that many of the evils under which they labor can be removed by legislation. In our own country, political power is undoubtedly in their hands. They are American patriots and intelli- gent citizens, who feel they have wrongs to be righted. INTRODUCTION. 25 The only thing to be deprecated is ill-considered haste. Let us first understand the problem. The remedies proposed are offered without a careful study of all the facts bearing on the question. Lacking this study, they are apt to be local and tem- porary remedies only. " Give us free trade," exclaim one party, " and all will be well." It never seems to occur to them that England, the home of free trade, is also the land where the laboring classes generally groan under many difficulties. " Increase the tariff, build up our home markets, and protect our industries," is the remedy proposed by the protectionists. But not to mention our own country, there is Germany, enjoying all the advantages of a high protective tariff, and there the demands of labor have been very aggressive, caused as they were by the intolerable burdens under which it existed. "The remedy is very simple," explain still a third party. " It is quite evident that we are all suffering from a lack of money, therefore, set the government printing press at work and print a billion or so of dollars." Unfortunately the government cannot print houses, ships, corn and clothing which this money is supposed to buy, they are not rendered more common, and so the fortunate possessors of those desirable articles, would in all probability decline to exchange them for a few ornamental pieces of paper. This last remark, however, must not be taken to mean that 26 INTRODUCTION. government can do nothing in the matter of finances. Money, in our present industrial system, fills in com- merce an office quite similar to the blood in our bodies. On its circulation in proper quantity and quality de- pends the health of trade, no less than the health of the body depends on the proper circulation and gene- ral health of the blood. Let us dismiss the proposed remedies, for the time being, and take up the question at the beginning. Let us listen to the complaints made, learn the symp- toms of the case,*so to speak. Then take an historical view of the case, that is to say, inquire into our pa- tient's (society) past life. Whether he has had any trouble of this kind before, what was done in those cases, etc. Then we might hold a council, that is, examine the views of scholars and thinkers, who have expressed themselves. If we find them agreeing as to the remedy demanded, it is a strong probability that they are right and it would be prudent to follow their council. If, however, they are very far from agree- ment among themselves, then there is nothing for it but to come to our own conclusions. Before proceeding further, we ought to speak of the especial advantages enjoyed in our own country. We are as yet a young nation ; our population has by no means reached the limit which we can support ; land is still cheap ; and as a consequence wages ar i com- paratively much higher than in Europe. Our system of public education enables the children of even very poor INTRODUCTION. 27 people to secure a good education. The general tone of public life, as embodied in our literature has nour- ished the belief that poverty is no disgrace, however inconvenient it may be. Theoretically and to a large extent practically, we are all equal and we have as yet no aristocracy of birth ; indeed the majority of our leading men have arisen from the ranks of the people. As a result we instinctively feel that an individual has himself to blame, if he cannot procure at least the every-day comforts of life. All this and much more can be said in favor of our own country. It is, however, well known that this happy state of affairs is passing away. Population is [rapidly in- creasing, we are now a nation of nearly sixty-five million inhabitants. The public land is virtually ex- hausted. In fact, the United States has evidently reached a turning point in its history. The inevitable course of future events (i. e., under the present indus- trial system) must be an ever nearing approach to the state of affairs existing in Europe. It is useless to think that our form of government, our free institutions will make the result different in our case. Increase of population, which in all human probability will march steadily forward, must inevitably make compe- tition more and more intense. Be not deceived. In_ creasing population, increasing competition, increasing power of capital, will steadily tend here as it is tending the civilized world over to an inevitable end. That is to say, inevitable if we let things take their natural 28 INTRODUCTION. course. But far reaching modifications may be intro- duced into the present system of industry, by means of which these evils may be avoided, and in this direc- tion is to be found hopes for the future. What now is the inevitable end to which our present system is tending? It is the old, old story, " him that hath, to him shall be given," but "him that hath not from him shall be taken away even that he hath." Society is being transformed into two great divisions. The moneyed class and the moneyless class. Progress is accompanied by poverty. For one magnate, riding by in his private car, a hundred tramps are plodding along the highway, utterly discouraged, brutalized by hunger and want, they are ready to com- mit any crime. For one great dinner given by a suc- cessful manufacturer, tables in midwinter banked with choice flowers, costly wines, imported fruits, rare viands from distant countries, thousands of weary laborers plod homeward in the sleet, other thousands of inno- cent children, hungry and shivering, are crying for food. For one elegant mansion, whose rooms contain all that luxury can ask, all that wealth can buy; in- numerable tenement compartments, are the homes of discouraged fathers, weary mothers, children at present prattling innocents, but who in a few years will become a part of the great army of workers, though some of them, a sadly large part of them, will go to swell the ranks of the criminal and vicious classes. It is not enough to say that in all times we have INTRODUCTION. 29 had substantially this same class division ; that in all ages there have been the poor and the rich. It is not sufficient to dismiss the whole subject by quoting the old saying, "ye have the poor always with you," this is no command not to try and alleviate their lot. We have sickness in the world at all times, but this does not prevent us from trying to ward off epidemics. But on the other hand, one who thus triflingly disposes of this whole subject understands neither past history nor the present trend of events. In the first place, poverty such as we know it now, is a comparatively recent thing. The division into rich and poor classes in antiquity was something quite different from similar divisions of to-day. The poor man then might have been the slave or the serf of another. And he might have had many disagreeable duties to perform. Still he was in no great danger of suffering. In the one case his master had to provide for him, in the other case, he had a claim on the land of his master, and could thus support himself. Neither does such an individual understand the present trend of the problem. It is not simply that we have poverty in the world, it is not that we have the present distinction between rich and poor, but it is that this division is steadily growing wider and sharper. In Europe it is all but impossible for a poor man to do more than barely make enough to support himself and family, while such a thing as rising in the scale of life is out of the question. And this country 30 INTRODUCTION. will from this time on, as we have already pointed out, steadily approach such a state of affairs. It is all very well to point out how the great advance in the arts of living have redounded to the benefit of the poor as well as the rich. It is quite true that the poor man now is in possession of many comforts that the rich could not have procured with all his money, a century or so ago. The trouble is not that the laboring classes are not advancing at all, but that the other classes are ad- vancing so much faster, and thus the gulf is steadily widening. In the meanwhile what are the luxuries of one age become the necessities of another, Because people once lived without chimneys in their houses, it is no sign of extravagance if they persist in having them now. Mankind once got along by utilizing shel- tered nooks and caves for a place of habitation, but the hundreds of thousands of homeless men, women and children to be found in all countries, who have literally no shelter that they can call their own, and put up with worse make-shifts than primitive man did, do not find their lot any easier to bear by being informed how many comforts can now be furnished at a trifling cost which wealth itself could not procure at times past. Now every one who cares to investigate the sub- ject knows that there- is an appalling amount of abject misery in what Gen. Booth calls the submerged classes. He estimates that about one-tenth of the population of England is in that deplorable state. They are com- pletely sunk in the slough of despondency. They are LNTK0DUCTI0N. 31 destitute of everything which makes life enjoyable. In all our great cities in this country, no less than in Europe, a similar state of affairs exist. Of course many of these unfortunates, perhaps a majority of them, have only themselves to blame for their deplorable condition. They have given away to temptations, they have wasted their opportunities, they have not heeded friendly warning and thus have suffered ship- wreck. But their sufferings are none the less on that account. But other thousands, largely composed of women and children, are leading these miserable lives through no fault of theirs. There is another picture which must be drawn, it is indeed not painted in as dark colors, but it furnishes an extremely sad background for our advanced civili- zation. It is the increasing hopelessness of a life of labor. Now labor in itself is a blessing and not a curse. It is not that men and women have to work, and work hard for a living that is sad. But it is that labor becomes more and more, as time passes on, the whole of life, nstead of being as it should be, the means to an end. What Ricardo calls the necessary law, and which Lassalle calls the iron law of wages, must continue to he operative under our present sys- tem. Wages tend always to sink to a level which will only just afford a living to the laborer. We are not now concerned with a discussion of this law itself, we only want to point out its consequences. It comes simply to this. Human life, the most 32 INTRODUCTION. precious thing on earth, becomes one dreary round o hopeless work, and, strive as the laborer may, he can only hope to make his living. If wages rise much above that point, laborers from other sources flock in to enjoy the advantages of the good pay. This brings competition. The necessities of some compel them to work for less than others, and wages speedily fall to the level of other branches. Now, when you add to this fact the uncertainty of work, and of life itself, it becomes a serious question whether life from the laborer's standpoint is worth the living. He may have a family dependent on him. He loves his children quite as well as his rich employer loves his. He is perfectly willing to work long hours for them, even though he knows his utmost endeavors can only keep them in the barest comforts. But there is constantly before him a nameless dread. Some new labor-saving invention may render his services superfluous, and he finds himself discharged. This maybe brought about in many other ways. What a pitiful prospect ahead of him ! Yet how often is this the experience of all workmen. He may lose his life by disease or acci- dent, and then, Heaven help those who have been de- pendent on him. Now, every one knows that this is an exceedingly- moderate statement of the case. It may very well be that wages in this country have, as a whole, been above mere living wages, and yet they have not, as a rule, been above the American standard of comfort. INTRODUCTION. 33 The American wages have simply allowed the Amer- ican laborer to live a little better than the average European laborer lives. But how can we look for this result to continue ? We have already drawn millions of laborers from other parts of the world, other mill- ions of laborers will come in the future, and our own population is bound to increase. We can see no es- cape from the conclusion that wages will gravitate to a lower level as time passes on. And in the mean- while, the dread uncertainty always overhanging the laborer must become more intensified. Every year that passes it becomes harder and harder for a man once thrown out of employment to secure another po- sition. Surely this is a sufficiently sad state of affairs. It means that millions in one of the most highly civil- ized countries of the world, in spite of the many won- derful advances in science and art, are doomed after all to a life of unceasing anxiety and toil. So far we have spoken of the simple manual la- borers. As we have already stated, the condition of one class in society reacts on that of others. The body politic can not be healthy unless all its members are healthy. Responding most readily to this influ- ence we find the agricultural interest, though it suffers as well from evils peculiar to itself. Farmers and farm laborers do not suffer for lack of food or clothes, though not always of the best. Yet something very like the Ricardian law of wages is at work in the farmer's case, as well as the laborer. He works cer- 3 34 INTKODUCTION. tainly very hard from one year's end to the other. Yet is it not true that the rewards of his labor tend to a balance just about the point where they yield him a mere living? If he is not in debt for his farm, he may by hard work and thrifty management live com- fortably, and even lay by a store for old age or the proverbial rainy day. But if in debt, as so many are, and taking the country at large their number seems to be increasing, it is all but impossible to clear off the mortgage. Strive as he will, the value of the produce he has to sell, as in the case of all commodities, approaches nearer and nearer the cost of production — that is to say, to the labor exerted, for labor is at least the principal element in the cost, and this labor is of the same value, or brings the same price as labor gener- ally, and that is, as we have stated, just what will yield a living ; he has nothing left over to reduce his debt. In case he owns his farm, he has simply saved the interest on the value of his farm ; that is all. Making allowance for exceptional circumstances, such as a failure of crops in one locality and an abundant harvest in another, there seems to be no escape from these conclusions. Where is the error in the reason- ing? The market price of all freely produced com- modities, in the long run, depends on the cost of pro- duction. Labor is the principal element in the cost of production. And the cost of labor itself is simply a living. INTRODUCTION. 35 So then we find the farmers of this and other lands but one degree above the laborer. Theirs is a life of privation and toil, with but scanty returns. We do not see how we can look for any great improve- ment in the immediate future under the present in- dustrial system. We have said that the farmer who owned his land was in quite a different condition than one heavily in debt. If he has a farm valued at six thousand dollars, he has then that much capital. A laborer who has command of that amount of capital is very differently situated indeed from one having nothing. Land in the Eastern and Middle States has of late years declined in value, because by improved means of transportation it has been brought in con- nection with other land in the West. These conditions will in time adjust themselves, and land will then, as a whole, steadily rise. In time the holders of such land will cease to be farmers and become landlords if their farm be of any great size. Such landlords pass at once out of our calculation. We are only con- cerned with farmers who work their own land for a living, and tenant farmers. It seems to us quite evident that the trouble with our agriculturial interest is similar to that of the labor in general. We must some way or other raise the value of labor. We must some way overthrow the iron law of wages and introduce another principal in its stead. It really ought to require no argument to show this. Something is surely wrong, if with all the 36 INTRODUCTION. resources of science at our command, if with the won- derful improvements in labor-saving inventions, if with the rapid introduction of that new agent, electricity, which promises to effect a more wonderful revolution than did the introduction of steam, we can not con- trive some plan by which the appalling mass of abject misery in our large cities among the poorest classes can not be alleviated. Something is wrong, we repeat, in our civilization, if life to the majority of our fellow- men is to be simply one weary round of labor, un- lighted by hope, overhung by the darkness of a name- less fear that something may happen to deprive them .of their present pittance. We believe that something can be done. The difficulties are indeed many. But this is not the first time that civilization has had to rouse itself and intro- duce far-reaching changes. This will be brought out more clearly in a brief historical sketch which we will give in the following chapters. We do not suppose there is a royal road to happiness any more than there is to learning. There will never be an era when it will not be necessary for men to strive to enter in at the narrow gate. Labor will always be the price of success. Still much more can undoubtedly be done by society at large to help its members than has been done for the last few centuries. Political econ- omy has been made a fetish, and now it is necessary for us to break away from some of its notions. Let us get firmly in our mind this fact : that society is a INTRODUCTION. 37 living, growing organism ; that it has passed through different stages of growth in the past, and there is nothing to prevent it changing form in the future if it becomes apparent that the best interests of civiliza- tion demand such change. 38 PRIMITIVE LIFE. COPTER 11. PRIMITIVE LI FE. Tendency of thought — Social institutions a growth — Proba- ble ordor of development — Means of obtaining information as to past times — Late conclusions as to primitive times — How to procede — The communal band — Primitive rights — Illustrations from Aus- tralia — Tribal society — Outlines of a tribe — Tribe ruled by custom — Internal government of a tribe — Ideas of property — Development of tribal society — The Aryans — The Teutonic Aryans — The primi- tive Germans — Rise of agriculture — Territorial divisions of the German tribes — The common ownership of land — Development in England — Roman period — The Saxon conquest — How the Saxons settled in England — The English village described — How the com- mon land was divided — How cultivated — Each village an insolated one — Slow changes in the village community — Growth of the G^&$> j kingly power — General conclusions. IS natural for us to transfer to other people and other times our pres- ent knowlodge. Without stopping to reason about it, we conclude that the present social customs must al- ways have existed, or if at any time the ordinary usages were different, we assume that such usages must have been, in some way, unnatural. This ten- dency is but one side of that self-conceit so natural to man. Each people think that their country, their customs, their manners are superior to those of any H X w T3 13 33 PI w w M o 2 r > o 33 PRIMITIVE LIFE. 41 other country. This observation need not be confined to national affairs, for it shows itself in local matters, the people of one section often have quite an exasper- ating — if it were not so ridiculous — way of assuming that they are a little better than the people of other sections. More extended study and observation shows us the folly of such opinions. In no direction is this inclination more marked than in the innocent conceit of assuming that our present social institutions are necessarily better than any that have preceded them, or are more in accordance with nature. In short, that we have finally reached the end of progress in that particular field. The fact is that every one of our social institutions, our form of government, the family, the institution of private property, is a result. They are the present forms, assumed after passing through a long line of developments. Our modern family is perhaps the finest flower of civilization. It is truly worthy of all the poetic and beautifnl sentiments showered on it, but a great mistake is made when we suppose this par- ticular form was the primitive one. If it is one of the fairest flowers of civilization, it is also one of the latest. While this fact is known, at least to any one who cares to investigate the subject, yet such is the force of habit, that writers of acknowledged ability contin- ually talk and write as if there never was any other form of family known, or at least as if this was the only one that was "natural," whatever they may mean 42 - PRIMITIVE LIFE. by that statement. And we still notice such people when describing the growth of government talking about the family developing into the clan, the clan into the tribe, Now the reverse of that order of develop- ment, if not strictly true, is much more correct. When we talk about the evolution of government, we are on grounds more or less familiar to all. We all know that everywhere underlying our present form of terri- torial government, is ancient tribal society. When this country was discovered its only form of govern- ment was tribal. Ancient history tells us about the tribes of the various branches of Aryan people and other people of antiquity. Manifestly our territorial government grew out of tribal society, just as tribal society in turn, must have grown out of something else. It seems to us that it will be of great help to get this fact firmly in mind, and so we propose to devote this chapter to an outline history of the growth of govern- ment. In explaining to us the theories of astronomy, the scholars call our attention to various heavenly bodies, illustrating different stages of growth. There are Nebulae, showing different degrees of condensation. In our system there is Saturn with his rings, which probably illustrates an extremely interesting stage of planetary development. Jupiter, still faintly glowing with internal fires, is a picture of an early geological age of the earth. Our moon, which resembles nothing so much as a huge cinder, faithfully portrays the future PRIMITIVE LIFE. 43 of our planet. This method of teaching is the com- parative method. It has justly become, of late years, a favorite method with those who undertake to study into the history of the origin and development of cult- ure. It is true we have no people, to whom we can turn for ideas as to future civilization, but there are scattered over the earth people who have halted in various stages of growth. If we learn about them we can form quite correct ideas of past progress. We must admit that even the lowest of existing savages are considerably removed from primitive man, and consequently, unless we fall back on theory, it would seem to be hopeless to reconstruct the outlines of a vanished past. But man is not used to acknowledge defeat. If he cannot achieve his ends one way, he tries others. We can illustrate by referring to other branches, for instance to geology. With what patience have the many difficulties in the pursuit of this science been confronted? Most distant discoveries have been joined until we are enabled to read the story of the past as from the pages of an open book. In a some- what similar way we have gone at the problem of the past of man's life on the globe. Volumes have been written on the interesting results that have been brought to light. Our present inquiry is concerned in but one phase of this question. We will, however, refer to some of the conclusions reached as to the an- tiqnity of man, since this is more or less connected 44 PRIMITIVE LIFE. with the subject in hand. When it was believed that man had lived on the earth but a few thousand years, it was quite natural to assume that he had passed rapidly through the various stages of civilization ; and, in fact, it was held that man was civilized to start with. It was of course admitted that he did not have daily papers, electric motors or telephones, or the thousand and one conveniences of modern life, but for "all that he was supposed to be a most noble barbarian ; keeping flocks and herds, building cities, working various metals, and possessing an especially good knowledge of the requirements of religion. This pleasing picture of primitive culture was in a sense a necessary picture to form the only one, in fact, in keeping with the surroundings, as long as the recent origin of man was supposed to be the true theory. But of late years we have better means of information on this important subject. From innu- merable sources evidence accumulates that man's life on the earth extends over a vastly prolonged period of time. We can not give definite figures; all we can say is that a shadowy, unknown period of years con- fronts us, one extending far into the past, lost in the very night of time ; the six thousand years formerly allowed, in all probability being but an insignifi- cant fraction of the whole. Keeping pace with this changed idea of the antiquity of man has been formed a much more correct idea of his primitive state. We now know that he started emphatically at the begin- PRIMITIVE LIFE. 45 ning. The very language that he spoke had to be invented just as truly as the few rudely shaped flints he used to procure food or to defend himself from fierce animals had to to prepared for their purpose. It follows as a natural consequence that all social in- stitutions were invented and slowly changed as man's knowledge increased. By social institutions we mean, amongst other things, all forms of union of man with man in family life, for government purposes, as well as all ideas of property. We will add to these statements, though it is really scarcely necessary to do so at the present day, that they are no longer theory or open questions. They are as much a part of established science as the general statements of geology or astronomy. No well- educated persons now question them, though, owing to a kind of mental inertia, many well informed, and presumably honest men, still write and talk as if they had heard nothing about them. They probably go on the theory that the but half-educated portion of their hearers or readers would be utterly bewildered if they should speak out freely, while, on the other hand, those fully informed will understand that their words are not to be taken in their general sense after all. Since, as we have stated, even the lowest of ex- isting savages are considerably removed from the condition of primitive man, it is not sufficient for our purpose to merely acquaint ourselves with their pres- ent organization, or learn the general outlines of their 46 PRIMITIVE LIFE. culture. We must study the language, note the meaning of words, examine their customs, and see if we can not detect here and there survivals, extending over a wide range of territory, meaningless or absurd in themselves, yet referring us to a time when a state of society did exist in which these strange customs formed a useful and appropriate part. Primitive man, like his descendants to-day, did not adopt customs without having what he thought was some good rea- son. It may very well be that the reason was childish, even foolish, judging from our present enlightenment; but it was neither one nor the other to primitive man. To illustrate our meaning in this last statement, we will refer to an extremely widespread custom among but partially civilized people, namely, the avoidance of all social intercourse between relatives by marriage. Among our Indian tribes generally, it was considered extremely improper for a woman to speak to her son-in-law, or even to look at him. Among the rude tribes in Asia, we find substantially the same rule ; a married woman must never speak to her father-in-law. Among the Chinese, the father-in- law never sees his son's wife, if he can avoid it, after the wedding day. The aborigines of Australia have the same idea. It is a~ social calamity for a man to come in contact with his wife's mother. If absolutely necessary to hold some sort of communication, they turn their backs to each other and shout out the words at the top of their voice, the fiction being that they PRIMITIVE LIFE. 47 are a great distance apart. Now, seriously, there must be some reason for a custom such as this extend- ing over a wide extent of country. There must once have been a state of society which rendered such for- malities necessary. The task before the investigator is to explain the origin of this and similar customs, for this is only one illustration of the steps that must be taken by scientific men to form a clear idea of prim- itive society. They study these primitive customs, they analyze language, and thus, bit by bit, they are enabled to form a picture of primitive life and times. Briefly, then, as the result of a wonderful amount of painstaking observation, we can state that organ- ized society began by the formation of communal bands, which were simply intermarrying groups. We say organized society, for what lay back of that we have no means of knowing. This communal band, or cluster, or group, had rights and duties in common ; even individual marriage was unknown ; group mar- riage was the custom. We will make a great mistake, however, to assume that this was a condition of utter lawlessness. Custom was just as strong, and viola- tions of it were punished quite as promptly as under more advanced forms of society. Individuals of such a band " had no idea of property in land ; such a con- ception was still far in the future. Of personal prop- erty only the faintest conception existed. The articles composing their scanty wearing apparel, some simple weapons and tools, must have included all. One in- 48 PRIMITIVE LIFE. dividual could not become rich, another poor. All stood on the same level. Even game killed by a for- tunate hunter was not his exclusive property; custom compelled him to divide with the other members of his band." No communal bands have ever been discovered, yet we feel reasonably sure that we are not far out of the way in sketching their organization and delineat- ing a few of their customs. We are enabled to do this with some confidence, because so many lines of evidence seem to converge in that direction. Their previous existence is vouched for by circumstantial evidence, which is often the strongest kind of evi- dence. To illustrate from natural science, physicists and chemists theorize about atoms. No one ever saw an atom, and yet they reason about them, formulate laws in reference to them, and are not afraid to found their science on their existence. This is not the place to go into any extended observation to show that the communal band was the primitive form, the cell, of social organization. We must content ourselves with boldly stating the fact. It is necessary, however, to note well a few points. In these bands there were not only no such thing as personal rights, or personal property, beyond at least the few trifles we have indicated; but we think, on a more careful examination, we will miss a vast number of "natural rights" we hear so much about. The individual does not even have the natural PEIMITIVE LIFE. 49 right to his own labor. The fact is, personal privi- leges or rights were only won for the individual when civilization had made great advance ; they constitute a concession which a higher civilization still, or more pressing social wants may modify, or even recall alto- gether. These bands could have included but compara- tively few individuals. Advance consisted in the union of two or more bands in a tribe. The changed laws in reference to marriage would remain as evidence of such union. When we reach this stage of develop- ment, we are on the solid ground of observation. We actually find primitive Australian tribes, or rather they were to be found a few years ago, that consisted of four — rarely of eight — intermarrying groups. And we know almost to a certainty, from the evidence of language, that this custom must once have been ex- tremely wide-spread. Now, as this is probably the form of primitive society, the first form of which we have survivals, the form from which our present com- plex social system has developed, it may be of inter- est to briefly examine it. The customs of a South Australian tribe, when first discovered, furnishes the model. Every individ- ual in the tribe belonged to one of two divisions. If a male, he was either a Kumite or a Kroki ; if a fe- male, she was either a Kumitegor or a Krokigor. The classes were quite easily distinguished from each other by various marks. It was not a question of choice to 50 PKIMITIVE LIFE. which division a native belonged ; he or she was born into one or the other class, and there he remained. As stated, marriage was in the group. The group Kroki was husband of the group Kumitegor, and the other two groups were also intermarrying groups. In- dividuals of the two groups, even if perfect strangers to each other, were none the less theoretically hus- band and wife to each other. The children belonged to the same class as their mother. If she was a Ku- mitegor, the children were, if males, Kumite ; if fe- males, Kumitegor. Changing names, the same result would work out for the other two groups. With a few modifying statements, this is proba- bly a fair outline of primitive society generally. At any rate, it is in accordance with our present informa- tion. It is no hypothetical case, but an actual outline of tribal life in Australia. Traces of such a state of society have been found all over Polynesia, in India and in Africa. We do not say that this was the prim- itive form of society among the White, or even the Yellow races. But it seems to have been widely ex- tended among the Black races, and perhaps was al- ready passing away when the Yellow races appeared on the scene. Observe that nothing like the modern family was in existence, though exceptional cases might have occurred. There could have been no ideas of prop- erty, though the tribe considered a certain illy-defined section of country as their home, and were ready to PRIMITIVE LIFE. 51 defend it as such. The chief or king was simply a skillful warrior or hunter, with no definite authority. Yet this tribe had its customs, which must be obeyed- Should one man presume to marry a woman of his own class, death was the penalty. We have no means of knowing how long this was the prevailing form of society, but in all probability it extended over a very prolonged period. But the time finally came when a change was to be made, and this introduces us to tribal society. Tribal society is a very important stage of social evolution. It still exists over a large portion of the earth, though perhaps not in its normal form. Broadly speaking, it seems to have been introduced by the Yellow races. We have certain reasons for conclud- ing that the Yellow races did not commence their spread over the earth until long after the Black races had been in existence. We have no means of decid- ing when it was they commenced their march, pushing before them the Black races. As far as we can now decide, however, they had sent out great bands of mi- grating people from their home land in Northern Asia as early as 7000 or 8000 B. C. Now we are quite well aware that these state- ments sound strange to some. And we know they sound strange even to those well informed in ancient history. We want to remark that history, and espe- cially primitive history, has been wonderfully devel- oped of late years. A volume would be required to 4 52 PRIMITIVE LIFE. thoroughly elucidate this matter. We shall not at- tempt it here, but content ourselves with the simple remark that these results are not "guess work" nor theory, but are sober conclusions, which seem to be indicated by our present investigation, admitting that further research may overthrow them altogether. We must bear in mind that the prehistoric period of man's life on the earth, which vastly exceeds the historic pe- riod, has only recently became a field of research. But be the facts as they may, we know that tribal society everywhere underlies modern political society. In ancient history we read about the tribes- of the Greeks, the Romans, the Germans, the Persians, Medes and Hindoos. We now know that the nomes of ancient Egypt meant simply the tribes of that country. The Bible acquaints us fully with the tribes of the Israelites. Tribal society is, however, quite a complicated affair. It is by no means every wander- ing body of people that constitutes a tribe. It is very important for us to try and understand the outline of tribal organization, keeping the form from which it probably sprung firmly in mind. We can only under- stand the developments of social institutions by ac- quainting ourselves with these primitive forms. It is extremely hard to give in a limited space with any clearness, a description of tribal organization. Then a further difficulty is that we are compelled to use words and phrases not in general use and conse- quently more or less unfamiliar to the general reader, PEIMITIVE LIFE. 53 we must, however, make the attempt. We have seen that the union oi two or more communal bands gave us an Australian tribe consisting of two great class divisions, four intermarrying groups. As might be ex- pected, a tribe, when tribal society became fully organ- ized, still showed the model from which it sprang. As a rule wherever found the world over, the old class divisions, in a somewhat altered form, still existed. They formed the first division of the tribe. Different names were used by different people to designate these branches. The Greeks called them phratries, the Romans called them curies, the Teutons called them hundreds, the Hebrews called them bethaboth, meaning fathers-house. Amongst these diversities of names Mr. Morgan, who is the pioneer in the scientific inves- tigations of Ancient Society, selects the Greek word phratry to express this division generally. We would naturally expect the class division to weaken as time passed on, for they were simply survivals, and the tendency was for them to slowly disappear. The con- servative influence of religion kept them alive. Among our Indian tribes the classes were kept in existence mainly by certain survivals in ceremonial affairs, though in many tribes the old class law of marriage was still in force, a man must seek his wife in another phratry. Among the Greeks, the phratry was almost wholly concerned in religious matters. Among the various Teutonic tribes, the results were quite similar. Investigators have been struck with the fact without 54 PRIMITIVE LIFE. knowing why, that the hundreds "always had a ten- dency to decay." We can all understand how when the customs which originally gave rise to the classes, were gradu- ally abandoned, the class division itself would tend to fall in ruins. The simple fact was that the time had finally come when advancing culture was ready to throw off the class divisions, they had become broken up into separate smaller bodies. No one knows just what in- fluences brought about this result. We can easily conjure up some reasons which may have been suffi- cient. Suppose a large band of the Australian tribe we have alluded to, composed of Kumite men with a corresponding number of Krokigor women had wan- dered into a river valley to fish, and finding game very plentiful, the valley if not overflowing with milk and honey, abounding in fat kangaroos, had adopted it as their home. Now the children belong to the Kroki class, but though they are savages they are as self- conceited as humanity in general, and so they distin- guish themselves as the Kangaroo-Kroke and Kroki- gors ; on identically the same principle that we take pride in that we are natives of some one section of our beloved country, which to our fond conceit is a little better than any other section. But what had happened to this band, had happened to other bands as well, and so the full Australian tribe appear with each of its classes, divided into three great bands. Now we can not say that this is how they came PRIMITIVE LIFE, 55 to divide into these three bands, We only know that this division had some way or other taken place. We must understand further that a native could not migrate from one band to another at his pleasure. He was born into one of these bands and there he staid. It remains to be added that some way, the world over, this sub- division of the phratries had taken place. The names of these divisions of course varied in various parts of the world. The Hebrews called them families, the Romans called them gentes, etc. The word gens has been adopted by Mr. Morgan as the name of this division. We are now in condition to understand how a tribe was organized, It was a body of people, who considered themselves bound together by ties of blood ; they spoke a common language ; they were generally divided into two or more large divisions, called phra- tries, though this division tended to disappear, since it properly belonged to an earlier form of society ; finally each of the phratries was divided into smaller bands of people, called gentes. Now we want to glance at their ideas of government, of property, and of family life, and pay especial attention to the gens. Notice, however, that tribal society in its purity as here sketched is largely prehistoric. It was probably first developed by the Yellow races and was co-exten- sive with their spread. The Indian tribes of this country at the time of the discovery of America, fur- nish the nearest approach to this model. Causes 56 PRIMITIVE LIFE. were at work to disrupt the gens, and when the White appeared on the scene, they introduced still further elements of change. We have traced the gradual evolution of govern- ment as far as tribal society. It is seen to be some- thing quite different from what we have supposed it to be. We are still far from the appearance of any systematized body of laws, but let us repeat that law- lessness was not the rule. Law is simply a rule of action, and it is the same in quality whether it be written or unwritten. Primitive people are governed by primitive customs, which may seem to us in some cases grotesque. Yet primitive man acted up to the best light he had in all these matters. One observa- tion must here be made as to primitive ideas of rights and wrongs. The " noble savages " that some writers talk about, did not recognize any natural rights of others, unless they were connected with his particular tribe. A state of war was almost the normal state of affairs between tribes. It was considered a merito- rious thing to kill members of other tribes, to rob them of their goods, to enslave the helpless women and children. As time passed and tribes became by the growth of population too large to hold together as one tribe, other tribes swarmed off from the parent tribe. Such people recognized the bond uniting them, but still they considered themselves and their kindred tribes as the only people having any rights they were bound to respect. In their eyes all other people were PBIMITIVE LIFE. 57 barbarians, dogs, or gentiles ; to be driven from their homes, to be plundered of their property, or to be en slaved. We must constantly bear this in mind. Ab- stract ideas of right, of justice, to which man as man was entitled, were ideas of very slow growth. As for internal government, the tribe was a very democratic body. Kings and their divine rights had not yet appeared. Each band or gens, had as its. representative a chief. He was elected by the mem- bers of his gens. He looked after their general inter- ests and he presided at the council, where the affairs of the gens were discussed by the entire body of the people. At the head of the phratry also was an elected chief, whose duties were quite similar, and fi- nally there was the tribal chiei. All these offices were elective, that is to say, they depended on the good will of the people. They were assisted in their duties by the council. We of course understand that very few tribes conformed to this standard in all respects. Amongst the ruder tribes, the office of chief was an insignificant one and we do not mean there was any formal election, but that the office depended wholly on personal merit. We have seen that in the primitive Australian tribe the children belonged to the same class as the mother. A very simple reason can be given for this : maternity was sure, paternity was a matter of doubt. Now when the classes had became broken up into gentes, the old rule of marriage still applied in the first 58 PRIMITIVE LIFE. place, as witness the fact that among rude tribes the rule was that a man must choose his wife from another phratry. But as the phratries declined in importance, the force of the old rule also declined, and amongst most people the rule simply was that a man must choose his wife from some other gens. Group mar- riage also disappeared. The pairing family had taken its place. This form of family, which was the excep- tional form in the ruder state of society, was now the principal form. But this was not our modern family. These unions were but loosely formed and easily broken, for development had not proceeded far enough to allow the individual family to exist by itself. The gens was simply a congerie of easily formed, as easily dissolving couples. But in this custom we see the en- tering wedge, which was destined to break up the gens itself. Agreeable to the old rule of descent the children belonged to the gens of the mother. A chief's son for instance could not succeed him in office, because he was a member of a different gens. With the excep- tions of restrictions in marriage rights, the weak form of the pairing family, the gens was quite a good rep- resentative of the communal band, the members of a gens regarded each other as brothers and sisters, and indeed such they were. But now notice how the child- ren of these children would become separated. The children of the females would continue in the gens, and would regard each other as brothers and sisters, PRIMITIVE LIFE. 59 but they would not consider themselves related to the children of the males. To express that in ordinary language, suppose a family of four children, two boys and two girls. When these children grew up and had children of their own, such children would be in reality cousins to each other. But in the gens, the children of the girls would belong to the gens, would regard each other as brothers and sisters, but would not re- gard themselves as even related to their cousins the children of the boys. Long, long after the reason for such a rule had disappeared, such ideas of relationship still survived to puzzle the investigator, until, as a result^ of deeper research, the reason lies before us perfectly plain. It is seen to be simply a survival of prehistoric customs. Ideas of property were of slow growth. The only change we need here notice is that the gens has be- come the property owning group. A person could not become richer than his fellow members of the gens for property was in common in the gens. Theoretic- ally when a member died the few and simple articles of personal property he possessed reverted to the common property of the gens. Practically, however, they were divided among his nearest blood relatives in the gens. But notice a man's children could not inherit from him, because they were of a different gens. Let us pause to make a general observation. Any one who sets out to study the development of culture will be struck with the part that property, 60 PRIMITIVE LIFE. wealth, has played. Think for a moment of the num- berless inventions that have had their origin in the patient investigations of those who were searching for some material good. The most important discov- eries were made by men who endured privations, toil and fatigue for the sake of a substantial reward that they saw before them. We do not mean to say that this is the only spring of action, but certainly it is one of the most effective. It has played an important part in past time as well. The course of civilization brings more and more to the front individuals and in- dividual rights. Primitive man knew only of rights and duties of groups. Man's desire of property, the wish to have the sole use and control of what he calls his own, with power of disposing of it as he sees fit, was one of the most active agents in breaking in upon the customs of the gens. It is certainly clear that as soon " as articles of personal property became of value a man would nat- urally desire that after his death his flocks, his weap- ons, and in general his property, should go to his son. But to enable him to do this, the old rule of descent had to be broken down. Instead of the children be- longing to the gens of the mother, they came to belong to the gens of the father. And thus, long be- fore civilization dawned amongst the majority of ad- vanced tribes, descent had come to be in the male line. But a vast host of customs, or rather relics of customs, survived to show that anciently the rule was different. PRIMITIVE LIFE. 61 Probably we have said all that is necessary on tribal society* This was surely a most interesting stage of social development. Now, whatever doubts there may be entertained as to what we have said as to the origin of tribal society itself, there need be no question as to the main fact that this form of govern- ment everywhere preceded our present forms of gov- ernment. There need be no question either as to the substantial accuracy of the general outline of tribal rights and duties as we have sketched them ; for there are many rude tribes still in existence where these rules are still in force, and many quaint customs which can only be explained on the supposition that they are survivals of ancient customs. Let the reader notice there is no such thing as property in land ; only faint beginnings of personal property, and no favored classes, no rich or poor — all were on an equality. We are now compelled to make other broad, gen- eral statements, without giving detailed proof of the same. To do so would require far more space than we can here devote to the subject. We, however, in- sist that the statements are in the main supported by the very best scholarship of the day. Tribal society was probably fully organized, and had spread itself very largely over the earth, before either of the three great divisions of the White race became differentiated or separated out of the general mass of the Yellow races. These three divisions are the Hamites or An- cient Egyptians, the Semites, represented by the Is- 62 PRIMITIVE LIFE. raelites, the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, etc., and the Aryans or Europeans, though also represented by the Hindoos, the Persians and some other people in Asia. There is probably no doubt that the White race, in- cluding these three divisions, was the last to make its appearance on the earth. We must not, however, suppose that there was any clear line of divisions be- tween them and the more advanced representatives of the Yellow people. As the child grows into manhood, so did the great divisions of the White race make their appear- ance in history. Neither was there a common home- land of these people, where they dwelt together in peace and harmony. They appeared at different places on the earth, at different periods of time, and came in contact only after many centuries of separate existence. It was the various branches of the White race which carried tribal society to its greatest devel- opment, and who abandoned it for political society, and among whom civilization made its first home* A most interesting vista is here disclosed to view, but we must resolutely pass it by. Egypt, with its ponderous temples, its sphynx-lined avenues, its mass- ive pyramids, which still up-rear their towering forms along the Nile; this land of historical romance, where the glimmering light of seventy centuries past still lingers, must be passed by in silence. The same is true of Ancient Chaldea, the plains of Shinar, the land of religious myth, where exact historical dates go PRIMITIVE LIFE. 63 back for thousands of years before the Hebrews de- parted from Ur of Chaldea, where even at that far away time we are conscious that before us lies a pro- longed period of shadowy years — all this must be passed by. We have space only for the Aryans, and indeed only a portion of them will be treated with any fullness. The Aryans is a name used to denote all the principal inhabitants of Europe, and their descend- ants, consequently the inhabitants of both North and South America, excepting the Aborigines, and it also includes some of the principal people of Asia, as the Hindoos, Persians and numerous tribes in Afghanis- tan and neighboring sections. Our scholars class the people altogether, because of a family resemblance in the languages they speak. Take for instance the English and the German languages. They are built, we may say, on the same general plan, and besides have quite a stock of words in common. They, in fact, belong to the same group of languages. Now, in this case, we know from history that the ancestors of the English people were Germanic tribes from Europe. Scholars would come to this same conclu- sion, even if all historical light failed them, by a sim- ple comparison of the languages themselves. It is by means of such study that we are now satisfied that the various people mentioned above are, collectively, rightly classed as Aryans. There must have been once a primitive form of speech from which these va- 64 PRIMITIVE LIFE. rious languages have descended, or at least been greatly influenced by contact with the primitive lan- guage. It was formerly quite the custom to speak of Asia as the home-land of the Aryans. As this question is not at all necessary for our present purpose, we shall not dwell on it, further than to remark that the whole tendency of present investigation is to locate that primitive home in Europe rather than Asia. We en- tertain little doubt that this is the coming theory. In fact; we are to regard the Aryans as originating in Europe, a result brought about by some centuries of intermingling of various people, much as there is being evolved in America to-day an American type of peo- ple, a process which may yet require hundreds of years to bring to its full fruition. It follows that the Aryans must have started with fully developed tribal society. The evidence of lan- guage alone is sufficient to show that they never, as Aryans, passed through such a stage of development as is represented by the class divisions of the Austra- lians. We can say more than this. The pairing fam- ily of which we have spoken was at the time the Ary- ans appeared solidified into the Monagamian family, the immediate predecessor of the modern family, though it was in the form known as the joint-family, of which we shall soon speak. We will assume, for the present, that the primitive home of the Aryans was in the neighborhood of the Baltic Sea. At an PRIMITIVE LIFE. 65 extremely early date migrating bands of Aryans sal- lied out from thence in search of new homes. They moved into Italy and Greece, and crossed into Asia Minor. These southern-wandering Aryans speedily came in contact with the older civilization of Western Asia, and they rapidly embraced the same. We will not speak with any degree of minuteness of these peo- ple, though it is necessary to describe the joint-family. We have seen that the ancient classes, or phra- tries, broke up into smaller bodies, the gentes. As the pairing family increased in importance, and espe- cially as property increased, and the old rule of de- scent was changed, and the children were born into the gens of the father, instead of the mother, the ten- dency was for the gens itself to pass away into what may be called, for convenience, the joint-family. As the gens was the class in miniature, so the joint-family was the gens in miniature. It was simply a huge fam- ily, in which all the members were descendants from a common ancestor. At its head was the house-father or family chief. The property of the family was held in common. The house-chief, by and with the assist- ance of the family council, managed its property, and represented it in council of the gens. All branches of the Aryan people developed some form of the joint- family. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans the house-chief appears as if clothed with despotic power; in reality, however, his powers were held in check by the family council. 66 PRIMITIVE LIFE. Let us confine our attention solely to the German or Teutonic branch of the Aryans. It was late in time before the light of history fell on these people. Long centuries after Greece and Rome had caught the sun-light from the east, and were luxuriating in philosophy, science and art, the Germanic tribes were slowly advancing through the several stages of bar- barism- When the expanding arms of Rome met the advancing hosts of the Germans, the trained and dis- ciplined warriors of the Mistress of the World were appalled at the savage vigor of the barbarians. Caesar and Tacitus wrote accounts of the customs of the Germans. However, at the time they wrote their own people had so long left behind them tribal customs that they did not fairly understand or describe the customs they saw. They made somewhat the same mistake that the early explorers in this country did who described the customs of the Indians. How- ever, we have no great trouble in understanding their accounts. That portion of the Teutonic people with whom they came in contact was in a state of migra- tion ; the pressure of population was compelling them to seek new homes. It may very well be that the vast body of the people themselves, in the deeper wilds of Germany, far beyond the ken of the Roman histo- rians, were already advanced to the settled agricultural stage of tribal existence. The rise of agriculture marks a most important step in the development of society. We can see, from PRIMITIVE LIFE. (J7 the nature of things, that people would not commence cultivation of the ground until considerable advance had been made in other directions. In most cases they were in possession of flocks and herds before they turned their attention to agriculture. There could have been, however, no fixed rule ; circumstances certainly altered cases. In our own country there were no animals capable of being domesticated except the* Llamas and Alpaccas of Peru. Yet our northern Indians, at least the more advanced tribes, were mak- ing progress in the cultivation of Indian corn. Had the Whites not arrived on the scene, they would prob- ably have advanced to the stage of civilization, and one of the most powerful agents in this direction 'wonld have been the increasing knowledge of agri- culture. Large tracts in Asia are well fitted for pastoral life. There the people remain until this day, largely in that stage of development. But Egypt must have been an agricultural land from an extremely early date. In Europe, as far back as the Neolithic age, we know that the inhabitants practiced agriculture,' raised wheat, barley and millet, also several varieties of fruit, such as apples and pears. But he was a herdsman as well. He kept herds of oxen, sheep, goats and hogs. We have little doubt, therefore, that at the time when the Roman historians came in con- tact with migrating bands of Germanic tribes the great body of them were already in the agricultural stage of tribal life. K 68 PRIMITIVE LIFE. We have called attention to the influence of per- sonal property in hastening on civilization. This had certainly a great influence in breaking down the an- cient rule of descent changing from the mother's to the father's gens. This permitted the formation of joint-families, and the consequent dissolving of the gens. But whatever influence in this direction we may ascribe to the institution of personal property, it was but feeble compared to the idea of property in land which originated as soon as agricultural knowledge was fully developed. The very foundation of tribal society was undermined. Let us see how this result came about. The savage lives by the chase. It requires no long calculation to show that relatively a vast amount* of territory is required to keep him supplied with game. In the purely pastoral stage, with flocks and herds, he makes a more abundant living, with greater ease, on a much smaller extent of land. When agri- culture is reached, settled habitations are a necessity ; further land becomes valuable, for from a limited area abundant supplies can be drawn. Now the territory of a tribe becomes definite. Its ownership is valuable. It is marked off by metes and bounds. No sooner is this done than the land itself becomes the basis of kinship. Government previously rested on personal relations ; it now rests on land as a basis. We can illustrate these remarks by reference to the customs of the early Teutonic tribes, as they have been gath- ered by historians. PRIMITIVE LIFE. 69 The territory of the tribe was called various names, but the word Gau is perhaps the most com- mon one, though the word Pagus is also common. Each tribe was independent in its own territory, and in its own affairs. At the head of each tribe was the tribal chief, called generally the Ealderman. In times of war, as leader of the forces, he was the Heretoga, which in a later form is the familiar Herzog. One title by which the tribal chief was known was the Gaugraf, from which our word count has descended, "Each tribe," says Mr. Freeman, "was a distinct commonwealth ; its union with other tribes was tem- porarary, or at the most federal; each had its own chief, its own Ealderman or Heretoga, whose rule in ordinary times did not extend beyond his own tribe, though in times of danger a common Heretoga — the germ of the future King — might be chosen to lead the common forces of all the tribes which acknowl- edged any common tie." The first subdivivision of the gau, or tribal terri- tory, was the hundreds, but this division, like the phratries from which it preceded, was of but little im- portance. We can still detect its presence in early Teutonic institutions ; we know the title of its chief, the Hundreds-ealdor, and many curious survivals of its ancient court have been collected by Mr. Goome. Prof. Stubbs has pointed out how at a very early time it had begun to decay, consequently about all we can find of this division in early English history, or early 70 PRIMITIVE LIFE. German history either, are survivals. We have set forth what seems to us the reason for such a state of affairs. Finally we have the gens, under various names, such as the Mark, the Gemeinde, or the Commune. This is the property owning body. The territory which it held was sometimes of great extent. Some of the modern states of Europe have grown out of old marks as Australia, Bavaria, and Brandenberg. The gens chief or mark-graf has since became the marquis. We must notice there was not private property in land. The gens owned its territory or mark in com- mon. The boundary of this mark was indicated by stones, stakes or trees, planted with great ceremony. In ancient times the inhabitants of the mark assembled once or twice a year and visited the boundaries, if any had been overthrown they were restored. In latter times this became a religious ceremony. A proces- sion went round the fields, which were blessed by the priest ; altars were erected near the boundary stones, and mass was said. To this day, in Bavaria, children are taken to the boundary marks and there given a whipping so as to impress the surroundings on their memory. A survival of this strange custom in England is changed so as to be more acceptable to the juvenile participants. Instead of being flogged themselves, they take switches and belabor the boundary marks. Every family in the ancient gens was entitled to its proportionate share in the land. According to an PRIMITIVE LIFE. 71 cient German ideas, and in fact according to the ideas of all primitive people, the right to occupy a portion of the public land was an essential part of his liberty. This statement has a familiar sound to those who are acquainted with the writings of recent economists. A large portion of the territory of the mark was not de- voted to tillage. It was the common land, the ager publicum of Rome, the foe-land of England. This was given over to pasturage for the flocks. At first only a portion was tilled each year, and then a series of years went by before it was again tilled. But circum- stances certainly varied, the territory of some gens could have contained only a small portion of arable land, and this of necessity must have been given at once to tillage. In all cases increasing population must sooner or later have brought about such a result. The method of division was quite simple. Each portion of the land devoted to tillage was divided into as many portions as there were joint-families. The chief only obtaining a larger portion. The peculiar method of division will be explained later. These por- tions were at first drawn by lots. Our word lot mean- ing a portion of ground comes from this practice. The right to have an equal portion with the rest seemed so natural that an express mention of it was made in ancient laws. In process of time when the arable land was all in use, a method of cultivation sprang up in all Ger- man countries, and was of very general use. It is 72 PRIMITIVE LIFE. known as the Flurzwang, or compulsory rotation. The land was divided into three portions, and each household had its respective strips in each portion. One portion each year lay fallow ; one was sown with rye, and one with oats. When the crops were taken off of one portion, it was thrown into the common pas- ture field. One can see that the strips in each field had to be tilled at the same time, devoted to the same crops, and abandoned to pasturage at the same time, hence the name flurzwang. To this day this custom is in use in Russia, and was, until recently, the rule in certain portions of Germany. Now a word as to the wide extension of these customs in regard to land. No people develop in quite the same way ; and yet primitive man, wherever found, reasoned in about the same way, and developed his social institutions on substantially the same lines. We have but lately discovered that the more civilized tribes of ancient Mexico were in the first stage of this agri- cultural development. The gens was a property hold- ing body claiming at least possessory rights to a certain tract of land, further that this was divided by council of the gens for individual cultivation. And yet there was no such thing as private property in land. The tribes of Java were found by the Dutch conquer- ors to have customs almost identical with those we have sketched. Similarly in Africa, New Zealand and ancient Peru. The village-communities in India, and the Russian mir are also excellent examples still in PRIMITIVE LIFE. 73 existence, though English law in India has played sad havoc with native customs. As to early Europe gen- erally, there is no longer any question as to the general accuracy of our sketch. Examples thus widely scat- tered, amongst the most diverse people, attest the fact that development everywhere must have proceeded on the same general lines. Before passing to England and studying the de- velopment there, let us pause to see where we have arrived in this research. We have traced the growth of society from the communal band to the developed tribal society, resting on agriculture as a basis ; we have seen the gradual rise of the modern family ; we have seen that group rights and wrongs are in the process of giving place to individual rights and wrongs ; we have glanced at the slow rise of property, and also noticed the influence which this idea has exerted on tribal customs ; we have seen that even in its incipient form it is a powerful agent in advancing civilization. At the stage we have now reached there is indeed the idea of property in land. It is public property and every family in the gens has a right to an equal por- tion of the public land. There are no privileged classes, equality is the rule. " Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Only by slow degree does the once elected chief become the hereditary noble. Only gradually does he arrogate to himself the rights of his gens to the land, and only by slow stages does the communal right give place to private right. 74 PRIMITIVE LIFE. We are now in condition to more fully consider the development in England. We choose that coun- try for reasons apparent to all. Not only is it our mother country, from which we took our laws and so- cial institutions, but it is the most advanced country to-day in industrial development. Every school boy is acquainted with the main outlines of its history. When ambitious Caesar saw across the straits of Do- ver the chalky cliffs of Britain, it was already a well' settled country, inhabited by numerous Celtic tribes. From remote antiquity it had been celebrated for its supplies of tin, to obtain which Phoenician vessels had anchored in its harbors many centuries earlier. The inhabitants were by no means naked bar- barians. They had flocks and herds and practiced agriculture. They were living under advanced tribal society. We know almost nothing, however, about their customs, though they must have been like those of the neighboring tribes in Gaul. A few brief years of semi-conquest by Caesar, then nearly a century of undisturbed quiet, and then England proper became a province of Rome, at that time in the very zenith of her power. Roman civilization followed fast the Ro- man sword. Cities, such as London, York and Ches- ter, were built. They were guarded by massive walls, and joined together by magnificent roads ; commerce sprang up, and agriculture was so flourishing that grain was exported in great quantities. There is no disputing the flourishing state of Roman civilization PRIMITIVE LIFE. 75 in Britain during the second and third centuries of our era. But there is no need of dwelling on this picture ; the three centuries and a half that Britain remained a province of Rome, though a long period of time, when ended, left scarcely a trace behind. This is a very singular statement to make. We scarcely see how it can be, and yet this flourishing season of early English history, like an " unsubstan- tial pageant faded," was almost completely annihilated by the inflow of less civilized tribes when the protect- ing legions of Rome were withdrawn. Yet Roman Britain died a lingering death. More than a century and a quarter of years intervened between the first landing of the barbarian tribes in Kent and the battle of Deoram, A. D. 577, that rendered the English in- vaders masters of Britain. This conquest is repre- sented as being very complete. Says Green : " Not a Britain remained as subject or slave on English ground. Sullenly, inch by inch, the beaten men drew back from the land which their conquerors had won." Now, on this particular point there is not much that need detain us. We will remark, however, that historians are not all agreed that the conquest was so complete as here pointed out. We are interested in this question only in so far as it bears on the peculiar feature of early English social customs in regard to land. Mr. Seebohm, among economical writers, and Mr. Kemble think that Roman customs in regard to land exercised a great influence on the invading tribes. 76 PRIMITIVE LIFE. But Green, Freeman and Cunningham as strongly contend for the view here set forth. Without going into detail, it is at any rate clear that causes were at work among Germanic people that might carry them forward to the same stage of development as found in England. Until shown to be in error by more decis- ive facts than have yet been presented, we may regard English civilization as a native development of Teu- tonic culture without being greatly modified by the Roman customs it overthrew. The German tribe or gau reappears in the English shire, the hundreds have the same name, and the gens is the early English village community. For more than eight hundred years, or until near the close of the fourteenth century, England was a purely agricultural country. We must recall that when the German tribes invaded England they were already in the agricultural stage of development. So the conquered lands of England were divided among the gentes of the invad- ing tribes. We must not suppose that there was an invariable, rigid rule of procedure or any nice propor- tions maintained in division. Remember that more than one hundred and twenty-five years elapsed from the landing of the first German tribes to the final bat- tle at Deoram. Now, the stages of conquest must have been about as follows : Fresh colonies of Teu- tonic invaders would arrive on the scene from time to time ; or the pressure of population in the districts al- ready conquered and settled compels new bands to PRIMITIVE LIFE. 77 start from thence and find new homes. Now such bands would as naturally organize themselves in gentes as settlers would nowadays proceed to lay off their districts into townships. They may make the raid or conquest of some fertile section under the leadership of some famous old Ealdorman. The conquest achieved, the bands, if not already organized in gentes, naturally fall apart in such groups. They choose their chiefs, and are as- signed, or choose, some section of the conquered ter- ritory as their own particular mark, or gemeinde, and, settling down, form a village community. But this "settling down" means a good deal more than it does among us to-day, for the gens itself is the land-hold- ing body ; to be a member of that gens was to have a right to a share in the annual allotments. This right would of course be lost by abandoning the village^ but further no new rights could be acquired by joining another gens. Such rights as these could not be ob- tained save by birth. Late in the sixth century of our era, then, Eng- land proper was settled by people living in tribal so- ciety, but in the advanced agricultural stage, in which the gens is the village community, owning its own land, all the members of the gens having equal rights in the division of the land. We have no reasonable doubt of the general truth of the outline we have sketched, though unfortunately we have no records of life and times written by men then living. But amongst 78 PRIMITIVE LIFE. all Aryan people we find the clearest traces of just such a social institution as here pointed out ; and fur- ther we know that when, some centuries later, the darkness hanging over social life in England begins to disappear, we find just such communities, modified as we would expect them to be in the lapse of time. We have a fairly clear idea of the greater historical move- ments on the surface. We know that the various tribes gradually coalesced into seven small kingdoms, from which finally developed the English nation, in 627, with Egbert as the first king. What we are con- lcerned with, however, is the development of its socia life and not its political history. We must turn our attention more particularly now to the village communities. This is the social unit, to understand which is to understand the social life of the times. Such communities varied in size and in population. The territory they held consisted of two portions, waste land and arable land. By waste land, however, we are not to understand land incapa- ble of cultivation, but timber land, pasture land, or even land in every way suitable for tillage, but which was not employed for that purpose. The arable land was that portion set apart for cultivation, generally under the three field system or flurzwang we men- tioned above. A portion of their land depending on natural causes was set apart as the permanent meadow land of the community. If a community owned a number of thousand acres suitable for cultivation, but PRIMITIVE LIFE. 79 only needed to cultivate one thousand acres, we can see that they could, if they desired, after cultivating a tract for a few years, select some other body of land for cultivation, and let the old portion lie fallow. Such a method was called extensive tillage. But practically the best portion of land was permanently devoted to tillage, and the rest was included in the common waste and used for pasturage. Ample waste was a sign of village prosperity. The forests afforded plentiful supplies of fuel, as well as feeding ground for the herds of swine which the village swine-herd guarded. Oxen and sheep thrived on the common pasturage. If population increased, other portions could be devoted to tillage. We must not not picture to ourselves any very scientific cultivation. The cere- als raised were but few — wheat, rye and oats; there were no root crops raised. Of animals, they kept hogs, cattle and sheep. England was famous for its wool, which was largely exported. Though they had horses, still oxen were used for plowing. Now let us glance to the village. There was a village street, along each side of which were the houses of the cultivators. The houses were but rude affairs. The living room in a house was the hall, with a fire in the center, the smoke escaping through the roof as best it could. Around the hall were chambers. The rough board set up on trestles formed the table where the family gathered to eat in the hall. When the board was cleared away, the house-father and his 80 PEIMITIVE LIFE. friends, with their drinking horns in hand, seated them- selves on benches ranged around the room, while the gleeman sang his songs, or the harp was passed around from hand to hand. Finally the hall was the common sleeping room, where the men slept on bun- dles of straw strewn on the floor. Around each house there was a little inclosure or yard, enough to furnish a garden, to raise a little flax and to keep such stock as calves, for instance, requiring especial care. An individual possessing one of these homesteads, and having a right to his share of the common, might be designated in various ways. As distinguished from the chiefs, he was a ceorl, or freeman. He was the " weaponed man," who bore spear and sword; so he was said to be schild-burtig ; born to the shild. He was said to be "free-necked-tnan'' — that is, did not lay his neck to a lord, and as a sign of his freedom he let his hair grow long and float about his neck. In full recognition of the fact that theoretically they were all of the same gens, consequently blood relatives, they were called geneats or geburs, the co-born. In later Norman times they were collectively known as the vil- lagers, or villani. In parts of England, as being at the head of a family, they were known simply as hus bands. To describe such a collection of houses they did not have our word village. The native word was Tun, meaning properly an inclosed space. But to distinguish one from another the name of the gens was prefixed. Thus the village of the Harlings be- PRIMITIVE LIFE. 81 came Harlingtun. The tun properly meant an inclos- ure, and this brings to mind the great fact that in the first stage the village was surrounded by a mound, tipped with a stockade or quick-set hedge, as well as defended by a ditch. Another word for the village was heim, the home. In this way the home of the Billings became Billingham. Within the inclosed tun were ranged, as we have stated, the houses of the vil- lagers. Somewhere near the center of the village was the tree or mound where the tun-moot, or village coun- cil, was held. In proximity to the village were the cultivated fields, and surrounding all was the common waste. It is further of interest to know how the common land was divided for the purpose of cultivation. We will suppose a group of say forty-eight real or sup- posed kinsmen, organized as a gens, had come into the possessions of a tract of land, consisting of say, five thousand acres. We are not to suppose there was any nice proportion between the size of the tract and the number of people in the band. One of thirty people might have owned a larger tract. This tract was denned by metes and bounds, which were jeal- ously gaurded. In examining their tract they found near the center of it a fertile section suitable for culti- vation, embracing we will say nearly fifteen hundred acres. After making their settlement this arable tract would be divided into three fields or portions, and from henceforth, two of these fields would be 82 PRIMITIVE LIFE. under cultivation each year, while the third one lay fallow. This statement must be taken with the under- standing that in the earlier stages, or when the com- munal tract was very large, the whole field of cultiva- tion might shift about. After cultivating one tract for a lew years they might select another portion to di- vide into the three fields and begin anew. But now how was each household's rights to these three fields ascertained? The modern way would be to give each family a tract of about ten acres in each field. That, however, was not the primitive way. That would be too much like private ownership of which they had no idea. But the wants and enlight- enment of the times gave them a method of procedure. The plow by which the fields were tilled was an ex- tremely cumbersome thing. As a rule, which became the general custom, it was drawn by eight oxen, four teams or oxgangs, as they were called in some parts. Extracts from ancient laws from widely different sources, show that this was the normal plow-team. Now each gebur was expected to own at least two oxen, or do some service to make up for the lack of oxen. He might be the priest, or village smith, or plowman. But the land that this team of four oxgangs plowed, or four families cultivated, was known as a hide of land. This was a very general expression of measure, though other words were used such as plow land, which later word in Norman times was translated into Latin as carucate. PRIMITIVE LIFE. 83 When the time came to plow, the teams. were driven to the fields, and hitched four abreast to the plows. Now the village foreman lays out the days work for each team. This amount of course varied in different localities, according to the soil. In Germany such strips, the plowing of one day, were called u mor- gens," in Wales they were called cyvars or co-plowings. In England they were called ackers or simply plowed strips from which our own acre has come. Each team was expected to plow an acre a day. The method of marking it off was as follows ; The foreman cut a rod, this was in ancient Wales, equal in length to the long yoke used in plowing. Probably some such simple unit as this was the base of measurement in all primi- tive customs, however, in process of time, this rod came generally to have a length of sixteen and a half feet. The width of each strip of the day's plowing was four falls of the rod, the length was ten times the width or forty rods, this was called a furrow-long. In passing we might call the readers attention to the fact that here is the old table : Forty rods make one furlong still, as also four roods make one acre. These strips containing each a day's stint in plow- ing did not join each other, a little strip of land two or three feet wide was left unplowed between each strip. In the case we are supposing there would be say twelve full teams, at the end of the day's work twelve of these acre strips would be plowed, ranging side by side. The next day there would be twelve 6 84 PRIMITIVE LIFE. • more acre strips plowed, but the strips might not be parallel to those of the first day's work, they might be at right angles to them. It would take forty days for them to plow the common field of about four hundred and eighty acres. We have seen that four households united their teams for plowing. There were various rules for apportioning the acre strips plowed by each team among the four families furnishing the team. For instance, the first acre plowed might go to the plowman, the second to the driver, the third to the owner of he outside sward ox, etc. In this particular case we are giving the exact rules in force in ancient Wales, but customs varied. All we need say is that some well known rule was in force. But notice in this case, if the plowman had set aside for him one acre strip he plowed one day, it would be some days before he would plow another strip falling to his portion. Whatever the rule of division was we know the very general custom was to give to each gebur ten strips in each field. So at the end of the plowing, the plow- man would have ten acre-strips scattered around in various portions of the common field. The same would be true of the land of each gebur who joined with him for work. It follows that each hide of land was made up of scattered acre-strips. Each gebur had ten of these acre-strips in each field. And as there were three fields, his portion would be thirty acres. But notice, we are not dealing with private ownership. He had PRIMITIYE LIFE. 85 simply a right to work a portion of the common field. Various names for this land were used. As referring to the oxen who plowed it, it was in some sections known as two-oxen land or two bovates ; or, as we have seen it was measured out by rods, or as they called them gyrds, a general name for it was a gyrdland, which later was known as a yard-land, or in Norman times a virgate. It is perhaps needless to add that each village was an isolated one. The very life of modern times is its inter-connection. One section depends on another. During the first thousand years of our era the case was totally different. Each community lived an inde- pendent life. There was no buying or selling between its members. The women of the households wove the coarse woolen and linen cloth. The men tanned their own leather. The village blacksmith kept in repair the irons for the plow, and in payment for his services his virgate was worked by the other villagers. The same was true of the village carpenter and pound- keeper. Lower in the scale we find ancient laws pro- viding that each gebur should furnish six loaves of bread for the support of the village swine-herd. In those days there were comparatively few public high- ways, and they were wretchedly kept. Yet the repair of high-ways was esteemed such a meritorious thing, that the clergy sometimes remitted temporal penalties for sins on condition that the penitents should perform such a service. 86 PRIMITIVE LIFE. In the matter of trade, there was very little done. Some articles such as salt had to be procured from one or two sources. The great article of export was wool. Traders visited the fairs held at various parts and ex- changed the wares from abroad for the wool. Although they had coined money, yet a very small supply was needed ; since most of the trading was conducted by means of barter. The traders or chap-men going from village to village were exposed to great dangers, for they were strangers, and strangers had no rights. It is interesting to notice some of the early laws in this connection. At the present day if we detect an un- known man stealthily coming into our houses at night, we are justified in shooting him. One of the laws of King Ihne, about 700 A. D., ordains that "If a far- coming man journey through a wood out of the high- way, and neither shout nor blow his horn, he is to be held as a thief, and either slain or redeemed." These chap-men were required to do their trading before wit- nesses so that they might prove their innocence when accused of theft. Alfred, in order to prevent crime, orders that the chap-men should put on record at the folk-moot, (shire or tribal court), what men he intend- ed to take with him, and to declare it when he had need of more. It is evident that trade was not very flourishing. Properly speaking, capital did not as yet exist. In a few short lines we can dismiss the political life of the primitive times. We must not think we are PRIMITIVE LIFE. 87 dealing with simple peasant farmers. The early Sax- ons were fierce warriors and pirates as well as agri- culturalists. Of some tribes we know that while a part of their number staid at home and cultivated the ground for all, the other portion were doing duty as warriors. Each tun or heim sent its quota to the war force of the tribe. In times of war a special war-chief, the Heretoga was chosen. We have thus far been sketching what might be called the normal village community. A more serious task is now before us, to show how inequalities arose, to show how land became private property, how the old village communities gave place to the manor, with its land-holding lord, how the great mass of people, dispossessed of their land and ancient privileges, be- came simply wage earners, how capital commenced to play its important role, and how the glory and misery of the present industrial system became possible. An extensive subject of inquiry, truly, but we shall be as concise as possible. In the primitive German communities, there was perfect equality. But before the invasion of Britain, there had been formed a class of nobility. The Ath- ling or earl as distinguished from the Ceorl. He was the chief of primitive times. In the first instance, he was elected. On his death, his son might or might not be elected in his place. Other things being equal he would have the preference. In course of time, he came to look upon this as his right. Acquiescence in 88 PRIMITIVE LIFE. this claim on the part of the people generally gave rise in process of time to hereditary chiefs. The mischief was done. The rights of the Athling would increase from this time on, just as those of the mass of the people would decrease. It is somewhat interesting to observe that Caesar noticed in his day that while the office of civil chief passed by inheritance, yet when it come to choosing the war chief, the people still elected him. The reason is plain. The son might be abun- dantly able to fill his father's place as civil chief, the official head of the people. He might not, however, be a good warrior. But another cause still was at work, depending on the development of civilization. In savage tribes the warriors are accustomed to form in bands under the guidance of some successful warrior. This same principal was at work among the Germanic people. Ambitious leaders would gather around them, bands of people conquer a new home, form a new settlement, the successful leader becoming the Athling. Then again, we know as a matter of history, that the Saxon tribes in England early united in seven kingdoms. That is to say, the tribes united themselves in seven groups for a conquest or protection, the common war- chief becoming the king. He also gathers around him his band of warriors. They become his thanes and thus a new order of nobility arises. In the matter of land we can quite easily under- stand the changes that took place as time passed on. PRIMITIVE LIFE. 89 At first it is not supposed that the chief's portion was set out for him in any different way than that of the people generally. He had his acre-strip along with the rest. But owing to the office he filled, and the dignity of his station, he probably had a more gener- ous allowance and it was worked for him by the peo- ple generally. But the community laid claim to quite an extensive section of country. He, as official head of the community, had to assert the claims of his peo- ple to that territory, it was his duty to see that the boundary marks were preserved. It was not strange if when his office became hereditary he gradually came to consider himself in some sense the owner of the waste land of the community. This feeling could not fail to be strengthened by the growth of the power of kings. Not only did the community have waste land, but the tribe had great tracts of land, not assigned to any village community. Not only did the tribe have unassigned land, but in the kingdom there was land not claimed by any tribe. As late as the days of King Alfred, we know this was the condition of England. Just as the village chief came to exercise rights over the common land of the village, so did the king claim a right in the public land of the kingdom. So he would award his more influen- tial followers, his thanes, by grants of estates. At first this was supposed to be done only by and with the consent of the national parliament, the witan, but gradually this condition was dispensed with. 90 PRIMITIVE LIFE. The thane, when granted an estate, of course considered it as his property, subject only to military duty or some trifling rent to the king. But in cultiva- ting his land he could only follow the general customs of the country. He would have to procure a band of followers, set aside an arable tract for them to culti- vate in common, after their immemorial customs, grant them right of common in the general waste and have his own portion tilled by the labor of the community. Other grants made by the king were to religious houses, that is to monasteries. Great estates would be granted to them on condition that masses be said for the soul of the grantor. In the meantime a change was slowly being ef- fected in the distribution of the land. In the earlier stages, the wants of new households could be provided for by putting more land to tillage, but the time all too quickly arrived when there could be no more fami- lies provided for, or we can see that when once the noble claimed and was allowed ownership in the land, he would object to other families being admitted to a share in the common right. So from year to year the same households were allowed the same acre strips scattered around in the common fields. The next step was for them to believe that they owned in private ownership the yard-land or virgate, composed as it was of these several strips. Thus the beginning of private property in land. The memory of the older state of affairs was still retained. If he wanted to sell PRIMITIVE LIFE. , 91 his possession, consent must still be obtained from the lord. There was a time once when the community worked the land of the war-chief who watched over the common interests of all. This was now exchanged for a certain amount of work done for the lord on his land. Further we can see how there might arise a class of citizens for whom there might be no more arable land to divide, but who might possess a house, do work on the lord's land, and have some rights in the common pasturage. One point more must be no- ticed, amongst all people in a tribal state of society, from various causes, people become outcasts and loose all connections with a gens, this means a loss of all rights which such relations usually carried with them, consequently all rights to a portion of the village land. But it would not do to let them starve, or to be forced into crime by dire necessity.. So the village chief as- signs them land and provides them with means of cultivation. They become literally slaves to him, In a great many ways the number of such slaves or serfs could be increased, for it was an age that believed in the right of man to enslave his fellow men. In fact the whole mass of the people had gradually become enslaved. In an earlier age we have seen that one family could not remove from one village community to another, any more than in a tribal state of society, a people could go from one gens to another. In a long course of years this grew into a fixed custom. The village of once free Saxons who scorned to bow 92 PRIMITIVE LIFE. the neck to any lord found themselves together with their land, more or less the property of the old chief, who has now become a noble lord. Finally there came the Norman conquest solidi- fying the changes made. This introduces us to the English Manor. Before explaining more particularly in reference to that system, it is well to explain that a number of writers would disagree with us as to the origin of the manor system. They think that it is the direct descendant of the Roman Villa. However, a more numerous body will sustain the views here set forth. So we may for the present conclude that the English Manor is the form finally assumed by tb~ free English village communities, impelled to that end by many causes, such as neglect to assert their own rights on the part of the community at large, the ac- quiescing in the agressive claims of the chiefs, the growth of kingships, the neglect to assert their rights to the public lands, allowing the king to dispose of it to his favorites and to the* church, and actually allow- ing themselves to fall into a species of servitude more or less distinct to their chief. Of course this degree of dependence would vary greatly. In some instances it never did take place, since we saw evidences of free village communities, even at the time of the conquest, and in one case, at a far later date, we have preserved evidence of the lord's attempt to fasten his claim on a manor, but without success. If we now pause for a moment, we will see we PRIMITIVE LIFE. 93 have reached quite an important point in the develop- ment of industrial life in England. We have given an outline of the slow development of tribal society, we have confined our attention to the Saxon tribes, and seen the origin of village communities. Their customs are easily explainable when we see the organi- zation from which they sprung. Society apparently was not sufficiently advanced to maintain the equality and fraternity of the times. Hence the rise of privi- leged classes, while the mass of people sink into a more or less dependent state. We have now to trace the gradual rise of the various industrial arts, the rapid expansion of commerce, and the efforts of the people to do away with the distinction into classes which their own negligence had allowed to grow up. But we shall also see introduced into the problem an element that more primitive times did not have to take into consider- ation. That is the rise and portentious growth of capital. If private property has been one of the most powerful agents in advancing mankind in civilization, it is at the same time one of the most alarming dangers ahead of us. As far as we have gone, we can safely assert that society has passed through several stages of growth. There are no natural rights of man. How men shall be joined together for government, how property shall be distributed, what claims individuals have on the community, or the community on the individual, vary at different stages of growth. 94 VLLLANAGE. C^PTEK 111. VILLANAGE. Introduction of Feudalism — The Doomsday Survey — The condition of a Villan — His duties — His relations to the Lord — The Cotters — Slaves — Socmen — Free Tenants — Officials of a Manor — Population of England in the 11th Century — Commutation of Vil- lan obligations — A new Legal Theory — Outbreak of the plague — Scarcity of Laborers — Statute of Laborers — Combination — Tyler's Insurrection — Condition of England in the 15th Century — The Golden Age of Laborers — Inclosures — Sheep Husbandry — Bacon's Description of the Evil — Condition of England in the 16th Century MSSSSQ ^g^ — Decay of the Yeomanry — Conclusion. ENGLISH Manor, in all its distinctive features, was in existence before William the Norman overthrew the forces of . Harold in the battle of Hastings. What the Normans did was but to apply Norman names to insti- tutions they found in vogue. Or at most, they simply emphasized the changes which had already taken place. The state of society we have described, composed of persons possessing various degrees of freedom, or living in various stations which generally carried with them a claim to a portion of land, consti- tuted a feudal system. The Normans no more intro- VILLANAGE. 97 duced feudalism into England than they introduced the manors. The king more sharply asserted his right to the public land, he brooked no rebellion, the nobles all had to acknowledge that he was supreme ; while his own followers were granted vast estates, from which, in the great majority of cases, the original lords were driven to make room for the victors. But feud- alism itself had been slowly growing in England for some centuries. We have now reached the time of the great Doomsday Survey. This survey was in the nature of a census. William sent out commissioners to gather full details of the various manors ; the amount of culti- vated land, the number of villages, the terms on which they held their land. It follows as a matter of course, that in this important work most valuable details can be gathered as to the customs of the day. We are therefore able to set forth with all needed accuracy the customs of an English manor of the eleventh cent- ury. It is well to examine this account particularly as it will show us the stage of development reached at that time by the old village community. The noble or the lord, now claimed the ownership over all the land of the community. This land was divided into two portions, the Desmene or inland was that portion cul- tivated for the benefit of the lord. It consisted partly of separate fields, and partly of acre-strips in the com- mon fields. The latter portion reminds us of the time when the chiefs portion was the same as that of his 98 VILLANAGE. fellow villagers. The larger portion of the arable land formed the common fields of the village, the geburs were now called villans, and were said to hold their land of the lord in villanage. Then there was the commons, the old waste lands of the community, now recognized as the lord's waste, though the villans had rights of pasturage and other common rights. The villans had long lost a considerable portion of their freedom. However, their rights and disabili- ties were rigidly fixed by immemorial custom, which varied on the different manors. In each manor what customs it had long acquisesced in were binding. It is more than probable that the early law writers of England have represented the powers of the lord as greater than they really were, for he also was governed by custom. If the villans were, as it was said, tied to the land, the land was also tied to them. Each villan, as a rule, had a right to work thirty acre-strips scat- tered around in the village fields, but he could not sell this right without the lord's consent. He could not leave the manor without the lord's consent. The simple fact is that duties which he once owed to the whole village be now owed to the lord. He could not give his daughter away in marriage without his lord s consent, nor sell his land, or in case of his death, his son could not inherit his right without the consent of the lord, which consent could be obtained by the pay- ment of a small fine. In an earlier stage, he cultivated the chiet's por- i VILLANAGE. 99 tion, while the chief guarded the rights of the whole village. Now rights and duties on both sides had been fixed by immemorial custom. As stated, the duties varied on different manors, just as primitive cus- toms had been different, but on any one manor they were the same for all the villans. A general outline may be given. For two or three days of each week, throughout the year, he was expected to work on the lord's land, this was called week work. Then at special seasons of the year, such as harvest time, Spring or Autumn plowing, the lord had the right to demand special services, these special services were known as precariae, that which the lord had a right to request, or in English they were called boon days. As showing how custom had settled every little detail, it was generally expressly stated just what provisions the lord had to furnish during the boon days, for he was expected to furnish the food at such times. Some days nothing but drink, others bread but no drink. It is stated whether the bread shall be black or white, when the laborer shall be furnished meat, broth and cheese. In one instance, it is mentioned, that on the last two days of harvesting each laborer might bring a comrade to supper. In addition to the above he sometimes gave small money payments, such as one penny, on Ash Wednes- day, two pennies at Easter, etc. And a payment in produce, so many eggs, hens or bushels of grain fur- nished at various times, as twenty eggs on Easter. 100 VILLANAGE. Extra services were sometimes given, so many days " carrying," that is, teaming for the lord. He must wash and shear sheep one or more days, and it sounds odd, but sometimes it was provided that he must put in one day in the fall gathering nuts for the lord. Now keep firmly in mind just what all these services really were. There was a time once when the free- born geburs voluntarily worked their chiefs portion of their common land while he attended to the business of the community. After long years of encroachment, the chief has become the lord, claiming all the land, the geburs are villans holding their land of the chief in consideration of these various services, sometimes quite exacting, sometimes light, even frivolous, always annoying. They were tied to the ground, the ground tied to them, and both were the qualified property of the lord. Below the villans there was a class of tenants known as cotters. Most of them held only a cottage and one or two acres of ground, sometimes as much as seven or eight acres. This land also consisted of scattered acre-strips. The principal point of difference between them and the villans was that they had no oxen, consequently took no part in the plowing. His services were of the same general character as the vil- lan's, but on a smaller scale. For instance he was to work one day each week at whatever the lord required, and a whole week in harvest. Then he was expected to drive and go on errands, and to wash and shear VILLANAGE. 101 sheep, and while thus engaged, to receive a loaf and a half of bread and some cheese a day. We have named the two principal classes of ten- ants. But two other classes are to be mentioned. One was slaves, called servi, taking all of the country together there were but few of them, only nine per cent, in fact, though not equally distributed. In the eastern and middle sections of the country but about four per cent., in the western sections the percentage was as high as twenty-four. We have glanced at some causes that might have brought about the result. The mere fact that there were more along the western border shows that in many cases they represent the conquered population of the old Britons. Of course they held no land and were entirely at the lord's be- hest. However, abject slavery never took free root in England, it was already in the course of disappear- ance at the time of the conquest, and in less than a century afterwards was a thing unknown. Another class of tenants were known as socinen, that is one subject to the soc or jurisdiction of a lord. Now they were much the same as villans, holding the same amount of land. Like the villans, they could not dispose of their lands or leave the manor without the lord's consent. They also had to work at special seasons, the boon-days, such as harrowing and harvesting, and to plow a few days in autumn and spring. But they did not have regular week work, and in places, at least, they were expected to serve 7 102 VILLANAGE. as soldiers when occasion required. This class of tenants formed but four per cent, of the whole popu- lation, were almost absent in the western and southern portions of England, but formed as high as forty-five per cent, in the eastern portions. The explanation seems to be quite simple. They were families who had in some way retained a measure of their ancient liberties. As the percentage is so much greater in just those portions of England which were exposed to Danish invasion, it shows that there the people who had to exert themselves to defend their lives and possessions remembered their liberties longer. An- other class of tenants were known as free tenants, but they were almost the same as the socmen. They cultivated portions of the lord's demesne land. It is very hard to define their status. All the old authors are confused in their description. They paid rent for their land and often had to do certain kinds of work. But, in many cases at least, they did not have to pay a fine to the lord when they married their daughter, or sold an ox. They were found in the greatest abundance in the same section of country as the soc- men, and probably the same explanation may be given as to their origin. A manor, such as we have now described, required certain officials for its management. There was the stewart, the direct representative of the lord, who held the manorial court. He was expected to be familiar with the customs of the manor, the number VILLANAGE. 103 of acres to be plowed, how much seed was necessary for the sowing. The bailiff may be described as the overseer or manager. In a book written late in the thirteenth century his duties are set forth : " He should rise early in the morning, and see that the plow-teams are yoked ; and then he should walk around and inspect the tilled fields, woods, meadows and past- ures. Then he should visit the plows at their work, and take care that the oxen are not unyoked till a full day's work has been done. He is to direct the reap- ing, mowing, carting and other work." The reeve. was the villans' foreman. He was chosen by the tenants to represent their interests. He kept account of their day's work and reckoned them up with the bailiff. He was to see that the plows were started early, etc. The manor, like the earlier village, led an inde- pendent social life. It raised its own grain, grew its own textile fabrics, had its own church and its own special craftsmen. Introduction of new tenants was a very rare occurrence. The same families tilled the village fields from father to son. Every three weeks the lord or his Stewart held court at the manor house, where petty offenders were tried according to the cus- toms of the manor. This court was known as the Court Baron and its proceedings were open to all the villagers who chose to attend. At longer intervals there was held the Court Leet, that is to say a crim- inal court, for the trial of crimes. Not every manor 104 VILLANAGE. could hold such a court however, it required a special grant to confer criminal lurisdiction. Such was the English manorial system of the eleventh century. The population of England at that time was about one and a half millions. In this popu- lation there were about two hundred thousand villans and cotters, about thirty-five thousand socmen and free tenants. A little more than one-third of the arable portion of the land, or about five million acres, was under cultivation. About three million acres of this cultivated land was held by the two hundred and thirty-five thousand tenant farmers by various terms of tenure. We must not forget that their claim to the land was quite as strong as the lord's claim to them. The lord was bound by custom even as they were, and in some cases he was actually subject to a fine if he neglected his duties. There was still a vast amount of land, some eighty per cent, of the whole of England, waste or unimproved land. There were enormous tracts of forests and marsh. The home of tbe wild boar, wolves, deer and bear. Hunting was the chief past-time of the nobility. We must not suppose that all of the population were agriculturalists. At the time of the conquest there were some eighty towns in England containing a population of about one hundred and fifty thousand. Now, before considering the development of the towns, which is most intimately connected with our present industrial system, we must notice what changes VILLANAGE. 105 gradually came over the manorial system, and thus trace out this line of development first. Trifling changes sometimes mark the beginning of movements destined to exert a great influence on society at large. We have seen what a great change slowly, almost im- perceptibly, was produced by the mere conception of personal property. The increased use of money as the general measure of exchange value finally leads amongst all people from a payment in kind to a pay- ment in money. Instead of goods being exchanged for goods, they are exchanged for money. The same principle is finally applied to the holding of land. The tendency began to commute the various services into money. This was the beginning of a movement which was very efficacious in overturning the whole system of villanage. This was a matter of pure business on the part of the lord and his tenants. We can see that when the use of money began to be somewhat common that it might be more convenient for both parties to make the payments in money. Wages were cheap. To take an illustration from Oxfordshire, the regular week work for the year was commuted at one-half a penny a day. The extra work at harvest and at other times at one penny a day. In that case, by paying nine shillings and seven pence per year the villan was free from his lord's claim. This was of advantage to the villan, for he might employ his time more profita- bly in some other manner, and at the same time, in 106 VILLANAGE. many ways, the money might be of more advantage to the lord. It is thought that this process of commutation begun even before the conquest, but it certainly went forward quite rapidly after that event." Late in the thirteenth century Edward I. sent commissioners into the various counties of England to inquire into the holding of land, on the same principle that William had caused the doomsday survey to be made. The result of this inquiry showed there were at that time three principal classes of tenants. One who had commuted all their services for a definite money pay- ment, and we might remark, by the way, that this class was not now considered as villans, but had ad- vanced to the ranks of free men. A second class paid money or rendered service as the lord desired ; and the third class, finally, performed either the whole or at any rate a great part of the actual services due. This is as we might have expected, for the tendency would be for commutation to increase as time went on. For several reasons the number of free tenants had increased. Inasmuch as one of the principal duties was to cultivate the lord's land, it might be more advantageous to the lord to let his land for money rent. This would render his need for tenants less, and so he would be more ready to accept commuta- tion of their work. But all this was steadily working towards the dissolution of the old manor. By this time a new legal theory had been evolved VILLANAGE. 107 by the crown lawyers ; which was especially accepta- ble to the landholding nobility. It was this view that finally found expression in^the law books, and so has come down to present times and has been accepted by those who have not inquired deeper. This new theory supposed that the whole manor system was created by grant, that the lord was and always had been the real owner of the soil, that the rights of the tenants were only such as he had seen fit to grant them in consideration of services, etc. The effect of this theory was to construe the tenants rights strictly, just the opposite course should have been taken, the lord's rights should have been construed strictly. The meaning of this last phrase, to those not accustomed to legal sayings, is this ; the tenants had to show by immemorial custom or other evidence the source of all the rights they claimed, the lord did not have to show the source of any of his rights. This theory was but the final result of the slow encroachment of the lord on the rights of the com- munity. One of the first fruits was the appropriation to his own use by the lord of portions of the waste be- longing to the manor. Not satisfied with his own ample portion of demesne land, he began to inclose portions of the waste and let them out to tenants who paid him a regular rent According to the prevailing legal opinion why should tenants object to this, all they could claim was right to common, that is, to pasturage, etc., but if sufficient land was left for past- 108 VlLLANAGE, urage the lord could do as he wished with the rest. What is known as the Statute of Merton in 1235 legal- ized such enclosure which right was further extended by the Statute of Westminster, 1285. J ust tne oppo- site view should have been maintained. The lord should have been strictly confined to his ancient demesne lands. About the middle of the fourteenth century oc- curred the terrible outbreak of the Plague, or as it was called, the Black Death, in Europe. It is esti- mated that twenty-five million people died during this epidemic. From one-third to one-half of the popula- tion of England was swept away. Such a terrible visitation as this formed an epoch, and for many years afterwards it was used as a date to reckon from. The effects of this reign of terror showed themselves in every direction. The novelist, Boccacio, shows how the general despair of the times made men reckless, superstitious, heartless, cruel and licentious. The historian, Sismondi, has collected statistics to the same effect. It was noticed in England that a notable de- cline of learning and morals was observed among the clergy, many persons of slight accomplishments and low character stepping into vacant places. We are not surprised then to learn of great changes taking place in agricultural interests. When we reflect what a large portion of the population was swept away, in some cases whole villages were almost depopulated, we can at once see that there would en^ae a very great VILLANAGE. 109 disarrangement of existing relations, and a great scar- city of agricultural labor. Crops rotted in the fields for want of hands. Cattle and sheep roamed at large over the country for lack of herdsmen. In one old deed dated 135 1 we read that owing to the vast "mor- tality of men in these days — lands lie uncultivated in many places, not a few tenements daily and suddenly decay and are pulled down, rents and services cannot be levied nor the advantage of them generally had can be received." This scarcity of laborers was followed by several different results. In the first place, many manors, owing to the great decrease in the number of their tenants, and being unable to obtain more laborers, turned their attention to sheep husbandry. Wool had always been a most important product, it was now be- coming even more valuable. But to keep sheep did not require many tenants. So inclosures of the waste for the purpose of sheep farming went steadily forward, and even land which had been long tilled was thrown into pasturage. We must note that this also would have a tendency to overthrow the old manorial system. There being comparatively few laborers, of course the value of labor was greatly increased. It was at- tempted to remedy this by legislation. It is somewhat singular to find that the first legislation on the general subject of labor sought to prevent the laborer from de- manding what was considered as excessive wages. It was ordered that " every one free or villan who can 110 TILL AN AGE. work and has no other means of livelihood is not to refuse to do so for any one who offers the accustomed wages ; each lord is to have the preference in hiring the men on his own estate, but none is to have too many men for his work." No laborer was to leave his employment before the time agreed upon, or to receive more rations or wages than they did in the years before the plague. This regulation applied to all classes of laborers — town laborers, such as tailors and carpenters — as well as agricultural laborers. The statute also tried to regulate the prices of provisions and the necessaries of life. Strict penalties were an- nounced against those who, if able to labor, refused to do so, but preferred to '• tramp," as we would say now, those who assisted such tramps were to be im- prisoned. Later these penalties were rendered more severe. Laborers and artificers were fined and imprisoned with- out bail if they refused to work. Those who broke their agreement were to be outlawed and if captured branded with the letter F for their falsity, while towns where runaways were harbored were to be fined ten pounds. Prof, Rogers shows how this attempt to regulate wages failed. " Year after year, almost century after century, the Parliament complained that the statute of laborers was not kept, re-enacted it, strove to make it effective, were baffled, adopted new and harsher expe- dients, and were disappointed." The fact is, although VILLANAGE. Ill it does not appear on the surface of affairs, that there was some sort of a combination made by the various classes of laborers, to resist this legislation, and they were successful. In various ways the law was evaded. Nominally the old compensation might be given, but in some ways the laborer would be compensated. Finding this scheme would not work the land claim- ing nobility bethought themselves of another expe- dient. We have seen there were three classes of tenants. The lowest class paid the larger part of their dues in actual labor. The new idea was to be careful and not release such tenants from their labor obliga- tions, to hold them strictly to it. The second class of tenants paid either money rent or services at the op- tion of the lord. In such cases insist on the payment in work. As for the first class of tenants who had commuted all their work-services for money payment, were there not plenty of lawyers to expound the legal view, that after all such bargains depended on the good nature of the lord who had kindly permitted them to pay money instead of work? There could of course be no legal wrong done if the lord now revoked such consent. In short a deliberate attempt was made to re-establish villanage in its most unattractive features. Not only was such an attempt contrary to the spirit of the age, but a new method of resisting the claim had now been learned, that was the power of combination. And here we want to pause to note an interesting fact in regard to the teachings of Wicliff. 112 VILLANAGE. We are not concerned with his religious teachings, save as they throw light on the present problem. The simple fact is, in his revolt against the pope, he taught the natural equality of all men. He had furthermore organized a class of poor priests. They were to travel around, living on charity, exhorting men to good work, and teaching their founders ideas, but subject to no discipline. It was just this class of wandering priests, with their ideas of social equality, who were active agents in warning all classes of villans of their danger, and who assisted them in organizing to prevent it. Accordingly in the year 1381 there was a formid- able insurrection led by Wat Tyler. Judged from this difference in time, it seems to have been more a series of mob movements than anything else. It was suppressed in a very short time, and yet all England was profoundly moved, and it seems as if the nobility at once abandoned all hopes of re-established villan- age. Commutation was resumed, and the whole in- stitution gradually passed away. In 1447 we find Henry VI. legislating about his bondsmen in Wales. A writer in the third decade of the sixteenth century laments over the continuance of villanage as a disgrace to the country. " Howbeit " he says, " in some places the bondsmen continue as yet, the which me seemeth the greatest inconvenience, that now is suffered by the law, that is to have any Christian man bounden to an- other." In 1574 we find Elizabeth setting free the villans on the royal estate. VILLANAGE. 113 Thus villanage as an institution passed out of existence. But the substantial fruit of these many centuries of development remained with the nobility. In reclaiming their own freedom from the slavery into which they had allowed themselves to sink, the com- mon tenants unfortunately suffered the lord's claim to the land to remain in existence. Deprived of the work of his villans, except at a rate of wages he did not care to pay, the lord let out more and more of his land for a money rent. In places they extended their sheep farms, and became more agressive about enclos- ing the common waste or the lord's waste as it was then called. The lord also adopted the custom of leasing his land and stock to tenants for a period of years. As the stock died off it was replaced by the tenant. Thus we have the beginning of the ordinary system of English tenant farming, in which the capital is supplied by the tenant, who pays a definite rent to the landlord for farm and building. Thus in England at the beginning of the fifteenth century to which we have arrived, though there were numerous very large landed estates, yet the country contained a numerous class of yeoman or peasant proprietors, who held a copyhold estate and tenants at will, renting land of the lord. This century is known as the golden age of agricultural laborers in England. Relatively the wages were very high. One reason for this was the large number of small tenant farmers, and consequently the relative scarcity of la- 114 VILLANAGE. borers for hire. This pleasant state of affairs is refer- red to in most glowing terms by writers of the time. So prosperous were the laborers that parliament thought it wise to interfere to prevent their wearing such costly apparel as they did. In 1463 it was enacted that laborers should not wear clothing made of material that cost more than two shillings a yard, while their wives were not to give more than a shilling for a head-dress. That would be about like a law at the present day, that ordinary workmen's wives should not wear costly seal cloaks. A great but silent change, which had been going on for centuries, had by this time fully developed. An- cient tribal society resting on personal relations and groups of persons as a basis, had now fully given place to modern political society. The lines of cleavage which run through society were no longer perpendicu- lar, splitting it up into little groups, but were now horizontal, dividing society into great classes of people. And now also begun the play of modern economic ideas, which have steadily, slowly but surely pushed these classes wider and wider apart. Modern indus- trial life was then assuming great proportions. A great career of progress was about to open before the Anglo-Saxon people, but it was progress accompanied by poverty* Modern pauperism dates from the four- teenth century. No less an authority than Prof. Rogers has left on record his strong conviction that as far as suffering arising from common necessities of life are VILLANAGE. 115 concerned, there is much greater misery at present, with all the enlightenment of the times, than in the darkest days of villanage. The fifteenth century, which we have seen de- scribed as the golden age of the agricultural laborer, was a century of disturbance in English history owing to the many conflicts between the houses of York and Lancaster. This led to the great impoverishment of lords and barons. Now each great lord kept a band of armed retainers ready to fight under his leader- ship. They were the fifteenth century survivals of the bands of warriors who gathered around the standard of successful chiefs in primitive times. When the nobility found themselves almost impoverished by the numerous wars of the Roses, they were compelled to dismiss these bands of retainors. It is true that Par- liament had already legislated for this end, but the poverty of the nobles was a more powerful agent than legislation. This action threw on the labor market large numbers of people who owned no land, and had to compete with other laborers for a living. But the poverty of the nobles had still other re- sults. The market value of wool rose rapidly by reason of the development of manufacturers in Flan- ders. There was no way they could use their land more profitably than to lay it down in sheep pastures. But such procedure gradually led to the eviction of tenants holding land on lease. As their leases ex- pired, the renewal was refused, the cottages were 116 VILLANAGE. pulled down and cultivated land turned into pasturage. But this was not the worst. Encroachments on the common waste became very bold. When Henry Tudor united the houses of York and Lancaster this evil had grown to great dimensions. This led to a decline in rural population. A writer of the times declares that in nearly every manor from seventeen to twenty houses were gone to decay from loss of ten- ants, that some villages had decreased from one-fourth to one-half, that whole towns had been destroyed for sheep walks. The government of the times attempted to remedy the evil. Bacon, in his history of Henry VII., has left quite an interesting account of the evils of incis- ures and the laws to prevent the same. He tells us that this course "bred a decay of people and by con- sequence a decay of towns, churches, tithes and the like." The statute enacted in 1489 ordained that all " houses of husbandry " to which twenty acres of land belonged should be preserved. The idea was that if such houses were kept up there would ol necessity be a yeoman farmer living there, and such men were, as Bacon observes, the main-stay of the king's armies and invaluable to the country. This law, however, like a great many more useful laws, failed of its effect. Less than fifty years later, in the reign of Henry VIII., this law was renewed. It goes on to state how " many farms and large flocks of cattle, especially of sheep, are concentratated in the hands of a few men, whereby VILLANAGE. 117 the rent of the land has much risen and tillage has fallen off, churches and houses have been pulled down, and marvellous numbers of people have been de- prived of the means whence with to maintain them- selves and their families, but be so discouraged with misery and poverty that they fall daily to theft, rob- bery and other inconveniences, or pitifully die for hunger and cold." Hence it orders the rebuilding of farm houses. But these laws failed, just as steadily as laws to-day sometimes fail of their effect. We must now turn aside to glance at one phase of the Reformation. When the power of the church was overthrown by Henry VIII. he deprived the numerous religious houses, monasteries and the like, of their lands. It is not necessary to go into a state- ment of the causes leading to this step. The church lands constituted about one-third of the lands of Eng- land. Economically considered this step was bad. It might have been different if the land had been de- voted to the use of the people. It was simply par- celled out to a lot of royal favorites, who, as fast as they could, imitated the action of other landholders, that is to say, inclosed the common land, refused the renewal of leases, evicted tenants at will, and thus aided in the general movement of depriving the mass of the people of their interest in land. In regard to enclosures, the process continued right along. The evils were many and constantly increasing. In many cases the rapacity of the lord 8 118 VILLANAGE. was such that he did not leave sufficient pasturage for the tenants in common. They were poor and could not resist the lord, but the result was that while not actually evicted, they could no longer keep the stock they used to, and hence their farming became unprof- itable. A new form of enclosure began to be com- mon in the fifteenth century. That consisted in breaking up the common cultivated fields of which we have spoken, and dividing the land among the number of tenants. No great objection could be made to this form, and in the eighteenth century it became very « common. No less than four thousand enclosure acts, distributing seven million acres of land were passed by Parliament from 1760 to 1845. If we will now reflect we will see that by the six- teenth century industrial affairs in England were vastly different from what they were in the eleventh. This will come out all the more clearly when we consider the growth and development of towns. At that early date agriculture was almost the only pursuit ; while there were, to be sure, great lords claiming vast es- tates, yet the great mass of the people claimed rights in a definite amount of land, and by far the larger por- tion of the* land was owned in common by the tenants of the various manors. By the sixteenth century there was the land holding nobility owning the larger portion of the land. In the common land the lord's right was so strong that he felt at liberty to enclose what he wanted, provided he left enough for pasturage for the VILLANAGE. 119 village tenants, but this vague and uncertain quantity was largely at the mercy of the lord, and in many ways he knew how to circumvent the law. There was also an increasing number of the population, the great ma- jority, even at that early date, who had no claim on any land, and no way of obtaining any. They consti- tuted a great army of laborers. Another class had come into existence, a class virtually unknown at the earlier date, this was a class of paupers. " Paupers are everywhere," exclaimed Elizabeth. This was sadly true. The reason is plain to any one who under- stands the slow process extending through some cent- uries by which the common people had been deprived of their rights to the land. There was still, however, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a great army of yeoman farmers in England. That is to say, farmers who owned small farms, with rights of common, perhaps, in other land. Near the close of the seventeenth century there was estimated to be nearly two hundred thousand yeoman farmers in England. A century later they had prac- tically disappeared. Many causes contributed to this result. The most important, however, was the increas- ing use of capital in farming. The small farmer could not compete with the larger. They eked out their living by domestic manufacturing, but when the era of manufacturing proper dawned, and the spinning wheels of the country were gathered in huge factories, they could no longer support themselves. " When once 120 VILLANAGE. the ranks of the yeomanry had been thinned," says Toynbee, " the process of extinction went on with ever growing rapidity. The survivors became isolated, they would have no one of their own station to whom they could marry their daughters, and would become more and more willing to sell their lands, however strong the passion of possession might be." Now notice that as far as land is concerned in England, it commenced by being common property, it was a long and slow process by which private prop- erty was evolved, and no sooner does that make its appearance than we see that already privileged classes have made their appearance. Then there dawned the age of modern capitalistic production, and from that day to this the process has continued to its inevitable end, that is, the vast majority of inhabitants are pov- erty stricken and landless. Less than one per cent, of the population of Great Britain are land holders. Twelve hundred individuals own on an average over sixteen thousand acres each. MR !! i THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 123 COPTER IV. THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. Increasing Importance of Trade — Towns in Ancient Greece — In Early Britain — How Towns were formed — From the Village Community — Around Monasteries — From Danish Times — The Government of Towns — Rise of the Gild-Merchant — Powers of the Gild — How the towns gained a local Government —The Gild and the Town Authorities — Town Life in the 12th century — Foreign Trade — Foreign Gilds— The Medieval Fairs— The Stourbridge Fair— Rise of Craft-Gilds— Development of the Gilds— The Decay of the Gilds — Conclusion. MAN reached an advanced stage of development, trade and commerce began to play an important part in the life of the people. Agri- culture indeed supplied the pressing needs of the people, but in order to give play to the higher faculties, it is neces- sary to set before the mind some goal to be reached by increased exertion. The expanding wants of man serve such purpose. Nothing increases man's wants so much as a knowledge of the products of other lands. The tea, coffee and spices of oriental lands afford en- joyment to those who use them. A knowledge of this fact induces the inhabitants of other lands to make 124 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. great exertion to procure such luxuries. They weave cloth, invent and manufacture useful commodities in order to have something to exchange for them. Suc- cess in this direction spurs the mind on to greater efforts and thus progress continues at an accelerated rate. The machinery by which such exchange is ef- fected is trade, on an extended scale we call it com- merce. Trade calls into being and gives employment to a class of people not connected with the land. They settle in towns, which if advantageously located, grow into cities. The inhabitants of such towns are, or were in the first place, called burghers, from whence comes the word bourgeois, and bourgeois laws or economy came to be very important in the history of political economy. Thus the development of towns plays an import- ant part in our investigations. This development has not been the same in all lands. In ancient Greece, no less than in Rome, the settlements of the tribes them- selves developed into cities. This simple fact had a great deal to do with the peculiarly rich culture that developed so early in those lands. In all Teutonic countries, however, as we have seen, the tribe split up and the gentes formed little agricultural communities, the origin of towns proper must be looked for in an- other direction. We will only consider the case of Britain. When Britain was a Roman province, there were a number of flourishing cities, but when the Teutonic THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 125 tribes invaded the country the majority of these disap- peared. The very sites of some are now unknown. Others have but recently been discovered. Thus in 1857 quite by accident was discovered the site of Uriconium, one of the wealthiest of them all. Some like London were spared. The history of this city is probably an exceptional one, but even it was largely laid in ruins by the Saxon conquerors. It is at once evident that all towns which did survive the storm were in quite a different situation from the agricultural villages. In the first place their governmeut must have been quite different. To illustrate, in -the case of London, there was the neuclus of the old Roman city surrounded by several agricultural villages, all of which were finally united in the growth of the city. Mr. Gomme has in an interesting way pointed out the gradual conflict of authority between the villages and the town, but how, finally, the municipal customs of the old Roman city prevailed. The Saxon kings pro- tected the towns, probably finding in them some means of increasing their strength. But the majority of towns have a different history, and it is interesting to trace out their origins. In some cases it might have been the ancient village commu- nity which gradually grew into a town. The very names of some towns as Birmingham, {Bearms-heini), indicate their origin. Manchester remained under the government of its feudal lord until the year 1846. In other cases a town was formed by the growing together 126 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. of several villages. This is shown in a curious manner at Cambridge. We have seen that the pindar or vil- lage pound-keeper was a village official. In Cam- bridge this office survived. And though there was need for but one pound-keeper, yet as late as 1834 the several different districts of the city corresponding to the old villages elected each their pindar. In such cases as these the town would remain under the juris- diction of a feudal lord, possibly of several, how they were able to shake off the yoke will be shown later. Many English towns grew up around monasteries. Oxford, St. Albans, Durham, may be mentioned as examples. It is a principal as old as human nature to celebrate by means of funeral games the memory of heroes. This gave occasion for meeting and for trad- ing, and annual fairs were subsequently held at such place of burial. The commemoration of the saint in whose honor the monastery was founded, served the same purpose. The origin of Glasgow may be traced from the burial place of St. Ninian. Such towns as these were under the control of the abbot of the mon- astery, and the monks were very tenacious of their rights. Of this we will speak later, we might say that in some cases the claims of the abbot were only extin- guished by actual warfare, as at Norwich, Reading and some other places. Many towns date from the time of the Danish invasion. In some cases, as at Warwick, garrisons were stationed to keep the Danes in subjection. Such THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 127 a force required for its maintenance supplies of vari- ous kinds. This gave rise to a market, and a town would thus grow up. Another cause, however, was at work. The Danes and Northmen were the lead- ing merchants of the day. They undertook long sea voyages. As is well known they settled Iceland, Greenland, and sailed up and down the eastern coast of the United States long before Columbus anchored at San Salvador. They were acquainted with the Mediterranean regions as well. It is true they were great pirates, but then at that time and for long after- wards piracy was reckoned an honorable calling. Under their influence, solely to advance their trade, many towns were started. Stamford, Nottingham, and Lincoln may be mentioned as examples. Such towns as these, and many others located at points of strategical importance on rivers, and some- times possessing good harbors, were directly under the control of the king. As showing the importance which the king placed on the growth of towns, and consequent increase of trade, we find some kings, notably Edward I., making great exertions in laying out and encouraging the building of towns on royal lands. The tax which the towns paid to the royal exchecker was no inconsiderable item in the king's revenue, In all, at the time of the Norman conquest, there were eighty towns with a population of about one hundred and fifty thousand. Many of them under the control of the king, others in the jurisdiction of a 128 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. feudal lord or abbot. The towns were generally com- manded by a castle, the most important of which were garrisoned by the royal forces as at Oxford and Windsor. Now we must inquire as to the government of the towns, the subject is of importance since it intro- duces us to the gild system of the middle ages. It is only by slow steps that institutions develop. As we have seen in many cases the towns were under the rule or jurisdiction of a feudal lord, and the citizens were in much the same circumstances as the ordinary villagers, even to the extent of having to do week work, furnishing teams for plowing, etc. But we can see how the possession of wealth, learning and energy would give the townsmen an advantage over the vil- lagers, and how at a very early date, they would, in the majority of cases, contrive to commute the usual services for a definite money payment, and in time manage to free themselves from even that payment. In the case of the town of Leicester there is still pre- served the quit-claim deed of Earl Robert, given in 1 190. And even in cases where they were still held to the jurisdiction of a superior, the townsmen would quite naturally wish to form some organization to gov- ern themselves in matters of trade, and in general to watch over their interest. They could only copy after some model with which they were familiar; that is to say, with tribal society, with the gens. All the mem- THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 129 bers of a gens regarded themselves as brothers, they had rights and duties in common ; they were bound to afford help to their brothers in time of danger; in heathen times they had their common gods, or relig- ious rights ; they met together on festive occasions and partook of a common meal. The townsmen or- ganized an artificial gens. The names of such an organization was gild. This word gild meant, accord- ing to Bretano, in the first place the sacrificial meal made up ot the common contributions, thence it came to mean a sacrificial banquet in general, and lastly a society. Artificial societies of this kind had existed from time immemorial. All ancient schools of philosophy, all religious mysteries, even Christianity itself, was formed on such models. It was the only kind of or- ganization known. In the tenth century we begin to find abundant references to such organizations in towns. Since they had been called into existence by the exigencies of trade they were called merchants gilds. Each gild was presided over by an elected Alderman, with a few assistants known as wardens, and sometimes there were stewards also. The Alder- man was assisted in his duties by a council. Gilds of this nature had undoubtedly been in ex- istence in England before the Norman conquest. They became very common, however, in the century follow- ing. As in the earlier ages, it was an inseparable right of a member of a village community to work a 130 A THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. share of the common land, and as a consequence vil- lagers were all land-holders, so in the earlier gilds, only the possessors of town land could be members, but this of course included nearly all the people. There was a pressure brought to bear on all eligible members to join. In some cases new members were sworn to inform the gild of town traders able to join the association who did not do so. In snch cases some pressure would be brought to bear and he would be subject to repeated fines until he joined. Both privileges and duties attached to them as members of a gild. If a member of a gild was slain it was his gild that endeavored to bring his assailant to justice. But if a gild-brother was the slayer then his gild would afford him legal protection, and see that he was not unjustly convicted. Similarly, if in any manner of trouble he could count on the assistance of his gild. If a gildman of Southampton were put in prison in any part of England, the alderman and the steward and one of the wardens were bound to go at the cost of the gild to procure his deliverance. At Berwick, members of the gild were bound to labor on behalf of a member in danger of loosing life or limb. It is on record how, when all the Flemings were arrested in London, one was ordered discharged by the king because the gild of Lynn claimed him as a member. Sick gildmen were visited and wine and food sent to them from the feast. Brethren who had fallen into THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 131 poverty were relieved. In case v of death the brethren saw that he was fittingly buried. Only members of the gild could engage in trade, excepting that in the sale of provisions all were at liberty. We can see that the time would arrive in all towns at all prosperous, when such an intelligent and organized body of citizens as the gild brethren would seek on various pretenses to free themselves from their feudal lords. Long before the isolated village communities felt this impulse the towns, enlivened by trade, brought in contact with the outside world, found the yoke of a feudal lord galling. Then, as now, money could accomplish wonders. At the time of the crusades the feudal nobles were extremely anxious to raise money, and especially was this the case during the reign of Richard I., and still more when it became necessary to raise his ransom. It was at such times that many towns held out the bribe of a good sum of money to be freed of their feudal obligations Simi- larly in the case of towns subject to the king, the taxes which were due to the king were assumed by the town in consideration of local self-government. Hence the steps by which the various towns freed themselves varied in each case. The opportunities which came to the one were not available to another, or the townsmen were not rich enough or shrewd enough to seize them. Liberties once obtained it was generally thought wise to have them confirmed by charter from the king, and to be still more secure the 132 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. x towns often felt themselves obliged to pay a fine, or a bribe, to a new king, to have him confirm the privi- leges granted by his predecessors. Late in the eleventh century we find examples of royal charters granted by Henry I. Such privileges had been won by one hundred and fifty towns in the thirteenth cent- ury. It is to be noticed that in all chartered towns the gild merchant was given a legal standing, but the association itself had doubtless existed long before. Having paid a good round sum for their privilege, it was but natural that the townsmen should not be willing to let ontsiders enjoy them. There was no such a thing as a citizen removing from one town to another to engage in business. Not at all. Town privileges were a valuable right, not open to every comer. A citizen of one town might indeed be elected a member of a gild in another, but that was a great favor. Neither are we to understand that the privi- leges of all towns were the same, they varied accord- ing to the circumstances of each case. But in process of time when the good features of certain charters were generally acknowledged, the citizens of towns, when about to be granted a charter, would often make request for a charter like that of some well known place. Thus we know that the men of Gloucester of- fered John two hundred marks for the customs, laws and liberties of Winchester. In this manner the cus- toms of London were gradually extended over a very large area. THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 133 While it is true that the gild merchant included in the first instance the majority of the citizens of a town, it did not include all, neither was it true that all the government of a town was in its hands. It is of course clear that when a body of men were recognized as competent to regulate matters of trade, they might safely be trusted with the lesser details of government. We must remember that in the ranks of the gild mer- chant would be found the " solid " men of the town, those financially responsible, therefore its suggestions would have great weight. The gild had also its own courts, and as far as possible, it endeavored to settle disputes between its own members, The extent and power of their jurisdiction varied according to time and place. All these features made the gild the great in- stitution of medieval towns, though at the same time it was something quite distinct from the town itself. It is well to pause and try and obtain a clear con- ception of life in England during, say the twelfth cent- ury, before the rise of the craft-gilds to which we will refer soon. By a comparison of figures already given it will be seen that by far the larger portion of the population was rural, the town population was rela- tively very small. There were but two principal classes of people below the nobility, agriculturalists and mer- chants ; and in even this latter class the holding of lands was in many cases a necessary step to being a full member of the gild merchant. We have dwelt with a good deal of minutiae on the life of the agricul- 134 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. turalists. The inhabitants of the various towns were also in agricultural pursuits. But they had their es- pecial organization, their gild. They had already shaken off many of the claims of their feudal lord. As yet, however, there was not, properly speaking, an English nation, that is to say, a united body of people having the same laws and customs. While a great many laws were the same in all parts of the kingdom, still a little research will show us that local customs largely ruled. In case a tax was ordered to defray government expenses, some towns paid more than others, some, owing to the terms on which they held their land, were free. The merchants of some towns were free of toll, passage and other customs, through- out all England, as in case of the Cinque Ports, others free only in certain sections, as the men of Beverly and York, who were free from tolls in Yorkshire. We must remember further there was the greatest jealousy between the towns. A merchant of one town was not free to .do business in another. The Norwich merchant who visited London was as much of a for- eigner there as the man from Bruges or Rouen. This is illustrated in a curious way by two official letters of the fourteenth century. In the one the authorities of London ask the authorities of Gloucester to compel a citizen of that place to pay a debt to a citizen ol Lon- don. A second letter is from the authorities of a small town in the Netherlands, acquainting the London Burgomasters that a citizen of their town had acceded THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 135 to their request and paid a debt owing in London. Although one of these towns was but a short distance away and in their own country, while the other was in the Netherlands, yet the method of procedure was the same to collect a debt owing to a citizen of London. A word must now be given to foreign trade. In spite of the many difficulties before them, merchants from a distance were anxious to trade in England ; and on the other hand, the English people wished to obtain their wares. But here was the trouble, the for- eigners wanted to live according to their own rules, and to settle their own disputes according to their own customs, they wanted a place where they could live and store their goods and not be at the mercy of Eng- lish hosts. In a word, wherever they were in any numbers they wanted to form a gild or hanse — for it seems that word was synonymous with gild — of their own. There was only one way to secure such a privi- lege, that was to buy a charter of the king, and such hanses were only to be found in a few larger cities like London. It seems that traders from Frankfort and from Mainz, known as "men of the Emperor," had secured privileges in London as early as the time of King Ethelred in the tenth century. In the twelfth century the merchants of Cologne gained great privi- leges from Henry II. It was especially provided that they were to be protected as his own men in their merchandise, possessions and house in London. When Richard was returning from his captivity he stopped 136 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. at Cologne, and granted them still other privileges. They were to pay two shillings yearly for their gild- hall in London, and they were to be free of all tolls and customs in the city, and also to be free to buy and sell at fairs throughout the land. The men of Lubeck, Hamburg, and the Flemish merchants all had gilds of their own. The Steelyard was the name of a noted house of the German merchants. These foreign gilds endeavored to protect their numbers from illegal exactions, and to settle disputes between themselves according to their own customs. But there were many feuds to be settled between them and the authorities of London, or the city where they might be located, for London was not the only place where they were found. Thus for instance one of the principal obligations of the Cologne merchants in< London was to keep in repair the city gate, known as the " Bishop's gate." They subsequently became careless in this matter, and the city authorities threat- ened to distrain them. Whereupon they made repairs and promised faithful compliance in the future. Among the perils of foreign trade at that time we might men- tion the danger of reprisal. Thus Edward III. owed a certain Flemish noble one hundred pounds. The king refused to pay it, whereupon the property of an entirely innocent English merchant, doing business in Flanders, was seized for the same. The fact is, it had been quite a common custom to hold a man com- ing from another town, whether from England or THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 137 abroad, responsible for the debts incured by any of his fellow townsmen. We have all read more or less of the great fairs held in certain parts of Russia, especially at Novgorod. The fair during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was a most important means of carrying on trade ; nearly every important town holding one or more fairs near it during the year. Thus at Cambridge there were four annual fairs. By far the greater part of the internal commerce of the country was carried on at fairs. There imported articles would be taken for sale, and there merchants from a distance met for traffic. It furnished a market in which goods not to be found in the ordinary town market could be obtained cheaper than in any other place at that time, except, perhaps in London, it was not possible to get foreign produce — excepting wine — at a reasonable rate. But such produce could be obtained at fairs. " Nothing," says Prof. Rogers, "was too cumbrous or too costly for a medieval fair, for if the dealer did not find customers here, he could find them nowheres else. It was fre- quented by noble and serf, by churchman and soldier, by merchant or trader and peasant, by monk and crafts- man. And it was at these gatherings, a veritable par- liament of the people, that discontent ripened into action, that doings in church and state were discussed, that Straw and Ball laid their plans, and the Lollards whispered their doubts." The franchise or the right to hold a fair was, if 138 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. the fair wat at all noted, a very valuable one. The owner of such a franchise exacted a toll on all that was sold, and during the continuance of the fair the mer- chants in town were forbidden, under penalty of a fine, to expose any goods for sale except within the fair. Weights and measures were tested, and a court — called, expressively, the court of pie-powder , that is the court of the dusty feet, in allusion to those who had come a long distance to the fair — was established to settle on the spot, without appeal, all disputes that might arise. Prof. Thorold Rogers has given such an interest- ing account of the great fair held at Stourbridge whose reputation extended all over Europe, that we will make liberal extracts from it. It was held near Cam- bridge. Proclamation was made the fourth of Sep- tember, and the fair proper opened the sixth and continued three weeks. The space, or fair ground as we would say, was in area about half a square mile. It was divided into streets, lined with temporary wooden buildings or booths* The streets received distinctive names, and in each some special trade was carried on. During the last week of the fair the principal business was the sale of horses. Purchasers frequented the fair from all parts of England, indeed there were but few families possessed of any wealth which did not make purchases at this fair. Near the close of the fair strings of wagons loaded with goods were dispatched from thence to all parts of the country. THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 139 As the time approached for the holding of the fair, the eastern harbors of England were filled with vessels from foreign lands. The Italian cities sent their galleys laden with silks and velvets, glass and jewelry from the Orient. The Flemish manufacturer brought their linens, lawns and woolens from Bruges, Liege and Ghent. The Spaniard brought iron and wine ; the Norwegian tar and pitch. The merchants of the towns composing the Hanseatic league brought furs, amber and copper. Sometimes they brought far more valuable goods, since the precious stones and gems of the East found their way very readily to the West through the markets of Russia. In the twelfth century, we find another class of gilds becoming very common, which shows us that another step in the line of progress had been taken. We have seen that at first all the people ex- cept the nobility were agriculturalists, we have seen the rise of merchants corresponding to the rise of towns. We have now to outline the rise of a class of laborers, or artizans, and manufacturers. In the first stage manufacture was in the hand of each family. The men tanned the leather, the women spun and wove the cloth. But that age was now past. The time had come when men could profitably devote all their time to the manufacture of certain articles, as cloth, leather, etc. This introduced a new element into the social problem of the day. Undoubtedly, in the first stage, the merchants 140 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. gild, including as it did, nearly all townsmen, con- tained in its ranks also those who followed special crafts or trades. We know, for instance that at New Castle the members of the gild merchant did engage in "the manufacture of cloth. But various causes was at work tending to exclude the artisan or workman. In the first place human nature was much as it is now. As trade increased and the merchant class gained in wealth, pride awoke and the merchants ceased to have as friendly feeling as formerly for those who deigned to work with their own hands. So the time at length came when they felt strong enough to refuse admittance to their gild to an artisan unless he would adjure his craft, we know this to bave been the case at Winchester, Marlborough and Beverly, in England. In some places butchers and dyers were excluded if they worked themselves. How to detect such. workers was pointed out in the ordinance forbidding admission to those " with dirty hands " or " blue nails." But another cause was at work. In the majority of cases the first inhabitants of towns were also land- holders. So important was this felt to be that hold- ing of land was a pre-requisite to membership in the gild, merchant. But a class of landless inhabitants had arisen in all towns. Owing largely to the natural increase of the town population itself, though undoubt- edly greatly helped by the influx of villans from the neighboring manors. It was an old principle that if a villan resided in a town for a year and a day he was THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 141 free from his lord. Now this landless class could not be regarded as citizens of the town, they were conse- quently denied admission to the gild, and could not engage in trade. They could only turn their atten- tion to labor, and so engage in handicraft. To be denied admission into the gild merchant from any source was practically to be denied a share in local self-government- But as time passed on the number and importance of artisans increased. They adopted for themselves the only expedient they knew of under the circumstances, and organized a gild of their own. Thus craft gilds arose which have often been called the first labor-unions. There was for a while a great deal of ill-feeling between the craft gilds and the older gild merchant. But they pursued the ordinary course of the times and bought their charters from the kings. The granting of these char- ters, which conferred on the various bodies of craft- men certain powers in organizing their trades, led at first to considerable friction between them and the town authorities. In some cases they felt themselves strong enough to defy the authorities. There was a notable case of this kind at Exeter, when the tailors gild thought themselves at liberty by the terms of their charter to set up an exclusive jurisdiction of their own, and to deny the right of the town to interfere in their matters. Now if we will pause to consider the matter, we will see that those artisans or laborers engaged in 142 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. meeting the most elementary wants would be the first to make their appearance. Such, for instance, as weaving. The manufacture of cloth and clothing would be about the first one in which the increasing demands of consumers would make it worth while for men to turn their whole attention. We know that as early as 1130 there were gilds of weavers in London, Lincoln and Oxford. Their example was rapidly imitated, and we find gilds of tailors, gold- smiths, butchers, leather dressers, etc. As stated, such gilds paid an annual tax to the king for their charter or privileges. The general principles on which gilds were formed were much the same as the older gild merchant. The executive officers were styled wardens, over' seers, builders or masters. Their duty was to super- vise the industry and cause offenders to be punished. They were elected annually at full assemblies of the members. In general the charters provided that no one was to work at the craft who had not been ap- proved and admitted to the gild. They had a court in which they dealt with disputes between their mem- bers. The powers of such courts varied at different places. Those of London had usually quite extensive jurisdiction. However, in general the authority of the towns were recognized. The town authorities could of course issue ordinances binding on the gilds, but as a matter of fact, the towns were in sympathy with the gilds, and ordinances bearing upon them were THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 143 framed by the gild officials and enacted into ordi- nances as a matter of course by the town councils. Now, if we will reflect, we will see that there were several reasons why the gilds should continue to grow. In a certain sense they formed a counterpoise to the authority of the towns. With the limited but none the less real authority over their members, their chartered privileges, they could but feel themselves as something distinct from the towns. It was to the ad- vantage of the king to put himself on their side. This was accordingly the policy of the king from the time of Edward I. to favor them. Afterwards the towns themselves favored them, because, after all, the town was stronger than the gilds, and by having the va- rious gilds exercising a sort of general supervision over labor and those engaged in it, a good deal of police duty was taken off the town. So we find the town insisting that laborers should form themselves in a gild. In 1356 the masons were compelled to thus organize " because that their trade had not been reg- ulated in due manner by the government of folk of their trade, in such manner as other trades are." A few years later it was complained of the wax-chan- dlers that "their trade has not been ruled and governed heretofore, and there still is great scandal, ..... because they have not masters chosen of said trade, and sworn before you, as other trades have to oversee the defaults that are committed in their said trade." The fourteenth century may be said to mark the 144 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. most flourishing era of the gilds. Nearly every trade, in large towns at least, was organized, but the ap- prentices and journeymen had gilds ol their own. These latter gilds, however, call for nothing special in their treatment. It is well, before turning to the gradual decline of the gilds, to consider some of the general aims proposed to be attained by this form of organization. Medieval society could not forget the model from which it sprung. The theory of tribal society was that the little groups into which it was separated were joined by ties of blood, and conse- quently there must be brotherly feelings and actions between them. So the professed object of the gilds was to secure competent workmen, good materials and fair price. Competition was not the ruling spirit of the age- Goods failing to come up to the stand- ard of excellence set by the gild were said to be " false " goods, and- the makers of such work were punished by fines, and even by expulsion if they per- sisted in such conduct. Penalties were provided for all sorts of deceitful devices so well known to-day, such as putting the better wares on top of a bale than below, moistening groceries so as to make them heavier, selling second-hand furs for new, etc. The decay of the gild system need not detain us long. It declined to give place to a new system of industry, the capitalistic system to which we will soon refer. If we will stop and reflect, we will see that during the fifteenth century a wonderful change was THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS. 145 going forward in industrial life as well as in other di- rections. The English people were becoming consol- idated so as to form a nation. Local customs and local laws were giving place to laws national in their extent. Towns were losing their especial privileges. With the decay of the towns, or with the loss of their privileges, it is but natural that the gilds should go also. They had served their turn in the industrial life of the nation. They had been called into being by the exigencies of the times, they had been instru- mental in advancing trade, nourishing manufacture, and thus furthering civilization. But a new day was now at hand. What that was, we will learn in the next chapter. We hope the readers begins to obtain clearer ideas of the great changes that have taken place in past times in the social structure. Tribal society is a most interesting field ; to understand it is to have in our possession the key to unlock much that seems strange to us in past times. The gild system is seen to be an intermediate stage between tribal society proper and modern society. Slowly, extending over some centuries of time, the change went forward from the one form of social life to the other. Vain was the attempt in the past to prevent these social changes from marching steadily forward, vain will be the at- tempt to prevent changes in the future. When any form of social growth has outgrown its period of use- fulness, society will cast it off. 146 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. COPTER Y- CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. Progress of the 15th Century — A New Industrial Age — The New Spirit of Nationality — Social Changes — The Age of Capital — Definition of Capital — The New Power of Capital — Primitive Equality as regards Capital — Capital the Master — Economic Goods — Definition of Value — Use-Value — Exchange Value — On What Exchange Value Depends — Depends on Labor — Surplus Value — ■ Division of Surplus Value Between Capital and Labor — Labor a F^%^ fllL Commodity — The Exchange Value of Labor — Conclusion. DARK AGES in history were rap- idly passing away in the fifteenth century. This was one of the great epoch marking centuries of history. In 1453 the Turks took Constanti- nople, and the last trace of the Roman Empire disappeared ; as is well known this gave a great impetus to the revival of learning in Europe, It also cut off the old trade routes to the East, and thus made the nations of Western Europe extremely anxious to find some new means of reaching the shores of India. Responding to this demand we find the Genoese navigator sailing on his memorable voyage which resulted in the discovery of the new world. Not alone did this result in giving a wonder- TRIUMPH OF CAPITAL. 147 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 149 ful stimulus to the advance then rapidly going forward, but in a few years commenced the wonderful flow of gold and silver to Europe which enormously stimulated trade and commerce. These events were followed by the discovery of the cape of Good Hope, and the new route to India. Geographical discoveries was but one of the many directions in which progress was going forward. Think for a moment of the almost magical results following from the invention of printing. In earlier times only the very rich could afford the luxury of a book ; with this invention perfected, books could be procured by all. How quickly the intellect of Europe responded to the new condition is shown by the increasing num- ber of universities. During the fifteenth century nearly every important city of Europe became the seat of a university which was thronged with students. The inactivity of the past was shaken off, the intellect of Europe eagerly invaded fields from which it had been debarred by ecclesiastical authority in earlier times. Coiet, Erasmus and Moore in England were discrediting the learning of the past, and pointing the way to new methods of research. Copernicus, Gesner and Paracelus were active in scientific fields. Luther, Melancthon, Zwingli and Calvin were preaching a ref- ormation in religion. It would indeed have been passing strange if this almost revolution in religion, philosophy and science, this great revival of learning, the wonderful increase 150 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. in geographical knowledge, and augmentation of ma- terial riches had not been accompanied by a change in national feeling, the final overthrow of methods of procedure, and institutions growing out of the organi- zation of tribal society. In short, out of such changing conditions as we have set forth, gradually emerged modern industrial life. We must understand, however, that as naturally as a shrub grows into a tree so did the new forms of national and political economy shape themselves from what had gone before. Let us notice first the changed ideas as to the nation. Tribal society consists of groups. All rights and duties were in groups. It was therefore not sur- prising to find the English village community living an isolated life, having but little communication, one with another, and with the most diversified customs. Each community being in a sense a law unto itself. Similarly when towns arose each was isolated from the others. Rights and duties were owing their town and townsmen, not to the people generally. A man from another town was an alien. There were also extremely diversified customs. Similarly in the days of the gilds, a man owed loyalty to his gild. To it he looked for protection and assistance; He was not, however, particularly concerned in the welfare of other gilds. There were, of course, laws binding on the whole people, they acknowledged the rule of the king and parliament, they were taxed for the expenses of the nation, they had a certain amount of national CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 151 pride; but after all the honest feelings of the people were local and sectional. When the larger life of modern times dawned, with the disappearance of the village communities, the gradual break down of the gild system, a more correct idea of nationality was formed. The mental horizon of the times became wider. Men looked beyond the limited range of their own locality, town or gild. This phenomena was not confined to England. The age was noted as an age of growth in the feeling of nation- ality. The literature of the times betrays this same spirit. Works appeared lauding England. It seems that in the sixteenth century English writers com- menced the song which they still sing, of their na- tional wealth, ships and merchandise. Before this larger idea of nationality, local rights of towns had to give way. Old institutions of every kind in town and country rapidly fell to pieces. But that is not all, the social principles of the earlier state of society were being discarded, and new ideas were taking their place. Medieval ideas were based on the theory of personal relations. They were after all bands of brothers, there ought to be a family feeling in all things. So attempts were made to regu- late business of all kinds on this basis. The price at which commodities were to be sold was to be a "fair" price. And in estimating what was a fair price reasonable wages for the laborer was one of the first and most important items. An effort was made to see 152 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. that the commodity offered was what it claimed to be, made of good materials, by skilled workmen. Now, at the present day, we assume that these ends will all be met by competition. If a manufacturer does not use good material, or if his work is not up to standard, we assume that the public will not patronize him. Wages, price of commodities and things of that nature, we leave to be settled by competition. In fact, the more we study the problem the more we see what a great change was involved in giving up the old idea of brotherhood and personal relation. The new condition of industrial life which thus gradually supervened on the life of the past is known by various names. Inasmuch as what is called capital commenced to play an important part in production and in social life. It is appropriate to call it the Age of Capital. It is necessary to define the word capital. This word happens to be one of those of which nearly all have a fairly good idea of its meaning, but it is, after all, a hard one to define. In proof of this we need only point to the well known fact that the writers on political economy nearly all disagree in their defi- nitions of it. More than one recent writer has amused himself by gathering the different definitions and showing how they disagree. Let us pick our way with care. A "good" is anything which is useful to man, or satisfies a want, as food, air, water. But goods may be " free," that is, supplied by nature to all, as air and water, save in exceptional circumstances, CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 153 or they may be economic goods, that is, goods which are usually and regularly obtained only by exertions. Another name for this class of goods is " commodity." Economic goods are usually styled wealth. In ordi- nary language, however, wealth means a large quan- tity of goods. Now here is the difficulty : all capital is wealth ; but the converse of this is not true, all wealth is not capital. The trouble is to mark off by definition that por- tion of wealth which is capital. Capital is that wealth whose value is due to a demand for it as an element in production. Here is a factory full of machinery. It is valuable because its products are valuable. It is capital. Or we may say that capital is every product laid by for the sake of further production. Suppose a man is worth fifty thousand dollars. Fifteen thousand dollars of it is invested in a home, well fur- nished, with books and pictures. It is a valuable possession, but it is not devoted to production, it is not capital. In seasons of adversity, it may of course be turned into capital, but for the time being, the thirty-five thousand he has invested in business is his capital. In spite of our care in defining capital it may be difficult to decide in many cases whether the economic good is capital or not. The majority of writers do not class land as capital. And yet why is it not capital ? Why is not the land on which a fac- tory stands as much capital as the building itself? Accordingly we find some authorities classing land 10 154 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. as capital, but the majority put it to one side. Now in deciding that the new industrial age might be called the age of capital, it is not of course meant that capital did not exist long before. It is as old as the idea of property itself. But we mean that capital began to exhibit a power before unthought of. The breaking down of medieval institutions, the va- rious steps by which the old agricultural system was broken down, and the land became the private prop- erty of the lords, the dismissal of the band of re- tainers and the growth of population had created an army of laborers, and by laborers we mean those who have no means of production themselves, who have only their own labor to offer in the market. When such a state of society arose, laborers on the one side confronted by those who owned the means of produc tion on the other — capitalists in short — capital sud- denly appeared clothed with a new and terrible power. In fine, the age of capitalist production had begun. We have necessarily hurried along. There is scarcely a paragraph but what could be enlarged into a volume. Let us emphasize the importance of clear- ness in thought in regard to the distinction between capital and wealth. Capital is the fruits ol past labor, which, instead of being used up, have been saved and devoted to the purpose of further production. No one can properly object to capital, even anarchists do not object to it; no one gifted with ordinary under- standing would ; what they do object to is the distri- CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 155 bution and use of it. Progress has only been made by first putting forth labor, saving the fruits of it, and using them as further assistance to labor. The sav- age who patiently hollows out a canoe to enable him to fish to better advantage, the barbarian who instead of killing the young of the animals he has caught do- mesticates them and thus formed the neuclus of the first flocks and herds, were creating capital. No, there can not be any objection to capital itself, but there may be to its distribution and the exercise of the power it confers. We must also clearly understand that while cap- ital has existed for ages, yet very properly speaking the Age of Capital is but recent. Steam has always existed in the world. It required a peculiar arrange- ment of machinery and valves to enable it to show its power and to be put to practical use. So it was necessary that society should reach a certain stage of development before capital could show its power for good and for evil. There are many writers, men of distinguished ability, who think that capital is respon- sible for much of the present evils in the industrial world. We repeat, however, that the objection should be against the abuse, not the use of capital. Fire is a most excellent servant, we can not dispense with his services, as all know he makes a terribls mas- ter. Even such is capital. If abuses exist which can be traced to capital it is because we have allowed him to become master instead of servant. Let us there- 156 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. fore inquire into the history and method of capitalist production. In the English village community, even when the chief had become the athling, there was no very great diversity as regards capital. The geburs were all substantially equal. Though the cotters were below them in the scale, yet their manner of life was the same. There was no great gulf between them. What capital was then in existence was the servant of the people. The means of production were owned by the people who used them. There were no ex- tremes of rich and poor. The lord was of course more powerful, but he also was governed by custom. Only gradually as commutation payment came into use, did the lord accumulate capital that he could turn to account later. Only as the common people lost their hold on the land did they pass into wage earners. In the gilds also capital was the servant of the people. There was a regular road marked out from apprentices to journeymen, from journeymen to mas- ter. The tools — the capital — for plying the craft were but few and simple, and were owned by those using them. Competition did not come into play, the prices and the affairs of the craft were regulated by the gild. The apprentice lived with the master and all worked together. There was 'no great difference between them. The object of ambition which the youthful ap- prentice had in mind, was not to rise out of his craft, but to stand well in the craft, to become master or CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 157 warden. Take our laboring men to-day, and very few can hope to rise to a high position. In the best days of the gild system the case was very different. All could reasonably hope to become masters after a few years work. There was no collision between labor and capital. In fact capital did not and could not play the role it has played the last century until division into classes had taken place. When the agricultural class had lost their claim to the land, when the gild had broken down, when a mass of laboring men had come into existence, then the possessors of the means of production woke to a realization of the nature of the powerful weapon they held in their hand. And this change was helped forward by the new spirit of en- terprise and individuality which was called into being by the revival of learning, the wonderful expansion of the intellectual horizon, and inflow of gold and silver from the new world. As Karl Marx says, ''The mod- ern history of capital dates from the creation in the sixteenth century of a world embracing commerce and a world embracing- market." While we have tried to be guarded in our ex- pressions and referred to the " new power oi capital," yet we question if the whole definition of capital is not wrong. Not only is capital only that part of worth set aside to assist in furthering production, but in order for it to assume the form of capital, a certain definite stage of development must have been gone 158 CAPITALIST PKODUCTION. through with. There must in some way have been evolved this army of free laborers on the one side and holders of capital on the other. In this sense capital is a modern product, and as such socialist writers often refer to it, in their ravings against capital, they generally only mean this late form and power of capital, or, as we have expressed it, when it has ceased to be the servant and become the master. We can say that the cleavage of society into great classes, and the accumulation of capital into the hand of one class exercised a reciprocal influence on each other. One helped forward the other. With- out anticipating what can be more appropriately said in another place, is not this the verdict of history ? If Gladstone speaks of the " intoxicating augmenta- tion of wealth and power " he must also admit in the same speech that " human life is in the majority of cases but a struggle for existence." Henry George's apt illustration here strikes home : " It is as though an immense wedge were being forced, not underneath society, but through society. Those who are above the point of separation are elevated, but those who are below are crushed down." This is but the neces- sary logical outcome of tbe same course of develop- ment which clothed capital with its great power. The problem ahead of us is to find some means of over- coming this tendency. But first we must more care- fully consider the problem. CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 159 We have spoken about economic goods. A com- modity may be anything which satisfies some want. It may be a coat, a pair of boots, or any one of the virtually innumerable articles we may call to mind. To procure these goods is the purpose for which or- ganized society exists. As man has gained in knowl- edge he not only has learned new ways of gratifying his primary wants, such as food and protection, but called into being countless other wants, and striven to satisfy them. Now, as in the most primitive times, the objects of man's exertion is to satisfy wants. Some of our wants may be of a very refined nature, and re- quire for their gratification music, art and literature, or they may be coarse even degrading in their nature, as the want of strong drink. Still it remains true that the complex machinery of civilization is engaged in procuring ecomic goods for the satisfaction of these wants. Capitalist production or modern industrial life, then, is the production of economic goods, by the aid of capital, as we have defined and limited it, for the satisfaction of the complex wants of modern times. What the holders of capital desire to do is to reap a profit in their venture. A very simple and natural desire this, and yet on their ability to do this hangs the glory and misery of the present system. Let us now inquire into this. What is value ? If it was hard to find a suitable definition for capital, it is still harder to define value. When we say that a good has value we are talking 160 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. about a non-corporeal, something which we can not analyze, weigh or compare. Part of the trouble is due to the fact that there are really two kinds of value. It is true that some writers contend that these two kinds of value are in reality but one ; still the majority of writers, from the days of Adam Smith, have recog- nized this division. There is first the use-value of a good. That is the ability to satisfy direct needs. A coat to keep us warm, a pair of boots to protect our feet. This is something that depends on the physical property of the commodity that we may be consider- ing. The only way we can realize the use-value of a good is to consume it or use it up. We only realize the use-value of a pair of boots by putting them on and wearing them out. It is evident that the use-value of a commodity is independent of the amount of labor required to produce it. A bar of steel has the same use-value whether made by the much more rapid Bessemer proc- ess or the older very long and costly way from wrought iron. Use-value has nothing to do with the price of a good. Inventions may be so perfected to- morrow that a pair of boots will cost only one-half what they do to-day. Their use-value however will remain the same. We can quickly see that the re- verse of this is not true. If a good had no use-value we could obtain no price for it. Sometime the use- value of a good is called its utility, sometimes the word worth is used. CAPITALIST PKODUCTION. 161 In addition to use-value we have exchange-value. By this is meant the ratio in which commodities ex- change against each other in the open market. The word value, when used alone, properly refers only to exchange-value. Suppose a man has an abundance of wheat, but no other goods. But he needs corn, sugar and clothing. Driving to market, he finds he can exchange one bushel of wheat for three bushels of corn, or ten pounds of sugar, or his whole load of wheat for a suit of clothes. There is something - in the one bushel of wheat, the three bushels of corn and the ten pounds of sugar equal in each case. That something is the exchange-value. In all civilized lands barter disappeared long ago. We have found a general medium of exchange, some- thing for which we can at all times exchange our com- modities, something possessing which we can at any time by exchange procure commodities. That some- thing is money, which is rightly called the measure of value. The money for which a commodity can be ex- changed is said to be its price, but do not make the mistake of concluding it is its value. The money for which it exchanges may be more than its real value, or it may be less. The introduction of money into the question is apt to confuse us. It wonderfully sim- plifies transactions in ordinary life, but it may after all hinder us in coming to a right understanding of ex- change-value itself. When we say that wheat is worth one dollar a bushel, that no more tells us the nature 162 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. of exchange-value than does the statement that it is worth three bushels of corn. Money is simply a com- modity which by universal consent has become the common medium of exchange. The importance of coming to a right conclusion as to what exchange-value is and on what it depends is very great. The business world is concerned solely with the exchange-value of things, not at all with their use-value. One class of writers assert that the ex- change-value of a commodity is simply the amount of labor that has been used in making it. To take the case of Bessemer steel again, when this process was invented a vast amount of labor was saved, and there- fore though its use-value remained the same as before, yet its exchange-value at once decreased. The con- clusions of many eminent men is that in the final analysis labor is the measure of exchange-value. Adam Smith tells us, " what is bought with money or with goods is purchased by labor as much as what we acquire by the toil of our own body. Labor was the first price, the original purchase money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labor that all the wealth of the world was originally purchased. Labor, therefore is the real measure of the exchangeable value of all commodities." Ricardo speaks of " labor as being the foundation of all value and the relative quantity of labor as almost exclusively determining the relative value of commo- dities." And then he shows by extended " illustrations CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 163 that it is not only the labor immediately applied to commodities that effects their value, but the labor also which is bestowed on implements, tools and buildings with which such labor is assisted." J. S. Mills con- cludes that the value of all commodities that can be produced freely depends on the cost of production, then in examining into the cost of production, he finds that the element of labor is well nigh the sole element to be considered. He therefore concludes that " the value of commodities depends principally on the quan- tity of labor required for their production." The writers are indeed very few who will not admit that labor forms by far the most important ele- ment in value. It is true they may not say it in words, but that is what it amounts to. Bastiat says, " value is the relation of two services exchanged. We labor in order to feed, clothe, shelter, defend one another. We compare, we discuss, we estimate or appreciate these services." This is but a roundabout way of saying that value depends on labor. Laveleye, how- ever, insists that while labor is an essential element of value, it is not the sole element, that, in fact, value springs from utility. Then he illustrates this by refer- ring for instance to water, on the bank of a river it has no value, on the fourth story of the house a small value, in the desert of Sahara a very great value. "Thus," says he, " its value will increase in propor- tion to its scarcity or the difficulty of getting it." Why not say at once that its value depends on the amount of labor necessary to procure it. 164 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. Probably but few would object to the statement that the exchange-value of commodities depended 6n the amount of labor incorporated in them, if it were not the consequence that socialist writers draw from them. Karl Marx, the leader of German Socialism, rounds out and completes Ricardo's analysis of value, by explaining more particularly in reference to labor. The labor that measures value is the average, socially- necessary labor. One workman may be a very slow workman. It may take him twice as long to make a coat as his more speedy fellow-workman. Yet the coats when made will have the same value. Their value is that of the average coat, made by the average workman. Also the average workman in laboring must make use of the labor appliances of the time. Steel made by the old process, though requiring far more labor, is, after all, only of the same value as the steel made by the more recent process. This follows because it is no longer necessary to embody so much labor in the process. The consequences that the socialists draw from the foregoing is simply this, inasmuch as all value has really been created by labor, therefore all profits should go to labor. But it has not been this way in the past and is not so now, and consequently private property is theft, to use the words of Proudhon. It is necessary then to undo this evil by abolishing property. This reasoning is false, we think, and will try and show in what respect. But undoubtedly it was such CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 165 conclusions as this which run counter to the feelings of right, that induced a number of writers to reconsider this theory of value. The theory propounded in its place is the " cost of production theory." The value of a thing, we are told, depends on the cost of pro- duction. So far all is plain. The trouble comes in when they attempt to tell us what the cost of produc- tion is. Mr. Mill, who, as we have seen, concludes that labor is the principal element in exchange-value, con- cludes that the cost of production depends on labor and profit of capital. Mr. Cairns would make the ele- ments of cost to be labor, abstinence and risk. Mr. Bagehot makes the the principal element to be profit. It seems to us self-evident that the arguments of these gentlemen are misapplied. They may afford an ex- cellent reason why the value of commodities should be divided between the laborers and the capitalists, but they do not touch the question of value at all. What has the profits of the capitalist to do with the value? A certain amount of value is created by labor, there may well be most excellent reasons why this value should be divided between the laborers and capitalists — most excellent reasons for concluding the socialists are wrong in thinking all the value should go to labor- ers — and yet leave untouched the conclusion that the exchange-value of commodities is measured by the socially necessary amount of labor incorporated in them. 166 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. In coming to this conclusion let it be understood that we are talking about the primary, the normal ex- change-values of commodities, that can be indefinitely increased. All commodities cannot be so increased, such as works of art, these are not subject to the usual law of value. They are a monopoly. And even of commodities that can be indefinitely increased, as every one knows there may be deviations from this rule, for there are many ways of creating artificial monopolies. And yet we insist that the conclusions sometimes drawn from this statement, that all surplus value should be returned to the laborer, is wrong. Practic- ally, we all feel it to be so. The majority of clear headed men will only claim that capital is obtaining too large a share of the surplus, they ask for a more even divide, that is all. They may with truth complain that the evils necessarily inhering in the present method of capitalist production, which we will soon point out, imperatively demand great changes. The share of surplus value that goes to capital under present arrangements may be subdivided. One portion may be charged to the account of interest. There has been a vast deal of confusion on the subject of interest. The church, during the middle ages, con- ceived it to be her duty to urge war against taking interest ; and to this day there are some who think it wrong to charge interest. Yet the practical sense of mankind generally has sanctioned taking interest, and we may be sure whenever such is the case there must CAPITALIST PRODUCTION". 167 be some reason for so doing, the problem is to discover the ground on which it rests. Del Mar discovered, that as an historical fact, interest has increased or de- creased as the means of subsistence have increased. Henry George has worked this idea out and illustrated it. The results which these writers reach is that in- terest springs from the reproductive forces of nature ; that it is therefore the result of a natural law, and consequently just. A further reward is due to the man or men who control capital for the energy, ability and tact with which the business is conducted. Strictly speaking, all such services may be classed as labor. And yet it is on an altogether different plane. Talent in organiz- ing and conducting a business is unfortunately rare, and the individual possessing the same is entitled to a reward not properly classed as wages. They further- more are entitled to a compensation for the risk they run. They risk their entire means. While it is easy to say that taking production in general, the element of risk is eliminated, yet practically we know it is not. Events happening on the other side of the world, against which no foresight could have provided, may so effect the financial world as to cause wide spread loss. We know that the financial crisis in South America in the fall of 1890, caused failures in London and New York. We therefore see that although labor is the cre- ator of exchange-value, yet there are many good 168 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. reasons why capital should have its share of the value so created. This conclusion is the one sustained by the practical common sense of the world generally. It is against the whole system that objections can be raised. The laboring world does not object to the division of profits with capital in itself, but they do object to the unfair division now employed. But we shall find as we continue on our way, that the trouble lies deeper than the mere division of profit. The whole system of capitalist production — the laborers forming one class, the owners of the instruments of production another class — is doomed. If it had any period of usefulness — and he is a very superficial reader of history who will not admit this — that period is now past, and the most earnest scholars in this country and abroad think that a change must come soon. And in this question all are interested. Right here lies hidden the secret of hard times, as well as much of pauperism and crime. Our agriculturalist, our professional men, merchants and manufacturers, all are concerned, because here is the explanation of much of the difficulties nnder which our civilization is struggling. This somewhat long digression into the nature of value was necessary if we would understand the na- ture of capitalist production. For let us see how labor goes to work to create value. The work must be some useful work. It must be devoted to making some object that will satisfy human wants. If a man CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 169 works ever so hard rolling stones up a hill, to let them roll down again, he creates no value. The work he has expended has not been " socially necessary work." He must so apply his labor as to make something which has a use-value. Suppose he decides to make a coat. He buys cloth, thread and buttons. Each one of these articles as they are when he buys them, is a commodity, and possesses both use-value and ex- change-value ; he proposes to so combine them by his labor as to form a new commodity. The use-value of the various articles disappear, the cloth is no longer useful as cloth, nor the thread as thread, nor the but- tons as buttons. A new article, a coat, has made its appearance. It has a new use-value, something en- tirely independent of the use-values of its constituents. But the value (exchange-value) of the cloth, thread and buttons is passed over to the coat. They form a large part of the value of the coat, the labor of the workman forming the balance. Now notice in the above in order to produce a new article, other articles had to be procured and their use-value realized, that is to say, consumed. While in mining we do not manufacture the ore, or the coal, yet we have to consume the use-value of many articles to get them. In the above the labor of the workman has not been spoken of or described as a commodity. But the very essence of capitalist pro- duction is that labor itself becomes a commodity. Capital never did become master until an army of 170 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. workmen depending on wages for their labor had made its appearance. In capitalist production capital buys the raw material, and buys the labor and real- izes the use-value of these commodities — sets the labor to work on the raw products — and thus manu- factures new commodities. Here as before what passes into the value (exchange-value) of the new commodity is simply the value (exchange-value) of the constituents, capital itself has not labored as the work- man did in the former illustration, so it has added no new value. Probably there is no dispute that labor is now a commodity. Do we not talk about it being regulated by supply and demand, determined by competition and all that ? Does it not rise and fall in the market like other commodities ? Where, for any cause, there is a great demand for it, but workmen are scarce, there wages will be high. The converse of this rule is equally clear. In fact, we might recast our definition of capital, and say that capital did not exist before labor became a commodity. The pres- ent age might be known as the Age of Wagedom, or the age in which labor is a commodity. It was not a commodity in the earlier ages of the village commu- nity. It was not to a great extent a commodity in the gild system, only as it gradually changed its nature and became a commodity did capital become master. Being a commodity it has its use-value and its exchange -value, like any other commodity. Its use- CAPITALIST PEODUCTION. 171 value may be realized in innumerable ways, it may be used in holding a plow, in setting type or performing some mechanical work. One peculiarity of this com- modity is that most commodities have to be paid for before they are consumed, but in the case of labor its use-value is realized before it is paid for. As Marx says, "the use-value of the labor power is advanced to the capitalist, the laborer allows the buyer to con- sume it before he receives payment of the price, he everywhere gives credit to the capitalist." It follows, then that the older idea that wages were drawn from capital is a mistake. Henry George has elaborated this idea to a great extent. The exchange-value of labor considered as a commodity must follow the same law as every other exchange-value. It is simply the amount of human labor necessary to raise and maintain a laborer. This amount varies in different places, and has varied at different times in history It depends on climatic con- ditions, and the physical surroundings of a country. In short, the exchange-value of labor considered as a commodity, is simply what will afford the workman a living, therefore that is the limit towards which wages constantly tend to approach. No wonder workmen are dissatisfied. No wonder our civilization seems stricken with a strange blight. But what are we go- ing to do about it ? Labor is a commodity, its ex- change-value must be based on the same law as all other exchange-values. 172 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. Ricardo long ago wrote as follows: "Labor, like all other things which are purchased and sold, and which may be increased or diminished in quan- tity, has its natural and its market price. The natural price of labor is that price which is necessary to ena- ble the laborers, one with another, to subsist and to perpetuate their race without either increase or dimi- nution However much the market price of labor may deviate Irom its natural price, it has like commodities a tendency to conform to it." We would find by examining the writings of authors on this sub- ject that though many of them do not accept this theory of value, yet can not deny the fact that wages do tend to a limit that will simply afford a living. Turgot, even earlier than Ricardo, left on record his conviction that " in every kind of labor it must there- fore result that the wages of the laborer are limited to the exact amount to keep him alive." Mill, in England, Roscher, in Germany, acquiesce in this statement. Prof. Ely, of this country, in a very re- cent work says : " There is so overwhelming an array of facts gathered from widely separated countries and from periods so distant from one another, which con- firm this conclusion that it is difficult to resist it." We will not discuss this law further at this particular place, though we are by no means through with it. We will only add that enough has been already stated to condemn the present system. But let us continue on our way. CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 173 Although it is probably not necessary, let us say once for all that our objections are raised against the system, not at all against individuals. The individual capitalist, no more than the individual workman is to blame, it is the system itself. So long as labor is a commodity, so long will the iron law of wages (as Lasalle calls it) continue in force. Bnt to continue. Capital buys the raw material and furnishes the ma- chinery, the " plant." It then buys the labor, agree- ing to pay for it its market price, its exchange-value, that is to say, what will support the labor-machine, the laborer, according to his customary scale of living. The laborer goes to work, exerting his labor power in manipulating the machinery of the plant, consum- ing the use-value of the raw materials and forming new commodities. A portion of the value that each workman creates during the day is returned to him in the shape of wages, the other portion forms the sur- plus value, which is appropriated or falls to the share of capital. Capital would not, of course, continue in the field of production unless the results did work out as here stated. We know that taking the world in general, manufacturing has been a very paying business. In all probability less than one-half of the value created solely by labor goes to the laborer. As far as our own country is concerned, the following table can be worked out from the Compendium of the Tenth Census. It will give us the results for the census years of 1850, 174 CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. i860, 1870 and 1880. It is estimated that the depre- ciation of machinery, implements and buildings is ten per cent of the total capital employed. This is prob- ably too large since but a part of the capital is invested in machinery where most of the depreciation occurs. The fact is, Gronlund, who made this same calculation, is willing to allow but five per cent for depreciation. We will say in explanation of the table that the results for 1870 have been reduced to a gold basis for the purpose of comparison with other years. As to the number of workmen. The census of 1850 and i860 did not take notice of the employment of children under the age of sixteen. This might make a slight difference in the result for those years. , r , ,, ( i8so i860 1870 1880 Value created by J J _ each laborer in 1 J^ — £ — 2 " ~ 2 " kbo g rerin aideaCh |i i2 47- 12 ^^ *3<».34 1346-96 Amt. absorbed by i capital for each-! $181.45 $285.52 $293.98 $272.86 laborer in ( We are not insensible of the fact that the above table shows an improvement, as far as the laborer is con- cerned, for the year 1880 as compared with 1870. The result was probably owing to better organization on the part of labor. If so it is a hopeful indication of what may yet be accomplished. What we have thus far had to say makes plain to us the nature of capital, of value, how it was that when CAPITALIST PRODUCTION. 175 once labor became a commodity, capital assumed an importance hitherto undreamed of, and became the master ot the people. We have glanced at the work- ing of the law of wages, and surely, unless we com- mitted some glaring oversight, here alone is cause sufficient for the discontent and industrial troubles we see around us. We already see that onr laboring population is doomed to a life of toil for what — a bare living. And unless we are greatly mistaken, some- thing very like this law of wages is at work in the case of the agriculturalist also. Should such prove to be the case, then we need search no further. All other legislation sinks to insignificance besides the pressing necessity of making at once most radical changes in the industrial system of the day. Before proceding further let us glance at the question of agricultural interest. 176 AGRICULTURE. COPTER VI. AGRICULTURE. Present Condition of the United States — The Importance of Agriculture — The Welfare of the Farmers — What is Property — Increased Productiveness of Land — The Nature of the Farmers' Work — The Disadvantages of the Farmers' Work — The Exchange- Value of his Products — His Work Compared with that of Manual Labor — Table of Results — Wages or Salary — Land and Population — Increase in Size of Farms — The Bonanza Farms — Small Farms cannot compete with large ones — Farmers' Lot not improved by Improved Machinery — The Standard of Comfort — Coming Changes in the Industrial System — Conclusion. OUR remarks on labor, we have not as yet referred especially to our own country. We wanted to speak of labor generally. As every one knows, the United States is as yet fortunately situated in regard to land, population and newness of country, and the laws of labor may not apply quite as strictly in this country. As we have seen, the capitalist age was ushered in by the discovery of America. The very fact that here and in Australia were vast tracts of fertile land open to immi- gration, thus affording an outlet to population that found life becoming intolerable under the old system, HON. JERE SIMPSON, THE "ALLIANCE" CONGRESSMAN FROM KANSAS. AGRICULTURE. 179 disguised the evils of the new order. . But time has passed on, there is no longer any considerable extent of land inviting the immigrant, and so every year we find ourselves drawing nearer and nearer to the time when we must seriously consider what changes we shall introduce into present industrial life. As we have stated, the agricultural stage marks a most important age in the history of civilization. It has always remained the most important branch of in- dustry. In the final analysis land is the reservoir from which, by means of labor, all capital is drawn. A vast number of panegyrics have been written on agriculture and the farmer. In the main there is just ground for such praise. The yeomanry of a country as justly re- garded as the foundation of its strength and prosper- ity. The yeomanry of England only disappeared but recently, and all her historians lament the fact. France, which is at the present the wonder of Europe for her resources, the country that but recently saved the financial world from a disastrous panic by her liberal outpour of gold, owes her wealth to her eight million yeoman farmers. According to the census of 1880, there were over four million farms in the United States, supposing the same rate of increase has been maintained, the census of 1890 should show at least seven million farms. And at least ten million people, nearly sixteen per cent, of the entire population will be found engaged in agriculture. Now, aside from any outburst of eloquence on. 180 AGRICULTURE. the occupation of the farmer, it is evident that the welfare of such a numerous class of citizens is a matter that vitally concerns the country. We can not wonder if they propose to have a voice in legislative matters. They are fully as patriotic as any class of citizens, and in case of national difficulty they would be one of the very first to devote their lives and money to the pro- tection of national honor. It is not necessary to say that they are wise above any other class of citizens. They claim to be up to the standard, and are very earnest in proposing to exercise a voice in legislation. But at present we want to consider simply the general nature of agriculture and the rewards which a hard working farmer ought to expect to reap from his ex- ertions. Seventy-four per cent, of the farms in this country are worked by their owners. There are some writers who think that private property in land ought to be abolished. It is true, as" a very slight reading of his- tory shows, that private property in land was a com- paratively late development. It is further true that land is, in many respects, of such a nature that it may be put to one side as forming a class by itself amongst all those goods which may be made the subject of ownership. Of course, we all know that land is not created by labor, consequently those who follow Locke in his ideas as to the origin of property rights, in other words, those who think that labor gives the sole right to ownership in anything, conclude that property in AGRICULTURE. 181 land is wrong. It is but another instance of reasoning and theorizing about the natural rights of men. It connot be too often insisted on, that all of our social institutions are but concessions which society has granted, which a higher civilization may recall alto- gether. A time came in the advancing civilization of our race when it seemed for the best purpose of society to admit the claim of private ownership in land. As far as the right, or wrong, or naturalness of this step is concerned, it is exactly of the same character as property in anything else. True, it came late into existence, and it may be that a higher civilization will see fit to recall it, leaving other rights untouched. A good deal of misconception arises as to what the word property means. Most people answer that property involves the right to do with a thing as you please. But if so, there is no property fn anything. If you own an animal, you can not beat or abuse it, without the law interfering. You can not use your property to the hurt or injury of the public generally, or it will be declared a nuisance. Property rights from their very nature are indefinite. In the case of land, it is a principle that we see acted on every day, that the right of eminent domain abides in the state. We take land from private individuals for public pur- poses whenever it is needed. It needs only to be shown that the best interests of society demand that land be nationalized, and a way will be found to do it. But this is a matter in which we can afford to make 182 AGRICULTURE. haste very slowly, and the time is probably far in the future before we will decide to abolish private property in land. When we look at the matter in this light we can see no objection to property in land. There are no doubt excellent reasons why private ownership of land is beneficial. And there the whole matter rests. Let once conditions so change that reason of public policy demand that the state should take such owner- ship under its own control and no one can object. But let us be sure we are right before we go ahead. Land is provided by nature, but not in unlimited quantities like the air we breathe. Labor and capital can be indefinitely increased, but we can only hope to increase the productiveness of land. If by any means we can make one acre of land do the work of two acres, then we have in effect doubled the supply of land. Advancing civilization has accomplished some such a result as this in the past. We may hope for equally as great results in the future. Agricul- ture is an art, and improvements have taken place in it the same as in every art. Thus the introduction of turnips into England near the close of the last cent- ury made almost a revolution in agriculture. It is not necessary to mention a great number of like changes. As there is to-day a wonderful difference in farmers — one known as a good farmer, another as a poor one — so there is a great difference in the sys- tems of farming. Better ideas as to the importance of draining, of the value and importance of fertilizers, AGRICULTURE. 183 of improved breed of stock, all this wonderfully in- creases the productiveness of land. In a similar way we may increase the productiveness of land by dimin- ishing the labor necessary to cultivate it, that is by improved implements. Compare the self-binder with the hand cradle. In an altogether similar way the effect of im- proved transportation is virtually to increase the sup- ply of available land. Improved railroads have in effect moved the wheat fields of Manitoba thousands of miles nearer the market. The Suez canal made India a dangerous competitor for American wheat in Europe. In our own country the improved means of transportation has greatly reduced the value of land in the Central and Eastern States, because by lessen- ing the expense of moving the grain from the West it has increased the available supply of land. When we dwell on this, we see that a great future is open- ing before us, the whole world is drawing closer together. We do not know what wonderful advances there may be in store for us in the future in this direc- tion. The time may come when our present means of transportation will seem as antiquated and as far behind the times as does the lumbering ox-train com- pared with the fast freight of to-day. Then indeed the very odds and ends of the earth will be utilized. It is the advance of man in civilization which counter- acts what is known as the law of " diminishing re- turns " in political economy, and it is this which pre- 184 AGKICULTURE. vents the increase of population from having the effect that economists figure out for it. Now having' considered briefly the nature of pri- vate property in land, let us consider the nature of the farmer's work. As land is the source from whence all value is drawn, so from the ranks of agricultural workers come the leading men of this and other countries. To win success in the world, health and strength are demanded ; a good constitution is a better capital than money. We take the following account from a recent work devoted to the farmers of our land : " Natural surroundings beget character. The farmer is the servant of the seasons. He waits upon the motions of nature. In the spring he sows and plants, and awaits the slow, calm never hurried unfolding of the year, to know if he may reap and gather. And slowly like the unfolding of plant-life in spring, there is developed in him a calm patience which stands unshaken and tranquil even when facing the ruin made by wind, or hail, or flood. This pa- tience is the basis of character and the promise of endurance and continuance. The fields, the hills, the woods, and the illimitable heavens are the farmers' constant companions. They steal in upon him and impress him until unconsciously his character takes on a rugged simplicity. Nature continually impresses him with the stability of her purpose, and yet she keeps his eyes and ears ever on the alert with new beauties of landscape and voices from field and grove. ARGICULTURE. 185 His eyes reads the signs of the heavens to know what the weather will be ; and so his perceptive faculties are trained to be ever on the alert. The diversity of soil, the diversity of crops, the changes of weather, broaden the farmer into a man of resources and ex- pedients. The continual emergencies occurring upon the farm train the fingers to skill and the brain to invention. Of what is of equal importance to the race nature bestows upon the farmer bodily vigor and health. The elixir of life is in the fresh air of the balmy morning, and the fierce heat of the noonday harvest sun. It was thence the earth received all the stored up energies found in her great veins of coal, and with it nature pours her energies into the farmer. She inures him in all kinds of weather. She tans his cheek with the glow of health. She gives him a deep chest, a good appetite and splendid digestion. This inheritance counts in the life struggle, and it is the farmer's son or grandson who forges to the leadership of men." The foregoing account is a little enthusiastic, but it is in the main just. Of course, the advantages are not all on one side. The drawbacks are that the far- mer leads more or less of an isolated life, and unless he exerts himself he is liable to loose " touch," so to speak, with the active world of thought and business, of science and art that is in motion about him. A farmer who makes farming the whole end of his life, makes as grievous a mistake as the business man who 186 AGRICULTURE. forgets all in his devotion to business. There are some farmers who make of life one dreary round of toil, and this too when not compelled, thereto, by the stern pressure of necessity. Perhaps it would be just to say that farming, rightly conducted, is all the foregoing account makes of it, and charge the evils which we all see, to a wrong system. For it seems, to take the author from whom we have just quoted, that in spite of the many advantages of the farmer's lot, which ought to doubly equip him to fight life's battles, something is wrong. " In New England farms are standing deserted which are in sight and sound of the great factories, and this depopulation has gone on until the state authorities are busy with schemes of colonization by importation of poor people from Northern Europe. In the Middle States profits in farming are among the lost arts and lands and rents have depreciated greatly. In the Southern States land values are in the midst of the " slough of despond," and the condition of the farming classes hopeless, were it not for the fact and spirit of organization which now moves them as one man. In the Western States farm profits are an un- certain and often minus quantity and the mortgaged indebtedness hangs a pall over every rain-bow of promise. The farmers of the Eastern and Middle States, are told that they are being ruined by the com- petition of the Western living on cheap lands ; the farmers of the South are told that their poverty is due AGRICULTURE. 187 to the devastation of the war and the lack of capital ; the Western farmers are told that the trouble with them is over-production. In England the agricultural depression is as great as in America. In other Euro- pean States as great, except perhaps in France." This picture is not a bit over-drawn. There is no question that farmers work hard during the greater portion of the year, and yet, unless they own their farm free from incumbrances, they can but barely make a living. The general impression is that the mortgage indebtedness on farms is gradually increasing. Now what is the reason for all this? The answers to this query are as various as the people to whom they are propounded. Some find the answer in our system of taxes, some in the money, some in the cost of carrying the produce to market, some in this and some in that. Probably here as elsewhere many causes conduce to the same result. We think, however, that here also the evil is intensified by allowing capital to exercise its power ; in short, that our agricultural interests also are suffering from the industrial system under which we live, that is to say, from the evils of capitalist pro- duction. The farmer must rely for his compensation upon the exchange-value of his products, though he raises a large part of his living. The vegetables he consumes, the fruits, eggs and most of the meat required for his family, he gets at first cost. But for all that, he must exchange the products of his farm for clothing, boots 13 188 AGRICULTURE. and shoes, sugar and flour. Then he also needs money to carry on his farm. He needs, in most cases, to hire some help, whose services must be paid in money. He requires a large number of implements, plows, cultivators, reapers and mowers. These wear out fast and must be replaced from time to time. He must pay taxes the same as other citizens, and often an undue share of the same. It is not extravagant for him to have in his house, books, papers and other articles of comfort and luxury. He must have horses and stock. And then, in an unfortunately large num- ber of cases, there is the interest on the mortgage. So he, too, is dependent on the exchange-value of his products. The real exchange-value of his products depends, as in the case of all commodities, on the work incor- porated in them. In the case of the factory workman, we have seen that the wages for which he works con- stitutes only a part of the value he creates, the rest being absorbed by capital. The farmer does not work for wages. He puts in long hours of hard work, he, too, creates in reality much more value than is required to support him in the simple style in which he lives. Theoretically, he should be prosperous. In fact, he is not. The price, or money, which his produce brings, must be below their real value. A few figures will help us to realize this more plainly. The census of 1880 gives us the " estimated value of all farm products sold, consumed or on hand AGRICULTURE. 189 of the year 1879." But the figures as given are prob- ably much too low. In the first place, the average agriculturalist would not return at anywhere near its full value the produce used for the support of himself and family. This applies to garden truck, vegetables, small fruits, eggs, poultry and other meat, as well as the corn and grain consumed by his stock. Now all this is part of the value created by his work, and it would certainly be much underestimated, even though the census enumerators made especial inquiries on this matter. Suppose we allow twenty per cent for this cause. By comparing the two census years of 1870 and 1880 for the value of lives tock, we can find the average yearly increase in value of the same. Ten per cent would probably be a fair allowance for deprecia- tion in value of farm implements. We will not con- sider the cost of fertilizers, because first, their value is not exhausted in one year. Then there is a vast amount of fertilizing materials created each year by the live stock, which if supplied to the land, represents an actual value created of which no account was kept. In the year 1879 over seventy-seven million dollars were spent in building and repairing fences in the United States. Let us suppose that but one-half of that amount was laid out in repairing fences already built. From these data, knowing the entire number of people engaged in agriculture, the average value created by each can be obtained. In a similar way we can proceed to estimate for the year 1870. Only 190 AGRICULTURE. we must there reduce the figures to a gold basis. We must also make allowance for " improvements " made on the farms, since the figures as reported include that item in the value of farm products for the year. Now as to the results obtained, we are very sensible of many possible errors. Yet the principle on which we proceed is right. As far as we know, it is the first attempt to draw a parallel between the value created by the average agricultural worker and the wages of an average workman. Value created by the average J agricultural worker in ) I Z 5 [ 1547-29 1339-73 Wages of the average work- I ® „ £ £ JL ;« * 1 feoi-34 $346.96 man in It is evident from the above that the agricultural workman was more prosperous in the year 1870 than in 1880. We believe this is the result of experience, though, if values of everything declined in proportion, as they largely did, he was, relatively, fully as well off. Labor in general improved its condition in the period in question, but agricultural labor did not. Now the general agreement of these figures betrays the workings of a common law. It is evident that, in the case of the farmer as well as the laborer, the amount received from the fruits of his labor tend to settle about the point which will simply afford him a living. We do not think these figures can be disputed. AGRICULTURE. 191 Of course, there are exceptional seasons, and excep- tional periods of years. During our war all sorts of farm produce sold high. A failure of crops may hap- pen in one part of our country or in Europe, those sections having fair crops will then profit. But take it all in all, we have no doubt of the truth of the con- clusion. And is not this a matter of common expe- rience ? The average workman must pay out of the amount he receives as wages about eighteen per cent in the shape of rent, for a house to live in. If he owns his home he may save a little something. In the same way, if a farmer owns his farm and is out of debt, he may gather around him many comforts and amass some money, but if not, he must pay his interest money or a rent for the farm. The case seems to be as hope- less for him to get ahead as for his brother workman. In the case of the workman, we say that capital gives him only the exchange-value of the commodity he has for sale, that is to say, it gives him in the shape of wages only just what will support him. The farmer is not working for wages, yet nevertheless, his produce brings him in a return that will only just about support him. If in 1870 he was getting considerably more than the laborer, yet the swing ol the pendulum was the other way in 1880. then he was actually not getting as great a return for his exertions as the aver- age workman. The figures for 1-890 are not yet be- fore us, yet to judge from the very general distress in agricultural affairs, we venture the prediction that the 192 AGRICULTURE. figures will not improve. The explanation seems to us very simple. Labor is a commodity. It is paid only its exchange value, only what will create it. Farm labor, at least as ordinarily conducted, is not of a suf- ficiently high grade to be called skilled labor, though, of course, there are brilliant exceptions. How can it then expect any greater return than labor in general ? Every year an army of young men enter, some on a life of labor, working for others on a salary, others on a life devoted to agricultural pursuits. Is it not evi- dent that one must hold out about the same induce- ments as the other ? And is not such a result sure to follow as long as labor is bought and sold in the mar- ket like any other commodity? In fact, we may regard the prices for farm produce as a salary or the wages paid by the world at large to the farmer. Strange as this last statement may sound, still it is in a very real sense of the word a true statement. It may be objected that if so we might as well call the fees of professional men — doctors and lawyers — their salary or wages. Well they are their wages, but the element of personal skill and experience here plays so important a part that the two classes of services are not at all on the same plane. Wheat raised by a young and inexperienced farmer serves to make bread just as well as though raised by a veteran. The re- sult in the case of a broken leg might be altogether different whether it were treated by an experienced hand or not. You can not estimate the value of per* AGRICULTURE. 193 sonal experience and technical skill in such cases. Or in the case of legal difficulty, your entire fortune may be at stake. You want an experienced man, but if you are buying potatoes all you are concerned with is whether the potatoes are good. It has been asserted that wages depend largely on the price of provisions ; if they are high the work man necessarily having to receive a larger sum as wages in order to support himself. This statement is true, and yet it occurs to us that generally speaking both prices of provisions and wages of laborers rise and fall together, both are swayed by the power of capital. The agriculturalist receives for his produce what will afford him a living — the workman receives as wages what will afford him a living. The standard of comfort, or the standard of life, may be a little higher in the one case than in the other, the living procured by the farmer may be a better living than that of the workman, but in neither case are the re- wards more than that. Now it may appear to some that all this is false. That land being limited in amount, the productions received from it are also limited, and therefore the prices they will command in the market are not meas- ured by the labor incorporated in them. In our own country at the present it is no trouble to raise an abundance of all that is required. If wheat for instance should rise but little in value, there would soon be such an increased amount of it raised that again the 194 AGRICULTURE. market would fall. Taking the civilized world together, owing to improved methods of transport, there is no particular trouble in this matter. It is quite besides the question to say that vast numbers of people go hungry, and that a great deal more could be consumed. It simply shows with startling clearness that for some reason they can not get the mere pittance to enable them to buy wheat, for instance, even at prices which will only give the agriculturalist a living. Not only have we vast amounts of land as yet not utilized, but no doubt our farms could easily be made to produce much more, if there were only a market for the produce. But supposing we look ahead when instead of a population of sixty-five millions we shall be a nation of say one hundred and fifty million. As the value of land rises, the rent of the land will increase. The worker may raise produce which will bring him in more value, but he will have to pay that increased value away in increased rents. A constantly decreas- ing number of farmers will work their own land, and in this connection it is well to remember that already twenty-six per cent, of all the farms in the United States are worked by tenant farmers. They will pass into the ranks of landlords. We can see no escape from the conclusion that as quick as such a result is brought about capital will begin to concern itself more and more with land, and then the so-called yeomanry, or small proprietors, will as surely pass away in this ARGICULTURE. 195 country as they did in England. Indeed, we think we are even now entering on such a stage of develop- ment in this country. By referring to the census of 1880 the following table can be worked out in regard to the area of farms in the two census years of 1880 and 1870, 1870. 1880. Per Cent of Decrease. Farms under 3 acres 6875 4352 37 u from 3 to 10 acres 172021 134889 21 " " 10 to 20 " 244607 254749 14 11 " 20 to 30 " 847614 781547 2 Per Cent of Increase. Farms from 50 to 100 acres 754221 1032810 37 " " 100 to 300 " 565054 1695983 200 « 500 to 1000 (< 15875 75972 379 " of 1000 acres and over 3720 28578 668 The above table shows the steady decrease oi farms below fifty acres, but the rapid increase of farms above that limit. The increase in the number of farms containing over one thousand acres is really startling. It should be added that the census does not give us the number of farms exceeding one thou- sand acres, yet there is in the United States one farm of four million acre, one of eight hundred thousand acres, one of seven hundred and fifty thousand, and hundreds of them from fifty thousand acres and up- wards. In fact capital has not seriously turned its atten- tion to agricultural interests, except lately. It has not paid it to do so. But a beginning has been made 196 AGRICULTURE, and the results only show what can be done. To fully understand what will become of our agricultural interests when once capital makes up its mind to en- gage in the work, we need only to refer to the Bo- nanza farms of the Northwest. We take the liberty of drawing the following account from a description of the immense wheat farms near Casselton, North Dakota. To emphasize the distinction the author draws a comparison between farming in olden times and the present day. As this is quite in line with our present inquiry, let us see what he says : " Before agricultural machinery had come into general use, and before the age of railroads, the farms of our fathers would average in size but little more than one hun- dred acres with an amount of plow land equalling about fifty acres each. Very rarely did they exceed double that amount. On every such farm was there a family home, with all the ties, endearments and ad- vantages that the word home conveys to our mind. They furnished not alone homes, but. employment, abundance and comfort for a family of at least a dozen persons. Go through New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio and see the great number of such places, all of them formerly family homesteads, lying within sight and hailing dis- tance of each other. From half a dozen to a hundred may be seen from almost any elevated point. Now mark the change that has already taken place, and is fast obtaining in all our new and great AGRICULTURE. 197 agricultural regions. Under the power of machinery and capital the farms have grown from the size of one hundred acres, as formerly, to one thousand acres, to ten thousand acres, to one hundred thousand acres, even to five hundred thousand acres, or nearly eight hundred square miles and more, with not one home upon their vast areas ; with no one surrounding a family roof-tree with all that made the old home a paradise. Yet these huge tracts are being developed, cultivated and made to yield as was no farm in the days of our fathers. Nov/ machinery and a few score or a few hundred hirelings and animals to run and attend the machines, do the work under the eye of overseers. The hirelings — the human animals — are worked for a few weeks or a few months in the year, paid barely enough to live upon for the time being, and then are turned out and driven from the place, to tramp or live as best they can, no matter what may be the want and misery of their lives, whilst the brute animals and machines are well housed and cared for. The owner of the farm has a property interest in the brute, but no interest whatever in the human animal other than that of getting the greatest possible amount of work for the least amount of compensa- tion. The most valuable improvements are for the protection of the brutes and the machinery, whilst the human tillers of the soil have neither ria-ht nor inter- est in anything they see or touch or produce. In this way the finest sections of our country, in tracts run- 198 AGRICULTURE. ning up to the size of eight hundred or more square miles — areas that would give fifty acres of plowland to more than a thousand families, and to our fathers would have furnished home, ample employment and comfort to more than ten thousand people — are now without even one home, and furnish but transient and uncertain employment to a few hundreds. The owners of these large tracts have bonanzas, yielding great profits, not one dollar of which is ex- pended in beautifying and permanently improving their vast estates beyond that necessary for the care of the stock and tools, nor in sustaining a permanent population. Their homes, their pleasures, their family ties are not upon their farms. Their wealth is flaunted in the gaieties and dissipations, or expended in build- ing and developing some distant city or country. But the owner and cultivator of the small farm in the neighborhood, upon which he has planted his roof- tree, and around which are gathered all his hopes and ambitions, finds it impossible to pay his taxes, clothe and educate, and find any comfort for his wife and little ones. The case of the small farmer is steadily growing from worse to worse. The two can not exist together ; the small farmer can not successfully com- pete with his gigantic neighbor under present condi- ditions. He will inevitably be swallowed up. It is at best but a question of time." We do not see how these statements can possi- bly be disputed. The small farmer can no more com- AGRICULTURE. 199 pete with these immense capitalized farms than the individual shoe-maker can compete with a shoe factory. We can read from history how it was that before cap- ital assumed control of the manufacturing industries of England, there was a hand loom or a spinning wheel in each household, and thus the income of the family was increased. This was all changed when capital began its work and the great factories furnish- ing labor for hundreds of men were built. Then the individual manufacturer — the real meaning of the word is one who works with his own hand — could no longer compete with the factory and so passed out of existence. Can we not see that our agricultural in- terest are on the threshhold of such a stage of de- velopment ? Our aim in this chapter was to show that agricul- tural work stood on about the same plane as work in general. We showed from the returns of the census, that the average value of the products raised by the average agricultural worker, were not greatly different from the average wages received by the average work- man. And these figures confirmed what was the general impression, that while labor had really im- proved its condition between the years 1870 and 1880, agriculture had not. Relatively, it had fallen behind in the race. On inquiry, we find the reason for this statement to lie in the fact that agricultural labor fol- lows the general law of labor. If for any cause labor in general has become simply a commodity, is worth 200 AGRICULTURE. in the markets only subsistence wages, then we may • depend upon it, agricultural returns will sink to the same level. And questioning the future, we can see no good reason for hoping this will even be better as far as the great mass of people depending on agricul- ture is concerned. As land rises in value, so will rent rise. If twenty-six per cent of the farms in the United States are worked by renters now, or rather, were so worked in 1880, we may look for this number to rapidly increase. We may look for capital to become more interested in agricultural pursuits than previously. In England it took some centuries for their system of tenant farming to come into vogue. In this country, undoubtedly, the change will be effected much more rapidly. In fact, within the last few years we have taken immense strides in bringing about in our country a condition of things similar to that already existing in Europe, after some centuries of slow change. We are not yet ready to consider remedies, but we can not help reverting to some, It is, probably, evident that as far as the average agriculturalist is concerned, his condition has not been improved by im- proved machinery. Does he make any better living with self-binders than he did with hand-cradles? Here, as in the case of manual labor, it is not the one who labors that reaps the profit of machinery. Does it depend on the cost of exchange ? If you could really do away with all the middle-men, could you secure exact justice from the railroads, and transport be ob» ARGICULTURE. 201 tained at much less figures than at present, under those conditions is it clear that relief would be imme- diate and lasting? On the other hand, is it not clear that the law of labor compensation would still hold sway, and price of produce fall, so that the return for the labor would be — as before — simply a living. Un- less we have made some mistake, agricultural interests, like the interests of labor, rest down on a deeper prin- ciple than such questions as these. It may be said that granting the truth of what is said, still no real objections can be raised to a system which enable men to obtain a living. If the rewards of labor, whether agricultural or otherwise, really re- turn a man a living, why that is all that he can rea- sonably ask. The answer depends on what kind of a living is meant, what is the standard of comfort ? Prof. Ely tells us that what the standard ought to be. u It should include provisions for all real needs and provision for accidents ; future emergencies, disability on account of old age, and the like should be included. A deposit in the saving bank, and insurance policies ought to be a part of the habitual standard of life." Very good ; unfortunately it is not the case. Taking a long lapse of time into consideration, it is probably true that this standard has slowly risen with advanc- ing civilization. It will inevitably lag behind what it ought to be. Civilization is constantly developing new wants, and means of satisfying them. Compar- atively few of these wants, and those only the most 202 AGRICULTURE. important, and even then after a long struggle, can be- come a part of the standard of comfort. And in the meantime — and here is a stern, cruel fact confronting us — such/ is the very nature of industrial progress that at present an increasingly large proportion of the whole army of laborers, is gradually sinking to a lower social level. They may still earn a living, but it will be on a lower level. If agriculturalists now earn a comparatively good living, they will have to be content with a lower level when there are nothing but tenant farmers, even though the standard of the tenant farmers should be raised above its present level. If laborers are not satisfied now, what will their lot be when another century of industrial prog- ress has passed ? It makes no difference if their living, as a whole, be higher than it is now, still, it will be so far behind what it ought to be, read in the light of probable advance of the time, that they will rightfully be dissatisfied. If the advance of civiliza- tion is such that the more favored classes have ad- vanced some one hundred degrees on the scale, but workmen only say twenty degrees, then relatively they will be worse off. But we anticipate that long before another cent- ury shall have passed by, very great changes will have been introduced into the present industrial system, by which the present dangers at least will be avoided. One evidence of this is that the laboring world — and in that expression we of course include agricultural AGMCULTUKE. 203 workers — is now wide awake to the dangers that con- front it. The people are reading, thinking, talking, or- ganizing and propose to act. And in this we are sure they will have the sympathy of the majority of thinking men, a people can never prosper unless all classes share in the prosperity. A civilization that proposes to advance one class at the expense of an- other ought to be doomed. Let us never make the mistake of supposing that " whatever is is right," at least in industrial affairs. He would be a bold prophet indeed who would venture to predict what the future has in store for us, many pet theories will probable be shattered, but some sort of a change is impending. A survey of history strengthens this conclusion, for we see that civilization has frequently introduced very great changes To one who understands the nature of Ancient Society, the complex organization of tribes, and knows that it everywhere preceded polit- ical or modern society — it is a matter of astonishment that mankind ever made the change from one to the other. But a time simply came when tribal society was unable to meet the wants of the day, it had to give way. Consider also the ingenious organization of the gilds, what a quaint adaptation of older forms of organization, to meet the pressure of new wants. This in turn gave way to the present capitalist age, which seems now to have served its day. It is going. If we do not understand the change ahead, yet we feel sure a new age is coming. Let all those on whom 13 204 AGRICULTURE. the pressure of present difficulties seem too great to bear, take courage : " Jocund day- Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops." No one in his senses thinks that a time will ever come when it will not be necessary to labor, for that is, and ever will be, the price of human good. It will ever be necessary to " run with patience the race set before us," but we do think mankind will devise some plan, with justice to all, by which rewards will be more in proportion to the work done. TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 207 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. Slow Growth of Social Institutions — Advantages of a Settled Life — Introduction of our present System — Advantages of our Pres- ent System — In what Respect an Advance on the Preceding — The Evils of the Same — The Principles on which Capital must depend to make Profit — Necessity of getting Cheap Labor — Ricardo's Law Again — Wages effected by the Necessities of the Laborers — Labor a Perishable Commodity— - Capitalist Production one-sided — The Situation Summed Up — Capitalist Production must be Judged by its Fruits — The Story of Spring Valley — Booming the Town — Dooming the Town — The Lock-out — The Results — Sufferings In- flicted — The Warning to be drawn — Conclusion, DISCUSSING the nature and tendency of our present industrial system, we must consider that being a stage of evolution or growth reached by our advancing civilization, it must, in many respects, represent an actual advance over previous conditions. It must have met some want of the times, or else it would not have sprung into existence. Social stages of growth, such as this are not ushered into existence in complete working order. There are preceded by a long period of slow transition. The evils by which each state are attended are likewise of slow growth. They grow 208 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. and develop with the growth of the system itself, until, finally, they reach a stage in which the evils actually outweigh the good, and so a change is imperatively demanded by civilization in general. No one doubts, for instance, that settled agricultural life represents an advance over previous nomadic life. It is difficult to see how anything worthy the name of civilization could have come into being unless men had adopted a settled mode of life. The wants of nomads are few and simple, their very manner of life prevents them from forming new wants and trying to realize the same. In many ways a settled life changes all this. The people are no longer contented with rude hovels to live in, they be- gin to improve them in many ways. They put in a floor, they build chimneys, finally using glass for win- dows. They partition them off into rooms, they invent better furniture. Better clothing, better food are the accompaniments of changed habitations. All this tends to develop healthier bodies and stronger minds, arts and science are cultivated ; and so in all direc- tions progress goes forward. But have we not seen the reverse side of this picture ? Do we not know that in nearly every case the free agricultural workers sank into a state of villanage ? According we traced the efforts made by the mass of the people to raise 'themselves, to shake off the feudal lord, we traced the gradual growth of the towns, The people of the towns, as they freed them- TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 209 selves from the restraints of the feudal lord, not know- ing any other form of organization, adopted the gild system, each trade organized as a gens apart by itself. A distinct advance was thus made. The evils of the system, or the one that comes most prominently to view, was that it tended to repress individual energy. If every trade was fully organized, a plain road marked out for all to follow, we can at once see that the tend- ency would be to make advance difficult. While the inhabitants of a town were thus feeling their way to some new system, the agricultural laborers had been slowly breaking up the system of villanage. Advance would certainly tend in the direction most ardently desired by the respective classes of citizens, rural and urban. The mass of the rural population desired freedom from the vexatious incidents of villanage, this in their eyes, was the great thing to be desired, they achieved their wish but forgot to retain their hold on the land, accordingly, with the break down of the gild system, the setting free of individual energy and com- petition, the formation of a body of laborers greatly forwarded by the wonderful maritime discoveries of the day, the present industrial system was ushered in. We have considered the meaning of the word capital, of value, and have considered the general law of the value of labor. Though only just on the thresh- old of our inquiry, surely most grievous evils have been disclosed to view. Evils quite as unexpected in the dawn of this system as it was unforseen that vil- 210 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. lanage would engraft itself on the free village com- munity. We must now consider with more care, both the good and bad side of our present system. It is surely not necessary to declare that after all, the pres- ent system is an advance upon the slavery of serfdom. Liberty is worth not only fighting for, but suffering for. The workman can, as a rule, choose his own work and his own employer. In cases, of course, stern necessity compels him to take the very first thing that is offered. In this country, and at the present time, it is certainly true that a workman can rise in the scale. The trouble is that such a state of affairs tend every year to become more difficult. Still, as a recent writer remarks, "the history of the con- version of the serf into the wage receiver is a proud chapter in the history of civilization." ' There is farther, no question that our modern system has enormously developed individual enterprise. Valuable prizes were to be obtained by shrewd, far- seeing men in opening up new avenues of trade. It stimulated inventive industry to the utmost. The wonderful inventions of the past century are tributes to the worth of this system. Railroads, steam-ships ?,nd the telegraph system sprang into being, because men were bent on wresting from nature some secret that would enable them to amass wealth and conse- quent power. The marvelously rapid advance of civilization during the last two hundred years could scarcely have been possible under the older systems. TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 2H We can say all this and still declair that the evils are great, almost unbearable. In view of the splendid advances made, we could have nothing to say, did we not believe that in some way tfoe advantages of the present may be retained without, at the same time re- taining its evil features. The last two centuries have seen a wonderful ex- tension of Aryan people of Europe. They have colo- nized the new world, many of the islands of the Pacific and the continent of Australia. At various times in the world's history we can detect the movement of great masses of people, but this last period has been on a larger scale than ever before. Every year an army of emigrants arrive on our shores larger than many of the armies of the invaders that made the Mistress of the World tremble, in the first few centuries of our era. The capitalist age was largely called into being by the opening of the world market, but it was also a cause of further colonization. It is doubtful if such an extensive system of colonization could have been possible under any of the older systems. People indeed migrated, but they moved en-mass. Tribes and nations moved as one body. So we could point out a great many respects in which our present industrial system is an advance over what has preceded. There is one way of looking at the matter, which certainly carries with it great weight. Even a cursory glance at the development of civilization shows us that progress has been from 212 TENDENCY OP CAPITAL. the group to the individual. With every advance in civilization we have drawn nearer to the individual and individual rights, until the distinguishing mark of our present age is its individuality. Surely we seem to have now reached the culmination of progress in this direction, why look for any further change? This very argument is put forward by men who are conver- sant with the growth of civilization. Still, we conceive that while in one direction rights and duties have come to be more and more a matter of individuals, yet in another direction they have been gradually widen- ing. In early times a man of another tribe, of another village or town even, had no rights at all in a strange community. Now in this direction the sphere of rights and duties has been widening. While holding fast to the idea of individuality why should we not come to see that the whole community, state or nation forms a new social unit in which the welfare of each is inti- mately connected with the welfare of all ? But if the good qualities are many, the evils are certainly very great also. We have already had to consider the mere fact that labor with us is simply a commodity, and as such is entitled to just what will produce it or in short a living. The end of human existence is human happiness. What civilization should especially concern itself with, therefore, is the greatest possible good for all. It must be evident that such a state of society as we have discussed tends inevitably to the greatest good of the few, not TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 213 of all. But while it is easy thus to condemn off-hand and on general principles, it is necessary for us to give more in detail. So let us take up some of the principles and examine them more carefully. . People are not as a rule in business for pleasure. They may have engaged in it for so long a time that it comes second nature to them, and they work for the mere sake of working; we may be very sure, however, they would not be thus engaged unless they found enjoyment in so doing, and there would cer- tainly be no enjoyment unless the business was pros- perous. So it finally comes around to the same point, which is undoubtedly true in the majority of cases, people are in business to make money. Drop- ping all references to individuals we can say that cap- ital is in business to make money- But capital can only deal with things as it finds them. It cannot ig- nore the laws of arithmetic, and so it must figure in a cold blooded way with the elements of the problem. If it is going to make surplus value there is only one general course of action for it to pursue. The labor- machine, the laborer, must in the first place be ob- tained at the lowest possible rate of wages, and in the second place his work must be made to yield as much as possible. There is nothing else to be taken into consideration. On these two statements hangs, if not all the law, certainly all the " profits." Let us examine them more closely. He must get his labor as cheaply as possible. 214 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. This is in the nature of an axiom. It needs only to be stated to be seen to be true. Capital is in busi- ness to make profit. The socialist say that capital is a sponge to soak up surplus value. It is. impelled by the nature of things to force the wages down to as low a rate as possible. You may call it selfishness, cold business calculation, or any name you prefer, but the simple fact is, as long as human nature is what it is, capital is bound to do all it can to make wages cheap. So we see on reflection that not only is labor bound to sink to subsistence wages on general prin- ciples, so to speak, but the very life of capital de- pends on depressing it to that level. Capital is not at all concerned in the welfare of its employes. That is a very cold-blooded expres- sion to make, and yet how true it is. We are talk- ing about their welfare as far as it depends on wages. A great corporation may indeed provide reading rooms, free lectures, gymnasiums, even model tene- ment houses, but at the same time wages sink to the lowest possible level. Sometimes public opinion is so strongly on the side of the laborers that the company raise wages, but those are only exceptional cases. We can see that the system of production, capital on one side, hungry workmen on the other, actually forces capital to take this position. Supposing a wealthy philanthropist concludes to start up a rolling- mill which will give employment to a thousand hands. No matter how willing he may be to give wages TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 215 double what any other employer may give, yet he can not do so and remain in business. As long as competition is as it is he must buy his material as cheap as the average rolling-mill manufacturers, or he can not compete. It would be just as reasonable for him to give twice as much for the iron ore as it was worth as to give his laborers more than the average mill man. This is but a restatement with very slight variation of Ricardo's law of wages. What we be- fore found to be true simply from reasoning about value in general, we now see to be true from the very fact that capital engages in business simply to make profit, and it is therefore its interest to force wages down to the lowest limit. There is in this no occasion for outcry against hard-hearted capitalists. It would be fully as reasonable to complain that you can get no more for wheat for instance, than what it is worth in the market as to complain because wages are forced down to subsistence level. Neither can we see any possible change as long as the present system remains in force. It seems to us about as reasonable to try and lift yourself up by the boot- straps as to believe that the laboring world can greatly improve its present position as long as labor is simply a commodity, to be paid for by wages. One of the very best reasons for concluding we are right is the fact that there is an illy-defined feeling that something is wrong. Public opinion, the conscience of the age, 216 TENDENCY OP CAPITAL. begins to see that someway or other wages ought to bear a proportion to the total amount of profit. This is seen in various schemes of profit sharing, of co- operation, etc. These various schemes are signs that society as a whole is casting about for some as yet undecided way to get rid of wages. It is coming, and we do not think there will be any very stormy times either. Expanding civilization will take on a higher form, that is all. Not only is it in the very nature of value that wages should hover about the level of mere living wages, not only is it for the interest of capital to force them down, but — as if all the advantages in this unequal fight were on the side of capital — it has at least heretofore been almost wholly in the power of capital to enforce its demands. This comes about from the peculiar nature of labor considered as a commodity. Let us illustrate this point. Suppose we were to enter a well stocked store, the proprietor of which was prosperous. On the shelves and in the dressers, or in the various rooms, are to be found all sorts of commodities, from a paper of pins to a suit of clothes, from a smoked herring to a barrel of sugar, from a boot-jack to a chamber set. No matter if the weather be stormy and we chance to be the only customer in the store, we will quickly discover that every article has a reserve price, and we must either pay the price or go without the goods. It is no use to remind him that there is no competition, no TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 217 present demand for his goods, he is under no pressure to sell and your efforts to beat him down are vain. Three months later circumstances may have changed with the proprietor. He may be extremely anxious to dispose of his stock. He is ready to offer you bar- gains now. If he can not get his price he may ac- cept what you have to offer. Perhaps a little later still you may witness still a third phase of the busi- ness. He wishes absolutely to retire from business. The auctioneer is called in and things go for what they will bring. It may be only a fraction of what he would have accepted a few months previously. Here then we see that the prices of commodities may de- pend on the necessities of those offering them for sale. One more example must be referred to. In all our large towns are men who make a specialty of dealing in summer fruits, pears, peaches, berries and melons. On ordinary occasions such a dealer's prices will be very steady, varying of course with the abund- ance of the supplies on hand. But it sometimes hap- pens, there comes a glut in some one branch, peaches for instance. Not only has he a big supply on hand but every hour sees his stock increasing. Anxious growers for hundreds of miles around are rushing their ripened fruit to market. Now fruit is not a com- modity, like sugar for example, which if you do not sell to-day will keep for an indefinite time, the fruit must be gotten rid of soon or go to the dumps. Down drop prices, down, down, until all profit is 218 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. wiped out. The commodity he had to sell was a perishable one and had to be gotten rid of. Now the laborer, having only his labor to sell, suffers from both of these causes. He is under neces- sity, as a general rule, to sell, and further his commo- dity is the most perishable of all commodities, hence capital, which is the only customer of labor, as natur- ally takes advantage of such a combination of circum- stances as the general public does of a forced sale in commodities in general, or of goods that will not keep. In the first place the laborer is under necessity of selling his labor. We all know what that neces- sity is, hunger is one element aud that the grimest of all. He must work or starve. The average free born man shrinks with loathing from accepting aid from others. Men are not of choice tramps or crim- inal, save of course in exceptional cases. But the workman is not alone in his suffering. In a majority of cases there are others depending on him, wife and children. Do not all see there is a terrible pressure put on the workman to dispose of his ware? The comfortably well off world little realizes what some sections of the laboring world, impelled by dire ne- cessity, undergo to provide for themselves and those dependent on them. Let us make no mistake. There is no commodity, the possessor of which is under so great a pressure to sell as he who has only labor to sell. His very life and the life of others is at stake. Hunger, sickness and want of every kind stare him TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 219 in the face. He must dispose of his commodity, even at the lowest wages. It was Solomon of old who wrote, "the destruction of the poor is their poverty." Not only is he under pressure of dire necessity to sell his ware, but his commodity is the most perish- able of all commodities. All other commodities may be stored up for a longer or shorter time without loss either in quantity or quality. But labor cannot be left unused for one moment without partially wasting away. Unless it be sold immediatly, some portions of it can never be sold at all. To-day's labor cannot be sold after to-day, for by to-morrow it will have wasted away. No matter how short a time a laborer postpones the sale of his labor, he has certainly lost the whole price of his labor for the time he was wait- ing. The over-stocked dealer in fruit, before consent- ing to a wholesale reduction, may wait till noon, in the hope that demand may be a little more brisk then. He will, at least, have as much to sell as he has now. The laborer who waits till noon in the hopes that afternoon wages may be much better, may have his hopes realized, but it is positively sure that he will have only half the amount of labor to sell. And in the meanwhile his daily wants have not forgotten to make themselves heard. Other articles are sold by the piece, peck, pound or yard. Labor is sold by the day or hour, even in contracts by the job it is carefully calculated how much time is necessary. All the power, science and skill in the world cant stay the flight of 220 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. time. Freezing, canning or chemicals may preserve fruits for further use, but no step can be taken to pre- vent the waste of time which enters into the computa- tion of labor. Of a truth, the more we examine the question the more surprising it seems that in spite of its advantages which we have tried to point out, that the system of wagedom or capitalist production was ever allowed to develop. It is altogether one-sided. From every point of view labor is at a disadvantage. Labor is a commodity, therefore according to the law of value, it will bring only subsistence wages. It is a commodity, therefore capital will, most certainly, procure it at the lowest price it can, the same as it does iron and coal. Once again labor is a commodity, but it is placed at a great disadvantage besides all other commodities, since its possessors are under the sternest necessity to sell, and further it is such an extremely perishable article that the only way to realize on it is to sell it at once. Is it any surprise then that we find a great deal of misery and distress in the world, need we wonder that many signs of an impending change are discernible, can we doubt that the general conscience of the people will demand, in the name of simple equity alone, that some change be made, and that too, soon. A recent writer sums up the situation in the fol- lowing words, which, in spite of their sarcasm, contain a world of truth. We make but slight change in the TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 221 words, " Here is the laboring classes face to face with capital, which holds in its grip the means of subsistence. It must reach those means of subsistence or starve. The terms laid down for its acceptance are clear and decisive, we will place within your hands the means of existence if you will produce sufficient to support us as well as yourselves, and if you will consent that the whole of your produce, over that which is sufficient to support you in a hardy, frugal life, shall be the property of us and of our children. If you are very thrifty, very self-denying and very lucky you may be able to save enough out of your small share of the produce to feed yourself in your old age and so avoid falling back on us. The children will tread the same mill-round, and we hope you will remain contented with the position in which Providence has placed you, and not envy those born to a higher lot." Intentions do not count in business, it is what a man does that condemns or praises, not his intentions. We gather what his intentions are from what he actually does. Something of the same kind of remarks must be made as to capital in general. We have to judge it by its fruits. The agents manipulating this powerful weapon are neither more nor less than ordi- nary men. When the system puts every advantage in their hands it would indeed be passing strange if they did not look out for self-interest. In the days of villanage and the early days of the gild system, when the present system was slowly coming into use, prob- 222 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. ably no one could have foreseen the practical conse- quence, or practical evils, as we might say, which were inseparably connected with it. They have come to the front with the growth of modern industry. Probably no one could foresee that the new system meant the gradual disappearance of the yeoman farm- ers of England. That was as much unforseen as it is generally unforseen that the evils under which the agriculturalists of this country are laboring are caused also by the simple fact that labor is a commodity. With official figures before us from which it can be shown that the rewards of labor are the same in both spheres of activity, it will, perhaps, become clearer how the one class of laborers partake of the misery of the other. Neither is it now generally understood, in this country, that a continuance of this system means the ultimate destruction of our agricultural system. And yet as time passes on, it will more and more pay capital to really take hold of land. The French writer, Bastiat, has written on the distinction between the Seen and the Unseen in eco- nomical matters. Here is an excellent case in point. The agriculturalist sees that if labor is only cheap he can procure on easier terms such hands as he needs on his farm. He sees that if labor only is cheap he can procure his agricultural implements cheaper. What he does not see is the fact that he himself par- takes in the general prosperity of labor. He does not see that the value of the produce he raises, rises and TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 223 falls with the value of labor generally. He knows that the laborer is generally employed in manipulating productive machinery, he fails to take into account that he himself is a laborer manipulating one of the most productive of machines, the soil. He fails to see that, as time passes on, it is going to be harder and harder for those possessed of a small machine — a small farm — to compete with the larger and more prosperous. He does not seem to understand that when capital once seriously turns its attention to farm- ing the small farmer will be as remorselessly crushed out or turned into a mere tenant farmer, as was the hand manufacturer crushed out when the factory proper started. From what we have seen as to the one-sidedness of the modern industrial system we would naturally think that capital would be abundantly satisfied with its vantage ground, but it is not. It actually knows how to create favoring circumstances. And it is in this matter that a most serious indictment can be drawn. It seems that not content with taking what might be called legitimate use of the advantages placed in its hands, capital seeks other means to achieve its ends. We can illustrate the methods by the story of the mining town of Spring Valley in Illi- nois. It so happens that coal mining offers an excep- tionally good field for the exploitation of labor by capital. Coal mining on a large scale means the con- centration of large numbers of laborers in one locality. 224 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. They are not, as in the case of railroad laborers, scat- tered all along an extended line. The company that owns the mines generally owns many of the houses in which the miners live, and they generally have a store in which the miners are expected to trade. So here we have capitalist production, almost in its normal form, all the means of subsistence in the hands of capital, and a large body of workmen on the other. So in mining industry we have a good example of what this system tends to bring about. However, we are not ready to talk about monopo- lies just yet. Mr. H. D. Lloyd has presented to the world the terrible story of Spring Valley. A story which no American can read without varied emotions of sorrow, shame, indignation and alarm. Sorrow, when we read of the vast amount of suffering caused by the acts of capital. Shame, when we think that men, who as individuals lead excellent lives, yet as officials of a corporation resort to schemes so dastardly to effect their purposes. Indignation, when we reflect that they are legally blameless, and are to-day enjoy- ing the usufruct of their acts. Alarm, when we can but see that such is the tendency of the age, that the time is surely coming when, if the proper steps are not taken, more and more of the main avenues of produc- tion will be as thoroughly under the control of capital as is coal mining. The fact is, wealth, although it may have and undoubtedly does have a refining and elevating influence, as truly has a debasing influence, TENDENCY OF CAPITAL, 225 and men in the mad pursuit of gold, especially if their acts are veiled behind the doings of corporations, do not shrink from acts that should forever condemn them. As is well known, at various places in Illinois coal exists in great abundance, Streator, Braidwood and LaSalle may be mentioned as examples The Chicago and Northwestern railway is one of the giant corpo- rations of the West. It has its branches and leased lines all over Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, South- ern Wisconsin, Southern Minnesota and South Dakota. Struck with this fact, a number of wealthy men largely interested in the railway, some of them being directors in the same, concluded it would be a good thing to own a coal field of their own. Not only could the road use a vast amount of coal for its engines, but we must consider the immense extent of territory, the thousands of towns which must be supplied with coal from some source. Accordingly, no less than three new corporations were formed, known as the " Spring Valley Coal Company," the "Spring Valley Town Site Company " and the " North West Fuel Company" of St. Paul. There was an umbilical cord connecting these three companies to each other and to the North Western Railway. There was community of goods, community of interests and even community of persons. Operations were commenced by buying large tracts of land, and leasing other lands in Bureau County, Illinois, not far from LaSalle. Forty thousand acres were thus secured. The Coal Company was to 226 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL, develop the mines ; the Town Site Company to boom the town, and sell off building lots at an enormous advance of what it cost the company to buy. The Railway Company built a branch road from Belvidere, on the main line, and was to do the hauling of the coal and purchase what it needed for its own use. The Fuel Company at St. Paul attended to business at its end of the line by supplying the innumerable towns with coal. We must remember that these various companies were largely composed of the same men and interests. So far so good. Nothing but brisk business from the word "go." But to carry on the mining operations, and to boom the town, a large population must be gathered. Accordingly, in the Spring of 1885, most glowing advertisements were circulated all over the country in pamphlets and newspapers, mentioning the many ad- vantages to be found in the new town. Miners were assured that there was no doubt of steady work and good wages, where they could procure homes on most excellent terms. The bait took. From all the coal- mining towns around, miners sold their little homes and moved to Spring Valley. Business men concluded that there was just the place for them to set up busi- ness. Emigrants were drawn, not only from other states as far away as Pennsylvania and Colorado, but even from Europe. In France and Belgium, miners were assured that a home, steady employment and good wages awaited them in Spring Valley. So sue- TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 227 cessful were all these steps that a population of, at least, five thousand people were gathered in about three years. Every thing was going on swimingly. The Town Site Company had made an enormous profit out of their investment. It is true, the miners had not been able to make any extra wages. Still they were hopeful. Other miners were still being urged to come, and it seemed reasonable that better times were ahead. - So much for " booming" legitimate business and all that sort of thing. But capital has more than one way to make profit, and so having got its population together capital proceeded to put in execution a scheme with " millions in it." True,, it entailed a vast amount of suffering, but what did capital care for that ? Let us see what that plan was. The output of the mines was in the neighborhood of one million tons a year. Now suppose that wages be forced down only ten cents a ton, that meant one hundred thousand dollars a year saving. Now suppose that in addition to above, a good deal of expense necessarily con- nected with mining, technically known as "brushing," for which the company then paid, could be shifted onto the men, here would be another saving. Then there was still another consideration worth talking about. If the miners union could only be broken up, the miners be made to sign contracts by which they became, in reality, slaves to the company, in virtue of which every advantage would be given to capital in 228 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. case the miners, for any reason, quit work — if such arrangement could be done, why of course the men — their slaves for the time being — would be rendered tractable. All these advantages capital desired to gain. Accordingly, arrangements were made to secure them. We must remember that no strike was whis- pered about among the men, and the owners were paying no more wages than were being in the neigh- boring towns of LaSalle, Streator or Braidwood ; in- deed not quite so good in some respects. Without a word of warning two of the mines were closed in December, 1888, throwing seven hun- dred men out of employment. What this throwing out of employment means is hard to realize by the comfortably off. We must understand that on the average the men had been able to earn a fraction less than thirty-two dollars per month. It probably needs no demonstration that with that amount of wages they had no extra resources at command to support themselves during the winter just coming on. The miners who remained at work, about fourteen hun- dred, divided up the work with their less fortunate comrades. By this means the miners managed to get through the winter someway. But in April, with- out further warning, all the mines were suddenly closed. What did capital that was engineering these operations care if two thousand miners with families on their hands, with absolutely nothing ahead, in debt for their little homes, were suddenly left with nothing? TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 229 What did it care if the business of the small traders who had settled down was ruined? It knew what it wanted. It was a splendid exhibition of what legit- imate business notions mean if capital is allowed to do as it pleases. It was about five months before the company- deigned to make any offer to its miners. The offer amounted to less than half the wages they had been paying, less than half what was being paid in neigh- boring mines. This offer could not possibly be ac- cepted by the men. The company did not suppose it would be accepted. Four weeks later a proposi- tion was made embodying all the points which we mentioned as desirable points to be gained. About ten cents a ton was to be saved in mining, extra work which had hitherto been paid for by the com- pany was now done by the miners, The miners' union was completely broken up. The miners had to make individual contracts. Every advantage was given by these contracts into the hands of the mine owners. The men became literally slaves. It is sheer mockery to speak of free contracts. The men were as truly coerced into signing these contracts as the slaves of ante-bellum days were coerced in their work. Starvation, sickness and death drove these men to it. Consider, there had been eleven months of partial shut down, six months of complete shut down. What could the men do? Within a month nearly 230 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. two-thirds of the men had scattered out in search of work elsewhere. Many disappointments awaited these poor fellows. When they got to a place where work was reported they often found they were de- ceived. Nothing to do but to go somewhere else. Yet they sent off the pittance they could earn to their families left to face the horrors of hunger and sick- ness at home. The wife of a merchant in Spring Valley, who was doing all she could out of the wreck of her husband's business to help the still more un- fortunate families around her, was asked how she could tell a family was in want. Listen to her reply, "When the neighbors see the little children of a fam- ily hanging about the door crying silently hour by hour, they know well enough what is the matter. There's never a bite in that house, you may be sure." "Little children crying silently hour by hour." What a pathetic spectacle! But we forget capital was doing a magnificent stroke of business. . . Father Huntington, of the order of the Holy Cross, who has devoted his life to the poor of New York, visited Spring Valley and was greatly moved by what he saw. He says : " The poverty stricken inhabitants are not like the poor I am used to seeing in New York. There is no whining ; the people show intelligence and pride; even hunger has not debased their feelings as one might expect. I am used to scenes of want, but what I saw at Spring Valley was different. It was more pitiful than anything I have TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. 231 ever witnessed before." Mr. Lloyd himself writes from Spring Valley in September : (< In this great and prosperous State, and in the midst of harvest laden farms and rich cities, the visitor will see a cem- etery of the living. Instead of the light of health there shines in the eyes of the men and women the phosphorescence of decaying strength, and the chil- dren fatally weakened by want are dying. .... One of the teachers in the public school stated that on her way to school in the morning she would some- times meet as many as a dozen of her class out with baskets going to beg. As they saw her the little things, ashamed, would try to hide from sight until she had passed Numbers of the chil- dren were insufficiently clothed, little boys and girls of the tenderest years having on only some light sack or jacket, with no underclothing, It was cold bleak day, but many were bare-footed Most of these sufferers are children, and most of the children are little ones." Even of " such is the kingdom of heaven." Poor starving children, this was only an object lesson of " brisk business methods." It was by such means as this that capital triumphed at Spring Valley. This explains what we mean when we say that capital not content with the advantage which our sys- tem itself places in its hands, has learned, and espe- cially of late years, how to amass new conditions. Need we doubt that other branches of production will 232 TENDENCY OF CAPITAL. learn this lesson? No one probably entertained a suspicion that the village community would end in villanage. So no one probably ever dreamed that capital to achieve its end would override the rights, the very lives of the people. And if they know how to do it in one department of labor will it not find a way to do it in all? On this point Mr. Lloyd con- tinues, and his words are a solemn warning" to all: " The story of Spring Valley needs but a change of names and a few details, to be the story of Braid- wood, 111., where babies and men and women wither away to be transmigrated into the dividends of a mil- lionaire coal-miner of Beacon street, Boston. It needs but a few changes to be the story of Punxsutawney — where starving foreigners have eaten up all the dogs in the country to keeps themselves loyally alive to to dig coal again when their master re-opens the coal kennels ; and of Scranton and the Lehigh Valley, where the hard, very hard, coal barons of Pennsyl- vania manufacture artificial winter for twelve months of every year. It needs but a few changes to be the story of Brazil, Ind., where the Brazil Block Coal Company locked out their thousands of miners last year even until their wives and children grew trans- parent enough to be glasses through which the miners could read, though darkly, the terms of surrender which they had to accept. It needs but a few changes to be the story of the Hocking Valley, where Pinker- ton gunpowder was burned to give the light by which TEKDEXCY OF CAPITAL. 233 labor could read " the free contract " its brother Capi- tal wanted it to sign — or the story of the Reading Collieries, where, as stated in the report of the Con- gressional Committee of 1 887-1 888, the employer provoked the miners to riot, and then shot the rioters "legally. '' The story of Spring Valley needs not many changes to be a picture of what all x^merican industry will come to be if the power of capital de- velops at its present rate up to the end of the nine- teenth century." Let no one suppose that in such a fight as this only a few thousand miners on one side and a few capitalists on the other, are concerned. The story has been told only as a typical one. Only to call atten- tion to certain methods employed by capital. It was long ago said of the United States that a nation could not live half slave and half free. With still more as- surance may we repeat that civilization can not live where only a portion of the people are prosperous, or rather have it in their power to make prosperous or adverse circumstances for other people. We are all most vitally concerned in this matter. The moderate man of business, the agriculturalist, the laborer — all are in danger from the system under which we live. It is no time for hysterical outbreaks, is no time for penny-wise and pound-foolish actions, certainly no time for petty class legislation. The time for action is rapidly approaching. May wisdom guide our counsels and firmness execute our resolves. 234 INTENSITY OF LABOR. C*t#PTEK V11L INTENSITY OF LABOR. The Second Principle on which Capital Depends — The Length of the Working Day — Freedom of Labor — Capital Desires to make the Working Day Long — History of the Subject — Extracts from Karl Marx — Legislation in the United States on this Subject — Piece Work — Evils of this System — The Sweating System — How the Poorer Classes are compelled to Live — Some of the Tenement Houses of New York — Workings of the System in our Large Cities — The Moral to be drawn — Conclusion. |» HAVE as yet considered only one of the two principles which capi- tal must take into consideration in creating surplus value, that is the necessity of getting labor as cheap as possible. We have discussed what conse- quence flow from thence. Not only are the natural advantages all in the hands of capital, but capital has discovered how to create new advantages. Now the second principle remains to be considered. That is, labor must be made as productive as possible, the laborer's work must be made to yield as great a return as possible. On further consideration this is seen to be but a branch of the first principle. If you can manage to make one laborer do the work of two, while paying him only the wages of one, you certainly THE OLD WAY. INTENSITY OF LABOR. 237 have effected a wonderful reduction of wages. But let us consider it entirely separate from the other prin- ciple. Here, too, we shall discover the source of endless woe. Here, too, we shall find a most potent instrument of oppression which results in degrading man. And as one class can not suffer in this degra- dation without all suffering, we shall see how necessary it is to take from capital its power to thus exploit labor. The first aspect of the case concerns the length of the working day. If we will recall in the days of serfdom, the villan was expected to work one or more days a week for the lord, besides extra work at various seasons of the year. Here there was no disguise. He had to pay his lord this service for which he received nothing. Wherein, now, was this changed when capi- tal came into power and wages were paid for work ? Nominally, the change appears to be very great. Now he is his own master. But the truth is far from this. He is, of course, freed from many vexations incidents of villanage. He is indeed not tied to a piece of ground, he does not have to ask his master's permis- sion for his son or daughter to get married ; or, if he should happen to have a horse, ox or other animal to sell, he is at liberty to do so. But in reality, having no means of production of his own, he is under the greatest of pressure to sell his labor, and sometimes, at least, the terms he is compelled to accept, quite ir- respective of the question of wages, are such as no free man ought to be asked to accept. And yet they 238 INTENSITY OF LABOR. are powerlsss to. resist. They must give up the right of organization ; they must take no united action to better their condition. In how many cases do we not know that workmen have been compelled of late years to sign iron-clad agreements not to belong to any labor organization ? We all know such instances. Why does capital object ? The reasons generally given are transparently flimsy. The real reason is, as has been shown in the most thorough manner by labor statistics in Ohio, that "the trades best organ- ized receive the most compensation for their labor, live better, save the most money and provide more comfort and conveniences for their families than those trades whose organization are too imperfect for the protection of its members." When men are compelled to sign away such rights as this, what becomes of their freedom ? And how about not bestowing his labor for noth- ing ? In the days of serfage, such toil could be easily estimated, it amounted to a certain number of days toil in the year. But have we not shown that taking the United States as a whole, the laborer creats the value of his labor in about one-half the time he is at work ? Does he not then really work the other half, for his employer's profit alone ? Now, of course, we do not mean to say that this is all clear profit to the employer or to capital, but it certainly does show that there is not such a difference as we might sup- pose between wages and serfage. The villan or serf INTENSITY OF LABOR. 239 worked his lord's land, say two days a week. Here it was open and above board, he worked two days for nothing. If the average factory workman replaces in the first half of the day the value of the wages paid him, he certainly works the last half of the day for nothing. During the week then he works three days for nothing. We no longer call it villanage. But "a rose by any other name will smell as sweet." And by what we have already set forth, if labor in general works for capital about one-half the time for nothing then agricultural labor does also. The farmer may think he is working for himself alone "free" and "in- dependent." It is a case of mistaken identity. This introduces us to the length of the working day. In general terms it needs no diagram to show that the longer the working day may be made the greater the amount of time the laborer will work for capital for nothing. We have already called attention to the fact that the first legislation between labor and capital was to compel labor to accept reasonable wages. This statute being called forth by the scarcity of laborers, caused by the plague in England. But we think there was another reason as well. Capital at that time was young, it had not as yet shown its power. Labor did not as yet recognize its master, and knew no good reason why it should make of life one dreary round of labor. At any rate, the first statutes on the subject were enacted to lengthen the working day. From the fourteenth to the middle of 15 240 INTENSITY OF LABOR. the seventeenth centuries ten hours a day was all that the law tried to make the legal day. This was the legal day for artisans, agricultural laborers and black- smiths. And it seems that even then they refused to work all of the week, they insisted on time for recre- ation and holidays. Some writers of the last quar- ter of the eighteenth century thought it would be wise to punish the paupers by shutting them up in work-houses and compelling them to work twelve hours a day. And yet so rapidly did capital increase its power that in but a few years after this the normal working day for all became twelve hours. This was consid- ered the natural limit of a day's work. But with the general introduction of machinery even this restraint way broken down. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and even more hours a day came to be the rule. The evil grew to such an alarming proportion that Great Britain was simply forced against the clamorous ob- jection of employers to commence legislation against long hours. The employment of children during these excessive long hours was the crying evil of the age. No less than five acts were passed from 1802 to 1832 to restrict the hours of labor. The act of 1833 prohibited the employment of young persons, that is from thirteen to eighteen years old, for more than twelve hours a day, and of other persons for more than fifteen hours a day. Quite different this, from the legislation which tried to make full grown INTENSITY OF LABOR. 241 laborers work ten hours a day. Nothing displays more forcibly the heartlessness of capital than the necessity of laws to prevent them from working men more than fifteen hours a day. It is interesting to read Karl Marx's account of this phase of the struggle between capital and labor, and of the many ingenius ways in which capital cir- cumvented the law. It was not until 1848 that the limit was reduced in a number of trades, to ten hours. And several times since then, legislation has been compelled to interfere to protect labor from the power of capital ; and especially to protect little children. It seems singular that this step was necessary. And yet is it any more strange that capital should utterly disregard the welfare of the laborer, or of children, that it should take such steps as those indicated at Spring Valley? Not all trades were regulated by the factory acts of 1848. To show to what steps labor and especially children's labor may be exploited pro- vided legislation does not interfere, we will give a few extracts showing the condition of work as it was but a few years ago. And in reading this account we must not forget that it is the fault of the system more than of individuals. Capital takes advantage of the necessities of labor just as we take advantage of the necessity of the merchant who calls in the auctioneer. We might as well think that water will not run down hill as to think that as long as human nature is what it is capital will strive to get a good bargain. 242 INTENSITY OF LABOR. The lace trade was one of the trades left un- touched by the legislation of 1848. Marx quotes from a London paper of i860 an account of a meet- ing in the interest of that trade. One speaker de^ clared " That there was an amount of privation and suffering among that portion of the population con- nected with the lace trade unknown in other parts of the kingdom, indeed in the civilized world Children of nine or ten years are dragged from their squalid beds at two, three or four o'clock in the morn- ing and compelled to work for a bare subsistence until ten, eleven or twelve at night ; their limbs wear^ ing away, their frames dwindling, their faces whiten- ing, and their humanity absolutely sinking into a stone-like torpor, utterly horrible to contemplate, .... The system as described is one of unmitigated slavery, socially, morally and spiritually. The potters' trade was another trade left unregu- lated, the "children's employment commission" for 1863 preserved the testimony of some of the chil- dren employed in such works. From this we can judge what the adults must have worked. One boy of seven testified that he worked from six in the morning until nine at night; another, a boy of twelve, testified as follows :" I come at six. Sometimes I come at four. I worked all night last night till six o'clock this morning. I have not been in bed since night before last-" No wonder that when the doc- tors were asked as to the effect produced they should INTENSITY OF LABOR. 243 say, "Each generation of potters is more dwarfed and less robust than the preceding one The potters as a class, both men and women, represent a degenerated population, both physically and morally. They are, as a rule, stunted in growth, ill-shaped and frequently ill-formed in the chest ; they become pre- maturely old, and are certainly short lived." These accounts could of course be extended to any length. And even in trades regulated by law, there was so much ingenuity shown by various man- ufacturers in devising means to circumvent the law that before the factory legislation of 1867 men and children were worked far beyond the proper limit for health. It is a most striking commentary on the in- siduous power of capital, to find that even now, it is only by the aid of legislation that we can prevent cap- ital from working the laborer more hours than a little more than a century ago capital by the aid of law was trying to force on laborers. Then capital was trying to force labor to work ten hours a day, now legisla- tion has to interfere to prevent capital from exacting twelve, fourteen or fifteen hours a day. Quite an in- structive transformation scene this, and yet the devel- opment of the power of capital was quite in accord- ance with the general principles of the case. It was unforeseen truly, quite as much so as it was unfore- seen that the agricultural community would sink into villanage, quite as much as it was then unforeseen that capital would ever make use of such means as 244 INTENSITY OF LABOR. those employed at Spring Valley to accomplish its ends. The general principles of factory legislation of Great Britain have been adopted by the several States of this Union. Though there is considerable diversity, most of the States prohibit child labor under a certain age, generally from twelve to fourteen. Above that period they may be employed, but, in a number of States at least, there are restrictions for a year or so longer. Such as that they can not be em- ployed while public schools are in session, they must be able .to read and write, they must attend school a certain number of weeks. Then, in most States they are forbidden to work more than ten hours a day under eighteen years of age. This same restriction is generally thrown around women, and they are in addition absolutely forbidden to be employed in cer- tain kinds of work, as mining. In some States eight hours is made a legal day's work, in nearly all, how- ever, it is ten hours, and almost without exception longer hours can be arranged by special contract. And, in examining the various reports on the number of hours employed in various manufactures, we are struck with the fact that large and very important branches still work their men eleven and twelve hours a day. In the manufacture of pig-iron, for instance, the hours are almost always twelve. Other branches of the iron work generally ten. In the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods the hours are nearly always eleven, excepting in the State of Massachu- INTENSITY OF LABOR. 245 setts. Flour and the preparation of food, in the ma- jority of cases, twelve hours. Lumbering, eleven hours. Manufacture of carpets, eleven hours. On reflection we will notice that these branches, while very important indeed, yet require relatively a lower grade of labor than others Compare, for instance, pig-iron making with steel, or the making of steel rails. In general terms, however, the limit in this coun- try, as in Great Britain, is placed at ten hours. But is this the right limit? Every one knows that we have had for some years an agitation in favor of eight hours in this country ; and that is one of the demands which labor makes now. We have watched the swing of the pendulum one way, have seen how capital has increased the hours of labor to suit itself, and the only question is how far shall we now go the other way? We entertain little doubt that the eight hour movement is coming, and surely no one who regards the laborer as a human being and not as a machine, can regret it. He needs time for education, for in- tellectual development, for the fulfilling of social func- tions and for social intercourse, for the free play of bodily and mental activity. All these are certainly necessary. And even when this stage is reached, labor will not have done more than reached the vantage ground from which it started in its conflict with capital. But there are more ways than one of achieving 246 INTENSITY OF LABOR. a desired end. Indirect means will often succeed where direct ones fail. Capital, bent on getting all that it can out of labor, has of course considered every phase of the problem. Now it so happens that a method can be adopted in a number of employ- ments which apparently seems fair and above board, but in effect it opens the door to very great abuse. That is paying by the piece. Certainly this seems to be a fair way of doing. It is after all nothing but the old way of reckoning wages, and it appears to throw the evil of overwork on the workman. Their remu- neration at best is very small, they can hardly resist the temptation of working a little longer so as to get a little more pay, and so the process goes on, and in certain employments we find an appalling amount of overwork. Suppose the custom would spring up of buying cotton cloth by the pound. How long would it take our merchants to know just how many yards of a certain width it took to make one pound? Does any one suppose we would get cloth any cheaper? It is just so in paying by the piece. Whether a laborer receives a dollar and a quarter a day for ten hours' labor, or a shilling a piece for ten pieces, which ex- perience shows he can turn out in one day, what dif- ference does it make? Its ill effects are neutralized, if, for instance, the work is done in a factory, where the machinery is only run a certain number of hours a day, or in a coal mine, where the miner is paid so INTENSITY OF LABOR. 247 much a ton, but the hours of labor is specified. And even in such cases, the tendency is to make the men over-exert themselves. Let us illustrate that point. We must start from the well ascertained ground that all the laborer is going to receive is a living any way. Suppose molders wages are two dollars a day. Two men may be working side by side, both able to earn these wages. Now if payment by the piece be intro- duced it may be that one man will be able to finish more articles than the other ; but, in effect, instead of his getting the benefit of this, the other's wages will fall, or he will have to really over-exert himself. This is not altogether a hypothetical case. The ninth report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Ohio comments on the fact that molders in Ohio live on an average about eleven years shorter lives than molders in Great Britain. And found the probable cause to be in piece work. If the proposition were made to reduce say twenty per cent in one day, the men would probably not listen to it. But some way it sounds different for the manufacturer to explain that he can not pay so much per piece by about twenty per cent. The workmen pitch in and work all the harder to get their pittance. In some cases they actually tried to do two days' work in one. The commissioner recommends the abolishment of piece work at once as the means of brino-ino- the length of their lives to the normal length. But the greatest evil of piece work only comes 248 INTENSITY OF LABOR. out in those trades in which the work can be done at home. Such as tailoring and cigar making. Here an amount of evil comes to view on the slighest in- spection that is absolutely appalling. This introduces us to the " Sweating System." Every one knows what is meant by this expression. Its victims are the wretchedly poor men and women, who make various articles of wearing apparel, such as shirts, vests, over- alls, etc. The " sweater " may be either some sub- contractor, as is generally the case, who procures the work done for large wholesale houses, or it may be some highly respectable firm itself, who conclude to cover into their treasury all the profit there is to be made. Sweating is by no means confined to the cloth- ing trade, nor to women. Cigars are often made in tenement house factories. The inspectors in New York City reported that they found nothing more dangerous to public health, family virtue and common decency than the huge tenement house cigar factory. One quarter in New York properly known as Jew- town is almost entirely given up to the cheap clothing manufacturing. There the system may be seen in its perfection. If we will only reflect that sweating is concerned with the labor of the wretchedly poor and mainly help- less, we might say hopeless, classes of women, child- ren, ignorant emigrants, we can at once see what fearful advantages are taken of their necessities. They are starving, cold, sick, prices are put down to the INTENSITY OF LABOR. 249 very lowest point. Where only by the most pinching economy, and work of fifteen or sixteen hours a day, only afford a most wretched living, under most de- basing circumstances. Society is powerless to break up the evils under present circumstances. Given the capitalist system, given a great concentration of popu- lation, and such evils will as inevitably come into ex- istence as night follows day. And what monstrous evils they are. To a whole class of people in our large cities Hood's lines apply : "Work! Work! Work! My labor never flags ; And what are its wages ? A bed of straw, A crust of bread — and rags. That shattered roof — and this naked floor — A table — a broken chair — And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank For sometimes falling there ! n So few people really know how the other half lives, that it may be worth while to take a glance at a typical case. A visitor reports finding " in a room ten feet square, low-ceiled, and lighted by but one win- dow, whose panes were crusted by the dirt of a gene- ration, seven women sat at work. Three machines were the principal furniture. A small stove burned fiercely, the close smell of red-hot iron, hardly domi- nating the fouler one of sinks and reeking sewer-gas. Piles of cloaks were on the floor, and the women white and wan, with cavernous eyes and hands, more akin to a skeleton's than to flesh and blood, bent over the garments . . . An inner room, a mere closet, 250 INTENSITY OF LABOR. dark and even fouler than the outer one, held the bed ; a mattress, black with age, lying on the floor. Here such rest as might be had was taken when the sixteen hours of work ended — sixteen hours of toil unrelieved by one gleam of hope or cheer ; the net result of this accumulated and ever accumulating misery being three dollars and fifty cents a week. Two women, using their utmost diligence, could finish one cloak per day, receiving from -the sweater, through whose hands all must come, fifty cents each for a toil unequaled by any form of labor under the sun . . . They are pro- ducts of nineteenth century civilization, and these seven are but types, hundreds of their kind confront- ing the searcher, who looks on aghast, and who as the list lengthens and case after case gives its unutterably miserable details, turns away in a despair only matched by that of the worker." The same writer has an account that is a wonder- fully impressive comment on our present civilization, and shows in a most striking light how abject misery may exist side by side with some of the highest results of modern culture. The great East River bridge is one of the triumphs of modern skill. But as its mighty arches were slowly reared they shut out light and sunshine from cheerless tenement houses near. The electric light, however, another product of modern times, lighted up the same at night. In this case what did the wretched tenants do? " The day's work has ceased to be the day's work, and the women who can INTENSITY OF LABOR. 251 not afford the gas or oil that must burn if they work in the day time, sleep while day lasts and when night comes and the electric light penetrates every corner of the shadowy rooms, turn to the toil by which their bread is won . . , Natural law, natural living abolished once for all, and this light that blinds but holds no cheer shining upon the mass of weary humanity who have forgotten what sunshine may mean and who know no joy that life was meant to hold." Jew-town, New York, is as stated, almost wholly given up to workers on cheap clothes, and there sweaters are in abundance. It must be said, to the credit of the Jewish population, that though in the greatest poverty, though forced to inhuman hours of labor, yet, probably, every individual worker has hopes of becoming a sweater himself, and carefully saves every penny for that purpose. The constant arrival of persecuted Hebrews from abroad, and thousands of them come every year, supplies the vic- tims. We can have but little idea of the exertions put forth, or of the privations undergone by these poor people to make a living. The terrible competition and the system makes it true of us, slightly changing the words of the poem, that " It is not the clothes we are wearing out But human creatures lives." The following description may prove of interest to us. " Take the Second Avenue Elevated Railroad at Chatham Square and ride up half a mile through 252 INTENSITY OF LABOR. the sweater's district. Every open window of the big tenements, that stand like a continuous brick wall on both sides of the way, gives you a glimpse of one of these shops as the train speeds by. Men and women bending over their machines, or ironing clothes at the window, half-naked. Proprieties do not count on the East Side ; nothing counts that cannot be converted into hard cash. The road is like a big gangway through an endless work room where vast multitudes are forever laboring. Morning, noon or night, it makes no difference ; the scene is always the same. At Rivington Street, let us get off and continue our trip on foot. Men stagger along the sidewalk groan- ing under heavy burdens of unsewn garments, or enormous black bags stuffed full of finished coats and trousers. Let us follow one to his home. Up two flights of dark stairs, three, four, on every landing, whirring sewing machines behind closed doors betray- ing what goes on within, to the door that opens to admit the bundle and the man. A sweater, this, in a small way. Five men and a woman, two young girls, not fifteen, and a boy. The floor is littered ankle-deep with half-sewn garments. In the alcove, on a couch of many dozens of "pants" ready for the finisher, a bare-legged baby with pinched face is asleep. A fence of piled up clothing keeps him from rolling off on the floor. The faces, hands and arms, to the elbows, of every one in the room are black with the color of the cloth on which they are working. The boy and the INTENSITY OF LABOR. 253 woman alone look up at our entrance. The girls shoot sidelong glances, but at a warning look from the man with the bundle they tread their machines more ener- getically than ever. The men do not appear to be aware even of the presence of a stranger." We have mentioned the tenement house cigar factories. This is a sort of variation in the regular sweater system. Its headquarters are in the Bohemian part of the town. But little machinery is required in cigar making. Skill comes by practice. In work of this character the owner of dilapidated tenement houses contrives to reap double profits, one as land- lord and one as employer. The necessities of the Bo- hemians are so great that they are literally reduced to slavery as real as any that ever disgraced this country. Only on the very hardest of terms are they granted lodging and work. Mr. Riis gives us an idea of this * method of work. " The manufacturer who owns, say, from three or four to a dozen or more tenements con- tiguous to his shop, fills them up with these people, charging them outrageous rents and demanding often even a preliminary deposit of five dollars "key money;" deals them out tobacco by the week, and devotes the rest of his energies to the paring down of wages to within a peg or two of the point where the tenant rebels in desperation. Men, women and children work together seven days in the week in these cheer- less tenements to make a living for the family, from the break of day till far into the night." As for wages, 254 INTENSITY OF LABOR. Mr. Riis gives some figures in another instance where better prices than usual were obtained for their work. A man could make six cents and a half an hour. He and his wife worked seventeen hours and a half a day. Now when we feel indignant to think such a state of affairs should exist, let us stop and ask what it is that we especially condemn. Here is a firm sell- ing ready made clothing. In order to meet competi- tion in their trade, they must sell as cheaply as other stores. They can not pay more for their labor than the others. It iseasy of course to excoriate employ- ers, but there is no more reason in so doing than there is in blaming yourself. Why don't you head a good round subscription for their relief. Those who em- ploy them and pay the wages agreed upon are no more called upon to pay extra wages than you are to take up a collection for their benefit. Here as else- where the proverb as to people living in glass houses applies. There is an immense amount, of miserably poor people applying for this work. If our present system is right why should an employer offer them higher wages? When you buy groceries or clothing your conscience never hurts you for buying of the one who will sell the cheapest. Why should not an employer of labor have the same privilege and buy the commodity in which he deals at the lowest possi- ble figure? In all our large cities there is any amount of people hungry for work at these low prices. It would be fully as reasonable to expect grocers in the INTENSITY OF LABOR. 255 kindness of their hearts to sell them sugar, coffee and other articles at about one-half of the usual rates, out of pity for their condition, as to expect employers to raise wages to double what they are now. Once again, it is the system itself that is at fault. The average man is not a philanthropist, everflowing with kindness, on the contrary he is looking out for number one, We must deal with the world as it is, not as we would like to have it. It must be evident that if any system places the means of production in the hands of one set of men, thereby giving them power over the other portion, that the first are cer- tainly going to exercise that power. Not only will they take all advantages thus placed in their hands, but they will be on the look out for more. What is wanted is some change in the system. Something that will take labor out of the class of mere commod- ities. How we are to do this may not as yet ap- pear, but some way will be found. To fail to do this is to condemn our present civilization to a final defeat. As it is now wealth, capital, comes up before us as the one good thing to be striven for. All the better qualities of our nature tend to become stunted. This can not continue. Well does a recent writer set this before us " It would seem as if every force of modern civilization bent towards this one of money-getting, and the child of days and the old man of years alike shared the passion and ran the same mad race. It is the passion 16 256 INTENSITY OF LABOR. itself that has outgrown all bounds and that faces us to-day — the modern Medusa on which he who looks has no more heart of flesh and blood, but forever heart of stone, insensible to any sorrow, unmoved by any cry of child or woman. It is with this shape that the battle must be, and no man has yet told us its issue. Nay, save here and there one, who counts that battle is needed, or sees the shadow of the ter- ror walking not only in darkness, but before all men's eyes, who is there that has not chosen blindness, and will not hear the voice that pleads : " Let my people go free." Yes, a change must somehow be made. Surely it is not all a disordered fancy which pictures to our- selves a different future. When the boundless wealth of nature, the almost limitless ingenuity of man will banish much of ignorance, poverty and crime. When little children shall not go ragged, shivering and starving to bed, in order that others may heap wealth on wealth. A time must come when the means of living shall be so easy to obtain that men and women need not Work ! work ! work ! Till the brain begins tc swim, Work ! work ! work ! Till the eyes are heavy and dim, Work ! work ! work ! From weary chime to chime, Work ! work ! work ! m e> * As prisoners work for crime. w < w X h o z I— I z 3 u w w E- AGE OF MACHINERY. 259 CHAPTER IX. AGE OF MACHINERY. Introduction — Genesis of a machine — Definition of a machine — Advantages of machines — Present aspects of the case— Capital ren- dered more productive by machines — Exchange value effected by ma- chinery — Prof. Rogers' opinion — Progress of the last century — The tendency of the age — Disadvantages of machinery — The displacement of labor by machines — Machines lower the standard of labor — Child labor — The value of labor — Conclusion. jS* CAN define man asa" tool-using animal." There is more in this definition than we are apt to think when we first consider it. A tool, however, is not something which nature has fashioned or which grows of itself. Man not only uses tools, but he invents new ones, perfects those already known, and unites them in a machine. One invention makes way for another, and so from the humblest beginning have grown the wonderfully complex machines of to-day. In a certain sense to know the steps in the evolu- tion of any machine is to have a good idea of the course of civilization in general. The savage takes a stone to help him in breaking open a cocoanut. That is but the first step in a well-nigh infinite series, which ends in the steam hammer which can 26o AGE OF MACHINERY. be used to deliver strokes which shiver a block of granite' to powder or gently break an egg, as we may desire. The whole history of man's progress passes between those extremes. In discussing the definition of capital, we found that while of a truth capital was as old as labor itself, yet it was but recently that it exhibited - the peculiar characteristics of modern capital. So- ciety had to reach a peculiar stage of development before capital became what it is to-day. It is the same thing with a machine. In one sense of the word, machines have existed about as long as man himself; and yet again what we nowadays mean by machines and machinery is a modern product. It simply amounts to this : In the first stage, men per- formed work by the aid of machines. In the sec- ond stage, machines do work with the aid of men. This distinction will be found to be a very real one. The primitive weaver makes improvement in the simple machine which he uses. He is the driving hand with it all ; his machine simply helps him. In the immense factories they now have huge automa- tons, with self-acting electric stops, which stop the machine when a bobbin is empty or when a thread breaks. One hand can tend to several looms. Here is machinery doing work with the aid of men. The genesis of a machine is about as follows : Man uses some simple tool to help him perform his AGE OF MACHINERY. 26l work. He saws wood with a saw, knits with some needles, or spins with a distaff. He has but two hands to work with. He can not work two saws at once, with any precision at least ; can not knit with more than four needles, or attend to more than one spinning wheel. The primitive machine is a mechanism working a number of these tools at once ; several saws are united in a gang-saw. In the first spinning jenny, eight, and afterwards eighty spindles, were revolved by one wheel ; and a movable frame, representing as many fingers and thumbs as there were threads, alternately advanced and receded from the spindles, imitating mechanic- ally the motions of hand itself; while in the stock- ing frame thousands of needles are made to knit at once. So it is in every department that machinery has invaded. In the majority of cases after inven- tions are so perfected that we can trace but very slight resemblance to the primitive tools, as in the ring and throstle spinning machines of the day, we see but little to remind us of the spinning wheel of early days. In all cases this is not true. " The operating part of the boring machine is an im- mense drill driven by a steam engine ; the mechan- ical lathe is only a cyclopean reproduction of the ordinary foot lathe; the planing machine, an iron capenter that works on iron with the same tools that the human carpenter employs on wood." 262 AGE OF MACHINERY. A machine, then, generally is a number of tools arranged in a frame to do work similar in kind to what the individual workman did previously. Or it may be in all its essential parts the simple tool or machine of the individual worker, but now moved by iron and steam, and consequently operated on a cyclopean scale, just as many kinds of steam pumps are but gigantic reproductions of the ordinary pumps. No great improvement was possible until a steady and adequate motive power to drive the ma- chines could be supplied. Human power by cranks and pedals, horse power in various ways, wind and water were all employed. But none can for one minute be compared to steam ; hence the invention by Watt, in 1784, of the steam engine, justly marks the beginning of modern machine industry. Now a tireless monster, needing only a due supply of coal, oil, and water, is ready to do our bidding ; a geni more powerful far than Aladdin's is at our service. Progress now consists in improv- ing the simple tools, the conditions under which they are moved being now altogether different than when employed by the individual worker. Re- semblance to the original tools gradually disap- pears; they are more and more perfected until they become vast automatons. The speed at which they work is greatly increased. The primitive spindle revolved but a few hundred times a minute ; the AGE OF MACHINERY. 263 modern spindle seven thousand times a minute. Machines are made by other machines with mathe- matical precision. Blectric stops, automatic shut- offs, and innumerable mechanical devices of mar- velous ingenuity are constantly being invented to take the place of the human hand, or eye, or ear, but which, unlike them, will not grow weary, or sleepy, or heedless. The element of technical skill in the individual worker, on which nearly all de- pended in the earlier stage, is thrust more and more in the background. The machine depends less and less on skilled human help. If, in a card- ing machine nowadays, a thread breaks, the ma- chine instantly stops until the attendant on duty remedies the trouble and starts it in motion again. No skilled worker is required for this. With only a little instruction, a boy or girl can do all that is needed. Probably it will be only a question of time when still other machinery will be automatic- ally set in motion to take the place of even these attendants. In discussing the respective points to be set down to the credit of our present industrial system, we were free to acknowledge its many excellent fea- tures, such as stimulating individual energy. Now, in the use of machinery, it is not necessary for any one to speak in its favor. Our advance in civiliza- tion voices itself in mechanical inventions. No 264 AGE OF MACHINERY. change in the system will be for one minnte toler- ated which does not accept at once the machinery of the day, or which does not contrive in some way to hold out the most enticing inducements to men to continue in the field of invention. We want to spur men on to struggle for still greater conquests, even richer prizes in the future. We have but just begun the exploitations of electricity. What mar- velous results even now are before us. Unless we mistake, there is a richer mine awaiting development here than in the exploitation of steam during the last century. And just at this time, too, we are but just beginning to make practical use of one of the most abundant minerals which nature has provided for us — aluminum. Pages could be filled with a description of its many useful qualities. It abounds everywhere.- We have been debarred from using it because sci- ence had discovered no way of reducing it from its ore, clay, in a cheap and practical wa}^. We hear rumors every day that the secret has at last been solved. There has certainly been a great reduction in price of late years, and undoubtedly progress will continue in this direction. We believe this discovery as truly marks the opening of a new age in civilization, as did the the discovery of iron. What this means, only those know who have pon- dered long on the growth of civilization — have age; of machinery. 265 studied the wonderful advances man made in cul- ture when he gained a knowledge of bronze, and more wonderful advance still when he became ac- quainted with iron. Those who think we have about reached the end of progress in mechanical inventions are as certainly in error as was the theo- rizer of a hundred years ago who might have thought the invention of the steam engine left nothing more to be desired. In some way, then, all the practical results now enjoyed must be preserved, and further discoveries still must be sought for. All this can be said, and still we need not shut our eyes to the deplorable evils that accompany the increasing use of ma- chinery. As in the case of capital, the faults must be laid not to the use of machinery, but to the sys- tem in which it is applied. It is slowly but surely, and will all the more rapidly in the future degrade the workmen, and redound more and more to the benefit of capital. The same set of causes that in the past have disguised the evils of capitalist pro- duction, to a similar degree have kept back the evils of machinery. There has been a vast extent of country to develop ; many industries to be established, many new wants to be met. Emigra- tion afforded an avenue of escape. But now there are no more new worlds for the restless Aryan to discover and colonize. The United States has been 266 AGE OF MACHINERY. in the past, and is now, the dumping ground of Burope. But we have about reached a turning point in our history, and so from all sources we can but conclude a change must come soon, so it is but wise to examine more particularly into this ma- chine industry, and study more particularly what its effect on labor has been in the past, and what its probable effect will be in the future. We are prone to speak of labor being rendered much more productive by new inventions and dis- coveries. But now, under our present system, in which labor is but a commodity, it is not the laborer who gets the fruits of this increased pro- ductiveness. And in fact, as it is in effect, it is not true that labor is rendered more productive ; the truth is, it is capital that is rendered more pro- ductive. This is very clear when we stop and re- flect. A mere man, by his own unaided exertions, can do no more to-day than he could one hundred years ago. The same amount of exertion will tire him quite as quickly now as it did then. He can walk no further, run no faster, or move his arms or feet more quickly than he could then. He gets on a locomotive and goes in one hour a distance he could not have traversed in a day then. The result, however, is due not to his powers, but to the instruments he uses. One man, working with Goodyear's sewing machine for turned shoes, will AGE OF MACHINERY. 267 sew in one day as many pairs of shoes as eight men could sew by hand ; not because he can work harder, but because he uses a better instrument to help him. But these instruments of labor are cap- ital. The growth of power is not in man, in labor, but in the instruments which he uses — in capital. It must be clear that whoever owns and commands the instruments owns and commands the increase of power. As far as capital is concerned, inven- tion and discoveries have been of enormous value. Improved machines may cost it more, but why should the labor cost any more ? In geometry we sometimes prove the truth of a proposition by a reductio ad absurdem. Something of the same kind can be employed in this case. Let us suppose that, instead of improvement in machines, the only improvement had been in men ; that every now and then improved men were pro- duced, until one could now actually move his hands so fast that he could sew eight times as many shoes in a day as he formerly did, and other like feats in proportion. Then, indeed, labor would be more pro- ductive, and capital would have to pay more for his services. As it is now, how can it be otherwise than that by far the greater part of this brilliant progress of the last century, by which, in some lines, the power of the instruments of production have been increased many fold, should pass on 268 AGE OF MACHINERY. without materially affecting the condition of the laborer ? Any change in the price of the raw ma- terial which capital has to buy, or any change in the technical process by which it is worked up, can not effect a change in the value of labor itself. It is but a commodity, which capital will buy as low as it can. From our discussion of value we know that improvement in machinery must result in lowering the exchange value of commodities. If the amount of human labor incorporated in a pair of boots now be but a fraction of what it once was, then boots must have less of exchange value. This same ar- gument is true in the case of all commodities. In this way, then, the general public must be greatly benefited. Bvery new invention is, as we know, protected by monopolies, but in course of time the benefits spread out. In this cheapness of com- modities laborers must be benefited the same as other people. On this fact many rely as sufficient answer to the whole question. Theoretically that ought to be the answer. We shall find, however, that owing to many causes labor does not and can not reap all the advantages to which it should be entitled. It can not, owing to the system under which we live. We can see no escape from the conclusion that material progress in this direction must be accompanied by an increasing amount of AGE OF MACHINERY. 269 poverty among the masses of the people. * Is there any doubt that this has been the case up to the present ? Prof. Thorold Rogers sums up his researches into the economic history of the past six centuries as follows : " Modern civilization will be judged, not by what it has done, but by what it has left undone ; not by what it has remedied, but by what it has failed to heal, or at least to have relieved ; not by its successes, but by its shortcomings. It may be that the progress of some has been more than counterbalanced by the distress and sorrow of many ; that the opulence and strength of modern times mocks the poverty and misery which are bound up with and surround them ; and that there is an uneasy and increasing consciousness that the other side hates and threatens. It may well be the case, and there is every reason to fear it is the case, that there is collected a population in our great towns which equals in amount the whole of those who lived in England and Wales six centuries ago, but whose condition is more destitute, whose homes are more squalid, whose means are more uncertain, whose prospects are more hopeless than those of the poorest serfs of the Middle Ages and the meanest drudge of the medieval city." Why is it that labor can not reap its propor- tionate share of benefit derived from the use of 270 age; of machinery. machinery ? Several reasons at once present them- selves. An invention is protected by a patent, which is as it should be, since we ought to reward the inventor some way. But it remains something of a monopoly all the time. Suppose that to-mor- row some inventor hits on a means of making boots at one-half the price they can now be manu- factured for; but, being a most eccentric sort of an individual, he refuses to take out a patent for it, but on the contrary spreads the details of the in- vention before the general public. The price of boots will not fall one-half, simply because a large amount of capital is required to embark in the manufacture of boots and shoes. The manufac- turers may make use of the invention, and may re- duce the price to some extent ; but since every one can not embark in the business, those who do might as well reap a profit on the invention. This illustration may help us to see how it is that the more the amount of capital required to take advan- tage of the fruits of material invention and dis- covery of modern times, the harder it becomes for mere labor to reap a share of the advantages. As a recent writer says : " During the last half century, and more particularly during the last gen- eration, the rate of material progress has been ac- celerated to an almost incredible degree, and at the same time nearly all essential steps in progress AGE OF MACHINERY. 271 have been of such a nature that they can only be utilized by the help of a large amount of capital. Steam and electrical engines and modern machinery of all kinds are far too costly to be procured from what the ordinary man can save by labor. Circum- stances have combined to make the command of large capital much more than formerly indispensa- ble for the successful carrying on of most staple trades and industries. Only an amount quite be- yond the reach of the ordinary laborer can secure to a man a claim to a share of wealth in excess of the necessaries. Capital has become a most power- ful monopoly, and asserts itself as such to the det- riment of labor." The fact is, as we shall discover as we proceed on our way, that in this case, as in other directions, capital, not content with the natu- ral advantages of its position, has of late found a new and powerful way of increasing them. But let us consider the case a little further. Suppose a man desires to embark in business, and decides to manufacture boots and shoes. His cap- ital may be any amount, say one hundred thousand dollars. A portion he must lay out in a building, wishing to take advantage of the most improved machinery ; another large portion is laid out in that direction. Another portion still must be laid out in raw materials. Still another portion must be put aside as a reserve wherewith to pay his labor- 272 AGE OF MACHINERY. ers. This is but a typical case, and may be taken to represent the manufacturing world in general. It must be clear, without any reference to what is known as the " wages fund " theory, about which economical writers are still arguing, that one hun- dred years ago, for instance, the amount devoted to the purchase of machinery and the employment of labor must have had quite a different proportion from what they hold to-day. When we extend this observation to the whole manufacturing world, and reflect on the enormous increase of machinery, we can not avoid the conclusion that the inevitable effect of material progress is that a smaller and smaller proportionate part of the total national capital will be devoted to the employment of labor. Thus in i860 there was an adult male laborer em- ployed for every nine hundred and seventy dollars of capital invested. Twenty years later an adult male laborer was employed for every thirteen*hun- dred and thirty-two dollars of capital invested. Notice, no one says that an absolutely smaller amount will be devoted to the employment of labor. Capital is increasing very fast ; a smaller propor- tionate amount may be a relatively larger sum. But, for all that, the conclusion is a most disheart- ening one. " It involves," says Prof. Cairns, " a tendency towards a relative increase of the classes living by hired labor as compared with those who AGE OF MACHINERY. 273 do not ; and again a tendency towards increased inequality in the distribution of wealth. * * * These tendencies have in general been very fully realized in the actual experience of the world, and in an eminent degree in the experience of Great Britain. I am justified in asserting that the per- manent maintenance of a regime such as is contem- plated (z. e., wherein labor is but a commodity, the laborer receiving wages merely), co-existing with a progressive industry, can only issue in one result — a constant exaggeration of those features already beginning to mark so unpleasantly the aspect of our social state — namely, a harsh separation of classes, combined with those glaring inequalities in the distribution of wealth, which most people will agree are among the chief elements of our so- cial instability." Thus we see that in spite of the many good things that can be said of the wonderful extension of- industry by aid of mechanical inventions ; in spite of glowing figures, showing the enormous increase of national wealth, there is, after all, an- other side. This very progress means more sharp division into classes. What little comfort the situ- ation affords lies in the fact that, as a consumer, the laborer is benefited, and thus the standard of comfort is increasing. Let us inquire into that. Suppose that by a most marvelous series of inven- 17 274 AGK OF MACHINERY. tions all the necessities of life were to be reduced one-half in cost, so that a laborer who was now receiving, say two dollars for a day's work, which at present just supported him, would have a dollar to spare. How long would his wages remain at that point? How long before he would be informed that since everything had fallen in value one-half, his wages would be reduced that amount? If the change was very gradual, and only after many years that the above result was reached — still, ac- cording to the law of labor value, his wages would decline as his living grew cheaper. With this dif- ference, however, he might have got used to a few extra comforts, which would now become a part of his living — the use of tea, coffee, and sugar, a more comfortable bed to sleep in, a trifle better home to live in. All this can be admitted, but the simple fact is, the laborer's improvement nowhere near keeps equal pace with the improvements in manufacturing. The simple fact that in Ohio, in 1885, where modern production was at its best, the workman could spend for all purposes of sub- sistence less than fourteen cents per day per person in his family, shows that a stern economy was nec- essary, and the standard of comfort not remarkably high. No one familiar with the statistics of labor can for one moment doubt the general truth of what AGE OF MACHINERY. 275 we have just stated. Supposing we take the cotton industry in our country as typical of all industries. From 1828 to 1880 the cost per pound of cotton cloth was reduced a trine over fifty per cent. Wages rose during that period eighty-five per cent. The consumption of cotton cloth, which, in this case, represents the standard of comfort, increased greatly. Working time slightly decreased. In the meantime luxuries became necessaries, and to a very large extent were placed within the reach of people of small means. "And yet," says the Com- missioner of Labor for the United States, from whose report we have drawn the foregoing, "should the question be asked, Has the wage-worker received his equitable share of the benefits derived from the introduction of machinery ? the answer must be no." Not receiving his equitable share, simply means he is falling behind in the race ; simply means that the gulf between the propertied class and those without it is increasing, and that is the verdict of history. All we have had, as yet, to say on the general subject of machinery has been on the supposition that in spite of the introduction of machinery, and the constant improvements made in the same, the workmen somehow have been retained in remuner- ative employment right along. But now the simple fact is, the progress of mechanical invention tends 276 AGE OF MACHINERY. to reduce all labor to the simple plane of unskilled labor ; as it lowers its quality, the price is lowered ; competition becomes more intense along the lower levels. This follows because, in the first place, new inventions are constantly displacing laborers in every department of production. These men can not enter on a higher grade of work ; they must enter on a lower grade if they can possibly crowd in, and this " crowding in " is getting harder all the time. In fact, material progress is acting on the world of labor to reduce it all to a common level. Few have a correct idea of the displacement of labor by machinery within the last few years. It is unsafe to quote figures even from so late a source as the labor report of 1886, as progress has continued at a very great rate since. "However, taking the commissioner's report for that time, we find that in the making of agricultural implements about sixty- three per cent, of labor has been displaced within the last fifteen years. The manufacture of boots and shoes offers some very wonderful facts in this connection. In one large and long established manufactory in one of the Eastern States the pro- prietors testify that it would require five hundred persons working by hand processes to make as many women's boots and shoes as one hundred persons now make with the aid of machinery — a AGK OF MACHINERY. 277 displacement of eighty per cent. A large Phil- adelphia firm, engaged in the manufacture of boys' and children's shoes, states that the intro- duction of machinery within the past thirty years has displaced about six times the amount of hand labor required. One large broom manufac- turing concern in 1879 employed seventeen skilled men to manufacture five hundred dozen brooms per week. In 1885, only six years later, with nine men and the introduction of new machinery, the firm turned out twelve hundred dozen brooms weekly. A displacement of eighty per cent. In the manu- facture of carpets, some of the leading manufac- turers of the country, and men of the largest ex- perience, consider that the improvement in ma- chinery in the past thirty years, taking weaving, spinning, and all of the processes together, have displaced from ten to twenty times the number of persons now necessary. In spinning alone it would take, by the old methods, from seventy-five to on^. hundred times the number of operatives now employed to turn out the same amount of work, while in weaving there would be required at least ten times the present number. In the cotton goods industry there has been a great displacement even lately. In a large establishment in New Hampshire improved machinery, even within ten years, has reduced muscular labor fifty per cent. 278 AGE OF MACHINERY. in the production of the same quality of goods. Consider, for instance, what the following state- ment means : " In the olden days in this country a fair adult hand-loom weaver wove from forty-two to forty-eight yards of common shirting per week. A weaver, tending six power looms in a cotton fac- tory of to-day, would produce 1,500 yards a week." That is to say, these machines, with their one at- tendant, now do the work of 3,000 men. In the manufacture of flour there has been a displacement of nearly three-fourths of the manual labor neces- sary to produce the same product. In the manu- facture of furniture from one-half to three-fourths only of the old number of persons is now required. In the manufacture of glass jars and some kinds of bottles the introduction of machinery has caused a displacement in the proportions of six to one. A saving of twenty-five per cent, is made in the man- ufacture of machines and machinery over the old hand methods. In the production of metals and metallic goods, long established firms testify that machinery has decreased manual labor thirty-three and one-third per cent. In 1876 certain kinds of tinware were made by the old processes by the gross, a skilled workman making a gross in about' one and a half days. By the use of improved ma- chinery the workman can now turn out five times as much product in the same time. One boy, run- AGE OF MACHINERY. 279 ning a planing machine, in turning wood-work for musical instruments, does the work of twenty-five men. In the manufacture of paper, a well-known firm in New Hampshire states that, by the aid of machinery, it produces three times the quantity, with the same number of employes, that it did twenty years ago. In the manufacture of wall paper the best evidence puts the displacement in the proportion of one hundred to one. In the manufacture of railroad supplies there has been a displacement of fifty per cent, of the labor formerly required, while in some features of the manufacture of cars there has been a displace- ment of three times the labor now employed. A large soap manufacturing concern very carefully es- timates the displacement of labor in its works at fifty per cent. In building vessels, four or five times the amount of labor can be performed to-day by the use of machinery, in a given time, than could be done under the old methods. In the woolen manufacture, one large establishment care- fully worked out the displacement of labor, and gives the following results : In weaving woolens, one machine equals six persons ; in spinning, one machine equals twenty persons ; in twisting, one machine equals fifteen persons ; in picking, one machine equals forty persons ; and in carding, one set of patent carders will turn out more in one 280 AGE OF MACHINERY. day than the old carders would in one week. Thus we see that, taking nearly every depart- ment of productive industry, we find a displace- ment of labor within the last few years. It is es- timated the last generation has witnessed the power of machinery at least doubled. That means that relatively one-half of the workmen employed in all fields of production, wherein machinery plays a part, must have been displaced. What will these displaced men do ? They can only seek work in lower levels, from the simple fact that they are not qualified for anything higher. This displacement is often spoken of as a temporary inconvenience only. To the men individually concerned it is much more than a temporary inconvenience, and we insist that, taking labor generally, this displace- ment tends to lower the grade of labor. For now let us consider in what fields labor will be in- creased. The manufacture of the improved ma- chinery will of course give employment to a few workmen, but this can be only a small proportion to the labor displaced. If it were otherwise, ma- chinery would be too costly for practical use. The other principal field, wherein extra work would be provided, would be in providing raw material. More cotton must be grown to provide for in- creased production of cotton goods ; more iron must be mined for increased iron machines, etc. But, as AGE OF MACHINERY. 281 a general rule, the preparation of raw material is a work of a lower grade. Then, besides, all these ranks of labor are already full, yet an undue amount of competition must be thrown on them to pro- vide work for those displaced by the machines. There is another aspect to this case. The ten- dency of all advance in machinery is to replace the labor of men with that of women and children. Economically considered, this is bad for a country. Wherever and whenever it is necessary and com- mon for all the members of a family, the mother and children, as well as the husband and father, to work at manual labor "to support the family, as a natural consequence ignorance is more prevalent, society is less refined, and the standard of life is not as high as in other times and places, when such labor on the part of women and children is not necessary. So true is this that the most civilized nations interfere in various ways to regulate this matter. The most glaring evils may be said to be corrected, yet none the less is it true that, econom- ically considered, the displacement of men by women and children is bad. Yet, if we compare the two census years of 1870 and 1880, we will no- tice that while in 1870 the number of women and children under sixteen years of age formed twenty- three per cent, of the whole wage-working popula- tion, ten years later they formed twenty-six per cent. 282 AGE OF MACHINERY. The introduction of child labor steadily in- creased after machinery was extensively used, until legislation in this and other lands attempted to remedy the evils. In Ohio, for instance, a recent law on this subject yet remains to be tested. The old law against the employment of children under fourteen was largely a dead letter. In the com- missioner's report for 1882 we learn that children, in the most cases under fourteen years of age, formed the following per cent, of the total number of hands employed in the various industries : PER CENT. Woolen, cotton, and bagging' mills 39 Glass works 36 Cigar and tobacco factories 32 Furniture factories 23 Coal mines 23 Cooperage factories 22 Paper mills, paper box, and bag factories 21 It is not necessary to point out the many evils following from such a course. The commissioner was informed that in the cigar factories of Cincin- nati there were at work " hundreds of children un- der fourteen years of age who worked ten hours a day, and in most cases in the filthiest portion of the factories." In machine shops " small boys and girls are put to work who can not cipher their own earnings, and it is doubtful if they know the east from the west." From the manufacturing city of Springfield he learned that " there are a good AGE OF MACHINERY. 283 many children employed in the different shops here. I have seen a boy go to work in one of the shops here that I know is not over ten years old; he works ten hours each day. Where employes can use boys in the shops they will not, as a rule, hire men." In one of the largest furniture factories of the State about one-half of the work done was performed by children, ranging in age from ten to fifteen years. It is not necessary to remark that mere improvement in machines is not responsible for all this evil ; still its tendency is unmistakably in that direction. We must not make the mistake of supposing Ohio is particularly backward in this respect. Nearly all the States in this Union permit such evils as this. In most of the Southern States there is absolutely no law on the subject. The Georgia Legislature, only two years ago, re- fused to pass a bill forbidding the employment of children under ten years of age, and at that identi- cal time, within fifteen minutes of the capitol building, scores of little children were working in cotton factories, some of them so young that their speech was lisping baby talk. Yet the law permits these poor little tots to be worked from sunrise to sunset every week day in the year, no attendance at school being compelled. In effect we can but conclude that, at present, improvement in ma- chinery results not only in diminishing the num- 284 AGE OF MACHINERY. ber of hands necessary to produce a given result, but it substitutes workmen of less skill, and women and children for adult males. The value of labor consists not alone in force, but in skill. It is clear, then, that the more the skill of the machine is increased, the more auto- matic it becomes in its movements, the less neces- sity there is for the exercise of skill on the labor- er's part. Instead of the simple tools of former years, made productive by the skillful labors of men, we have highly complex and perfected machinery, tended by mere machine minders, who have hardly any incentive to increase their personal skill. Hence it is no wonder that nowadays comparatively few apprentices in the mechanical trades serve out their full time of apprenticeship, as can be seen in the tables of labor statistics for 1884. What is the use of working for apprentice wages when they might as well start up as journeymen? We have endeavored in this chapter to write candidly on the question of the relation between machinery and labor. We have not been unmind- ful of the heavy indebtedness which our present enlightenment owes to the inventive ingenuity of man. We can not for one moment think of doing without them, or take any steps calculated to stop the onward march of progress. And yet we can but come to a very sad conclusion in regard to this AGE OF MACHINERY. 285 triumphant progress, this increasing victory of man's inventive ingenuity. According to the cen- sus of 1880 there are not far from 10,000,000 wage- workers in the United States, who may be classed either as laborers or workmen, engaged in produc- tive industries. The census of 1890 will certainly show a considerable increase over those figures. An immense number, then, of our fellow citizens can but view with alarm the tendency of advancing civilization. Any way you have a mind to look at the problem, given only our present system, prog- ress in this direction means placing them more and more in the power of capital. In the first place, only capital can make use of improved machinery ; in the second place, slowly, but surely, machinery tends to reduce all labor to the level of unskilled labor. Why is it that laborers submit to such wrongs as those at Spring Valley ? Because of the terrible necessity they are under of disposing of their labor. Why is it that men, women, and children submit to terrible drudgery for only what will support them in the very lowest conditions of life ? Because that way only can they procure the means of their wretched livelihood. Need we wonder, then, that 10,000,000 people in the United States, one-fifth of our population (1880), dread -the grad- ual march of events that are forcing them down 286 AGE OF MACHINERY. the decline towards some such state as that ? What shall they do ? They are not from choice anarch- ists, communists, or law-defying people, but they feel instinctively that something is wrong. They are right. Calm men, eminent divines, clear-headed professional men in the most advanced countries of the world are awakening to the fact that something must be done. 288 INVENTOR OF THE BESSEMER PROCESS. COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 289 CHAPTER X. COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. Where we stand — The two stages of the present system — Age of competition — History of this stage — The doctrine of " Laissez-faire " — Ifie defects of this doctrine — Modern legislation and this doctrine — Freedom of competition— Individual self-love — Benefits of competi- tion — Incentive to exertions — The abuse of competition — Competition tends to lower the grade of work — Individuals powerless to effect a change — Capital benefited by competition — The age of combination — Growth of large factories — A struggle for existence — The "trust" — Growth of trusts — Benefits of the plan — Effects of the new system — The trust the logical outcome of competition — Conclusion. jj&> HAVB now treated of the gen- eral nature of capitalist produc- tion. We have seen the foun- dation on which it rests is that labor is a commodity. We have spent con- siderable time in tracing out the far-reach- ing consequences of this fact. We found that this principle applies also to agricultural labor, showing by official returns that our farmers did not receive as a reward for their labor more than what the workmen received as a reward for their labor. We then inquired more particularly into the nature of our present industrial system ; what further con- sequences flowed from the necessity of capital to 29O COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. procure its labor as cheaply as possible, thereby taking advantage of the necessities of the laborers, and of the peculiar nature of the commodity he had to sell. Then we considered the consequences of the second principle guiding the movement of capital ; the necessity of making the work of the laborer as productive as possible. Finally, we have examined into the tendency of material progress, in the perfection of machinery, and discovered that capital could expect a far more abundant return than labor. We now want to pay more attention to the de- velopment of the present system. There are two well-defined stages in its history. We are but just entering on the second stage. We can say that the one stage represents the youth of capital produc- tion ; the second, its maturity. Perhaps, considering the striking metamorphosis undergone, the complete change of programme, it would be more appropri- ate to designate these two stages as the caterpillar and butterfly stages. It is capital in both cases; but here is an exception to the old rule that a " rose will smell as sweet by any other name," since capital is decidedly sweeter to its fortunate possessor in the second stage than in the first. In the first stage the principle of action is competition ; in the second stage competition is banished — con- centration is the watch-word. Yet the one stage COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 29 1 as naturally grows out of the first as the butterfly evolves from the caterpillar, and capital enters on a stage of existence which as far surpasses its pre- vious one in capacity to enjoy the good things of this world, flitting lightly from one coin of advan- tage to the other, instead of meekly crawling along as of yore, as the one stage of insect life surpasses the other. However, we will take more prosaic names, and speak of the age of competition and the age of monopoly. And first we want to consider the age of com- petition. It is necessary to make a little historical excursion. Adam Smith is regarded as the father of the present system of political economy in England. At the time he wrote it seemed to him clear that all the ills which the society of the day suffered under were due to annoying restrictions on industrial freedom. We must remember that even one hundred years ago there were many re- strictions hindering the free movement of indus- trial life, which had come down as an inheritance from the gild system. It may not be generally known that James Watt, the inventor, was refused permission by the Gild of Hammermen to practice his profession in Glasgow. Smith, however, as one of the professors in the university, allowed him to set up his work-shop within the walls of the uni- versity building, where the hammermen could not 18 292 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. prevent him. Thus, while the Professor was writ- ing his great work, " Wealth of Nations," and con- demning such practices as this, the mechanic was bringing to perfection his steam engine, which was to make the industrial age, on which they were en- tering, a success. This demand for freedom from all restrictions in industrial life, freedom of contract, of produc- tion, and of exchange, was supported by all the older class of economical writers in England, such as Smith, Ricardo, and Malthus. Their ideas in regard to state action was summed up in a French phrase, which is still to be seen in nearly every text-book on the subject (Laissez-faire), which may be freely translated by " let alone," or perhaps bet- ter still, " hands off." In other words, about all government was to do was to preserve national dig- nity, repress and punish crime, and guard the sa- credness of contract. All it seemed to these writers necessary to do was to have perfect freedom of trade, both external and internal ; to leave both employers and employes at perfect liberty to make such contracts as they saw fit, and all would be well. These writers were true to their convictions, as is shown in their after course in protesting and working against the passage of the factory acts ; not because they did not sympathize with the work- men, but because they sincerely thought that this COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 293 was a matter in which the state should not inter- fere. This same view is still upheld by some of the clearest thinkers and writers of the day. It was this position of the great economical writers on the question of state interference that lost the science of political economy the good will of the masses of the people. These scholarly men could plainly see many evils of trade restriction. They knew that, as civilization had advanced, indi- vidual rights had been slowly evolved. They did not take notice of the fact that, with every advance in civilization, mankind was becoming more and more inter-dependent ; that while each little group, each village community lived isolated and inde- pendent of the others, now, on the other hand, each section depended on the others ; that each individ- ual had a claim on all other individuals much stronger than in the primitive times, when tribal society was in force ; that the very advance of civil- ization, while freeing the individual, makes the community more responsible to the individual. We all know that the common people were right in this matter, the scholars wrong. The pendulum has been traveling the other way. The tendency is for the state to interfere more and more. Not only has it enacted factory legislation, prohibiting undue hours of labor, but it has regulated the employ- ment of women and children ; it has passed many 294 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. laws to provide for the safety and health of labor- ers in mines and factories, and there are not a few who think the state ought to go much further in this general direction. All legislation of this kind would have been severely condemned by the older writers. But these more modern views we have set forth above are now in the ascendant. From what we have said we can at once see that competition would be held up as the one great virtue of the day. In in- dustrial matters it was supposed to be the great cure-all for ills. If prices were too high, competi- tion would soon bring them to the proper level. If one employer wanted to work his men unrea- sonably long hours, the supposition was that men would leave him and go to work for some more merciful master. In short, competition, freedom of contract, each one at liberty to look out for number one, were thought to be the elements of happy industrial progress. But, above all, competi- tion was thought to be the great virtue. Accord- inly, in the new industrial age then just begin- ning, competition was made the corner stone of progress. Such popular maxims as " Competi- tion is the life of trade " came into common use. Under the banner of competition, then, the first stage of our present industrial system was passed. "Competition," says Toynbee, "we now recognize COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 295 to be a thing neither good nor bad ; we look upon it as resembling a great physical force, which can not be destroyed, but may be controlled and modified." Very good. It is a force that may be used for good or for evil. That is what we want to recognize to start with. We now want to inquire wherein it worked for good, wherein for evil, and why it is now about to be discarded. However much in fault the older economists were as to the beneficent result of competition, there is no doubt as to the soundness of their views on another question. Stated in plain language, this principle is that man is bound to look out for number one ; it is expressed in smoother language ; it is spoken of as man's self-love. The idea was that an individual will ardently pursue what he re- gards as his own best interests. The economist drew the further conclusion that such conduct would advance the best interests of all. In this they were wrong again. The individual's best in- terests are not always the best interests of society. Here we are not talking about man's higher moral interests, his real interests, so to speak, but of his selfish, economical, temporal interests. In our complex society many individuals are striving to achieve the same ends. They will com- pete one against the other. They will resort to various measures, the one to outdo the other. 20 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. They are each and all actively pursuing the course which they think will redound to their individual interest. To do this they make use of the mighty force of competition. Carried away by the desire to achieve their ends, they may enter on a course of actions detrimental to the welfare of the public. It must be evident, whenever it reaches this point, competition is an evil. Now, we insist that the tendency of competition is to bring about just such a state of affairs as this, or, better, we may say that is one side of the story, for we must remember that competition is a force that can be used so as to tend toward good or evil. It is not necessary to dilate on the beneficent results of competition. Progress in nearly every direction is due to competition. Competition is the nurse, if not the parent, of all the useful arts, and it is the cause to which nearly every improve- ment that has taken place in man's lot is due. Competition is but another name of the struggle to either invent new wants for men, or to find new and cheaper ways of satisfying wants already exist- ing. And this is the process on which civilization itself depends. Why is it that we now have com- forts before undreamed of? Because competition has been active. Why is it that for a few cents we now have the doings of the world laid before us each day in the columns of the paper. The answer COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 297 must again be competition. One man or set of men trying to get ahead of another set, and so no pains are spared to get the news of the day. And so of all the wonderful results of our present civili- zation. They have come into existence not because men have toiled to benefit others, but because scholars have studied and experimented, inventors have con- trived and executed, engineers have planned and estimated — in the hopes of arriving at some conclu- sion that will benefit them personally. The excep- tions to this are so very few that they but prove the rule. Mankind profits by these inventions and dis- coveries, and so it all works together to advance man in culture. We long for wealth because it brings us many comforts, as well as places in our hands much real power. What we are thus all striving after can only be won by great exertions. The prize is, how- ever, so great, that we devote long hours of hard work and summon up all our reserve powers to achieve the same. In response to this desire, in- ventions have been made, improved, and perfected. In this desire to excel, this mad pursuit of wealth, this keen competition, we find the moving cause which is pushing men on to make more and more wonderful inventions, which is bringing on the age of electricity, which is slowly solving the problem of aerial navigation, which is learning how to make 29$ COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. aluminum, as common as iron. Now, without fur- ther consideration, it must be evident that, as in the case of mechanical improvement in machinery, we can not afford to adopt any industrial system which will do away with this kind of competition. The benefits it confers are so vast that it must be retained. As in the case of capital, as in the case of im- proved machinery, so now in the case of competition we find it is not the use, but the abuse, of competi- tion that is working us injury. We have said that the best interests of the individual is not always the best interests of society. Now, the free play of individual competition, under our present indus- trial system, tends to force men, if they would suc- ceed in business, to lines of conduct in many cases — in nearly all cases, in fact — which are against the best interests of the public. Why is this the case? Because a business must be conducted according to the methods of the least conscientious, the most unscrupulous — in short, the worst men engaged in that business. A few moments reflection will con- vince any one of the truth of these remarks. Supposing a number of bakers engage in fur- nishing bread to the people. If one begins to adulterate his flour or employs soap-suds, alum, or other choice ingredients to make his bread light and fluffy, the others will simply have to fall into COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 299 his methods in order to compete with him. If one dealer commences to adulterate his pepper, spices, cinnamons, etc., other dealers must follow suit. The consequence is that all branches of provisions are adulterated. The same is true of all branches of production. That there are some few excep- tions to the rule is of course admitted. In the com- mercial world, other things being equal, it is cheap- ness which wins the day. We are not going to pay twenty or thirty per cent, more for clothes, for instance, to one merchant than what they can be bought for of the man across the street. This being the case, then, each man in any particular line of business must certainly adopt the methods of doing business which are employed by his competitors. These measures may be harsh or oppressive treatment of his employes ; they may be dishonest methods of production ; they may countenance misrepresentation on the part of salesmen, still, there is a great, almost irresistible pressure put on all engaged in the business, no matter how much they may individually shrink from so doing, to adopt these methods. Here, then, is the reason why competition, in spite of its power for good, which we have pointed out, is also a power for evil. The tendency is to force all deal- ings, in any particular line of business, to the level of the morally worst dealers engaged in it. 300 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. Individuals are powerless to effect a reforma- tion in this respect. Suppose that nine men out of every ten engaged in manufacturing clearly saw the evils of undue employment of children, and stood ready to give such wages to adults as would almost dispense with child labor, and would enable their employes to live in comfort. Yet they are powerless as long as the tenth manufacturer has no scruples of this kind, and wants to crowd wages down to the lowest possible level. Their commodities come in competition with his commodities, and the purchasing public do not stop to inquire into the facts of the case ; in fact, they do not concern themselves about it. It must be clear, without further argument, that the effect of competition is as we have stated. New illustra- tions of its truth must occur to all on reflection. Its results are before us. We have adulterated food, shoddy clothing, paper soles in boots and shoes, watered milk, and butter that can trace no line of descent from a cow. As is well known, labor has been disastrously affected by competition. This is because, since it is but a commodity, the effort will be made to cheapen it. And thus its value has been forced down. But to go over this ground would be but to re-state the facts as we found them in preceding chapters. It would be simply a review of the scenes of Coal Valley ; a COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 3OI further consideration of the case of little children who should be at school or engaged in childish romps instead of working in a close factory ; and to make further acquaintance with the despairing toilers who are — " Sewing at once with a double thread A shroud as well as a shirt." Now, it remains to be noticed that capital has been benefited by competition at all times, both when it is a force acting for the good of mankind and when for evil. We have seen that the benefi- cent effects of competition are due to the fact that it spurs individuals on to greater efforts, incites them to enter new and untried fields, and wonder- fully stimulates practical inventions of all kinds. Now, in our chapter on machine industry, we saw that capital reaps a much greater proportionate share of the increased returns of mechanical inven- tions than labor. In other words, material prog- ress was more favorable to capital than it was to labor. That amounts, then, to the same thing as saying that competition, in respect to its being a force working for the good of mankind, must cer- tainly result in more good to capital than it does to labor. That the other side of competition, that to which we have just alluded, is for the benefit of capital, is so clear that it needs no diagram to illus- trate it. As a whole, then, capital has had no com- 302 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. plaint to make of competition. Its maxim is that " competition is the life of trade," and the general impression is that all people have shared its benefi- cent action. But still the greater share of the ben- efits it confers has been on the side of capital ; so capital has flourished, until, reaching a more vigor- ous stage of growth, it has discovered a more ex- cellent way, and so we are brought to the stage of business concentration and combination. It is useless to deny that the whole world of business has tended for a long time steadily in the direction of concentration. We have already no- ticed the growth of large sized farms as compared with small ones. If we compare the census years of i860 and 1880, we notice the following table: i860. 1880. Number employed in the average estab- lishment in the U. S 9 10 Capital invested in the average establish- ment $7,192 $10,991 Value of manufactured products of the average establishment $i3>4 28 $21,152 As to the number of men employed, we must remember that, owing to the improvement in ma- chinery, the ten men of 1880 represent about the work of twenty men in i860. The table shows the unmistakable tendency of capital to concen- trate. We have no means of determining the facts of the case, but we have little doubt that the num- COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 303 ber of large establishments, employing Hundreds of men, representing a vast amount of capital, have increased very much faster than the number of small establishments. This would be but the counterpart in the industrial world of the growth of large farms in the agricultural world. This process of concentration has been work- ing ever since the modern industrial age began. A recent writer sums up the process as follows : " The present century has seen three great eco- nomic wonders accomplished : The invention of labor-saving machinery, greatly multiplying the efficiency of labor in every art and trade ; the ap- plication of steam power to the propulsion of ma- chinery ; and the extension over all civilized lands of a net-work of railway lines, furnishing a rapid, safe, and miraculously cheap means of transporta- tion to every part of the civilized world. In order to realize the greatest benefit from these de- vices, it has become necessary to concentrate our manufacturing operations in enormous factories ; to collect under one roof a thousand workmen, in- crease their efficiency tenfold by the use of modern machinery, and distribute the products of their labor to the markets of the civilized world. The agency which has operated to bring about this re- sult is competition. The large workshops were able to make goods so much cheaper than the small 304 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. workshops that the latter disappeared. Then one by one the large workshops were built up into fac- tories or were shut up because the factories could make goods at less cost. So the growth has gone . on, and each advance in carrying on production on a large scale has resulted in lessening the cost of the finished goods." So far as only natural results are at work, it would seem as if by this cause alone the time would come when there would be comparatively few giant concerns engaged in manufacturing. No one can doubt that the larger the scale on which operations are carried on, the cheaper becomes the cost of production. The reverse of this picture certainly is the sharper division of the people into a relatively small number of rich people on the one side, and a large number of struggling poor on the other. But nowadays capital seems determined by a series of vigorous movements to anticipate that stage of events. In short, it proposes, by combi- nation in the various lines of production, to do away with the evils of competition among them- selves. In considering the nature and tendency of competition, while describing it as a force capable of doing a great deal of good or of ill, we have not, as yet, described it as it is in truth — a struggle for existence, in which, in the midst of much suffer- COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 305 ing, the weaker participants must go to the wall. And this contest is accompanied by much waste and needless expense. It is certain that if five men are manufacturing for a certain market, which can buy only goods enough to support four men, one of these five will, in course of time, have to succumb. But before he gives up the fight he is going to resort to a great many ways to try and sustain him- self. The laborers employed will have to bear the burden of a part of this struggle, for he will reduce their wages as low as possible ; and, remember, this means a reduction on the part of all his competi- tors also. The public will have to bear a part of this burden, for he will, in many ways, lower the standard of his goods, especially if he thinks it is in some respect in which he will not be found out. He then will go to a great deal of expense in the way of booming his goods. In all these move- ments his competitors must follow suit. So this wai entails burdens on all classes. Capital understands the condition of things exactly. And so, just as society is getting ready to witness a war of giants, there is a sudden change of front. Those engaged in any business — refin- ing sugar, for example — are filled with a feeling of brotherly regard. They proceed to "get together" and talk the situation over. "What is the use," says one, " of this fight ? Why not save this 306 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. expense — come to some terms among ourselves? The people will Have to have sugar anyway. We might just as well save expense and divide the profits." " Just so," exclaims another of the sharp- witted men present. " Besides, gentlemen, really it is extraordinary we did not think of this before. If we only won't fight each other, we can put the price of sugar at such a figure that it will afford us all a good living." " But," declares another, " it is easy for us to agree, perhaps ; but no sooner will we get nicely agoing than others, seeing how pros- perously we are getting on, will start up other re- fineries, and we will be just as badly off." Then the first speaker explains that but few can start in the business anyway, owing to the large amount of capital necessary to invest ; " and, besides, united we will have such an enormous amount of capital we can, if necessary, break him. We can put the price of sugar, if necessary, so low that he can not stand it ; that need not bother us any." Further consideration makes it clear to them how they can reasonably explain to the pub- lic that an enormous saving will be made in oper- ating expenses, and so a trust is formed. Compe- tition is relegated to the rear. A new- stage in capitalist production is reached. " United we stand " is to be the future maxim. The benefits of this new plan are so apparent, as far as capital is COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 307 concerned, that nearly all available lines of produc- tion have now adopted it, though the trust is only two decades old. In a formal trust the different firms or compa- nies who have been competing with each other in the production and sale of goods agree to place the management of their several properties in the hands of a board of trustees. The powers of this board vary. As every one knows, the first of these modern trusts was the Standard Oil Trust. It has been remarkably successful. This was fol" lowed by the Cotton Oil Trust. But the benefits of combination are so great that many forms of association have been formed where the principal trusts prevail, but no formal trust is made. Some of the more prominent of these trusts, and combi- nations resembling trusts, are sugar, oat-meal, straw-board, paper, school books, linseed oil, oil cloth, many forms of iron manufacturing, lead, white lead, jute bagging, binding twine, whisky, salt, patent leather, and flour. Our railroads are feeling their way toward some feasible scheme on which they can all unite. Coal, iron, and lumber are already partially organized. It is a species of cheap demagoguery to con- demn off-hand the formation of trusts. They are the natural result of industrial progress of the last century. Edward Bellamy says of the trust: " It 19 308 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. is a result of the increase in the efficiency of cap- ital in great masses, consequent upon the inven- tions of the last and present generations. In former epochs the size and scope of business enter- prises were subject to natural restrictions. There were limits to the amount of capital that could be used to advantage by one management. To-day there are no limits, save the earth's confines, to the scope of any business undertaking; and not only no limits to the amount of capital that can be used by one concern, but an increase in the effi- ciency and security of the business proportionate to the amount of capital in it. The economies in management resulting from consolidations, as well as the control over the market resulting from the monopoly of a staple, are also solid business reasons for the advent of the trust." We are apt to overlook the fact that considera- ble can be said about the " solid business reasons " for the formation of a trust. By managing all the works in a trust as if they formed but one prop- erty an enormous saving in expense .is made. Only the best equipped mills and those most ad- vantageously situated are kept running. The trust can afford to carry its own fire insurance. And they can buy the latest and most improved mechan- ical inventions. The immense packing houses in Chicago claim that their profits are made from the COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 309 • manufacture of products which go to waste in establishments where less capital is employed, and hence the business of preparing meat for consump- tion is done for the public at actual cost. The Standard Oil Company offered to prove before a committee in Congress, in 1888, that by the enor- mous wholesale business they were carrying on in oil, and consequent cheapening in handling, the building of pipe lines, tanks, cars, etc., they were enabled to sell oil at prices which saved the genera! public $100,000,000 a year that it would undoubt- edly be compelled to pay if their system was not in use. Whatever truth or falsity there may be in these figures, the principle is certainly sound. As Prof. Bly expresses it, " Production on the largest possi- ble scale will be the only practical mode of produc- tion in the near future." So, from every source, the movement looking to the formation of trusts gathers strength. " Except in a few obscure corners of the business world there is at present no opportunity for indi- viduals to take the initiative in business unless backed by a large capital, and the size of the cap- ital needed is rapidly increasing. Meanwhile, the same increase in the efficiency of capital in masses, which has destroyed the small business, has reduced the giants which have destroyed them to the neces- sity of making terms with one another. * * * 3IO COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. « The first group of business enterprises which adopted the principle of combining, instead of competing, made it necessary for every other group, sooner or later, to do the same or perish. For as the corporation is more powerful than the individ- ual, so the syndicate overtops the corporation. The action of governments to check this logical neces- sity of economical evolution can produce nothing more than eddies in a current, which nothing can check. Bvery week sees some new tract of what was once the great open sea of competition, wherein merchant adventurers used to fare forth with little capital besides their courage and come home loaded. Bvery week some new tract of this once open sea is inclosed, dammed up, and turned into the private fish pond of a syndicate." And so trusts or combinations of various kinds have apparently come to stay. The many " solid business reasons " that can be given for them, how- ever, mostly redound to the benefit of the trust, and not the consumer. Or, perhaps, it would be more just to say that the consumers by no means receive their proportionate share of the benefits. But we may be perfectly sure that in the new order of events capital will take advantage of every opportunity it can with safety take to get as great returns as possible. And the far-reaching effects of this action are very great. Mr. Baker, in his COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 311 work on " Monopolies and the People," analyzes the effect of the Linseed Oil Trust, formed in 1887. It seems that the price of oil previous to the for- mation of the trust was thirty-eight cents a gallon. It is claimed that at this rate there was abso- lutely no profit in the transaction. It is clear that when the trust saved the enormous expense incident to competition, and the price of oil was advanced fifteen cents a gallon, the trust could realize a handsome profit. It is estimated that 30,000,000 gallons of linseed oil were used by the people. Here, then, is a clear profit of at least four million and a half dollars. The consumers, the people generally, do not seem to have been benefited particularly, in this specific example, at any rate. But, on the other hand, note the far-reaching effects. The raise in price was not so very great, yet it was sufficient to check the consumption of oil very materially. So a number of the mills belonging to the trust were shut down, consequently a large number of work- men thrown out of employment. But linseed oil is used in painting. A vast number of people could not afford to paint their houses, owing to the increased price of oil; hence all those people engaged in painting or manufacturing paints suf- fered in consequence. Not so much flax was needed to be raised to produce the oil, so farmers suffered. 312 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. Such is the mutual dependence of all people in society that a trust of this nature is able to levy a tax on us all. If trusts were content to take only the natural advantages of this new method of work — that is to say, be content with the great saving in expense and with the lessened cost of production, due to the fact that the production is on a vastly greater scale — there would not be so much room for complaint. But the temptation is almost irresistible to take advantage of the monop- oly in their hands to raise the price all the public will stand. So few people realize that combinations of this kind, for the suppression of competition, is the in- evitable result of our present system, the stage of evolution next to be reached, that they think all that it is necessary to do is to have the law-making power pass a few laws to kill the whole movement. Or they may suppose a change in the present laws will suffice as a change in the tariff laws in this country. It is, perhaps, sufficient to say that all legislative actions of this scope can at best have but a temporary effect. Progress will always take place along the lines of least resistance. The expense in production is so much less, the margin of profit so much larger, that it would be as great a step backwards to return to the old way as to banish the use of improved machinery. Equally COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 313 as futile is it to disclaim against the individuals managing the combination. We might with equal reason cry out against the manufacturer who pro- poses to use improved machinery. They must either adopt these tactics or go to the wall. It is so important to see that every force of modern industry is hurrying on the coming era in which competition is to be done away with that it will pay us to give this point earnest attention, It is evident that it is easier for two people -to come to some understanding with each other about business, make some arrangement to work for their common interest, than it would be for one hundred or one thousand. In other words, the fewer the people there are competing, the easier for them to make a combination. Now, it is evident, on fur- ther consideration, that many causes are at work to reduce the number of people who would naturally compete with each other. In the first place, more capital is required than formerly. This is largely owing to the improvement in machinery and tech- nical processes. Relatively, then, the number of people who compete tend to diminish. The mere fact that the larger the scale on which production is carried forward, the greater the relative cheap- ness of the process, works with almost resistless force in this direction. It is also clear that as competition grows more 3I4 COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. intense, and consequently more wasteful, combina- tions will be formed to stop this evil. The instinct of self-preservation will suffice in this instance. Now it is evident competition becomes more bitter as the number competing grows less. If but two men are engaged in a certain business, and make up their minds to fight each other, the competition will be more intense, bitter, and wasteful than if a thousand men are competing for the business. Also the greater the amount of capital invested, the more bitter will grow the fight. Competition be- tween railroads is simply suicidal. The amount of capital invested is so great that they stop at no limits in their fights. Concerns with but a few thousands invested will draw the line when it comes to doing business at a loss. Where millions are invested the real fight is only just begun when that point is reached. On reflection, then, we see that the whole tend- ency of advancing culture not only makes it easier for combinations to take place, but is actually forc- ing the movement forward. Study the problem in any light you please, and the conclusion is the same. Competition has served its day. Combina- tion is the watch-word of the present. Every one knows that we have not overstated the case. Every one knows that combination of some sort has been formed in nearly every avenue of trade. Indeed, lines COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 315 of industry which but a few years ago could not be controlled by trusts are now about perfecting some sort of a combination. In the case of railroads we have witnessed a growth of great systems, a recent feature, and yet the roads have been forced to take this step. , The Interstate Commerce Law, which was intended to keep alive competition among rail- roads, is, on the contrary, rapidly pushing forward the cause of combination. Eminent railroad men are now laying plans for uniting all the railroads of the country under one management. The coal industry in this country is rapidly passing into the hands of a few large concerns, such as the St. Louis Consolidated Coal Company, which virtually controls the coal trade of Southern Illinois, con- trolling seventy-one mines. To show how keenly alert capital is to seize on any field which can be thus controlled, we will cite an incident in the iron ore trade. As every one knows, Bessemer steel is one of the latest sci- entific triumphs. It has largely displaced wrought iron. In the manufacture of that steel it is neces- sary to use an iron ore of a peculiar chemical com- position. Now, this ore is found in great abun- dance in the mines north of the Vermilion range, about 100 miles north of Duluth, Minnesota, and in the mines of the Northern Peninsula of Michi- igan. But no sooner was this fact determined than 316 competition and combination* a combination was formed of the mines in that sec- tion, and the highest price is charged for the ore which can be obtained without driving the cus- tomer to more distant markets for his supply. Some of these mines have paid as high as ninety per cent, on the capital stock, which is watered to begin with. Beginning with the producers of staples, such as sugar, the combination plan tends to grow broader and broader in its scope. For instance, in Canada we have the Wholesale Grocers' Guild, which embraces nearly all of the wholesale grocers, enables its members to buy such staples as sugar, starch, baking powder, and tobacco cheaper than outside parties can. It fixes the price which retail dealers are to charge in their turn, so that in effec' all the grocers in Canada are brought into a trust. So in New York there are two associations of wholesale grocers who seek by similar means to regulate the retail trade. In a similar way we have in some of the Western States business men's associations, which propose to regulate the retail trade of the State. To show how rapidly this principle spreads, we need only to say that in a recent work on Mo- nopolies and Trusts it was deemed impossible that the agricultural interests of this country could ever be organized in a trust, the motto, almost, of COMPETITION AND COMBINATION. 317 the farmers' movement being " down with the trust." Yet we now read of the proposed forma- tion of a huge alliance trust, embracing the alli- ance members of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa, who propose to regulate the grain and beef industry. This is by far the wisest course to pur- sue. Combinations are the necessity of the day. Why not take advantage of them? This chapter could, of course, be prolonged to great length, but the main points we wish to bring out have now been fully stated. We have tried to be candid, and have made no statement unsupported by facts. We have tried to show that competition is largely a thing of the past. Every force of our industrial life is hurrying on the age of combina- tion. It is useless to try and stop the current. What we must do is in some way make it work for the good of all. We need never despair of being able to accomplish such a result as this. In our historical review we saw that society had made sev- eral changes in the past to escape the evils of the time. We need not doubt that some way will be found to overcome the evils of combination. Then we have little doubt that civilization will move on in a higher plane. Progress will be even more rapid ; education will be more general ; comforts, and the means of satisfying them, more abundant. 318 RESULTS. CHAPTER XI. RESULTS. Test of preceding statements — The wealth of Great Britain — Table — Darkest England — Contrast with richest England — The work- ing of this system in the United States — Difference in our condition — Examples of great wealth — Table of results — Conclusion to be drawn — Congestion of wealth increasing — Great fortunes a menace to our national prosperity — The general tendency of our present industrial system — Parallel between our present development and Villanage — Quotations from Danisthorpe — Words of warning — Hope for the future — Who are interested in this matter — The moral side of the question. PRESENT industrial system has been in existence but a short time. Slowly gathering strength, it seized on the use of steam and entered on a new stage of development. Since then not only has the amount of capital in the world grown at an enormous rate, but at the same time its power has increased at a nearly equal pace. We have asserted that the irresistible tendency of progress, as at present conducted, is to concentrate wealth in the hands of but a few peo- ple — that is, as compared to the great mass — and the consequent ever increasing gulf between the rich and the poor. Now, before passing on to consider RARON ROTHCHILD. 3i9 RESULTS. 321 steps that must be taken to remedy this, perhaps it would be well to take a more careful survey of our present surroundings to see if we have really ex- perienced the evils that, according to theory, ought to befall us. If so, to what extent are we already involved ? If on the other hand, an examination discloses no such state of affairs as we have said must follow, why, then, our fears are unfounded. Let us not concern ourselves any longer with this vexatious problem. Everything is moving on in the best way for it to go. So then, first let us inquire is it true that wealth and poverty are both increasing ? Is it true, and will figures show, that our present civilization means that for every one of the enormously wealthy men we see around us there is a multitude of "genteelly poor," and a numer- ous host of poverty-stricken individuals ? Great Britain may be taken as the very best example of a manufacturing nation. She manu- factures for the world. She imports the larger part of her food supply and the greater part of her raw material — save, of course, coal and iron. Some wonderful figures can be gathered as to her national wealth, and the extent of her manufacturing and commercial interests. Her shipping inter- ests are enormous. Her flag is a familiar visitor in every harbor. Her ships are to be met with on every sea. We can scarcely comprehend the 322 RESULTS. volume of her trade. The commercial supremacy of Great Britain was laid on an enduring founda- tion early in the eighteenth century by the cele- brated Bast India Company, but it went ahead with a sudden bound when the manufacturing era was fairly opened. As a result there is a vast amount of wealth concentrated in England, and especially in Lon- don. It has accumulated at an enormous rate during the last quarter of a century, and bids fair to do this at an accelerated rate in the future. England as a nation has reached that stage in her accumulation of capital where she can not begin to spend her income. The whole commercial world is literally mortgaged, pledged in pawn to England — not to the nation, but to English capitalists. The very corners of the earth are ransacked to find a field of investment ; not of the principal, but of the yearly and ever increasing income of English capital. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in South America, other hundreds in this country. Any meritorious scheme can secure capital to back it in London. If a new railroad is to be built, the capital can be raised in London, provided it is deemed a safe investment. Bonds of all classes, provided they are good, can be floated in London. An unlimited amount of money can be raised to buy up flourishing breweries. Coal RESULTS. 323 lands, iron foundries, great and successful manu- facturing establishments are eagerly bought up by- syndicates of British capitalists. What is true of the United States is true of Mexico and all the countries of South America. Egypt is securely in the grasp of the British money lenders, and so is India. What the end is to be can not be a matter of doubt if we allow things to go on. Many of the great trusts and syndicates that we spoke of in the preceding capter are largely foreign. Says Bdward Bellamy: "Our new industrial lords are largely to be absentees. The British are invading the United States in these days with a success brilliantly in contrast with their former failures in that line. It is no wonder, in these days when .the political basis of aristocracy is going to pieces, that foreign capi- talists should rush into a market where industrial dukedoms, marquisates, and baronies richer than ever a king distributed to his favorites are for sale. To say that from the present look of things the substantial consolidation of the various groups of industries in the country under a few score of great syndicates is likely to be complete within fifteen years, is certainly not to venture a wholly rash prediction." So much for the material wealth and prosperity of England. That wealth has increased enor- 3*4 - RESULTS. mously there can be no doubt. It Has also become greatly concentrated. There are some very rich individuals, the Duke of Westminster with about $50,000,000, being the most wealthy. Mudhall estimates the distribution of wealth to be as follows : There are 222,500 families whose average wealth is..$i25,i45 There are 1,824,400 families whose average wealth is.. 4,872 There are 4,629,100 families whose average wealth is.. 413 This table has quite a comfortable look. It means, however, that one-thirtieth part of the pop- ulation of Great Britain owns about two-thirds of the national wealth. And just as the first item tells us nothing of the enormous wealth of some of the nobility, so the last item gives us no idea of the extreme poverty of a vast number of people. One of the noblest Englishmen that ever lived, General Booth, has lately given us an idea of what " Darkest England" really is. It affords a most somber background for the brilliant picture of " Richest England." There are 100,000 people in England who are homeless — have absolutely no home they can call their own. In London alone 300,000 people are described as starving ; 222,000 are next door to starvation, and nearly 400,000 are said to be wretchedly poor — that is, they can but barely get enough to keep soul and body together. In all, it is estimated that 300,000 men, women, RESULTS. 325 and children, one-tenth of the total population of Great Britain, or a total population about the equal of Scotland, is living in the deepest distress for the barest necessities of life. A vast despairing multitude in a condition nominally free, but really enslaved. This, too, in a country where the income of the wealthy classes is so very large that only a portion of it can be spent. The rest is sent hither and thither to find an investment. Here is contrast enough surely. London so wealthy that it is supplying capital to the world ; but alongside of luxurious London, with its massive houses and princely palaces, we have also poverty- stricken London. Speaking of the homeless poor to be found spending the night out of doors in London, the officer reports: "Here between the Temple and Blackfriars I found the poor wretches by the score. Almost every seat contained its full complement of six, all reclining in various postures, and nearly all fast asleep. The moon, flashing across the Thames and lighting up the stone work of the embankment, brings into relief a pitiful spectacle. Here on the stone abutments, which afford a slight protection from the biting wind, are scores of men lying side by side, huddled together for warmth, and, of course, without any other cov- ering than their ordinary covering, which is scanty enough at best. Some have laid down a few pieces 20 326 RESULTS. of waste paper by the way of taking the chill off the stones ; but the majority are too tired even for that, and the nightly toilet of most consists of first removing the hat, swathing the head in what- ever old rag may be doing duty as a handkerchief, and then replacing the hat." General Booth sug- gests that as they have in London a Lord Mayor's Day, when all the well-fed, fur-clad city fathers go in stage-coaches through the town, why not have a Lazarus Day, in which the starving out-of-works and the sweated, half starved " in-works " of Lon- don should crawl in their tattered raggedness, with their gaunt, hungry faces, and emaciated wives and children, a Procession of Despair through the main thoroughfares, past the massive houses and palaces of luxurious London? It is not our object to picture forth the horrors of London poverty. We only want to furnish a companion picture for the wealth of England. Now, five hundred years ago such a condition of things as we have described was unknown. It must have come into existence because the industrial system on which we were then entering was favorable to it. We have spent some time in examining the working of this system, and have pointed out that just such consequences must follow whenever capi- tal and labor were divided, and labor became a mere commodity. History and theory here unite. Let RESULTS. 327 us see if the same results follow in the United States. It must, of course, be evident that any great change in the condition of the mass of our people could only recently iiave shown itself. The whole history of what is now the United States is contracted within the span of less than three centuries. And even as brief a time as one hundred years ago by far the larger portion of what is now the United States was in reality an unknown country. No nation has ever previously grown at our rate of growth. We are now a nation of nearly sixty-five million inhabitants. Our mining and manufactur- ing interests are well developed. Population has increased many fold. Our agricultural interests have grown with the growth of the country. It will be readily admitted that the capitalist system, if in any case an advantage to a country, it must be especially so when the country is new. Its evil effects will come more clearly into view as the country fills up. When its land is all taken up, manufactories well developed, and every avenue of business activity full, then its pressure will be- gin to be felt; then the division into classes will begin to appear. Now, our Eastern and Middle States reached their age of maturity a couple of generations ago, but the United States, as a whole, passed its turning point some years past. We do 328 RESULTS. not mean to say in either case that it is not going to increase in population, wealth, and riches, but we mean it is no longer a new country ; it has passed its period of youth. Consequently, if our indus- trial system is to be followed by any evil conse- quences, we would expect it to show such results but recently. We might also remark that, as we are accustomed to doing everything on such a grand scale in this country, we will probably excel in this direction. Our rich men will be richer than in any other country ; and while our poorer classes can not be poorer than they are in England, for instance, and live, we may find some way to excel even in this matter. Thomas G. Sherman, of New York, who has interested himself in the distribution of wealth in the United States, tells us there is one individual in the United States worth at least $200,000,000. That two brothers, whose property is held as a unit together, own even a larger amount than this. There are two other estates worth at least $150,000,000 each. One fortune of $70,000,000, two of $60,000,000, and at least five of $50,000,000. It must be admitted that this is a pretty respecta- ble showing for a nation where the system of capi- talist production could hardly get agoing until the last forty years. We evidently do not propose to let England outdo us in this matter. Most of RKSUI/TS. 329 these enormous fortunes are the outgrowth of the last forty years. Before that time a man worth a million dollars was looked on as a curiosity. Mr. Sherman gives a table which we will reproduce. There are in the United States — 70 families whose average wealth is $37,500,000 90 180 135 " 360 1,735 " 6,000 7,000 " " 11,000 "■ " 14,000 " " 16,500 50,000 " " 75,000 " " 200,000 " " 1,000,000 " " 2,000,000 " " 9,620,000 " " From this mass of figures a number of most unpalatable facts can be drawn. Considerably less than one per cent, of our population own more than fifty per cent, of the wealth of the United States. One-seventieth part of the people own over two-thirds of the wealth. Or we may say that four-fifths of the total wealth of the United States is divided among about two hundred and fifty thousand persons, leaving one-fifth to be divided among twelve and one-half millions of peo- CldgC WWII (< it II .. 11,500,000 II II II .. 8,000,000 <« (( II .. 6,800,000 II (< II 4,600,000 II II II 2,300,000 (( II II 1,250,000 II II II 650,000 II II (< 375,000 (1 II <( 230,000 «« l( II 165,000 (I II II 100,000 l< II (( 6o,000 MT. VERNON, ILL. SEC'Y FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 409 COPTER XY. THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION, — BY- JOHN P. STELLE, Secretary General Assembly. History of the Movement — Objects of the Association- Declaration of Purposes— Necessity of Organization— Preamble- Motto— General Assembly— State Assembly— County Assembly— The Subordinate Lodges — Requisite of Membership— Who can form a Lodge — Officers and their Duties; — Present Condition of Agricultural Interests— The Memorial to Congress— Conclusion. IT is our purpose to give a full account of the farmers' move- ment, it is necessary to consider at some length the outline of the 11 Farmers Mutual Benefit Association." This is one of the latest organizations, but it is at present in a very flourishing state. Incorporated in Illinois in 1887, m ^ ess tnan five years its membership was estimated to have reached nearly two hundred thousand, and it was at work in ten states. The secretary, in the last General Assembly of the order, reported the preceding year as witnessing the formation of nearly twelve hundred new lodges. Such a growth as this shows that as an organization it must be so 410 THE farmers' mutual benefit association. planned as to meet the approval of the farmers of the land. It goes without saying that it has the same general purposes in view as the other great farming organizations. Its system of organization is not quite so complex as the "National farmers Alliance and In- dustrial Union," and a little more complex than the National Farmers Alliance of the West. Thus it may be said to have the good points of both. The Articles of Incorporation state the objects to be as follows : The objects for which it is formed are, to unite the farmers of the State of Illinois, and of the United States, in all matters pertaining to the inter- ests ol their calling ; to devise ways and means where- by they may more effectually promote their general welfare ; to improve the modes of agriculture, horti- culture and stock raising ; to adopt and encourage such rotation of crops as may improve rather than im- poverish the soil ; to devise and encourage such sys- tems of concentration and co-operation as may dimin- ish the cost of production, and of farm life and farm operations ; and to secure the best possible returns for farm productions ; to provide for the extension of the benefits of said association by organizing and charter- ing subordinate associations in such manner as may from time to time be prescribed by the rules and regu- lations of the association. The following Declaration of Purposes set forth in dignified language the sentiments which animate the members of this association. THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 411 Being convinced by evidences on every hand of the imperative necessity of an Association ef Farmers, and being moved by unfeigned courtesy toward those of other business classes, we deem it expedient on our part to express our purposes in unmistakable terms. It is universally admitted that every profession and business, apart from farming, looks either directly or indirectly to the farmers for sustenance. This fact should impel every business or professional man to at least give us the benefit of his good wishes, if not a helping hand. We do not incline to the opinion that even successful farming can be made entirely indepen- dent, yet a mere glance at our situation reveals the truth that we are growing more and more dependent, and that quite to our disadvantage. We engage to educate ourselves to appreciate the dignity of our call- ing, to look up with pride and satisfaction to our chosen business, to make our business more inviting and promising. Unorganized, we stand opposed to our special interests by making room for numerous obstructions in our path, without the courage or ability to remove them. Unorganized, we float along down the stream of time unconscious of our importance as a business class, unmindful of the many advantages within our grasp, unable to determine the cause of our many failures. Organized, we have the advantage of exchanging ideas, exchanging experiences, exchanging sympathy, 25 412 THE farmers' mutual benefit association. and the advantage of disseminating timely and im- portant information. Organized, we have the advan- tage of uniting our interests and combining our strength. We engage to acquaint ourselves with and to support our Municipal, County, State and National laws. We engage not to interfere with any other business class or profession, but rather to respect all legitimate business and professions. But we will promptly and fearlessly place the stamp of condemna- tion on every business or profession which, in our judgment, is calculated to interfere with our rights. We intend to be progressive in thought and action. We shall endeavor to advance our country in general — morally, intellectually and financially. We rely with full confidence in an all wise Provi- dence for our ultimate success. Any American citizen, farmer, mechanic or pro- fessional man, can but extend his sympathy and good will to such a plain, straightforward creed as that. The following is the preamble. We, farmers of the United States of America, believing that our business is the business preservative of business, and that our peculiar interests and ac- knowledged rights have been and will continue to be disregarded, unless we assume the office of self-pro- tection ; we, therefore, do resolve to organize ourselves for the purpose hereinafter mentioned and to adopt for our government the following Motto, Constitution and By-Laws. THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 413 The motto they have adopted is equally to the point. Equal and exact justice to all ; special privi- leges and immunities to none ; charity to those in poverty, affliction or distress, and especially to those of our own Order. The Constitution provides that the association shall consist of a General Assembly, State Assemblies, County Assemblies and Subordinate Lodges. The General Assembly consists of its officers, standing committees, and Representatives from State Assem- blies ; it is the supreme head of the association and enacts all laws for its government ; grants and issues all charters ; adopts and controls the unwritten work ; furnish all signs, pass words, emblems and other de- vices of the association, and has general supervision and jurisdiction over State Assemblies, County As- semblies and Subordinate Lodges, and over all mat- ters pertaining to the general interests and purposes of the association subject to the provisions of the con- stitution. State Assemblies consist of their officers, stand- ing committees and representatives from County As- semblies. State Assemblies have jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the good of the association in their respective states, subject to all laws and resolu- tions of the General Assembly. They have appellate jurisdiction in cases arising from County Assemblies, subject to final appeal to the General Assembly. County Assemblies consist of their officers, stand- 414 the farmers' mutual benefit associat . ing committees and representatives from Subordinate Lodges. County Assemblies have jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the good of the association in their respective counties, subject to all laws and resolutions of the State and General Assemblies. They have appellate jurisdiction in cases arising from Subordinate Lodges, subject to final appeal to the State Assembly. Finally we come to the unit of organization, the Subordinate Lodge, which consists of duly qualified farmers, citizens of the United States, inducted into the association as provided by its laws and authorized usages. Each Subordinate Lodge has exclusive con- trol of its own affairs, subject only to the laws, rulings and resolutions of the General Assembly and its State and County Assemblies. The requirements of membership are few and simple. The applicant must be a male citizen of the United States, at least twenty-one years of age, of good moral character and of industrious habits, and whose residence within the vicinity of the Subordinate Lodge to which application for membership is made, must have been sixty days, and whose principal voca- tion must be that of farming. He must make appli- cation in writing to his nearest or most accessible lodge, accompanied by a fee of fifty cents. The ap- plication must state whether or not the applicant has been rejected by or expelled from any other lodge. This is referred to an investigating committee, who THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION 415 make investigation, and if the applicant be found to meet the foregoing requirements, they so report, whereupon a ballot is taken and if not more than two black balls appear the applicant is declared elected, and may be initiated. If the committee find to the contrary they shall so report, or if more than two black balls appear in either case both the fee and ap- plication is returned, and the matter shall be made one of the secrets of the Order. It requires, at least, ten persons to organize a new lodge, the method of procedure is for those wish- ing to form a new lodge to join in a written request to be so organized, which is forwarded to some chartered lodge, on receipt of the same, the lodge, having first duly investigated the qualifications of the petitioners and found them worthy, and having collected the re- quired fee, proceeds to confer on them the degrees of the association and organize them into a lodge as re- quested. After such organization has been effected the secretary of the organizing lodge makes a report of the organization, with the names of the members, the name of the lodge, its officers and post office ad- dress, accompanied by the regular charter fee, to the secretary of the General Assembly. They are then furnished with a charter and the organization is com- plete. The officers of all the organized bodies of the as- sociation, from the highest to the lowest, consist of a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. 416 THE farmers' mutual benefit association. These are all elected officers. There is, however, a board of five trustees elected by the General Assembly, this board is the legal head of the association. A county must have, at least, three subordinate lodges before it can organize a County Assembly, and a state must have, at least, three County Assemblies before it can organize a State Assembly. The foregoing gives us a fairly good idea of the working machinery of the association. The secretary at the general assembly in 1889 summed up the pres- ent condition of the agricultural interests in this land and the hopes of the organization as follows : On the one hand is a depressed and suffering agriculture, the vocation to which God has called you — unremunerated toilers, homes mortgaged, life-time labors, with all their buried hopes and sweetly painful memories, passing away from the laborers. God blesses with abundance in vain. The worker's share is still unre- munerated toil. On the other hand is law-made aristocracy, trusts, combines and monopolies more powerful than the government itself, exercising gov- ernmental functions for selfish ends. Agriculture is always the sufferer in such a condition of government, and never yet have agriculturalists been able to throw off the yoke when once fastened upon them, but by a revolutionary upheaval. But the superior intelligence of the American farmer gives ample hope that through wise and prudent but powerful organization this may be grandly done, and our country, the home of liberty, THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 417 the beacon light of nations, may be made to blossom as the rose, and " This is my home," may be written where the mortgage fiend now sits, while " equal rights for all " shall blaze in letters of living fire to light up our legislative and congressional halls. Grander incentives to action could not be, and may God himself lead the way. The Association adopted in the General Assem- bly in 1889, a memorial to Congress, which though somewhat long, we will quote entire, since it presents in a very clear manner just what legislation the asso- ciation thinks is necessary to bring prosperity to the farmers of the land, It also gives us in a short com- pass the wants of all farmer organizations and of many who are not farmers. Let it not be forgotten that the legislation is not demanded for the sake of farmers alone, but for the sake of the great majority of the citizens of the union irespective of profession or calling. We, the members of the Farmers' Mutual Bene- fit Association, in General Assembly convened, unite in the following declaration, and demand the reforms hereinafter mentioned. We desire to call your attention to the fact that while our country, as a whole, has enjoyed during the last decade more than ordinary prosperity, and the entire increase of wealth has equaled, if not ex- ceeded, any other decade of history ; While those engaged in trade and transportation, 418 THE farmers' mutual benefit association. in professional and personal service, and with some exceptions, those engaged in mining and manufactur- ing, have received remunerative prices for their labors, and many of them highly remunerative prices for the capital invested, and many persons have become exceedingly wealthy within the last decade. The busi- ness of farming, which has always been less remu- nerative to both the capital and labor invested than almost any other business or occupation, the prices of farm products and the profits of both capital and labor invested therein for the past six or seven years has been almost constantly declining, until the prices are now, and for some years have been, absolutely below the cost of production, and the business of farming has been prosecuted for three or four years at an absolute loss, in so much that the laborers of this country who toil more hours than any other class or calling, instead of sharing in the general prosperity, are growing poorer day by day. And while many persons in our country are said to be in want of food and raiment, the American farmers (except the grow- ers of rice and sugar) can not find a market for their products which will repay the cost of production, transportation and sale. This state of things has forced many of our farmers to mortgage their farms. The unremunerative price of farm products affords no hope of paying these mortgages, and it is only a question of time when the mortgages will be fore- closed, the occupants (the farmer and his wife and THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 419 children) will be turned out of house and home, and will be forced to take up their " melancholy march " "over the hills to the poor house," while ioo men in our country own $150,000,000 worth of property — some of whom revel in incomes of more than $1,000,- 000 per annum. We are in favor of " equal and exact justice to all, special privileges and immunities to none. Therefore, and to that end, we denounce and demand the abolition of all monopolies, whether created by class legislation, or by the voluntary com- bination of corporations or individuals. We denounce, and demand the suppression of all trusts and combinations, of either persons or cor- porations, made for the purpose of limiting production, suppressing, preventing, or diminishing competition ; or increasing the price of products far above the cost of production. We denounce, and demand the repeal of all class legislation, whereby any person or corporation or person of any class, calling, profession or occupa- tion, are granted any privilege or immunity not granted to or possessed by all other persons, classes, callings, professions and occupations. We deplore the tremendous and unparalleled concentration of wealth — the accumulation of nearly all the surplus earnings of the entire labors of our people — into the hands of a " favored few," which has been fast increasing for the last twenty-five years, and 420 the farmers' mutual benefit association. which is fast transforming the once prosperous and free people of the United States into a nation of mill- ionaires and paupers, of plutocrats and slaves ; and which, if not promptly arrested, all hope of liberty and "government by the people for the people," will soon have perished from the earth. And we denounce that system of class legisla- tion and of voluntary combinations of capitalists and monopolists which have rendered this unparalleled accumulation possible. And as a just and legal cor- rective of this dangerous and destructive evil, we de- mand the repeal of all class legislation, and that our revenue be largely collected by a heavily graduated tax on incomes, and especially the incomes of rich corporations. We denounce that hoary-headed monopoly cre- ated and sustained by our system of patent laws, by which our people (and more especially the farmers) are annually taxed probably more than $ 100,000,000 — the results of which are seldom to reward the inven- tor, but to increase the number of millionaires in our country. And we demand such revision of our patent law as will eliminate all monopoly from the system, and at the same time secure to the inventor, not to the speculator, a liberal reward for his invention in pro- portion to its utility. We believe that it is not only an inherent attri- bute of sovereignty, but the absolute duty of the THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 421 government, to furnish its people with a safe and con- venient medium of exchange of uniform money value. That to devolve this duty and privilege, either upon persons or corporations, is, to that extent, an abdica- tion of government. That the privilege of furnishing a currency to the people is a highly valuable privilege, even when that currency is gold or silver. And the privilege of fur- nishing paper currency is worth even more than the annual interest on the amount furnished. That the national government alone should receive all the profits resulting from the coining and issuing of money, to that extent diminishing the burdens of national taxation, thus distributing the profits among all the tax-payers according to the amount of taxes paid by each. Therefore, we demand the abolition of the na- tional banking system, that hereafter no person or corporation be permitted to coin or print or issue money or circulating medium. That all money be coined, printed, stamped and issued by the national government directly to the people, without the inter- vention of persons, banks or other corporations, suffi- cient in quantities for all purposes of trade, com- merce and exchange, composed of gold, silver, copper and their alloys, and of United States Treasury notes, all of which, except subsidiary coin, should be made a full legal tender for all debts and taxes, both public and private. That the government should make no 422 THE farmers' mutual benefit association. discrimination between gold and silver either in coin- ing or paying out the same. And we demand that our government, instead of using its influence, as heretofore with European na- tions, to maintain the single standard of gold, as money, shall hereafter use all its influence with those nations which have demonetized silver and adopted the gold standard to restore silver coins to their former position as money. We believe that as all corporations are created by the sovereignty, they have no interest or inaliena- ble rights. That they are at all times subject to reg- ulation and control (and for cause to dissolution) by their creator. That corporations for transporting persons and property, or for transmitting news or intelligence, or for insuring life or property, should be so regulated by law as to prevent all discrimination and extortion. That they should not be permitted to water their stock, or to over-issue it, without payment of the increase in money. That they should not recklessly squander their earnings, and thus necessitate exorbitant charges for services rendered the public. That they be re- quested to manage their business with reasonable economy, that they may serve the public effectively and cheaply. And finally, if these ends can not be secured through corporate control and management of railways and telegraphs, then we demand that the THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 423 corporations be dissolved, their franchises resumed and their tangible property be taken and paid for by the government, and that they be operated for the good of the people. As the principal reasons which were once sup- posed to exist for electing the President and Vice- President by electors, and United States Senators by legislatures, have long since failed, we are in favor of electing them (under proper safeguards) by direct ballot of the legal voters. We are uncompromisingly opposed to the crea- tion or perpetuation of a class of officeholders. We believe that in a republican government, the frequent return of the officeholder to the ranks of the people, is as necessary asa" frequent recurrence to the first principles of government." Therefore we are opposed to all tenure of office, either during life or good behavior, and demand the election of United States Judges at stated periods, not longer than nine years, by the ballots of the legal voters. If this is not the people's government, whose government is it ? If it is the people's government, who should choose their officers ? While we favor a liberal system of pensions to soldiers and sailors who in the line of duty became disabled from earning a livelihood, we are unalterably opposed to creating or retaining a list of retired officeholders, either civil or military, as pensioners, to be supported at the public charge and that largely by 424 THE farmers' mutual benefit association. the hard earnings of farmers and laborers, who can hardly support themselves and families. It is unre- publican, and smacks strongly of aristocracy and royalty. We demand the immediate reclamation of all the public lands granted to either persons or corporations to aid railways, the terms of which grants were not complied with in the prescribed time and manner. And we propose to watch and reward the course of our senators and representatives on this subject. We protest against the increase of salaries to senators or any other public officer. We believe that the salaries of public officers should be a fair compen- sation for the services rendered, and should be but little more than private persons obtain for similar work. The salaries in excess of this are a standing reward to induce the great scramble for office, and to obtain office by corruption and fraud, which should be promptly arrested by the withdrawal of the reward. We therefore demand a revision of the salaries and fixing them on these principles. And the fact that more than half of all the reve- nues collected in the United States is paid out as salaries to officers and wages of public employees, conclusively indicates that if we would reduce our taxes we must first reduce our expenditures. We believe that the production and use of all ar- ticles of necessity, convenience and comfort should be encouraged, and the use of those of mere luxury and THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION. 42ft articles useless or injurious to health or good morals should be discouraged. Hence, we favor the removal or reduction of taxes on articles of necessity, conve- nience and comfort to the poor, to the limit consistent with " equal and exact justice to all." And that the burden of taxation be placed on articles of luxury, and especially on those injurious to health and good morals, and upon large and excessive incomes. We are opposed to alien ownership of real estate in the United States. We believe that our government and people should no longer encourage foreign immigration, and should prevent the immigration of criminals, paupers, persons of bad morals, and all adults who are not capable of self-support. We believe that private ownership of real estate should be limited to use and occupation of the owner and that corporate ownership be limited to an amount necessary for the convenient operation of the business. While the above may be taken as the clearly ex- pressed demands of the organization, it is entirely non- partisan in character, and makes no political or relig- ious condition of membership, though its teachings, being without party bias, naturally lead to indepen- dent political actio*. 426 THE GRANGE COPTER XVI. THE GRANGE. — REVIEWED BY — JOHN TRIMBLE, Secretarj National Grange. The Oldest Farmer Organization — What Led to its Forma- tion — Its Triumph — Declaration of Purposes — General Objects — Specific Objects — Business Kelations — Education — Grange Non- partisan — Outside Co-operation — Preamble — Why the Grange does not Unite with other Agricultural Organizations — Wherein it agrees with other Organizations — In what it Dissents — Conclusion. IS the oldest distinctively farmers organization, it started in 1867. For many years it alone represented ^a the main principles for which seve- ral national orgfnizations now contend. So successful has it been that the word "granger" is now known as a name for farmers generally. It has fought a bat- tle not only for farmers, but for all classes. It entered on the first fight with railroads, and succeeded in con- vincing these corporations they were after all not quite as powerful as the general public. Granger legislation, in regard to railroads, had to run the gamut of all the courts of the land. This organization, after struggling in feebleness for several years, suddenly at WASHINGTON, D. C. SEC'Y NATIONAL GRANGE PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY, THE GRANGE. 429 one bound, became exceedingly popular. It subse- quently fell away from this high-water mark. But it is still a strong, conservative and practical organiza- tion. Onr sketch of its history is mainly derived from a lecture delivered by Hon. D. Wyatt Aiken. The Order of the Patrons of Husbandry has now been in existence twenty-four years. Its founders are well known, but just how much of the structure each one framed, they are unable to inform us. Suffice it to say, that in January, 1866, Mr. O. H. Kelley, a clerk in the Agricultural Department, was sent by President Johnson upon a mission to see what could be done to revive the agricultural industry of the Southern States so lately wrecked by war. Kelley journeyed as far south as Charleston, S. C, thence to Savannah, Mo- bile, New Orleans, up the Mississippi to Memphis, across the country to Atlanta, and back again to Washington City. Impressed with the disorganization of that pecu liar agricultural section, and grieved at the utter de- moralization of its people, whom he found intelligent and trustworthy beyond his anticipations, Kelley con- ceived the idea that for the resuscitation of the country and the .'ecuperation of its farmers, whose wealth and resources had been swept away by war, organization was a necessity. But a moment's reflection convicted him that there was vital need of organization among the farmers of the Union, North as well as South, and to effect such an end became the thought of his life. 26 430 THE GRANGE. He reasoned that agricultural clubs were neither per- manent nor effective ; they were ephemeral, and sel- dom if ever controlled by farmers. State and country fairs were not for farmers alone, but open to the com- petition of the world. In his soliloquy he queried, why should not farmers join in a league peculiar to themselves, in which others should not be admitted to membership? Such an union would be partisan, and if partisan it should be secret, and if secret it must have a ritual to make it effective and attractive. This process of reasoning rapidly brought him to a conclu- sion, and forthwith he undertook to execute the ritual- istic framework of such an organization. But to this he required help. Finally six men joined him in the undertaking. It is no slight task to lay the foundation for a successful organization and to plan out the necessary ritual. But they per- severed. For nearly two years they wrought with an energy unaccountable, and with a faith amounting almost to inspiration, until they completed a well- devised scheme of organization, based upon a ritual * of four degrees for men, and four for women, of great originality of thought, beauty of diction, and purity of sentiment. Having framed a constitution, adapted to this ritual, to govern them, they met on the 4th day of December, 1867, and constituted themselves the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. During the four years next succeeding, their zeal was nothing abated. Their time, their labor and their THE GRANGE. 431 scanty cash were all cheerfully given to scatter the seeds of promise far and wide over the Union, for they fervently believed they were "casting their bread upon the waters." These four years if not years of discouragement, still had but little to stimulate the founders. They printed circulars and copies of their constitution. At the third annual convention, but two members were present, the worthy master and the secretary. But it is recorded that the master, with much ability and eloquence, delivered his annual ad' dress to his single auditor. This action, however, preserved the spark of life. The first State Grange was organized in Minnesota in 1879. The second in Iowa in 1871. In 1873 seventeen delegates attended the national convention, six of them were masters of state granges. The movement was now on the treshold of success. 1873 an< ^ l &74- were very prosperous years for the grange. In the former eight thousand six hundred and sixty-eight subordinate granges were organized, and in the latter eleven thousand nine hundred and forty-one. In fact this growth was too rapid for good effective work. There- fore, in a few years the reaction came on. But this period is also passed, and now the Grange is one of the most powerful organizations of the land. In the words of Mr. Trimble: "Its officers and members believe that its aims, objects and purposes, properly carried out, will protect and advance the best inter- ests of the farmers of our country, and through them 432 THE GRANGE. the best interests of all other classes as well. "The purposes of the Grange are best set forth in the following official declaration of purposes : Profoundly impressed with the truth that the Na- tional Grange of the United States should definitely proclaim to the world its general objects, we hereby unanimously make this Declaration of Purposes of the Patrons of Husbandry: GENERAL OBJECTS. i. United by the strong and faithful tie of Agri- culture, we mutually resolve to labor for the good of our order, our country and mankind. 2. We heartily endorse the motto, " In essen- tials, unity ; in non-essentials, liberty ; in all things charity." SPECIFIC OBJECTS. 3. We shall endeavor to advance our cause by laboring to accomplish the following objects : To develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood among ourselves. To enhance the com- forts and attractions of our homes, and strengthen our attachments to our pursuits. To foster mutual understanding and co-operation. To maintain invio- late our laws, and to emulate each other in labor, to hasten the good time coming. To reduce our ex- penses, both individual and corporate. To buy less and produce more, in order to make our farms self- sustaining. To diversify our crops and crop no more THE GRANGE. 433 than we can cultivate. To condense the weight of our exports, selling less in the bushel and more on hoof and in fleece; less in lint and more in warp and woof. To systematize our work, and calculate intel- ligently on probabilities. To discountenance the credit system, the mortgage system, the fashion sys- tem, and every other system tending to prodigality and bankruptcy. We propose meeting together, selling together, and, in general, acting together for our mutual protection and advancement, as occasion may require. We shall avoid litigation as much as possible by arbitration in the Grange. We shall constantly strive to secure entire harmony, good will, vital brotherhood among ourselves, and to make our order perpetual, We shall earnestly endeavor to suppress personal, local, sectional and national preju- dices, all unhealthy rivalry, all selfish ambition. Faithful adherence to these principles will insure our mental, moral, social and material advancement. BUSINESS RELATIONS. 4. For cur business interests, we desire to bring producers and consumers, farmers and manufacturers, into the most direct and friendly relations possible. Hence we must dispense with a surplus of middle- men, not that we are unfriendly to them, but we do not need them. Their surplus and their exactions diminish our profits. We wage no aggressive warfare against any 434 THE GRANGE. other interests whatever. On the contrary, all our acts and all our efforts, so far as business is concerned, are not only for the benefit of the producer and con- sumer, but also for all other interests that tend to bring these two parties into speedy and economical contact. Hence we hold that transportation compa- nies of every kind are necessary to our success, that their interests and harmonious action is mutually ad- vantageous, keeping in view the first sentence in our declaration of principles of action, that "individual happiness deoends upon general prosperity." We shall, therefore, advocate for every State the increase in every practicable way of all facilities for transporting cheaply to the seaboard, or between home producers and consumers, all the productions of our country, We adopt it as our fixed purpose to "open out the channels in nature's great arteries, that the life-blood of commerce may flow freely. We are not enemies of railroads, navigable and irrigating canals, nor of any corporation that will advance our industrial interests, nor of any laboring classes. In our noble order there is no communism, no agrarianism. We are opposed to such spirit and management of any corporation or enterprise as tends to oppress the people and rob them of their just profits. We are not enemies to capital, but we oppose the tyranny of monopolies. We long to see the antagonism be- THE GRANGE. 435 tween capital and labor removed by common consent, and by an enlightened statesmanship worthy of the nineteenth century. We are opposed to excessive salaries, high rates of interest, and exorbitant per cent profits in trade. They greatly increase our bur- dens, and do not bear a proper proportion to the profits of producers. We desire only self-protection, and the protection of every true interest of our land, by legitimate transactions, legitimate trade and legiti- mate profits. EDUCATION. We shall advance the cause of education among ourselves, and for our children, by all just means within our power. We especially advocate for our agricultural and industrial colleges that practical agriculture, domestic science, and all the arts which adorn the home, be taught in their courses of study. THE GRANGE NOT PARTISAN. 5. We emphatically and sincerely assert the oft-repeated truth taught in our organic law, that the Grange — National, State or Subordinate — is not a political or party organization. No Grange, if true to its obligations, can discuss partisan or sectarian questions, nor call political conventions, nor nominate candidates, nor even discuss their merits in its meetino-s. Yet the principles we teach underlie all true politics, all true statemanship, and, if properly car- 436 THE GRANGE. ried out, will tend to purify the whole political atmos- phere of our country. For we seek the greatest good of all. We must bear in mind, that no one, by becoming a Patron of Husbandry, gives up that unalienable right and duty which belongs to every American citi- zen to take proper interest in the politics of his country. On the contrary, it is right for every member to do all in his power legitimately to influence for good the action of any political party to which he belongs. It is his duty to do all he can to put down bribery, corruption and trickery ; to see that none but compe- tent, faithful and honest men, who will unflinchingly stand by our interests, are nominated for all positions of trust ; and to have carried out the principle which should always characterize every patron, that The Office Should Seek the Man, and Not the Man the Office. We acknowledge the broad principle, that differ- ence of opinion is no crime, and hold that "progress toward truth is made by differences of opinion," while "the fault lies in bitterness of controversy." We desire a proper equality, equity and fairness ; protection for the weak ; restraint upon the strong ; in short, justly distributed burdens and justly distributed power. These are American ideas, the very essence of American independence, and to advocate the con- trary is unworthy of the sons and daughters of an American republic. THE GRANGE. 437 We cherish the belief that sectionalism is, and of right should be, dead and buried with the past. Our work is for the present and the future. In our agri- cultural brotherhood and its purposes we shall recog- nize no North, no South, no East, no West. It is resolved by every patron, as the right of a freeman, to affiliate with any party that will best carry out his principles. OUTSIDE CO-OPERATION. 6. Ours being peculiarly a farmers' institution, are can not admit all to our ranks. Many are excluded by the nature of our organi- zation, not because they are professional men, or ar- tisans, or laborers, but because they have not a suffi- cient direct interest in tilling the soil, or may have some interest in conflict with our purposes. But we appeal to all good citizens for their cordial co-operation to assist in our efforts toward reform, that we may eventually remove from our midst the last vestige of tyranny and corruption. We hail the general desire for fraternal harmony, equitable compromises and earnest co-operation, as omen of our future success. CONCLUSION. 7. It shall be an abiding principle with us to re- lieve any of our oppressed and suffering brotherhood by any means at our command. Last, but not least, 438 THE GRANGE. we proclaim it among our purposes to inculcate a proper appreciation of the abilities and sphere of woman, as is indicated by admitting her to member- ship and position in our Order. Imploring the con- tinued assistance of our Divine Master to guide us in our work, we here pledge ourselves to faithful and harmonious labor for all future time, to return by our united efforts to the wisdom, justice, fraternity and political purity of our forefathers." The Preamble to their constitution also contains a beautiful presentation of the necessity of organiza- tion. PREAMBLE. Human happiness is the acme of earthly ambition. Individual happiness depends upon general prosperity. The prosperity of a nation is in proportion to the value of its productions. The soil is the source from whence we derive all that constitutes wealth ; without it we would have no agriculture, no manufacturers, no commerce. Of all the material gifts of the Creator, the various produc- tions of the vegetable world are of the first importance. The art of agriculture is the parent and precursor of all arts, and its products the foundation of all wealth. The productions ol the earth are subject to the in- fluence of natural laws, invariable and indisputable ; the amount produced will consequently be in propor- tion to the intelligence of the producer, and success THE GRANGE. 439 will depend upon his knowledge of the action of these laws and the proper application of their principles. Hence, knowledge is the foundation of happiness. The ultimate object of this organization is for mu- tual instruction and protection, to lighten labor by dif- fusing a knowledge of its aims and purposes, expand the mind by tracing the beautiful laws the Great Creator has established in the Universe, and to enlarge our views of creative wisdom and power. To those who read aright history proves that in all ages society is fragmentary, and successful results of general welfare can be secured only by general effort. Unity of action can not be acquired withont discipline, and discipline can not be enforced without significant organization ; hence, we have a ceremony of initiation which binds us in mutual fraternity as with a band of iron ; but, although its influence is so powerful, its application is as gentle as that of the silken thread that binds a wreath of flowers. The Grange organization as such has so far de- clined to unite with other more recent agricultural organizations. Their reasons for so doine are often misunderstood. Mr. Trimble, Secretary, and Mortimer Whitehead, Lecturer of the National Grange, have but recently taken occasion to officially explain the position of the Grange in this matter, in answer to a call to form a confederation with other farmers' and laborers' organizations, they said : " The Grange organization is now twenty-four 440 THE GRANGE. years of age, and it could not, by attending one or many conferences, more clearly express its position upon the various important economic questions that are at present, and have been for years, agitating our industrial classes. Through its press, its literature, its public speakers and its national and state legisla- tive committees, it clearly declares to the world its policy upon all matters affecting the interests of the farmers, said policy being agreed upon only after faithful discussion in its local, state and national bodies, and officially promulgated as the sense of the great majority of its membership. It surely should stand to the credit of the Grange organization that after its existence of nearly a quar- ter of a century so large a number of the planks in its platform have been incorporated, many of them ad liter atum, into the platforms of these other organiza- tions that within a few years have come so prominently to the front. So that on these lines, at least, it is plainly to be seen that these other organizations do agree with the National Grange by thus adopting and indorsing its aims and purposes." They then give a few items to prove the truth of the last assertion. They quote from the Declara- tion of Purposes adopted in 1873 to show that even then the Grange contended that sectionalism was dead, a thing of the past. They show that the financial leg- islation now demanded, such as the free coinage of silver, has always been favored by the Grange. The THE GRANGE. 441 Grange has for many years advocated numerous measures, some of which have been incorporated into the laws of the land, and others which are now under discussion, and though now demanded by the other organizations, yet the Grange can not forget that it was the pioneer in the field. Some of these measures are, the Oleomargarine law, the Interstate Commerce law, the election of senators directly by the people, the Australian ballot law, the elevation of the Bureau of Agriculture to a department of government, a grad- uated income tax, reform in the Patent laws, legisla- tion directed against trusts and monopolies of all kinds, and reform in taxation, tariff, finance, transpor- tation, etc. But then on the other hand, they go on to say, that " there are some things advocated by other farm- ers' and laborers' organizations that the National Grange has not indorsed, among which might be men- tioned what is known as the Henry George or single- tax theory, advocated and officially supported by the Knights of Labor in their national conventions. The Grange has clearly placed itself in opposition to so un- American a scheme as would remove the tax from the palace of the millionaire and place it upon the land alone. Neither has the National Grange indorsed what is known as the warehouse or sub-treasury plan, believing it to be impracticable and far from the best means ot bringing monetary relief to the tillers of the soil, which the Grange, in common with all other or- 442 THE GRANGE. ganizations, feels to be one of the most pressing needs of the hour." The Grange has lived and pros- pered these many years upon its progressive, and yet conservative, lines of action. In it there is no com- munism, no agrarianism. Its members are law-abiding citizens, and wage no aggressive war-fare against any other legitimate interest whatever. Many other instances might be given to prove the broad, comprehensive character of the Grange or- ganization. Its business system, its life and fire in- surance associations, its exchanges, co-operative stores, etc.; its admission of all members of the farm- er's family, at least one-third of its members being the mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of the farm; its support of education, temperance, morality and all those things that go to develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood. The Grange has, as above stated, only fraternal feelings for other organi- zations having for their object the building up of American toilers, whether in field or town, and the perpetuation of our free institutions, it believes that they have among their members tens of thousands who are actuated only by the purest, most philantro- pic and patriotic motives. It desires to be good neighbors with them all, will rejoice with them in their victories, but can not be responsible for their mistakes or for all they aim to do. Its membership will " tol- erate the faith of others, still clinging closely to their own." WASHINGTON, D. C. LECTURER NATIONAL GRANGE PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. 445 CHAPTER XY11. OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. — BY — MORTIMER WHITEHEAD, Lecturer National Grange. The Grange tested by Experience — The Broad Character of the Grange Organization — The Grange Means Education — Educates the Fanner in Business — In Co-operation — Shaping Public Opinion — Its Teachings tend to Elevate — Quotations showing its tendencies, I % THIS year, 1891, when the Grange celebrates its twenty-fifth birthday, after an existence of a full quarter of a century ; with its achievements in the interests of agriculture known of all men ; with its members Governors of States, in Congress, in Legislatures and fill- ing high positions of trust all up and down the land ; with its more than twenty-seven thousand charters issued to organizations formed in every state and ter- ritory, and its great membership of the very best farmers, their wives and children, holding hundreds of thousands of meetings every year ; with every plank in its platform thoroughly tried and proven, it can no longer be said that it is an experiment or an untried theory. It has been weighed in the balance and OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. never yet found wanting when its principles have been properly applied. It is a bright and living fact, one of the permanent institutions of our country, as per- manent as are our churches or our schools. And as long as we need churches and schools, as long as we have farms and farmers to till them, so long will we need the Grange and so long will it continue its bene- ficent mission. It has outlived prejudice. It has made itself known and felt. It is stronger to-day and ac- complishing more good than at any time in its history. Unlike other class organizations, the Grange con- fers its benefits not alone upon its own membership, neither do farmers only reap its rewards. It extends around and beyond its own class, and advances the 4M interests of all. When farmers are prosperous we never hear of hard times in the cities or anywhere else. But when from any reason — short crops, low prices, hard times — agriculture is depressed, then it is that manufacturers talk of "overproduction," mer- chants of dull trade, and mechanics, artisans and la- borers complain that they can not find work. The preamble to the constitution of the National Grange reads : " Individual happiness depends upon general prosperity. The prosperity of a nation is in propor- tion to the value ot its productions. The soil is the source from whence we derive all that constitutes wealth ; without it we would have no agriculture, no manufacture, no commerce. Of all the material gifts of the Creator the various productions of the vegetable OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. 447 world are of the first importance. The art of agricul- ture is the parent and precursor of all arts, and its products the foundation of all wealth." All history proves that where agriculture has prospered the nation has prospered. The Grange seeks "the greatest good to the greatest number," and so benefits manu- facturers, trade and commerce, as well as the farmer and his family. The Grange is organized on a complete system, with local, county, state and national bodies, so that it can be used for local, county, state and national purposes. The same principle of united effort, or union of strength, runs through all its various bodies, and its members " united by the strong and faithful ties of agriculture," are keeping step to its music of advance and reform. A mighty army, an army of peace, yet gaining victories as great as those of war. An army that knows no North, no South, no East, no West, but knows the farmers of our country and their cause, the cause of patriotism and of humanity. As a brief history of the Grange is given on other pages of this work there is no necessity for repetition here, suffice it to say that in common with all other forward steps in the world's history, the early days of the Grange were days of struggle, of opposition, of misrepresentation, Even farmers sometimes opposed it. Mistakes were made in its earlier work. Its own members did not always understand it. It sometimes fell into improper hands. Still the child grew and 27 448 OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. waxed strong, for M Truth is mighty and will prevail." Political parties have their " platforms," churches have their "creeds," our forefathers had their "De- claration of Independence ; " so the farmers have their Grange platform, their creed, their " Declaration of Purposes," and it is also given on the pages of this book. It is the foundation, the starting point of this organization. It contains not the words of an individ- ual alone, but it is the " official' ; language of the Order itself. In it will be found what the Grange al- ways has been, what it is now and what it proposes to be and do in the future. I would commend it to all careful readers and thinkers, and would ask them, are not its contents words of truth and soberness ? If these principles are put into practice will any injury result to individuals or to our country? But rather will they not advance the welfare of the family, the neighborhood, the state and the nation. Note also, how these same principles have been incorporated in- to the platforms of several of the younger farmers' organizations. In a single word it may be said that the Grange means education. It teaches the farmer that he has mind as well as muscle, brains as well as land, and that it pays him to cultivate the one as well as the other, for "knowledge is power." Brain always has ruled muscle and always will. As is the soul above the body, so is brain above muscle. The farmer and his interests will be advanced just in proportion as he OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. 449 improves his education in all things that pertain to him in his several* relations, as a farmer, as a man and as a citizen. The Grange is educating the farmer in matters of business, that it is just as much a part of his busi- ness to sell a crop as it is to grow it ; just as much to his advantage to know how to spend his money as how to earn it. He is learning the laws of supply and demand, how to handle " trusts," " corners," and dealing in " futures." He has learned how to control the great corporations who control the commerce of the country, to secure the passage of an Inter-State commerce law, and already, in two notable instances, viz., in Vermont and Delaware, the State Granges brought cases before the Inter-State Commerce Com- mission and secured reductions in discriminating freight charges amounting to from twenty to thirty- three per cent, saving in a single year amounts run- ning up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Grange has been educating the farmers in fire and life insurance, and hundreds of Grange companies have been for years affording ample protection in these directions, and saving others hundreds of thou- sands of dollars for farmers who have learned to mind their own business. A late report of the busi- ness done by a number of these companies in New York State show savi?igs (above the usual rate3 charged in city companies) in three years time of 1,229.10. Grange co-operative stores, creameries, 450 OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. schools, etc., have been in successful operation for years. Grain elevators, grain warehouses, freight lines, fruit-growers and other "exchanges," and doz- ens of other organized business helps are springing up more and more in all parts of the country, The "Grange Bank of California," in San Francisco, has been running some fourteen years, with a capital of $ 1,000,000 and has loaned $3,000,000 in a single year upon grain stored in warehouses that farmers them- selves have built, and so aided in breaking up "cor- ners" and in getting better prices. Other Grange banks are running successfully in other States. The Grange is educating the farmer about taxes — equal and unequal, direct and indirect ; about finance, scarce money and dear money, or plenty of money and cheap money ; about the money furnished one class of citizens by government for one per cent, and for which the people must pay six, eight or ten per cent ; about the demonetization of silver (for the few) and the free coinage of silver (for the many) ; about tariffs — for manufacturers — and free raw materials — also for manufacturers — and farmers left out on both counts ; so he has learned to insist upon "equality be- fore the tariff law," and before all laws. He has learned that cash is king ; to get out of debt and keep out. That rates of interest for money higher than the average earnings of capital invested in productive industries gives capital an unfair advantage over labor; that English two per cent capital coming over here is OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. 451 absorbing millions of acres of our land under fore- closure because of our high rate of interest ; this same cheap foreign capital buying up and running our rail- roads, our mines and our factories, the profits all go- ing across the Atlantic. Having learned these lessons the farmer in the Grange insists upon lower rates of interest as a true " protection to American industries." The farmers are discussing and educating them- selves upon all questions of political economy. The following are the instructions given the Lecturer of the National Grange in the preparation of official cir- culars, leaflets and tracts for distribution to the Grange and agricultural papers, and at Grange meetings. " Resolved, That the Worthy Lecturer of the National Grange be instrusted to continue the distri- bution of subjects for discussion to subordinate Granges, and that questions of political economy be given prominence, such as gold, silver, greenbacks, national banks, corporatious, inter-state and trans- continental transportation and the tariff as it relates to agriculture." These questions have been and are being dis- cussed, and an intelligent public opinion has been and is being created on all these important questions. Grange agitation, more than all other causes com- bined, secured the passage of the Inter-State com- merce law, the Oleomargarine law, the Hatch Experi- ment Station law, the bill erecting the Department of Agriculture, with its head a member of the Presi- 452 OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. dent's Cabinet, saved the large appropriation 'to the States for agricultural education by the limit to be applied only in instruction in agriculture and the me- chanic arts, etc." It advocates pure food, the Aus- tralian ballot law, an income tax, election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people, and all laws which will protect our people "in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Another good feature of Grange education is in politics, not partisan politics, but true politics, "the science of government," as Webster defines the word. The members of the Grange have been learning that wheat, corn, pork, beef, tobacco, rice or cotton raised, on a Democratic farm are controlled by the same laws as the products of a Republican farm ; that what will injure one farmer will injure another ; or the benefit of one is the benefit of his neighbor; that politicians have divided the farmers' birthright of strength by "pairing" them off one against the other in different political parties, and so their votes don't count except for the benefit of others ; that parties are all right in their places, but that the people must run the parties, and not the parties the people. The Grange teaches the farmer independent voting, to carry out reforms, inside his own party, if he can, but outside of it if he must. Many politicians in all parties have felt the effects of this lesson of late. It is plainly to be seen that it is impossible to give in a brief space all the good points claimed for OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. 463 this old and long-tried national farmers organization. All the teachings tends to elevate and not degrade. It makes brighter and happier homes, it has its liter- ary features, its social and moral features. It teaches farmers to give their boys and girls a better chance in the way of an education ; to have more books, music and flowers. Then, too, farmers have learned to take wife and mother, daughter and sister, to the Grange as well, that they also need the recreation, the educa- tion, the benefit ; that as are the mothers so will the sons be also ; that woman's influence in the Grange is always for good, for all that is pure. No better and more effective temperance organization exists than the Grange. Charity is a prominent character- istic. It makes the farmer better to himself, better to his neighbor, better to his country, and better to his God. It has by none of its teachings ever made a man or woman worse, but it has made hundreds of thousands better. Its lessons all develop the good, the beautiful, the true. The half has not been told of its good work, and it will do more and better in the future. Every farmer and his family should be- come members. The Rev. Thomas K. Beecher, of Elmira, N. Y., in an address before the National Grange, in 1879, said : " Already in the various lessons and lectures to which I have listened with profit again and again, I discern that we have a savor of true religion or out- look toward God. This outlook is the life, in my 454 OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. judgment, of the Grange. I recognize the Grange a§ I do any other church. There are qualities in the Grange which I long to transfer to the church. I speak to you this evening of a theme which has been the meditation of my lifetime. ' We are God's hus- bandry,' says the apostle. That is to say, God in- tends to grow a crop of men and women, and of all the crops that can be raised upon a farm I know of none more worthy of attention." The Rev. A. B. Grosh, one of the seven found- ers of the Grange, now dead, once said : " Let us then show our gratitude to God by conforming to His law, by obedience to His will, by praying, speak- ing and working to make our order His agent in the improvement of society and in promoting the welfare of our nation and our race. Let us make it a divine institution for the blessing of the laborer, of women, of childhood, that they may "make it yet nobler, greater and better in all good ways and words and works." Having survived its years of trial, its years of perhaps too rapid growth and subsequent creation, this great farmers' organization has for twelve years past been steadily advancing in strength of numbers and in the strong hold it has upon the respect of its membership, and of the people ol all classes in our country. Its growth is now healthy and sure. As many as 107 new Granges were started in a single State last year (1890) and the first three months of OBJECTS OF THE GRANGE. 455 this year show new organizations in twenty of our States. Farmers are uniting with it now through no excitement, but from a conviction that it is right, founded on good principles, and that they need it in their neighborhood, just as they do a school or a church, and they are therefore as deliberately build- ing the Grange to-day as they build the church and school. A trinity of good influences, either one of which being lacking in any neighborhood leaves that community just so much behind the one that has all three. Just as " Truth is truth to the day of reck- oning," and " the eternal years of God are hers," so the great truths taught in the Grange will go onward as the years go by. Already a new generation has come to the front and is taking up the work of the fathers who laid the foundation of the Grange deep and strong, and baptized it with the motto, " Esto perpetual " Go up and on thy task well done, Its morning promise well fulfilled, Arise to duties yet undone, The higher tasks that God has willed." 456 THE farmers' league. COPTER XV11L THE FARMERS' LEAGUE, BY — HERBERT MYRICK, Secretary National League. What the League is — It is a Political Party — Its Relations to other Bodies — Plan of Organization — Growth of the League — Work of the Local League — Objects of the League — How they prepare to work — Conclusion. *§«,, HAVE now given a brief outline of several national organizations of agricultural workers, and it would seem at first sight as if there was no room or need for any further organization. There is, however, a very- vigorous organization which finds abundant work at hand, and a field in which to work as yet unoccupied. This introduces us to the Farmers' League. The league is a~ non-secret, independent, non-partisan or- ganization, in harmony with the grange, alliance and kindred associations, agricultural societies, farmers' clubs and similar organizations. These are mainly devoted to the farmers' social, educational and finan- cial improvement. But the league goes a step further.^ Its object is the farmers' political welfare. The work of the league is directed toward securing a just repre- the farmers' league. 459 sentation and treatment of the agricultural interests in Congress and in the Legislatures, and due recognition of farmers in all public affairs, without conflicting with the best interests of the entire public. It consists of a national league and of state leagues, with county and town leagues. The national league has general supervision of the affairs of the farmers' league and the work of organization, and attends specially to the farmers' interests in Congress. The state leagues, as soon as organized, push the work of organization in their respective states, and attend to the farmers' special interests in the Legislature. The county league attends to the farmers' interests in county mat- ters, and to affairs in senatorial and representative districts. The town leagues furnish the delegates who constitute the county leagues, and attend to the farm- ers' interests in local districts, in town affairs and in each election precinct. According to the above it seems that the especial field in which the league is to distinguish itself, is that of practical politics. As it is important to' note this distinction, let us quote from the declaration of the Massachusetts State League, in which the Grange is taken to illustrate the distinction, of course the alli- ance would have served this purpose just as well : Among the various farmers' organizations none is better known than the Grange, and we would urge every tiller of the soil to identify himself with the grange movement. It means increased' social advan- 460 THE farmers' league. tages for himself and his family, overcoming in a great measure the isolation of farm life. It means financial advantage in the help to be secured from co-operative buying and selling. It also means increased educa- tional development in the line of agriculture, the prin- ciples of government and general culture. But there come times when this is not enough. The Grange may have taught the farmer his political duties, it may have instructed him in the principles of political science, but when it comes to taking direct action in partisan politics, the grange keeps aloof, and the ma- chinery of some other organization is needed. The Farmers' League isorganized for this specific purpose, and in all cases where direct political action is needed we recommend it to the farmers, that the Grange may not be swerved from its original purpose of non-par- ticipation in partisan politics, and thereby weakened. We must not make the mistake of supposing the league is a new political party. Its work is for the benefit of the whole community and all classes. It aims to repeal and abolish special favors to other classes. It seeks no favors for farmers at the expense of other people, except only at the expense of the gamblers and monopolists who are now living on the life-blood of the common people. It is not a scheme to put farmers in office irrespective of their qualifica- tions. But it is the determination of the league to secure the nomination of the very best men by both parties and the election of the men who will best rep- THE farmers' league. 461 resent what the farmers want, yet let all nominees and all officers elected be farmers as far as possible. It is not a scheme to overturn the government or force it into socialism. But it is simply a means through which farmers may work effectively in carrying out their public duties as citizens. It is not a farmers' party. But through the league farmers can make their vote count for their own interests and for the welfare of the whole public, instead of simply electing some politician who wants office for what he can get out of it, irrespective of the real welfare of the people, no matter to what party they may belong. The plan of organization is extremely simple. No oath of secrecy is required of members. They simply sign a pledge to " work for the farmers' interersts in politics and legislation, so far as this can be done with- out conflicting with the welfare of the entire people." But of course as sensible men the members are not supposed to proclaim their purposes from the house tops. They are supposed to keep a discreet tongue in their heads. The canvass is managed quietly and discreetly. The members of the league plan the work and keep it to themselves. Then the various political rings and bosses which have heretofore controlled all parties, may not defeat the will of the people. No oath-bound secrecy is de- sired, simply such protection as will insure the suc- cess of their plans against the wiles of the profes- sional politicians who have so long had practical 462 THE farmers' grange. control of both parties. In other words, the League says, "farmers of America, let us attend to our own business ; let us do our duties as true and patriotic citizens ; but let us do it in such a way that our efforts will succeed." The League is a very recent organization, but has had a rapid growth. It originated in Massa- chusetts. The dairy interests of the farmers of that State constitute no inconsiderable item of their income. They suffered greatly from bogus butter and cheese. They especially desired the legislature to enact a bill to prevent the manufacturers of oleomargarine and bogus cheese from coloring them like the genuine article, but they could procure the passage of such a law. Realizing that these and other wrongs suffered by farmers could never be secured by simply peti- tioning for justice, the New England Homestead, early in the fall of 1889, suggested that the farmers' political league be organized to carry these reforms squarely into politics, and make the issue in all pri- maries, caucuses and conventions of all parties. The idea met with instant favor. The Farmers' League of Massachusetts was temporarily organized in October, and there not being time enough to perfect permanent organizations in every township in season for elec- tions, the plan was adopted of circulating a pledge among the voters in agricultural districts, irrespective of party, whereby they bound themselves "to vote only for such candidates for governor and for the leg : the farmers' league. 463 Islature as shall pledge themselves to work and vote for a bill to prohibit the coloring of oleo like butter. The results were so satisfactory that the move- ment attracted the instant attention of farmers gen- erally. As a consequence, the officers of the Massa- chusetts State League were overwhelmned with requests to start the movement in other States. To meet this demand the Farmers' National League was finally organized, and a temporary constitution and officers elected, the same in all essential respects as those elected and adopted at the permanent organiza- tion of the National League in Albany, N. Y., Sept. I, 1890. With this to head the movement, rapid progress in forming permanent leagues among the farmers for political work went on throughout the country. The New York State Farmers' League perfected its preliminary organization in February, and was followed later by the Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Vermont State Leagues. These consist of two delegates from each county league in the State, together with one delegate from each local league in unorganized counties. A sufficient number of local and county leagues are being per- fected to lead to the organization within a short time of State Leagues of New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Georgia, Iowa, Washington, Ore- gon, California, Missouri, Nevada and Nebraska. A 464 the farmers' league. start has also been made in every other state and territory, the work in which is now advancing so rapidly that by 1892 the state organization will be perfected in every state and territory of the United States. The league is built up from the basis of the local or township organization. The local school district or township league is the foundation of the entire superstructure. This local or foundation league is started in each town by five or more bona-fide farmers securing a charter and outfit from the national league. Then all future members are voted in, a majority vote being sufficient to admit a member. Membership is confined to farmers or those directly interested in ag- riculture. Mechanics who hold small farms or tracts of land, which they work when not engaged at their trade, may be admitted if the local league so desires. But professional men, especially lawyers, are excluded. This makes every local league the judge as to who shall be admitted to membership. Thus a safe-guard is put up against letting in political tricksters, aristo- cratic office holders and others who have no business in the league and who would use it to simply further their own ends. Where any question arises as to the advisability of admitting any candidate for member- ship, a ruling on the subject will be made by the na- tional secretary on application. Thus the local league may avoid making a decision in certain cases which might cause some ill-feeling were they to refuse to admit some person who, although personally very ex- THE farmers' league. 465 cellent, may have no real interest in the farmers' movement and not be any help to the League. Women are eligible to membership on the same terms as men. From what we have said as to the purposes of the League we can see at once that the precise objects demanded will vary with different localities. For in- stance, protection against fraudulent dairy products may be especially desired in some of the Eastern States. Other evils to be remedied are of much greater extent. Equal taxation is demanded in nearly every state. The following specific demands were adopted by the national league in 1890 : In tariff matters we demand that the farmers' labor and products be equally considered with the skilled labor and manu- factures of other industries. But internal affairs at present directly affect the farmer, especially our sys- tems of taxation, transportation and trade, and the general tendency to create laws for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. Consequently we demand the equal taxation of personal property, as well as real estate ; that legisla- tion should restrict transportation charges to a rate that shall pay only a reasonable interest on the actual and legitimate capital invested, exclusive of " water; " that artificial conditions under which great monopolies are created at the unjust expense of the people should be corrected. The buying and selling of votes and other corrupt use of money in elections should be prevented. The 28 466 the farmers' league. principles of the Australian ballot law should be uni- versally adopted. Immigration should be more faithfully restricted, and alien land ownership prohibited. Inasmuch as the declared object of the league is to work for the farmers' interest in the arena of politics, they must be expected to take hold in a way that shows they mean business. No half-way measures will enable farmers to compete with well -organized cliques in every com- munity that runs existing parties. Talking it over in the grange or alliance or calling a meeting to discuss the situation is not enough. Even a union of these organizations by delegates does not cover the case. No loose methods or unorganized plans will accom- plish much. The only way is for the bonafide farmers of each township to unite in a local " farmers' political league," with the specific object of running the caucuses and conventions of all parties. Once thor- oughly organized for this job, farmers will quickly find that they have both the brains and the numbers to carry it out. In their league meetings, while all subjects of in- terest to farmers and their families may be discussed and considered, the members of the League should keep constantly before them the fact that their princi- pal object is the farmers' political welfare. Conse- quently, efforts should be concentrated on this subject as much as possible. Discuss what farmers most want from the town, county, state or nation. Having de- THE farmers' league. 467 cided on the measures wanted then the League mem- bers are supposed to bend all their energies to secur- ing the election of the man or men who will best help these measures. Candidates are decided upon. A candidate for each political party that is expected to put a ticket in the field. Should these candidates be nominated then the contest will be simply in the old party lines. Should but one be nominated, then the members of the League are supposed to lose sight of politics and vote and work for their candidate who is nominated. It is evident that we have in the Farmers' League a very simple but very practical and extremely pow- erful engine for advancing such legislation as the farmers desire. Not the least of its advantages lie in the fact that it can so readily unite itself with the grange, alliance, wheel or union which is established in any locality. As political power is so largely in the hands of farmers, this movement bids fair to exer- cise a great influence on future legislation. There is in all this, however, no cause for alarm. The farmers of our land are neither socialists nor anarchists. Yet they feel that there are most grievous evils to be remedied. They are conscious of the fact that they can probably force such legislation as they desire, but they are not without a sense of duty that such power carries with it. They hope in a short time to purify our politics, rule our Legislatures and Congress, and restore our government to the people, so that govern- 468 THE farmers' league. ment shall be by the people, for all the people. In this grand work of fulfilling their political duties as citizens, farmers will receive the hearty support of patriotic men and women in all honorable vocations. This practical assumption of self-government by the producers of our great republic will effectually guard our beloved country against the evil tendencies which now beset it. Let the farmers but lead the way through the farmers' league, and without multiplying political parties, they can unite all faithful citizens in the work of reforming existing abuses in local, county, state and national affairs. Certainly the men who stand by the right in this bloodless revolution of the ballot-box, do equally as patriotic work for their country as did their forefathers who laid its foundations with fire and sword more than one hundred years ago. PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. 469 COPTER XIX- PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. — BY — W. H. SMITH, Supreme Secretary. Not Confined to Agriculturalists — Preamble — The Objects — Growth of the Order — The Working Machinery — Co-operative Features — System of Arbitration — The Patent Laws — Scheme for Saving Money — Their Relations to other Organizations. HAVE now considered several or- ganizations of agriculturalists. Let us now inquire about one of the later formed bodies, but which has shown itself possessed of great vitality. The name of this organization is " Patrons of Industry," as it indicates, it is not confined to agriculturalists. The following preamble sets forth the reasons for founding a new organization. " Being impressed with the fact that all parties interested in commerce, manufactures, transportation, communication, the liquor traffic and other important business enterprises are organized and using their combined influence for the promotion of their own special interests at the expense of the producing in- dustry of the country ; thereby causing an improper and unnatural and unjust distribution of the products 470 PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. of labor, tending to an absorbence by the favored few of the wealth produced : which process has already- concentrated so much of the wealth of the country in a few hands, that a minority dictate the government policy of our nation to favor monopoly and oppres- sively increase the burdens of honest, unprotected toil, which, long continued, must result in the servile de- pendence of poverty stricken masses : upon the un- scrupulous, avaricious domination of the aristocratic few, while the farmers and employes upon whose labor the prosperity of our country depends are either un- organized or with so little cohesion as to be unable to compete with the powerful combinations which grow rich and more powerful by the unjust and dishonest exactions which the continually changing conditions enable them to make upon those at whose expense they live and thrive. We, therefore, the citizens, farmers and employes of North America, believing that Almighty God, as the source of all power and ruler of all nations, should be recognized in the constitutions of all societies, states and nations, do hereby, with due reverence to Him, associate ourselves together, and do most solemnly pledge ourselves, one to another and each to all, to labor together in uncompromising hostility to all monopolistic encroachments upon our rights by the combinations herein before named, and for the govern- mental control or prohibition of any business or meth- ods that tend to encourage or enable the few to lead PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. 471 lives of ease and luxury, in idleness, at the expense of the toiling masses, or that tend to degrade or demor- alize the people or render them, through its effects, a sorrow to their friends and a burden upon producing energy. The objects of the order are to secure the rights and interests of agriculturalists and laborers by the use of such legitimate means and measures as will se- cure to each those inalienable rights guaranteed by the Declaration of American Independence and to promote their rights and interests by protecting them by means of independent co-operative political action from the rapacious and avaricious greed of organized monopoly." It is, of course, evident that this platform is broad enough for almost any patriotic American citizen to stand upon. About the only qualification for member- ship is that the applicant "must be of good moral character, and it will be expected that they will refrain from the violation of civil law." The order has had a very rapid growth. The secretary of the Supreme Convention in March 1891, was enabled to make the following gratifying state- ment : Starting with a few counties in Michigan, less than two years ago, the order was unheard of outside of this state, to-day we have good working associations in thirteen states and provinces and inquiries coming from every state in the Union. The working machinery of the order consists of 472 PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. several associations. There is first the Supreme As- sociation, which is the highest tribunal of the order. It consists of the officers, a board of three trustees and delegates from the various state associations, other- wise known as Grand Associations. A state is not entitled to a Grand Association unless it has at least six county associations, and a county association can not be formed unless there are at least four subordi- nate associations in it. It thus appears that the subor- dinate association is the unit of organization. It requires at least ten members to form an association. An applicant must receive at least a two-third vote of all the members present. Ladies are admitted to membership as well as gentlemen. No oath is re- quired, the applicant is received upon his honor as a citizen. As for age, each subordinate association settles this matter to suit itself. This order has some provisions in its By-Laws not found in the organizations already considered. In the case of sickness or death of a member we find the following : It shall be the duty of all subordinate asso- ciations to appoint a relief committee to visit the sick and report immediately to the President, who shall see to it that suitable watchers are provided each night if necessary ; and the subordinate association may by its by-laws, provide for a sick benefit fund, and for other extraordinary association purposes. In case of the death of a member of any subordinate associa- tion a meeting of the association shall be immediately PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. 473 called, and adjoining associations shall be notified, and all the members of the association shall attend the funeral in a body, but in no case shall there be any funeral ceremonies performed by the association as such. Each member present shall wear crape on the left arm as a token of respect for the deceased member. They have also provided for a system of arbitra- tion. On any disagreement between two or more members of an association, concerning business trans- actions which can not be settled by the parties, the President of the association shall inquire into the cir- cumstances of the case and shall recommend to the parties an arbitration, consisting of five, two chosen by the plaintiff and two by the defendent, which four arbiters so chosen shall choose a fifth. The arbiters can be chosen from any other subordinate associations in the same county. The President shall preside, and the forms of trial shall be observed and an accurate record kept of the proceedings and testimony ; but if either of the parties be dissatisfied with the verdict of the arbitration they may have a right to appeal to the county association. In case of an appeal taken from an arbitration of any subordinate association to the county association, said association shall appoint a committee of twelve, to whom the testimony taken in the arbitration shall be given for their 'decision. If any excluded person shall feel agrieved for reason of the finding of the county association tribunal he shall have a right to 474 PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. appeal to the grand association, to which an exact record of the proceedings and testimony of the trial shall be sent, and their decision shall be final. As a whole the Patrons of Industry desire sub- stantially the same legislation as the organizations we have already described. In general we read that they demand such legislation, state and national, as will check the advance in financial and political power of all classes of corporations, monopolists and trusts, and restrain and prevent them from further encroachments upon the rights and prosperity of the laboring and producing classes. As for patent laws, they demand such a revision of our patent laws as will limit the rights of patentees to a shorter period of time, not exceeding ten years, and so limit the issue of patents as to prevent the multiplication of mere improvements and devices of little or no real invention or practical work, but which are used to increase the expense of implements and tools to the farmer and consumer and put exorbitant profits into the pockets of manufacturers and capitalists. While they " favor a co-operative commercial warehouse system " still they do not want any sub- treasury plan or scheme. They declared in favor of the following scheme for loaning of public funds : In view of the fact that upon the prosperity and independence of the farmers depends the welfare and comfort of the nation, and that from them a large per- centage of the funds of the government are derived ; PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. 475 therefore we demand that the government enact laws whereby money may be loaned to the people on a good real estate security, at a sufficiently low rate of interest to free their home from the grasp of exorbitant bankers and prove our institutions to be a protection to those in need. While the order is anxious to keep up its own distinctive organization, still they believe in co-opera- tion with all reform organizations, this is set forth in the following report. Recognizing the fact that trusts, combinations and monopolies are organized for the sole purpose of ex- torting unjust and unreasonable profits, and that tax- ation, the most discriminating and unjust, is imposed. That legislation is in the interests of the classes as against the majority of the people and honest labor, and Whereas, We believe it to be the duty of the toiling masses of this country to protect themselves from the encroachments of all legalized robbery emanating from any source whatever. Realizing the fact also that there is in existence several industrial organizations representing the wealth producers of this country, differing only in the manner of arriving at the same result ; therefore, Resolved, That as Patrons of Industry we believe in co-operating with all industrial organizations that have for their object the promotion of the wealth pro- ducing classes, both financially and politically, and that we invite the co-operation of all labor and reform 476 PATRONS OF INDUSTRY. organizations that have for their object the improve- ment of the condition of the toiling masses. Resolved, That the history of the past teaches us that longer co-operation with the two old political parties of the country will only retard the realization of the reasonable demands of kindred fraternal organi- zations. Resolved, That we extend the hand of co-opera- tion and friendship to all true reform organizations! and to further such relations in North America, we ask this Supreme Association to elect a committee of five and empower them to confer with other industrial organizations with a view of devising ways and means whereby we may be enabled to obtain political recog- nition, both state and national, as our interests demand. In conclusion, we, the Patrons of Industry of North America, commend the noble purposes of all industrial and reform fraternal organizations formed for the purpose of bettering the condition of the toiling masses, and we do hope that an early understanding may be reached whereby we may not be laboring against each other, thereby postponing the time when our fondest hopes may be realized. HAWKINSVILLE. ALA. MASTER ALABAMA STATE GRANGE. THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 47? COPTER XX- ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. — BY — COL. HIRAM HAWKINS, Master of the Alabama State Grange. Introduction — The Great Debt the South Owes the Grange — Political Condition of the South at the Close of the War — Carpet Bag Rule Overthrown by the Grange — Specimen Laws — The Edu- cative Influence of the Grange — Government of the Best Classes Rendered Possible by the Grange — The Victory — Grange Legisla- tion — Improved Financial Condition Due to the Grange — Breaking Up Monopolies — Conclusion. A RECOUNT of all the bless- ings which the Grange has achieved for the South an entire volume would not suffice. The South more than any other section, nay, more than all other sections of our country, owes a debt of gratitude to the Grange which it has never fully realized and which it can never repay. In fact, the great want of organization and the forlorn condition of the agricultural classes in the South gave the inspi- ration of thought and the necessity of organization to one of the founders of the order as a means of restor- ing confidence, inspiring hope and rebuilding the waste 478 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. place made desolate by the horrors of relentless and desolate war. This inspiration of thought budded and bloomed and grew into the development of the organization of " Patrons of Husbandry " — the Grange. Those build- ing built wiser than they knew. The Grange came at the opportune time, and swept over the country like an angel of mercy and peace, spreading joy and gladness, inspiring hope and establishing confidence in all who came under its benign influence. To properly understand and realize the great achievements of the Grange in the South it is neces- sary to know something of the condition and surround- ings of the people of the South, especially the agricul- tural class, when the Grange made its advent. None but those who have personal knowledge can fully realize the seeming helplessness, the despondency and the gloom, without a ray of hope for the future, of the people of the rural districts. In speaking for the South let us take the state of Alabama, of which the writer can speak from personal knowledge, as a type of the Southern State, for the history of one is the history of all in these dire and calamitous times. Condition of the State in 1873-4. The state government was in the hands of carpet baggers and negroes, the labor of the country demoral- ized, virtue morality and intelligence in high places THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 479 supplanted by vice, corruption and ignorance. The over-taxed farmer openly threatened by those in power with confiscation of his lands by taxation. His flocks and his herds, which formerly roamed field and forest in safety, were consumed by unknown parties. Thieves walked the public highway in open day and committed depredations with impunity upon the growing crops by night. These midnight thieves could find ready sale for their stolen plunder at the cross road — "dead fall " stores, so called — and as if to invite the lawless- ness the Legislature, in 1872, passed what was known as the "personal recognizance" law. By this law the thief, when arrested for his crime, instead of being re- quired to give bond or go to jail to await the action of the grand jury, could simply give his personal recog- nizance and be at liberty, and usually by little exertion could realize enough to pay his fine, or, failing in this, could flee the county and thus avoid punishment, Dark and gloomy, indeed, was the sad condition and strange the contrast for such a people, the soul of honor, justice and chivalry. But all know the old saying " the darkest hour is just before the down." No more striking verification of this trite saying can be found than is illustrated by this narative. Early in 1873 the Grange came to heal and bless our Southland. Its broad and beautiful banner was unfurled to the admiring gaze of a down-trodden people. Upon that banner was inscribed, in letters of gold, the words " We cherish the belief that section- 480 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. alism is, and of right should be dead and buried with the past. Our work is for the present and the future. In our agricultural brotherhood and its purposes we shall recognize no North, no South, no East, no West." " Organize ! Organize ! In organization is the hope of the farmer, the salvation of the country." This helpful message found fruitful soil. The great desire to better their condition caused the farmers to organize rapidly. Before the close of November, '73, hundreds of granges had been organized. Nearly every county had its grange encampment. This up- building of the Grange seemed to be spontaneous and general over all the South. As the farmers came together in the Grange, pledged to labor for the good ol their cause, their country and mankind, it was but natural, in the inter- change of their experience and pledges of fidelity, that they should become united as never before for mutual aid and mutual understanding, as to how the best in- terests of their families their homes and their country could be attained. The first important step taken for self-preserva- tion which came under the observation of the writer was a pledge by all the members of a grange that they would neither give employment, home or shelter to any one who was known to be a thief, and objec- tionable on this account to any member of the Grange, and that they would prosecute, to conviction if pos- sible, every one thereafter known to be guilty of theft. THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 481 The better element of the colored people on our farms were taken into our confidence and they readily and willingly, to their credit be it said, co-operated with the members of the Grange in ferreting out noto- rious characters, many of whom, for want of shelter were forced to leave the state. This is but one of the many great material and moral achievements of the Grange in the South, which has never, so far as the writer knows, been given to the public. Great indeed was this as a measure of relief to the country. But, however great were these evils, they were small compared with the great political incubus — un- scrupulous, ignorant and oppressive, which like a black pall hung over a patient and suffering people. The public treasury was bankrupt ; the credit of the state gone ; the public debt in six years increased from nine million dollars to thirty-two millions ; taxes in the mean- time doubled ; no mining, no manufacturing or other industries being developed ; the public school money misappropriated and all the public schools suspended ; confidence destroyed ; financial stagnation and bank- ruptcy the result. Yet with all these facts staring them in the face, strange to s ay, white demogogues for place, power and plunder kept the negroes organized in secret po- litical leagues by appeals to race prejudice. The negroes were made to believe that if the Democratic party, composed largely of their old masters, got con- trol of the state they would deprive them of their free 29 482 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. school and re-enslave them. Any negro who refused to join the oath-bound league was not only ostracised but expelled from his church, simply to oppose the league was to put his life in danger. Some, for this offense, were terribly beaten and their lives threatened. Onimous, indeed, were such times, and portentous of evil. But the crisis had come and must be met. Men of intelligence, honesty and virtue must con- trol the country or it must be abandoned to the negro and his corrupt allies. Here the Grange as an educa- tor played a most important part. Although the farmer had enjoyed but eighteen months schooling in the Grange, their voices have been heard echoing and re-echoing from every hill-top and in every valley in the land. They comprehended fully the importance of the impending crisis. The country was aroused and united. The educational influence of the Grange made it easy for every white man in town, city, ham- let and county to join hand in hand. The negroes had forced the race issue and this made it possible to unite every white man except those who were using the negro for personal gain. The only question at the polls was " white supremacy," or "negro rule." The members of the Grange ex- plained the situation to the more conservative and in- telligent of their negro employes and tenants, pledged protection and immunity to every one who would vote with them against any trouble from any of their own race. They pointed out that the carpet baggers and THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 483 leaders of their color had made political slaves of them by forcing them to join the league and vote as they were bid against their best friends, who had furnished them homes and employment. They told the negroes plainly that as they had made it a race question all the white men who had any character or regard for their country had banded themselver together and in- tended to rule the country. They denounced the carpet baggers and defied the negroes who opposed them or dared to molest any negro who voted with them. They warned them that any negro who mo- lested another because he voted or took sides with their white friends would do so at his peril. The contest for white supremacy was sharp and exciting, but none the less certain and decisive. It will long- be remembered in Southern homes as the dawn of the New South. In many respects it was not only exciting but exceedingly ominous and threatening, for in many places both parties went to the polls armed as if for war. It was remarkable there were so few riots, so little blood shed. In each instance all the trouble which did occur was caused by the whites coming to the rescue of negroes to prevent intimida- tion or punishment from their own color. What the negro believed to be his strength proved to be his weakness. His every effort to solid- ify his strength by a secret oath-bound league, with the power of his church behind it, had the happy effect of uniting, with few exceptions, every white man, 484 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. without regard to party, on the color line, against the negro " rule or ruin " policy. White supremacy was triumphant, the carpet bag j gers left the country or went out of place and power. The black league dissolved and has never been reor- ganized. The country is happy and prosperous, and results speak for themselves. In this connection the writer deems it proper to give an extract from an address of welcome to the State Grange of Alabama by one of Alabama's most worthy, talented and honored citizens, who was cog- nizant of the great work which the Grange as an edu- cational factor had accomplished. On the 16, 17 and 18 days of July, 1889, the State Grange held its 17th annual session in the city of Clayton, Alabama. Hon. J. J. Winn, Mayor of the city, delivered the address of welcome, addressing the State Grange, he said : V In behalf of the municipal authorities I greet and welcome you, not with cold formality, but genuinely, cordially, heartily — yes thrice welcome as the repre- sentatives of a noble order, which in the darkest days of our beloved state was one of the main factors in arousing Alabama's sons from a mental apathy that was appalling — dangerous alike to material prosperity and civil liberty. You caused us to think, you stimulated us to action, thereby retrieving our fortunes and wrest- ing the government of the state from the rule and ruin of ignorance and aliens." The Hon. Mayor spoke truly, the Grange was THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 485 one of the main factors in arousing the people to the true appreciation of the dangerous and appalling apathy into which they had involuntarily drifted. The influence of the Grange in its great educational work had not been confined to its membership. Besides its local and county meetings and grange encampments, hundreds of public meetings were held, lectures and addresses made, so that it is impossible to measure the influence for good for which the Grange should have credit. In the language of the Honorable Mayor referred to the Grange caused the people to think and stimu- lated them to action, and thus redeemed the country from civil and political corruption and financial ruin. Like good seed sown on good soil it has produced wonderful results. The Grange and Legislation. Before entering upon the discussion of this phase of the question the writer takes occasion to say, with- out the fear of successful contradiction, that nearly every law upon the Statute books in Alabama and in the South in the interest of agriculture may be traced directly to the Grange or to its influence in securing such legislation. The same remark may be affirmed of national legislation as well. The reader will remem- ber that the Grange began its work in the South early in 1873. That in the general elections in August, 1874, the great black incubus was lifted from the necks 486 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. of the people. Fraud, corruption and ignorance were dethroned ; honesty, virtue and intelligence resumed control. The State Grange met in Montgomery, the State Capital, in its second annual session, December, 1874, representing six hundred and fifty subordinate granges, but all endorsed its Declaration of Purposes then as all do now. They demanded the repeal of some laws, one was the odious Personal Recognizance law ; other im- portant legislation was demanded to meet the changed condition of the country, its agriculture and its people. The Alabama Legislature being also in session, the State Grange passed resolutions favoring certain measures and appointed a committee to memorialize the former body and if possible to secure the needed legislation. The laws thus recommended were enacted. Some of them are here mentioned by title, to wit : " To make posting notices on premises sufficient to prevent tres- pass on lands, whether the same are enclosed or not." " To prevent the wanton and malicious burning of woodland at any season of the year." "To make it a felony to steal any part of an ungathered crop of corn or cotton." "To make it a felony to steal any description of live stock, without regard to the value of the same." The Grange also memorialized the Legislature at the same session to provide by law for a geological survey of the state, which request was granted by a THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 487 subsequent Legislature. These laws were absolutely necessary for the protection of the agricultural interests of the country. The penalties for petty larceny were entirely inadequate to prevent the continuous depre- dations upon young stock and upon the fields of the growing and matured crops of corn and cotton.. If a hog or yearling happened to escape from the small enclosure near the farm-house and found its way into the plantation it seldom ever returned. Many other wholesome laws were secured to the farmers through the influence of the Grange. Through its influence also the crossroad "deadfall" disappeared, but not before a law was enacted with heavy penalties, forbidding the purchase of any farm product after sun- set and before sun-rise, and by hedging out the whisky traffic with high license so that these dogger- ies, whose chief stock in trade was whisky and tobacco, could no longer carry on this corrupting and demoral- izing business. Having seen some of the marvelous achievements of the Grange in the application of its great educa- tional work in the development of the moral, the civil and the material prosperity of the country, let us con- sider some of its financial struggles and achievements. No refined and cultured people under the sun ever had more to endure than the people of the South during the dark days of reconstruction. Corporate power and wealth, ever ready to take advantage of the necessities of the people, never found more help- 488 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. less victims on which to prey than the tillers of the soil. It is needless to say that all the profits of the farm went to feed the insatiable greed of the money power, either to the soulless corporation, the advan- cing merchant or the money lender. Two and a hall to three per cent, a month was the usual rate for the money lender, though five per cent, at times was de- manded and obtained. The regular average of the advancing merchant on time was fifty cents on the dollar added to his cash price, payable out of the proceeds of the farm'. The average time on the aggregate amount thus obtained in no case exceeding five months, thus making the rate of interest ten per cent, per month. No other industry in the world and no other agricultural section of the country could have so long endured and sur- vived such a strain. Practically, the farmers were tenants upon their land, paying rentals in the shape of interest. Massive structures and palatial residences were seen going up in all the money centers. Travelers as well as the casual observer at home wondered at the marvelous growth and prosperity of the towns as compared with that of the country. The Grange to the Rescue. One of the grand missions of the Grange was to relieve the farmer of financial oppression. The Na- tional Grange at its annual session held in St Louis, THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 489 in 1873, published to the world its famous Declaration of Purposes, which, under the head of " Business Prin- ciples," declare that "the Grange wages no warfare against any legitimate business or industry, but we are opposed to such management of any corporation and enterprise as tend to oppress the people and rob them of their just profits. We are not enemies to capital, but we are opposed to the tyranny of monopo- lies. We long to see the antagonism between labor and capital removed by common consent, and by an enlightened statesmanship worthy of the 19th century. We desire only self-protection, and that of every true interest of our land by legitimate trade and legitimate profits." The Grange plants itself squarely upon this dec- laration of principles and goes before the people. The grandest achievement of the 19th century was the memorable contest and victory of the Grange over the great railroad corporations of the country. The tidal wave which swept the country in favor of the Grange in 1874 enabled it to do what neither of the great political parties of the country had the nerve or the courage to undertake — to bit and curb the great cor- porate monster which was sucking the life blood of the people. These great corporations did not surrender the contest until the United States Supreme Court settled the question in favor of the Grange, establishing the doctrine for all time that the creature must be subject 490 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. to the power which created it. Previous to that de- cision the railroad king could sit in his palace and dictate transportation rates. Traffic rates fluctuated with the market. If the price of produce advanced a click of the wire could absorb all the profits in the en- hanced freight charges. After the decision of the Supreme Court the curtain rises and how changed the scene — the railroads are quietly under control, being regulated like other industries — by the laws of the land. They are not ruined as predicted, on the con- trary, they grow, multiply and prosper under the fos- tering care of the people's protectors. This great grange victory has not only saved millions to the farmers of the great West who inaugu- rated and stood in the fore-front of the battle, but millions to the farmers of the South, the North, the East. Truly the Grange has accomplished a great work, and with its coming a new era dawns upon the South, new life, new energy, brighter hopes and fonder expectations inspire confidence. The plow-share of thought brightens as the quickened pace of the farmer makes ready his fertile fields which promise a fair re- ward for his toil. Meanwhile, while the farmers in the South having been awakened to a sense of their true condition and believing that the organized power of the Grange was equal to any emergency lost no time in turning its batteries upon the credit system, the mortgage system and every other system tending to prodigality and THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 491 » bankruptcy. Capital intrenched in its strongholds sallies forth only when an opportunity offers to prey upon. the wants and necessities of the people. Relief was not to be expected in a day, but it was only a question of time when the united efforts of the farmers would bring success. In addition to the heavy per cent, with which the farmer was burdened for advance to make his crop, but little less oppressive demands were made upon him for storing and handling his crop when ready for market. The warehouse commission merchant demanded war prices which were double the charges in ante-bellum days. If time would permit many incidents in the history of the Grange in the South could be related, showing numerous successful enterprises bringing financial re- lief. One incident which presses itself upon the atten- tion of the writer will be given and may be taken as illustrative of many others. In one of the growing commercial towns in Alabama, the farmers, feeling that they had for a number of years been imposed upon by these war prices for storing cotton, resolved that they would no longer submit to the demands of an arbitrary money power. All efforts to break the combinations of the warehouse-men made them but the more defiant and determined not to make any concessions to the Grange. The farmers were united and equally determined, but. unfortunately, without any money. They succeeded, however, in having a 492 THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. * warehouse built and leased to them, without a dollar to start with. Charges were reduced to half the rates of the other houses and the enterprise proved to be a grand success. Before the season was out all oppo- sition had disappeared and the Grange fixed the rates for the future at fifty cents a bale for the year, and this charge was to cover all commissions as well as storage. This was a grand and signal triumph of the Grange over organized capital in the hands of a com- bination of strong business men. Making an esti- mated saving of $25,000 annually in the one item, and saving, in the aggregate, in round numbers, $400,000 to date. The great power and influence of the Grange in attacking the credit system by encouraging the farmers to grow more home supplies, and sell less of what they do grow at home, and as far as possible make their farms self-sustaining ; to buy nothing on time at credit prices ; borrow money when necessary and pay cash, or, failing to borrow money, contract with the advancing merchant for goods at cash prices and pay interest instead of credit rates. This latter plan is the one generally adopted unless better arrangements can be made. The estimated saving to the farmers in this way is believed to be not less than $50,000 annually for the farmers at any important point. What must have been the saving to the farmers of the state, and in all the states ? Does it not go far to justify the claims THE GRANGE IN THE SOUTH. 493 that the Grange has saved to the farmers millions an- nually during its national existence ? Wonderful as has been the financial achievements of the Grange, its chief aim has not been money making. Something higher, nobler, grander has been its great mission as seen reflected in the moral power, the intellectual granduer and the sublime beauty of its educational work in elevating character and molding public senti- ment. 4^4 THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. C*{#PTER XXL THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. — REVIEWED BY — COL. L L, POLK, President of the National Alliance, Distinction between the two Alliances — Plan of Organization — The Constituents of the Alliance — The Movement in Texas — The Union of Louisiana — The Wheel in Arkansas — The Union at St. Louis — Who is Permitted to enter — Objects — Sketch of its Consti- tution — The Sub-Treasury Plan — Historical Precedents — Present Condition of the Movement. |l|l IS generally known that there are two national organizations in this country known in general terms as the National Farmers' Alliance, the full title, however, of the organi-. zation we are about to describe is the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, its headquarters are in Washington, D. C, and it is the principal organization in the South and Southwest, but it is rapidly extending its organization elsewhere, since it is estimated that at the next annual meeting more than thirty state organizations will be represented. Sometimes this body is spoken of as the Southern Alliance in distinction to the Northern Alliance. The L. L POLK, WASHINGTON, D. C. PRESIDENT NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. THE NATIONAL FARMERS* ALLIANCE. 497 difference between the two great alliances largely con- sists in details of organization, though they do not agree as to the advisability of what is known as the sub-treasury plan, this will be outlined later on. From what description we have given of the Na- tional Farmers' Alliance of the North we have seen that the organization was exceedingly simple. The National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union have apparently recognized the truth that it is organization which conquers the world. The secret work of the order is, of course, not known to the general public, but the constitution presents a wonderfully effective scheme of organization. At first glance we would think it quite complex and yet it has apparently proven very satisfactory. We will shortly present an outline of this plan. The Alliance North makes no distinction on account of color. The Alliance South, while leaving this point to be decided by each State Alliance to suit itself, especially excludes colored men from the Supreme Council. However, it should be said that the colored farmers of the South have a flourishing Alli- ance of their own, and that there is the utmost cor- diality and good will between them, while they agreed on a basis of union by which they can work together for their common purposes. The Alliance is a composite body formed by the union of several other bodies, the principal constituents are the Farmers' Alliance, the Farmers' Union and the Agricultural wheel. The Farmers' Alliance was 498 THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. first started at nearly the same time in two states, Texas and New York, but we must at present confine our attention to the Texas Alliance. The first Farmers' Alliance was organized in Lampasas County, Texas, in 1876. The objects were to resist the unlawful depredations of cattle and land thieves and bring the law-breakers to justice. This organization was very defective. W. T. Baggett, who was a member of this organization, moved to Pool- ville, in Parker County, and organized the first Alli- ance in Parker County in 1879. The organization from the beginning rapidly spread out, and the first State Alliance was organized at Central, in Parker County, in 1879, under the name and style of " Farm- ers' Alliance." The name was changed to the Farmers' State Alliance in 1881. The organization continued to grow and spread throughout North and Central Texas until at the meeting held in Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas, on August 6, 1889, eighty-four coun- ties were represented. At this meeting the declara- tion of purposes of the order were perfected and adopted. Up to that date the Alliance movement of the South was confined principally to the State of Texas. The State Alliance of that state had chartered a few sub-Alliances in Indian Territory and a small number in the State of Alabama. The report of the State Secretary at the regular annual meeting of that year showed that the order had grown from about six hundred to over twenty-seven hundred sub-Alliances THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. 499 during the year that ended in August, 1886. As a natural and unavoidable consequence of such rapid organization the principles, objects and methods of the Alliance were imperfectly understood by the ma- jority of the membership. As a consequence there was considerable confu- sion and even dissatisfaction, there were even two rival state organizations in Texas. To settle these differences a called meeting of the Alliance was held at Waco in January, 1887, this marks an important epoch in the history of the movement. Four hundred delegates assembled, all differences were healed and an extensive scheme of work embracing the Cotton Belt states was mapped out. It was at this meeting that steps were taken to unite with the Farmers' Union. This organization was practically the same as the Al- liance in Texas, but its home was in Louisiana. It had a membership of about ten thousand in that state. The two bodies who thus united their forces choose for their name "The National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union." In the meantime still another organization of farmers was flourishing in Arkansas, this brings us to the " Agricultural Wheel." According to Mr. Ashby, the Wheel " first saw the light of day " in February, 1882, at McBee's school house, about ten miles west of Des Arc, in Prairie County, Arkansas. It was originated with nine members, headed by W. W. Ted- ford, a farmer and school teacher, and was intended 30 600 THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. merely as a debating society. The debates having taken an economic turn, the opposition to monopoly and corruption in politics soon became a cardinal prin- ciple with the infant organization. In March, 1882, there were three clubs in Prarie County, with about two hundred members, and it was decided to incorporate under the state laws. A meet- ing of the three societies was called and a platform and declaration of principles adopted. Suggestions for a name were called for, and as the members were mainly farmers they wished to adopt a name sug- gestive of the agricultural calling. Several names were mentioned, among which were " The Plow/' "The Wagon," "The Reaper" and several others, all of which were objected to, until finally " The Wheel " was suggested and accepted as the name of the order. From this the organization was chartered and thenceforth gained rapidly in membership and strength. The National Wheel was organized in 1886. This organization would doubtless have grown to great proportions ; but the motto that " in union there is strength " applies to the farmer's movement as to everything else. As in the case of the Farmers' Union of Louisiana, there was no good reason why the Wheel should not join its forces to the others. Ac- cordingly, at a meeting at Meridian, Mississippi, held in 1888, a plan of union was agreed upon. The name of the organization formed by the union of the Alliance THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. 501 and the Wheel was at first the " Farmers' and Labor- ers' Union of America." But at its first meeting in St. Louis, in 1889, the name was changed to that which it now bears. We must notice, however, that the names of the state orders are not uniform ; some are State Alliances, some State Unions or Wheels, as they may choose, consequently the county or subordi- nate bodies may be either Alliances, Wheels or Unions, or anything else they may choose, but all are conforming to the constitution of the national and use its secret work and work under a charter from it. As we would naturally expect, organizations of this kind can not admit every one who chooses to ap- ply for membership. The following classes are ex- cluded from membership in the Alliance : Merchants, bankers, brokers, commission merchants, cotton, grain or produce buyers, lawyers, city doctors, preachers and school teachers, land agents, book agents, ped- dlers, canvassers, livery-stable keepers and saw mill men and all dealers, speculators and gamblers, and any others whose greatest interests do not harmonize with farming. When a person is engaged in farming and in addition thereto follows one of the above named occupations that are not admitted, the law is that he can not be admitted, but the association is al- lowed to make some exceptions to this rule under con- ditions prescribed in the laws of the order. The objects sought to be gained by the Alliance is, of course, the same as that of the other cognate 502 THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. bodies. They may be summarized as follows : To better the condition of the farmers of America, men- tally, morally and financially ; to suppress personal, sectional and national prejudices, all unhealthful rivalry and selfish ambition ; to return to the principles on which this government was founded by adhering to the doctrine of equal rights and equal chances to all and special privileges to none ; to educate and commingle with those of the same calling to the end that country life may become less lonely and more social ; to assist the weak with the strength of the strong, thereby rendering the whole body more able to resist, and to bequeath to posterity conditions that will enable them as honest, intelligent, industrious producers to cope successfully with the exploiting class of middlemen. The methods pursued are of three kinds, social, business and political. The social methods are such as may be secured by meeting together and becoming better acquainted with neighbors and a friendly ex- change of ideas as to the practical detail of farm work. The business methods take a wider range and depend upon co-operation in county and state business efforts to secure the highest price for the produce raised for sale, and the lowest price on the commodities that must be purchased. The political methods are strictly non-partisan, and must ever remain so, because every candidate, before taking the pledge, is assured that it will in no way conflict with his political or religious views. All political parties are represented in its ranks THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. 503 and all are expected to work in their respective parties to secure a just recognition of the rights of the farmer. The motto of the order is : "In things essential unity, and in all things charity." All questions in political economy will be thoroughly discussed, and when the order can agree on a reform as necessary they will de- mand it of the government and of every political party, and if the demand goes unheeded they will devise ways to enforce it. The most essential reforms must come from legislation, but that does not necessarily compel the responsibility of choosing candidates and filling the offices. Such a course may become neces- sary, but will not be resorted to under any other cir- cumstances. We have already mentioned the excellent organi- zation. It is proper to give a little outline of it as gathered from the constitution adopted in St. Louis, in 1889. The constitution vests the authority of the Alliance in three departments, the legislative, the ex- ecutive and the judicial. The legislative department is supreme in authority, and its sessions are known as the Supreme Council of the order. It is composed of the officers of the organization and delegates from the various state organizations. Its duty is to make the laws, rules and regulations governing its meetings, to prescribe the powers, duties and methods of the officers of the organization and to elect the same. In general it exercises supervision over all matters per- taining to the welfare of the order. 504 THE NATIONAL FARMERS* ALLIANCE. The president is the chief executive officer. He has power to direct and instruct all executive officers and all executive work. He is the one to interpret the meanings of the laws of the order by official rulings, and such rulings have the force and effect of laws. They must, however, be presented to the judiciary de- partment for consideration, and if they refuse to con- cur then they must be held in abeyance until the Supreme Council meets and passes upon them. He is assisted in his duties by an advisory board known the Executive Board, composed of three members elected by the Supreme Council. The judiciary department consists of three judges elected by the Supreme Council. We have just stated they have a qualified veto on the rulings and decisions of the president, they can suspend them until the Supreme Council passes on them. In addition it is their duty to try and decide grievances and appeals affecting the officers or members of the Supreme Council and to try appeals from state bodies. In addition to the foregoing machinery the Su- preme Council in 1890 provided for the formation of a " National Legislative Council," this is composed of the presidents of all the state alliances and the national president. This council is to formulate measures and devise methods to secure the enactment of laws de- sired by the Supreme Council. They are to appoint three of their members to devote their energies to se- curing proper consideration of measures wanted. THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. 505 In view of the organization as we have now set it forth, it is not surprising that the Alliance has accom- plished much during its short existence. Many of the states have for their business organized State Alliance Exchanges, with a large stock paid in, that enables them to purchase machinery and commodities at wholesale prices and assists them in the sale of their produce, and these efforts, besides the actual saving they are to those who trade with them, save the farm- ers millions of dollars every year by the effect they have in reducing the general profits of the merchant and middleman. The most marked results, however, that have attended this great movement are the result of the political education which has attended it. Scarcely a vestige of the old sectional prejudice of a few years ago is now visible within its ranks, and the membership have gone earnestly to work to solve the great questions of the day. The demagogue politician who now attempts to array sectional prejudice in order that he may keep farmers equally divided on impor- tant questions and that he and his partners may de- cide such questions to their own liking, will be met by a superior intelligence that will soon convince him that his occupation is gone. Evidences of the truth of this are everywhere apparent. We have spoken in several places of the Sub- Treasury plan as being the favorite measure of the Alliance, and in this respect distinguishing the organi- zation under discussion from the National Alliance of 506 THE NATIONAL FARMERS* ALLIANCE. the North. Now in this matter there are, of course, exceptions on both sides, it is not true that all the members of the National Farmers' Alliance and In- dustrial Union favor this plan, nor is it true that all the members of the National farmers' Alliance con- demn it. But this remark is true of the majority in each case. It is therefore necessary to give a short outline of this plan. In the first place then, what is the Sub-Treasury plan ? Briefly, it is a proposition that the United States authorities establish in every county of each of the states that offers for sale during the year five hundred thousand dollars worth of farm products, in- cluding wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, rice, tobacco, cotton, wool and sugar, all together, a sub-treasury office, which shall have in connection with it such warehouses or elevators as are necessary for carefully storing and preserving such agricultural products as are offered it for storage. They would make it the duty of such sub-treasury department to receive such agricultural products as are offered it for storage and make a careful examinization of them and class them as to quality, and give a certificate of the deposit, showing the amount and quality and stating that United States legal tender paper money equal to eighty per cent, of the local current value of the pro- ducts deposited has been advanced on same on inter- est at the rate of one per cent, per annum, on the condition that the owner or such other person as he THE NATIONAL FARMEKS' ALLIANCE. 507 may authorize will redeem the agricultural product within twelve months from date of the certificate, or the trustees will sell same at public auction to the highest bidder for the purpose of satisfying the debt. Besides the one per cent, interest the sub-treas- urer should be allowed to charge a trifle for handling and storage, and a reasonable amount for insurance, but the premises necessary for conducting this busi- ness should be secured by the various counties donat- ing to the general government the land, and the government building the very best modern buildings, « fire-proof and substantial. With this method in vogue the farmer, when his product was harvested, would place it in storage where it would be perfectly safe, and he would secure four-fifths of its value to supply his pressing necessity for money at one per cent, per annum. He would negotiate and sell his warehouse or elevator receipt whenever the current price suited him, receiving from the person to whom he sold only the difference between the price agreed upon and the amount already paid by the sub-treasurer. When, however, these storage certificates reached the hand of the miller or factory or other consumer, he, to get the product, would have to return to the sub-treasurer the sum of money advanced, together with the interest on same and the storage and insurance charges on the product. On first reading this plan it is apt to impress us as being a very great innovation indeed. Its friends 508 THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. however, insist that there are several precedents for it in history. They refer especially to the warehouse system of France. It seems that in 1848, in the troub- lous times of the Second Republic the government authorized warehouses to be opened for the reception of all kinds of produce," manufactured goods, etc., and made the certificate ol such deposit negotiable by en- dorsement by the bank of France. This decree re- mained in force until 1858, when it was revised as to the bank of France and in some other minor particu- lars, but the main features were retained and are in full operation at the present day. At any time the same powerful influence could be brought to the aid of the nation that this warehousing system rendered in 1848. In the late war with Germany this system was of great value to the people of France in paying off their enormous war indemnity. Reference is also made to the grain warehouses in Russia. ' In our own history mention is made to the tobacco warehouses in North Carolina and to the early financial measures in several of our colonies, but in most cases the money was advanced on land. How- ever, in one instance in the early history of North Carolina something quite similar to the present plan was adopted. It seems that to relieve the stringency of the money market the Legislature established Gov- ernment warehouses, and bonded inspectors were ap- pointed to inspect certain farm products and naval stores intended for shipment. After inspection and THE NATIONAL FARMERS* ALLIANCE. 509 branding, certificates were given of their deposit in the warehouse, and for certain of the commodities so stored the inspector gave " his notes " according to a fixed valuation of the articles, which notes were legal- tender for private and public dues. And thus the people were, to some extent, supplied with a local currency. The alliance movement is now in a very flourish- ing condition. Their numbers are rapidly increasing, their wishes are being carefully considered by all classes, and beyond any doubt the movement is des- tined to exert a great influence on our Industrial life. Quoting from a recent speech by President Polk, we can sum up the situation as follows : This great or- ganization, whose jurisdiction now extends to thirty- five states of this Union and whose membership and co-workers number millions of American freemen, united by a common interest, confronted by common dangers, impelled by a common purpose, devoted to a common country, standing for a common destiny and guided by the dictates of an exalted patriotism, will, in the exercise of conservative political action, strive to secure " equal rights for all and special privileges to none," and secure indeed a " government of the people, for the people and by the people." 510 THE PEOPLE S PARTY. CHAPTER XXII. THE PEOPLE'S PARTY. Introduction. — Modern Social Movements rapid. — Develop- ment of a new Political Party. — Causes leading to it. — The Cin- cinnati Convention. — Senator Peffer on its Objects and Hopes. — Its Conservative Work. — The Platform. — Conclusion. E are making history fast in these days. If we are not greatly mistaken influences from many sources are now uniting that will sweep all before them. The great 'body of the people are slow to move but they move with irresistible force when started. Especially is this true of our own country and of our own people. The world as a whole moves rapidly towards any given goal, much more rapidly in fact, than at any previous era in history. Owing to our perfect freedom of the press, the very great diffusion of intelligence, public opinion in this country rapidly crystalizes and exerts a wonderful power. Now it would be passing strange if the organiza- tions we have outlined in the last few chapters had not finally awakened to a perception of their own strength. THE PEOPLE'S PARTY. 511 For some years they have been organizing and dis- cussing questions of interest. As time has passed on they have gained in depth and broadness of views. The labor organizations and the great agricultural or- ganizations have come to a clearer understanding of the difficulties confronting them, and have realized that their interests are the same. So it is not at all singular that they are drawing gradually together and find that they have much common ground on which they can all stand. In short, here too, concentration and union of interests is to be the watch- word of the future. As a consequence we have but just witnessed (May, 1 891) the formation of a new political party. Before considering its platform, let us make a few gen- eral observations. We have shown that great changes have occurred in the past simply because the evils that accompanied them became unbearable. We have perhaps with some tediousness dwelt on the peculiar characteristics of the present or capitalist methods of production. We have pointed out the alarming growth of capital and increasing power of the same. We have asserted that every tendency of modern in- dustrial life is to increase the power and effectiveness of capital. We have written candidly about this mat- ter and in no case have appealed to passion and pre- judice, but have in all cases supported our statements by official figures and statements. There seems to be no escape from these conclusions and in our chapter 512 the people's party. on "Results" we have seen that facts and theory here unite. What shall the people do in such a state of affairs as this ? To do nothing is simply to sink to a lower social depth than that of the village communities of old England who became serfs of their lords. To move too rashly, to rise wildly in their might is to set in motion more appalling forces than those forming the French Revolution. They have most wisely avoided both extremes. They have first organized, and have set about educating themselves. They have discussed questions of political economy, they have considered lines of action, and have carefully weighed the steps to be taken. But the formative time is now passed, the people must finally act. No reform can ever be car- ried out by simple resolutions and debates. Accordingly there has just been held in the city of Cincinnati a most memorable convention, and the results of its labors has been the formation of the 11 People's Party." In many respects this was a won- derful convention. Fourteen hundred and seventeen delegates were gathered together, representing thirty- three of our states and territories, and some even came from the Dominion of Canada. The call was for all industrial organizations that supported the principles of the St. Louis agreement of December 1889. And accord- ingly there were representatives from all of the organ- izations whose principles we have now considered. the people's party. 513 The objects and hopes of the convention we re most eloquently stated by Senator PefFer of Kansas as follows : "You ask why we are here ? We come as harbingers of a revolution that we expect will bring healthful changes in our public affairs; that will dethrone money and re-establish the authority of the people. This movement is not one for destruction ; it is one for creation. It is not for the pur- pose of tearing down, but for the purpose of building up; not to destroy the wealth of the rich, but to restore to labor its just reward. It may grate harshly upon some ears when the statement that this meeting, which is now being held in your beautiful city, is the most important that has been held in the United States since Congress met in July about thirty years ago. That was a meeting of men charged with providing an army, and otherwise preparing for a great war, a war that was to be long and cruel, fought with musketry, with saber, shot and shell, and with every available weapon of destruction and every conceivable device of brutality which the genius of military science could invent or suggest. But this, as you see, is a peaceful meeting. We come with the star-spangled banner as our flag, and singing the song 'America," a tune that has been handed down, and a song with it, from our ancestors. We come not to provide an army to kill, slay and destroy, but to pave the way for a host oi freemen with arms such as the highest and purest stage of friendly peace can suggest, an army that, when brought up into battle line will strike blows with their tongues, draw blood with their pens, and win victories with their ballots. "But what is the reason of our coming? What influence 514 the people's party. lies behind this majestic moving of the masses? Is this the work of men demented? If so, then indeed is half the world gone mad. Two hundred and seventy years have we been toiling in this country. We have conquered the wilderness, peopled the solitudes and civilized a continent. We have removed forests, opened highways, established commerce and builded a nation that leads all the rest in agriculture and in manufactures, with half the railroad mileage of the world, and with an internal trade which, measured either in dollars or in tons, exceeds the foreign commerce of any half dozen countries. Yet, with all that we have done, with all the glorious records of these American workers, we find that to-day our profits are diminished; we find that our wants are multiplying and our profits divided. Our ancient pre- rogatives have been wrested from us. Our statesmen are drifting away from the people, and we find that the masses are gradually going in one direction, downward, while the classes are going in another direction, upward." The convention representing as it did people from all sections of the country had a difficult task ahead of it in framing a platform. They wisely avoided going to extremes, but confined their attention principally to the questions of finance, land, and transportation. The platform adopted is as follows : NAME. i. In view of the great social, industrial and economical revolution now dawning upon the civilized world and the new and living issues confronting the American people, we believe that the time has now arrived for a crystallization of political reform forces of our country and the formation the people's party. 515 of what should be known as the People's Party of the United States of America. INDORSES PREVIOUS PLATFORMS. We most heartily indorse the demands of platforms as adopted at St. Louis, Mo., in 1889; Ocala, Fla., in 1890, and Omaha, Neb., in 1891, by the industrial organizations there represented, summarized as follows: DEMANDS. A — The right to make and issue money is a sovereign power to be maintained by the people for the common benefit, hence we demand the abolition of National banks as banks of issue, and, as a substitute for National bank notes, we demand that legal-tender Treasury notes be issued in sufficient volume to conduct the business of the country on a cash basis, without damage or especial advantage to any class or calling, such notes to be legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, and such notes when demanded by the people shall be loaned to them at not more than two per cent, per annum upon non-imperishable products as indicated in the Sub-Treasury plan, and also upon real estate, with proper limitation upon the quantity of land and amount of money. B — We demand the free and unlimited coinage of silver. C — We demand the passage of laws prohibiting alien ownership of land, and that Congress take prompt action to devise some plan to obtain all lands now owned by alien and foreign syndicates, and that all land held by railroads and other corporations in excess of such as is actually used and needed by them be reclaimed by the Government and held for actual settlers only. D — Believing the doctrine of equal rights to all and special privileges to none, we demand that taxation — National, 31 516 THE PEOPLE'S PARTY. State, or municipal — shall not be used to build up one inter- est or class at the expense of another. E — We demand that all revenues — National, State, or county — shall be limited to the necessary expenses of the Government, economically and honestly administered. F — We demand a just and equitable system of graduated tax on income. G — We demand the most rigid, honest and just National control and supervision of the means of public communica- tion and transportation, and if this control and supervision does not remove the abuses now existing, we demand the Government ownership of such means of communication and transportion. H— We demand the election of President, Vice-President and United States Senators by a direct vote of the people. SUGGESTION AS TO NEXT CONVENTION. 3. ' We urge united action of all progressive organiza- tions in attending the Conference called for February 22, 1892, by six of the leading reform associations. 4. That a National Central Committee be appointed by this Conference to be composed of a Chairman, to be elected by this body and of three members from each State repre- sented, to be named by each State delegation. 5. That this Central Committee shall represent tfaw body, attend the National Conference on February 22, 1892, and, if possible, unite with that and all other reform organ- izations there assembled. If no satisfactory arrangement can be effected this Committee shall call a National convention not later than June 1, 1892, for the purpose of nominating candidates for President and Vice-President. 6. That the members of the Central Committee for eaci the people's party. 517 State where there is no political organization conduct an active system of political agitation in their respective States. RESOLUTIONS. Resolved, That the question of universal suffrage be recom- mended to the favorable consideration of the various States and territories Resolved, That while the party in power in 1869 pledged the faith of a nation to pay a debt in coin that had been con- tracted on a depreciated currency basis and payable in currency, thus adding nearly $1,000,000,000 to the burden of the people^ which meant gold for the bond-holders and depreciated currency for the soldier, and holding that the men who imperiled their lives to save the life of a Nation should have been paid in money as good as that paid to the bond-holder, we demand the issue of legal tender Treasury notes in sufficient amount to make the pay of the soldiers equal to par with coin or such other legis- lation as shall do equal and exact justice to the Union soldiers of this country. Resolved, That as eight hours constitute a legal day's work for Government employes in mechanical departments, we believe this principle should be further extended so as to apply to all corporations employing labor in the different States ot the Union. Resolved, That this conference condemns in unmeasured terms the action of the Directors of the World's Columbian Exposition on May 19 in refusing the minimum rate of wages asked for by the labor organizations of Chicago. Resolved, That the Attorney-General of the United States should make immediate provision to submit the act of March 2, 1889, providing for the opening of Oklahoma to homestead ;ettlement to the United States Supreme Court, so that the expensive and dilatory litigation now pending there be ended. 618 the people's party. It should be observed that this platform is to some extent a compromise. It however serves a temporary purpose and will lead to a further discussion of impor- tant questions. In some respects it may and probably will be changed in the future. It endorses the Sub- Treasury plan. This will doubtless be one of the prin- cipal points of discussion in the future, and it may be deemed advisable to change the platform in that respect. It is easy of course to criticise, to point out defects, to ridicule the whole movement. On the one hand there are many who ask for something far more radical than this. But the leaders of the movement decline at present to consider the radical innovations contained in all schemes of Socialism, Nationalism, or the Single Tax theories. They are in earnest. They include in their ranks people from all sections of our country. They see very clearly the dangers ahead, they are not anarchists but desire in some way to curb the power of capital. This much is at least true : the problems they are trying to solve will have to be solved some way. To fail to do this is to dispair of our present civilization. %.1Q CHAPTER XXIII. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ational J r Farmers' J r Alliance? ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. FIRST DAY — MORNING SESSION. . The eleventh annual meeting of the National Farmers' Alliance convened at Omaha, Nebraska, on Thursday, January 27th, 1891. Pesident J. H. Powers called the meeting to order, and Secretary August Post was at the desk. Invoca- tion by Eev. S. P. Groat. It was decided on motion that the various sessions of the convention be held secret. On motion the President appointed the following committee on credentials: N. B. Ashby, N. L. Bunnell, Wm. Kinerk, A. E. Brunson, Yv T m. Toole, G. D. Ful- lerton, W. N. Sargent, G. W. Haigh, W. S. Palmer, D. F. Ravens. Committee on credentials reported that the states named are entitled to and represented by the following number of delegates: Iowa 17, New York 2, Pennsylvania 3, Ohio 13, Illinois 6, Nebraska 42, Wash- ington 4, Wisconsin 4, Minnesota 2, Mis- souri 2, Indiana 5. The following were appointed a press committee: Miss Eva McDonald, W. H. Stone, D. F. Ravens. On motion Mr. C. H. Clark, represent- ing the Farm, Field and Stockman, of Chicago, was extended the courtesy of a fraternal delegate. The following were appointed a com- mittee on constitution: N. B. Ashby, W. A. Jones, D. F. Ravens, H. B. Goble, N. L. Bunnell. The remainder of the meeting was con- sumed in social meeting. Adjourned till 1:30 p. m. AFTEENOON SESSION. President Powers in the chair. The business of the session opened with the address of President Powers. ADDEESS OF THE PRESIDENT. Brothers of the National Alliance: The in- dustries of a country may be considered in two de- partments. Those that consist principally of man- ual labor or that occupation which may be suc- cessfully followed with but little systematic thought, and those which depend for success chiefly on systematic and continued mental train- ing. It is true that the best and noblest type of manhood and womanhood consists in a judicious combination of these qualities. And the mental giant who towers above his fellows by his strength of mind, his clearness of logic or flights of genius, if he does not turn these qualities to some practi- cal use, is no more to be commended than the stupid-brained, hard-muscled athlete, who, though an adept in the sporting arts of his classes, has lit- tle more sense than the brutes whose strength and agility he emulates. The actual worth of indus- try and labor may be measured by the actual pro- duction of the necessaries or comforts of life which it brings forth, or the benefits to mankind which arise from it. A man may think as acutely and act in as skillful and shrewd a manner to rob a safe or a railway train, or to gain the advantage or his fellow men in a trade or bargain as the honest farmer or mechanic in their laudable avocationy. But while in the one case the whole effort is to get possession of that which rightfully belongs to an other, by violence or fraud, the other tends alto gether to increase the actual wealth in the world, The one earns, while the other profits by his earn- ings. The actual producer, I think, is the true worker. And industrial organizations, properly speaking, are those whose members make it a business, by their own labor and thought, to change the powers and substances of nature into that which may be of service and use to man. The merchant, on the contrary, while there is labor connected with bis calling, depends mostly for his profit and success on what is called skill in trade, which, while it sometimes refers to using good judgment in regard to the time and price of his purchases and sales, oftener refers to a faculty or skill of buying at a lower and selling at a higher price than justice would warrant or honestly per- mit of. But the fact that many of our people are en- gaged in occupations that are in themselves mixed 520 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS ALLIANCE. with evil, does not render those engaged in them necessarily worse than other men, nor remove them from claims to our consideration. But it does and should render them ineligible to member- ship in distinctively labor organizations. The man who earns enough bread for himself and family by the sweat of his brow, and in addition earns the big profits of the successful merchant, the usurious interest for the prosperous banker, the exorbitant rates for the railroad company and the surplus of taxes to be squandered by the corrupt office-holder and politician, has some interests that are not shared by any of these recipients of his earnings, and which can only be sustained by such combina- tion of strength as can only be obtained by system- atic organizations of those whose interests are identical. It would naturally follow from these considera- tions that each separate branch of industry should have its separate organization. The blacksmith has peculiar interests in relation to raw material, tools, etc., which are different from the carpenter, and both of these from the shoemaker, and so with all the different trades and occupatious. And all others differ from the farmer in this, that while people may for a time go barefooted or without shelter, the products of the farm are absolutely necessary every day, and all the time, for the very existence of every member of a civilized com- munity. But while trades unions and Knights of Labor assemblies are necessary in the cities, and the Farmers' Alliance and other kindred organizations are necessary in the country, there are interests which are common to all these, and for which some general organization is necessary. The question of business cc-operation on a scale of national magnitude is a very important one, and to be made productive of lasting benefit will re- quire such careful consideration and such close and practical study as I have been unable to give to the subject. I would only suggest that until such an arrangement of the industries and busi- ness of the country is made, while the productions of the labor of every individual will add something to general comfort and prosperity, there will be room for improvement in that direction. But it is in relation of these organizations to government that the greatest necessity for co-oper- ation exists. No effective arrangements of a na- tional character for the conduct of the business in- dustries of the country can be made, and prove of benefit, without being in effect laws of the organi- zations which adopt them. And so to prevent gen- eral and continual conflict with the laws of the government itself, must be controlled by these so- cieties. How this can be accomplished, I think, is the most important question which should be consid- ered at this session of our Alliance. Two !*eneral plans at once present themselves to my mind for attaining this object. The first, that which lias the sanction of the political history of our country and the prejudice arising from our own political education, a p.ew political party. The other, independent political action, which has been partially, but surprisingly, successful in a. number of the states during the past years. To the first proposition I am decidedly opposed, for the following reasons, viz: First, such a politi- cal partv is not practical for industrial organiza- tions. Such societies aim at reforms. And, al- though a party of them might, and would at the first, be formed on such principles as at that time were advocated by all, no such platform could be adopted unless on such vagce presentation of prin- ciples as would be of little practical benefit as an assurance of wholesome political action, that would not in many parts soon become obsolete and of no effect. Witness, the two parties which have divided the government during the last thirty years. Bach of them was formed oa principles which were defi- nite and practical at the time, but long ago they have been lost Bight of, and instead of the conten- tion between them being on principle, it is a strife as to which can the most successful apply all the deception and corruption attending modern poli- tics to gain the spoils of office and the management of the public treasury. It is not possible to confine a political party to any one class or condition in society. From mo tives of principle or policy men of all classes would vote with the n.;w industrial party, for it would be large and powerful enough to be sought after as the possible winning side. You could not reject the vote of a man because he does not belong to your society. The result would be, your new party would embrace bankers, lawyers, professional politicians, men who are not interested in yen or your society, except in so far as your political tri umph may give them a power and influence over you, and then, having a foothold in your party, they would soon gain the ascendancy, the same as they now possers in the old parties, and you would realize you only had the old party machine under a new name. In fact, the essential underlying principle of a political party is, that those who vote for you may be your political masters and compel you to vote as they dictate, or punish you with po- litical ostracism and the party lash. I believe in pledges. I believe men ought to be willing to pledge themselves to each other to vote for good men or good measures, but not vote for men or measures because a majority of any party or class of men may demand it. But the impoitant question is: How may politi- cal independence be successful? I answer: Every new party is formed by inde- pendent political action, and all that is necessary for its success is that its principles should be held by a majority of the voters of the country or local- ity, and that they be enabled to nominate and con- centrate their votes on such men as are true to those principles. Nov/, as success has been achieved in this way in several instances, and that without the aid of any definite plan, but arising, as it were, on the spur of the moment, it does seem reasonable that by following out a definite, plain system for such action every year, that success would be the rule and not the exception. What is the reason that in every great question of reform, or every measure for the public good which may be suggested and brought forward, it is difficult to get people to vote together? It is be- cause they are arrayed against each other in exist- ing political parties and those parties will not sanc- tion such combination to sustain the principle as would be effective, but insist that their members must be arrayed against each other on partisan lines. Surely some better way to reduce righteous prin' ciples into legal enactments must be devised. Permit me to suggest a plan for your considera- tion. Let this Alliance discuss and agree upon snch measures as it shall deem expedient to form a basis for political action for this year and nest. Place this by correspondence before the other great industrial organizations, and with their con- currence let a convention be called at some cen- tral point for the purpose of comparing views and finally adopting as a national platform a concise set of principles which can be cordially supported by all. Then publish them to ths world and lei the remainder of the year be spent in disseminat- ing these principles and preparing for the great struggle in 1892. The subjects on which these principles are founded should be those which are most vital to the prosperity of the people, the honest laborers of the whole country, and which can be so impressed upon the majority of the people that they can be adopted and carried out. I think they may be all included in the following list: Money reform, land refsrm, transportation reform, ballot reform, and the suppression of any vice that is tolerated by law to the peril ef out na- tional prosperity. Time will not permit me to give any more than * 521 FEOCEEDING3 OF THE HATIOKAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. ttance at each of these subjects, but I hope that during cur session fliey may be discussed in such a manner as to lead to a definite line of action on each subject. But if during the discussioa it should appear that practical unanimity cannot be arrived at on any subject, it for the present should cot be adopted for political action. And in pre- senting my views briefly on these subjects, it is not in any dogmatic spirit, but rather as a learner anx- ious to draw out ideas from you, my brothers, to strengthen or modify my own. Money is a creature of law. The intrinsic value of the material of which it is manufactured does rot add to its value. The piece cf paper, eight by seven inches, which is issued by the government and named Si, coo will purchase just as much and payjust as large a debt as the one hundred $10 gold pieces, while the metal could be bartered for the labor and material to manufacture ?i,ooo,coo of the paper money, So, while the &i,ooo bill will fill a contract for 81,000, a £1,000,000 worth of gold or diamonds would not pay it if the creditor chose to refuse. Nor does the "promise to pay" add one iota of value to the bill. Let the stamp be reversed and just "one thousand dollais" be printed on the paper without any qualification and the gold be stamped "promise to pay," and their relative value as a circulating medium in this country would not be changed. But if the gold were stamped "receivable for all debts except taxes," the paper would soon be considered worth the most. The fact is, what the government labels as money it is bound to receive as money, and what will pay the government will pay any subject of the govern- ment, unless otherwise prescribed by law. But money, when manufactured by the govern- ment, is of no use to the people except it be put into circulation. There are two wavs in which this might be ac- complished, either of which would be far better than the present system. The one, to estimate how much per capita would be necsssary to furnish a sufficient supply for the business of the people, and then to issue that amount of currency and ap- ply it to the expenses of the government in the meantime remitting government taxes and duties in a corresponding amount. The other, to issue such an amount as will be just enougn for the best interests of the people and loaning to them on good security, without interest, such monicy as they need in their industries, limit- ed in amount to any one individual. The advocates of the first plan seem to overlook the fact that no adequate amount Gould thus be put in circulation without making a complete change in our revenue system necessary, to be followed in a short time by a recurrence to the same old method; or adopting yet another untried method of supporting the expenses of the government. The method of loaning to the working people without interest I think the most feasible and least objectionable. If money was thus furnished by the government on a term of few years to individ- uals, but perpetual to the people and absolutely without interest, the hoarding of money would be stepped, except in the case of a few misers, and all the money in the country would soon be in cir- culation. If a man is unable to work, he ought to be sup- ported by law. But if he is able to work, the prop- erty which he may have, and which renders him not only independent of aid by law, but the less de- pendent on his own industry for support, should jnever be made a means of oppressing his fellow omen This may be avoided by the government making perpetual alternating loans to the people. So long as industries and trade of the county are conducted on the principles of competition, the power that controls tiie money of the nation con- trols the nation. And when the Rovemmont manu- factures and furnishes the people a fixed amount of money per capita, sustains it at that ratio and Jceeps it all ui circulation, then, and not till then, will labor and the products of labor receive cer- tain and adequate reward. On the question of transportation, but one solu- tion of the difficulties seems to be left to us. An- ticipating the attempt of the people to enforce their demand to bring the railroads under the con- trol of law, combinations and consolidations have been effected to aim at, and bid fair to practically apply, a policy which sball enable the companies, or company (for 1 think they are virtually now but one), to dictate their own terms of operation and rates for service, or to subject the people of any locality or of the whole country to the alternative of being deprived cf railroad service, and thus starve them into subjection. There is but one ef- fective remedy for this, and that is for the govern- ment, which has always admitted its obligation to furnish ways of transportation for the people by giving to corporations and individuals privileges by charter to provide and operate such roads, to take them into its own hands and furnish that ser- vice for its people which the corporations have failed to render. How this should be brought about I shall expect to hear discussed by others be- fore the close of this session. Suffice it to say that it is not consistent with true patriotism to permit an institution so necessary to the people to be run and managed in such a manner as to not only im- poverish them, but to endanger the safety of the government itself. A premeditated connivance of these companies with foreign invasion, or domestic insurrection, might easily place our government at the mercy of its enemies. And the sama disposi- tion which lead ^ them to rob the people would lead them to rob cr destroy the government if they con- ceived it would be to their advantage. < Land reform is attended with as many difficulties as any question with which we have to deal. How to preserve the rights of property, the obligations of the government, and the natural rights of the tillers cf the soil, may well puzzle the wisest phil- osophers. It seems to me the only clear way is for the government to recognize the God-given right to the soil of those who till it (not have it tilled), and that this result should be brought about in the least injurious and most equitable manner pos- sible. Ballot reform may be resolved into two ques- tions. Who shall vote? and, how shall they vote? In regard to the first, I think it is time to consider whether the ignorant and vicious population, which exiits in a greater or less degree in all our cities, shall be allowed not only to vote, but to control the votes of others, while intelligent women all over our land are deprived of all share in a government which effects their interests to fully as great a de- gree as that of men. And why the foreigner, igno- rant of our language, and perhaps opposed to all re- straints of law and order, should be permitted to vote after a residence of but a few months on pay- ment of a paltry statu for his papers, which perhaps is furnished by some scheming politician, and tak- ing the oath, the obligation of which he does not recognize; while our own sons, who at sixteen years of age are better qualified to exercise good choice and sound judgment in voting, are required to wait five years before they are treated as full citi- zens or allowed to exercise the rights of freemen. The principle embodied in the Australian ballot system no doubt would be a great improvement on the present plan if properly guarded. But in many cases where it has been adopted the best features have been so changed that it cannot be much im- provement. The object aimed at should be to in- sure the secrecy of the ballot, to make some degree of intelligence in the voter necessary, to render bribery unsafe and to remove the voter as far as possible from partisan prejudice and to facilitate the success of independent nominations. And now, vay brothers, how is it with our own organization? Is there not something more neces- sary to secure uniformity of constitution and plan so as to give greater efficiency and permanency to our society. Should there not be more systematic and deft- 522 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS ALLIANCE. nite information provided for, so that we may know the feelings, plans and actions of all parts of our brotherhood. If the secret work has the advan- tages of efficiency and permanency, ought it not be adopted? And if that is concluded on, should there not be, in addition to the peculiar work or system for each state, a general mystic bond by which brethren from all parts of our country should be recognized and welcomed by each other? Should there not be some prescribed active work for each of our officers to perform? Are we not by our lack of system and our inde^nite, loose organi- zations as a national society, lay. fig ourselves liable to be absorbed by other more compact organiza- tions, which, although having the same general ob- jects in view, would not be congenial to our brother- hood? I ask your earnest consideration of these matters, and trust that you will leave nothing un- done which seems necessary to the efficient and successful execution of the great work we are at- tempting. Let us not be deceived. It is no time for boys' play and mock demonstrations. There was a time when corporations and oligarchies looked upon us with unruffled contempt. That condition is changed. Three million voters cannot be drawn up in line in an army without attracting general attention, even though their discipline may be im- perfect and their lines disconnected. The enemy is already marshalled for the battle. We must conquer or suffer ignominous defeat. Be not deceived. This people must be redeemed. If we prove unworthy of the trust we have under- taken, God will raise up other instruments to ac- complish His will, for He has purposed great things for this nation and will accomplish them. But we, how shall we answer for our lost oppor- tunities? What will our children think of us? How shall we answer on that day when nations and so- cieties are yet on trial aswel' as individuals? Let us acquit ourselves like true men; let us en- courage each other; let us close up the lines; let us lift up the banner of freedom on high; let us pass the word down along the ranks, "The People, God and Our Native Land." Let us shout the battle cry, "United We Conquer," and our foes will be scattered. Light will break forth as the morning. Liberty will triumph. Our country will be radeemed. On motion the address of the President was given to the Press Committee to be given to the press. Resolution from Crown Alliance No. 1428, of Iowa, requesting the National Alliance to adopt an official pin was pre- sented and referred to a committee con- sisting of J. M. Devine, G. D. Fullerton, A. R. Wright. The following were appointed a com- mittee on resolutions: G. T. Ashby, S. P. Groat, F. E. Fitch, Milton George, C. M. Butt. The National Lecturer made a verbal report, after whkJh Secretary Post made the following report: REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. To the President and Members of the National Farmers' Alliance:— The year that has elapsed since our last annual meeting has been marked by a very considerable advance of AlHance lines, by much substantial progress in Alliance work and by a gratifying growth in the constituent bodies organ- ised under tho auspices of this National assem- bly. The organization is commending itself, in a greater degree than eer before, to thoughtful farmers everywhere., «ind aa its princlp'es, pur- poses and methods become better understood, it is gaining ground in the respect, the esteeci and the sympathy cf that by far larger portion of the gen- eral public who are fair-minded, and who desire to do right and act justly. If it be still viewed with suspicion by some of this class, it Is ar.iaUer which time will set right, as they, upon fuller informa- tion, become convinced that in laboring for the amelioration of our own social and economic con- dition, una the more accurate definition and better enforcement of our ngh&s, wo are nevertheless guided by a due regard lor the legitimate rights uf all other citizens. 0. he good opinion of thosa who do not fall within this category we cannot ex<>e t and do not care to conciliate Those who profit by the abuses under wnich we suffer, unci those whu, through an excessive conservatism, are wedded to these abuses because they have always been ac- customed to them, win now and tlways be num- bered among our opponents. GROWTH AND EXTENSION. As auxiliary to this National body thirteen state Alliances are now organized. >ince our last meeting four new state Alliances have been estab- lished; namely, in Indiana, in Juno last; In Mis- souri, in Auguct, ana in Pennsylvania and New York during the present month. The new'.y or- ganized Alliances are in a prosuerous condition, and are moving harmoriously alont-' Alliai ce lines, and are rapidly organizing the territory subject to their jurisdiction. Three other states are prepar- ing to organize »-.nd it is cxpectad that thev will shortly be in readiness. A considerable number of charters for subordinate Alliances have been granted during the year, pursuant to Section 1, Article IX of the constitution, in states wbere state Alliances do not yet exist. The prospects are that in thcs3 states sufficient grovvth will soon ba made to warrant state organization in them. THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRINTED MATTER. During the patt year the demand for printed n otter setting forth the prmcipes, purposes and methods of the National Alliance, has been very great. This demand ha3 b'>en supplied, in part, and to the extent of its resources available for te.e purpose, by the National Alliance, in trie distribu- tion of fifty thousand copies of the constitution and prceecings, and in part by the distribution of many thousand copies of the constitutions and pro- ceedings of the several state Alliances. In a num- ber of instances several successive edit! ns of twenty to fifty thousand each have been necessary to meet the demand, and in some it was found nec- essr.ry to translate state constitutions into German, Swedish and Danish, and print one or more edi- tions to respond to the great and growing inquiry from farmers speaking these languages. The dis- tribution of these publications has been conducted with care. They have not been lavishly scattered, but the aim has been to refuse no reasonable re- quest for them when to grant it seemed likely to prom *te the interests and growth of the Alliance. It is rseom mended that in the formation of plans for the work of the ensuing year, the Subject of providing sufficient printed matter of this charac- ter to enable the secretary to respond to calls for it, receive the consideration to which its impor- tance entitles it. ALLIANCE WORK. Our constitution expressly proposes as its aim, the social, financial and political advancement of the farmer. It is gratifying to note that in nearly all of our state jurisdictions the Importance of the social feature of our institution is obtaining larger recognition than was formerly the case. A great obstacle to harmonious action by farmers as a class, lies In the fact that their isolation on the farm puts tbem out of touch with each other, gives them few opportunities for informal, man-to-man discussion of Questions of common Interest, and interferes with the growth of that mutual confi- dence which Is essential to united action. The im- portance therefore, of frequent social meetings, In orcter that tills obstacle may be minified, is very great. They should be encouraged, urged and insisted on. EDUCATION. These meetings, besides promoting acquaintan«e, confidence and reliance upon one another, have large educational value. They can hardly occur without discussion of the farmers' situation and the problems that confront him. Imerckange and comparison of views and ideas lend to bavmonlova and correct thinking. Fuller study of the quea- PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. 523 tions that concern Us results from it. We correct our views and take on new Ideas, so that when we reach the point of formulating de- demands, we really h ve views that will bear in- vestigation, that we can give sound reasons for, and that will secure the intelligent assent of our fellow citizens. All my information from onr va- rious Alliances justifies the belief that more atten- tion is being paid to social meetings, to discus-ion, to the investigation of the 1 acts relating to ques- tions that concern us, and to educational work gen- erally, t'aan at any previous period in cur history. A knowledge on part of the general public that this is true, and that when we talk we know what we are talking about, gives added influence to cur de- mands and leads to readier and more general ac- ceptance of them. CO-OPERATIVE PURCHASES. The condition of the co-operative purchasing feature of the Alliance varies greatly in different jurisdictions. In some it is a matter of consider- able importance while in others it is largely neg- lected. Where it is carried on at all, there has generally been a considerable growth in the volume of the business transacted, which is some evidence that it meets a want and is growing in favor. Where it is pursued it is found to po _ sess a value much beyond the savings effected on the purchases made under the system in this, that it tends to hold the members together, and also that it affects gen- eral prices and influences local merchants and dealers to be content with more moderate profits tiian formerly. I'd thus operates to the benefit of all consumers, whether ia or out of the Alliance. LEGISLATIVE REFORM WORK. During the past year the influence of the Nation- al Al! in nee and 01 oe?r y all the state bodies has been exerted in behaif of a number of measures pending in congress for the r/ pression of evils in- juriously ,s£Lcting the agricultural interest*?. Prominent among these are tne measures xnown aa the "option bill" a;d the 'lard bi-1," the former to prevent bo:>.rd of trace gambling In farm prod- ucts >y the devices known as "options" ana "fu- tures," and toe 1-itter to so regulate the sale of counterfeit lard aa to prevent its fraudulent sale as lard, by compelling makers and venders or the compound to brand them in such a m.nner as will give notice to consumers of their true character. The "opiion bill" is now on the House calendar. and if it can secure a hearing will undoubtedly pass ^hat body. The "lard bill" has passed the House and is now pend ng in the Senate. Both measures are obviousiy just, and the injury in- flicted upon the producing i lasses by the evils against which they are oirected is susceptible of such complete demonstration that there ought to be no doubt about their enactment into law. Ac- cording to the be t information I can obtain, both have now strength enough in congress to insure their pi.ssage if they can be brought to a vote, and our immediate efforts shoul * be concentrated upon the task of securing consideration for them. '} he position of tL,e National Alliance on the sub- ject of inter-state cot' tierce is well known It opposes any relaxation in the provisions of ;he ex- isting law an-.i favors amoiTin-ent In the direction of more etticlent railway control. The Alliance should be on guard with reference to a steady and persistent effort now being made to eecuie an amendment which wUl permit pooling. Tbosemov- Ing In this, direction heem to Le on'y awaiting the fevorableopp rtuulf which dormant publ'c opin- ion may aiiord lu order to p-ess such a modifica- tion of the law. Pooling is the form which rail- road "combines" take, and 1 bis Alliance should see to It that the healthy public sentiment existing wlih respect to "trusts" and "c mbu.es" generally bo not allowed to slumber with reference to this one. The law against t usts, the law providing for the Inspection Of export meats in order that for- eign nations may be left without the semblance of an excuse for discrimination against our products, andthelaw granting further aid to the agricultural colleges in the several states are some of the other Instances in which the Influence of the Alliance has been exerted to procure national leg- islation in behalf of the interests of agri- culture. An Important subject still pending; to which our attention should be directed is the bill now before congress extending the provisions of the original package law to o'eomargarlne and other forms of bogus batter, adulterated milk, unsafe illuminating oil dreased beef, etc. We should exert our best eilo.' ts to secure the passage of this measure both for our protection ai producers f.nd as consumers. In the several states where All ances exist auxil- iary to the National Alliance, the questions pre- senting themselves to our brethren for study and solution are many and various, which of them be- ing the dominant ones depending upon their vary- ing conditions. In a nrm'oerthe subject of such revision of the laws relating to taxation as will secure an equalization of the burdens of govern- ment is prominent. While the remedies songht differ under trie differing circumstances of each state, the fundamental evil in all is that the farm bears morothan its share of the burdens of taxa- tion, and other forms cf property evade their just burdens either in wh le or in port. Our task should he to support our brethre ■> in their efforts to secure justice in this regard, by all the moral and material assistance it is within our power to afford. In some of our jurisdictions the reduction of interest and efficient penal laws against usury are a part of the legislative reform work receiving special attention. Here, too. we should hold up the hands of our brethren and aid them to the uttermost. In several of the states the school text book ques- tion has become of paramount Interest, made so by the exorbitant prices which parents have been obliged to pay for the book's neces- sary to give their childrfn the education which parental enre and affecch n and the demands of good citizenship alike deem essentia! as a pre- paration for life's duties The common schools are the farmer's college. In t'lem eighty per cent, of ail the children in the country receive tneir educa- tional preparation for life's duties. It is therefore our duty to make them the best that is possi- ble and to sea that the burdens of attend- ance, through exorbitant prices of text books used, be not made so great that the children ®f even the poorest shall be obliged to remain out of school. Who shall control these schools? is to-day a question that we mu3t meet. Onr answer Is, the friends who have fostered them, who have built them up and thoroughly believe in them. 1;., These are the people who shouid say who shall teach them, what shall be taught in them and what books shall be used in the instruction given. VCily politi- cians and over-zealous sectarians are to-day in too many localities seeking to gain control of the schools by mean3 of h:,ws which shall give them control of the teachers, of the things to be taught, and of the instrumentalities of instruction. We should carefully guard ugaiuit all these schemes that take this control from us. We should main- tain the. right to build our own school houses, em- ploy our own teaeher3 arid select our own text book3. With respect to the text book question, a number of plans have been tried for reducing cost in different states. After a careful f tudy of the situation, I believe that an open market, with free text book* by a vote of the district, or contracts be- tween the districts and publishers, the district sell- ing to the pupil at cost, with authority for adopting and contracting for School books not going above the county as a unit — I believe this, I say, to be the most satisfactory solution of the question, as one which within my own experience furnishes books at fifty per cent, saving to the consumer, and at the same time retains the choice of text books in the hands of school officers in close contact with school Interests, and in closest harmony with the parents. In buying direct and in bulk the Alliance principle of co-operation if most advantageously employed, and the cost of furnishing of the latest and most approved character for one child for a full common school course of eight years will average less than one dollar per year. Free text books will still further reduce this ex- pense. Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont are ex- amples of the successful operation of a free text book law. Iowa buys books by district or county and sells at cost. The public schools are guarded by holding all their interests near the people, who have the same right to direct the kind of instruc- tion that they have to Buy who shall instruct. No subject affects the material welfare of the farmer more vitally than that of railway control and state protection against railway extortion, for when qgpoapd iiy a .powerful corporation th.9 Indiyid*' 5*4 PROCEEDINGS OP THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE, ual is practically helpless. Accordingly we find the Bubjeei one of great interest in most of the elates, with progress in ea,ca ranging all the way from zero to good The erea test advance has orobaoly been i.iaoe in Iowa where an elacive railway commis- sion with power to fix rates on lines wi. bin the st!»te and joint rites oa connecting lines has boen sec'.ryd. The commission al-.o his power to decide controversies arising fcetween. the roada end Indi- vlc-.suna or communities, and its decision is binding vn'la»s appeal Is taken to t.io courts, an 1 when 'ap- pealed from, tho burden of showing tbat 'tis wrong rest upon the road. Power is given to prevent all riiscrluntnations of whatsoever kind or njturo, all pooling and all esceasive eharues, and, the eommis- i'on bcin^ responsible directly to the people who elect it, the power is exercised. A ship: er injured hy any oi the comnaon railway abuses, if he must go into the court for tinal redress, goes in with a in Htna facie a&se in bia favor, and not. p„b formerly, with all the presamptlo 1 s and burdens of proof sgainst l)!m. This gives the individual something like a fair chance for jurtice when opposed by cor- pocato wea th and power. 1 venture to commend the. Iowa system to the attention and study of our brethren ia other states who are wrestling with the all-important questions of transportation and fair treatment in se';nrlnflr it. Many things remain to be don'i in the wuy Of legislation before full jus- tice is obtained for the farmer Many abuses hdva yst to bo corrected and many wrongs are yet to be righted. But in looking over the who:e field I am encouraged to, believe that the National Farmers' Alliance has devised methods applicable to them vnoreby, with careful study, patient labor and firm adherence to dtmandu that are felt to be just, the wrongs may be righted, the abu.-es corrected and Jttstlce secure 1. On motion, report was adopted and ordered published. The report of the treasurer followed, and on motion was referred to an audit- ing committee consisting of Allen Root, J. B. Furrow and J. M. Mason. The convention was thou addressed by es-prcsident J. Burrows, of Lincoln, Nebraska. On motion, a committee from each state was appointed, and termed a "Unit Committee," for the purpose of devising and formulating a plan for carrying out the plan outlined by Mr. Burrows in his address. The following are the commit- tee : E. S. Parrott, Win. Kinerk, A. E. Brunson, A. T. Carter, W. E. Bell, N. B. Ashby, G. W. Haigh, Allen Root, D. F. Havens, Charles Morgan, W. R Laughlin. Tho following were, on motion, ap- pointed a committee on secret work : A. J. Westfall, J. M. Thompson, Joshua Crawford. A communication from a delegation representing the General Assembly of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association was presented as follows : Omaha, Neerasila, January 07, 188L— J. H. Powers, President National Alliance. — Bear Sir and Brother: — The undersigned committee, appointed by the General Assembly of the Far> rners' Mutual Benefit Atsociution, at its recent session ia Springfield, Illinois, to attend your National meeting mid to confer with a like com- mittee of of the National Alliance on the sub- ject of & closer union of our organization, are in the city, and await your pleasure. (Signed.) W. T. Stilwell, T. W. Haynea, P. J. Ctaypool, John P. S telle, James Jennings. On, motion, fraternal greetings were extended to the brethren representing the F. M. B. A. delegation aud they were invit-d to seats in the convention. On motion, Ben Terrell, representing F. A. & I. U., was also invited to a seat in the convention. On motion, the visiting brethern were invited to address tho convention at to- morrow's session. Adjourned until 7:30 P. M. EVENING SESSIOU. President Powers in the chair. Tho evening session was introduced by tho following address, delivered by Mr. D. ii. Talbot, of Sioux City, Iowa. address os 1 mb. d. h. taleot. Mb, President and Dulhoat?:s op the Na- tional Farmers' Alliance. Ladies and Gentle- men: — Permit me to address you as brothers and sisters in our commercial aud social organiza- tion, offering a few business suggestions. At a recent meeting of our Iowa State Formers' Alliance Executive Committee it was agreed that each member of our Executive Committee should write a paper upon some general plan, topic or work thought best for the interests of. the Alliance. And in carrying out (his plan it has fallen to my lot to consider that part which will apply more forcibly towards the educating of the people, i. e., the presenting cf such thought as may assist in causiu;; moderate dis- cussion, debate— in bringing tho members of our Alliance to a better understanding of the grave position which the farmers now occupy. This paper 1 take plats are in submitting to you for your consideration. For me to outline this subject fully would re- quire too much space in a paper ox this kind, therefore it must be cared for in a i . tl her hurried manner, trusting that in the main it may prove of some benefit in eliciting the ideas or thoughts of those who, though knowing the wrongs under which they live have not the" courage to openly express themselves and in a proper, business- like manner demand and secure correction of their wrongs. To properly understand just what our position is we must first consider that effect always fol- lows a cause. Our present condition is ample evidence of the effect, and to change it we must study well the cause, which taken as « whole has brought us to be known as an Alliance. First of all, it is a well known rule in business, or other warfare that there is no hope for success between contending forces, regardless of the arms, or other goods used in competition, unless the intelligence of the minus eugmeeiiog the contending forces are carefully weighed. To profit by our enemies' methods, we find that every other class interest in the world has made its union, and either by fact or inference have accepted these words to signify their line of de- fense: Unite, agitate, euueate, federate, and with the spiritual halo, exemplified in the words Business Secrecy, we have for our example the most wonderful, and better still, successful hol- low square for defense, the world has ever known. And further, these emblems of power even between contending forces bring much more equitable fruits to the many who are thus or- ganized, than is possible with us at present, and simply because of the power of compromise. As ws now stand our strength, is limited, but let us follow in the footsteps of our enemy and be- cause of our numbers and natural resources of mind and body, we will have siKih strength thai in the form of compromise at least, we can de- mand and secure just what we may ask for. To begin, wo must unite. 'Tea/' everybody PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS ALLIANCE. 525 will say, but the question is: "Do you mean it?" Regardless of the sentimental side of the ques- tion wo must bo positive about it, and stick to it. No sham or betrayal of a trust or fear of meeting a manor woman from the city because of their thinking they are better or know more or ought to be looked up to and that you should not re- main as a farmer. an honored member of the Alliance. No. first of ail swear by the principles of the Alliance and remaining true to its teach- ings there can tie no question that the herald word, unite, will anp'v to our order as Well as to that of those who have so success! idly opposed us. It is our necessity, consequently the duty we ows to our homes, that we foster such interests, that each Eamdy shall be Use a republic unto itself— a unit, and these farmers' units in inter- est make the whole an Alliance unit. This much conceded, our next is to agitate. A word which calls to mind troubled waters, exciting times, even perhaps approaching rebellion from some hereditary idol of thought or practice. It Is alter wars of blood or business that schools prosper and men and women gain knowledge, for through agitation the lethargy into which they had gone prior to the contest, brings all the thought and determination to build anew and so advance in their education as to be of snfficient strength physically and men- tally to cope with any assailant. It is for this reason that times are usually brisk or prosperous after a war within or between countries. To ed- ucate we must iirst agitate, debate. And to agitate we must each one, as a unitof the whole, StudV, looa up the methods by which we are oppressed and when found let them be referred to our local Alliances in proper form and there acted upon, and by the voice of the v, hole de- termine by what method we must act to sf cure our ends, that whieh may be of benefit to us. Simple agitation prepares the way fur education. To carry out this branch of the work, it seems to me imperative that we should have a board of counselors or educators to whom the reports of the debates and suggestions for improvement in method or recital of experiences should be re- ferred, and when re-arranged, if need be. by this board, then to be submitted to all the Alli- ances for their consideration. When this board, made by appointment or election, and composed of some of our best men and women, shall be called upon to furnish data or evidence upon any giveu subject, it should be the duty of this board to furnish the Alliance requesting it if at all possible. Various methods will come in due time through our earnest efforts to asr-ist in our labors. We should have the Alliance newspapers, under the supervision it is true of the Alliance, but above all edited by members of the Alliance. The slightest, contamination with city influ- ence msv cause us iu our zeal to adopt some plan or arrangement of commercial or political intrigue which may bring about the death blow of our Alliance by disorganization. It is our Surroundings, our cvery-dry walk in life regard- less or our special education which gives zest and power to 0111 writings or conversation, and no matter how we may try to shield, it makes every touch of the pen or word of mouth elec- trified with the spirit of cur association. Let us then be careful, exceedingly careful. Do not let us firongii the arts of our opponents be made to continue in ceifdom, though we may labor in the desire to educate ou^elves. Let us labor, but if possible let it be in the proper channel, and that it-gecping solely with our interests, for there is no fear but that others have succeed- ed in better caring for themselves than we It Is a common expression that the farmers will not hold together, and several bankers and attorneys have twitted me that the organization would not last long— but a year or two— and theu fall into the hands of some partisan or city ^^■olled movement. This is the plan that has been in practice foi all rime, the combinations of capital and the floating labor of the cities have controlled, and do uow intend to control the farmers' organiza- tion. In this connection we find then that the floating labor, usual'y the single la : oring men of the citie.3, are simply the tools of the monopo- list, and alike rob the poor laborer of the city who is trying to secure a home, as well as hia farmer brother. They generally make the ma- jorities and it is through this element that the rings and boodlers of the cities control the elections. With us we do not want any of these men, even as helpers on our farms. To correct and assist in making a more per- fect union of our order each local Alliance should be constituted a labor board and that when one of their members desires to go from that locality to another to look for work, that the Alliance should assist him through the Secretary corresponding with other Alliances of the state or elsewhere, and with a carefully prepared statement of what the man or woman can do and be depended upon, we will have in a greet measure settled the labor question and have laid the foundation for more trustworthy farmers and excellent house wiv?s, whose interests bo: iug as great as those of the men should be placea strictly upon the like footing as the men. And I further believe that the A lliance should be the first to earnestly demand that women have the same rights at the j»olls as men because the mothers, wives and daughters 01 farmers are entitled to it. Remember the fact as brothers and sisters in this the realm of the Supreme, who dare say; without insult, that the one has not the same rights as the other? A matter of serious importance in this connec- tion is the growing influence of women in the cities. School statistics show us that in the schools of the cities and large towns that the boys are if ken away before graduating for the purpose of entering some mercantile pursuit, while on the other hand the girls are permitted to c -niplete thei>- education, to graduate, and thus being of a higher grade of education, exer- cise great influence upon the men whom they may marry, and these as a rule being of the class who with the assistance of these same educated women make the class which now is the grow- ing element of oppression, which must be met by equal strength from the country. To-day the women of the cities have time for educating themselves, while their sisters in the country are reallv slaves. As Alliance people we must look ahead. This avalanche is surely coming upon us,had we better not co-onerate villi Hie working women of the cities and checkmate the intrusion to thenatural rights of all, for this is the key to the growing plutocracy \vhi>:h now threatens to engulf the laborer of the world. Following this reference to our unrepresented toilers I must uow address myself to the older heads, to those who like myself are growing numerous gray hairs. With due respect to age, let us bear in mind that many of our Ideas are old ones, they have served we'll their purpose, but for some reason our views are antiquated, too old fr.shioned, and because of these old ways governing the farm in- terests, socially and commercially the boy3 and girls become neafisiok. they cud we know not why, but the disappointing influences continue. Now let us have a change. Let us consider more the want?- of the young minds, and not fol- low up to closely old methods, precedent. " Some good economists and many farmers will agree with me that a lawyer is a curse, a less number educated at our expense would be bet- ter, and why? Simply because they represent too much law (old law), arranged to suit the wishes of the past age, the age of oppression and 526 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. as now practiced the age of the cities, our op- ponent. Being old and stale it is called precedent. The Alliance wants new laws of value to us, and not so much precedent. We want young men in mind, even if surrounded by gray hairs, the honor of life. This is an age of progression, an age of elec- tricity, an age of combination, of the harmoniz- ing of like interests. The boys and girls see this, the spirit of their surroundings raake thorn feel it more keenly than is possible for us older ones. It gives them more pain than we can ap- preciate—then let us be very lenient, let us be very consistent, taking all these conditions as statements of fact. I say give the younger growing brains a chance to develop— give them allotted work which may be of value to them and to us. Ask them to study and suggest new plans. No fear but tbey can and will do it, and it is with them the life of our order rests. They will respect our experi- ence and age to consult with us, but consider seriously, the Alliance needs young blood to cope with our adversaries in the cities. Have you ever observed that the leading mo- nopolists of the cities, the men whom we now find the hardest to master, are the boys from the farm? These are of the boys who did not like the old fogy methods that wer6 there practiced. This is the blood we want to remain with us, to help iu the struggle for our homes, our very being. Do not oppose a boy, particularly a farmer's boy whom the Almighty has done so much for, but let us ask him to not leave the farm, but in- stead to suggest what he thinks better for us to do. We will in turn likely be surprised at the answers, but then be considerate ; they may not be very far wrong. For debate, moderate discussion, and for con- sideration in a commercial sense I submit here- with a few special suggestions, a few minor with others worthy of more careful study. Besides the resolutions passed at our conven- tions such corrections as may be deemed best in our laws by our present and coming congress and state legislatures should be acted upon by the Alliances, and having prepared our wants make such demand upon the members of the legislative bodies that the laws asked for shall be passed. And further, consider the advisabil- ity of a law covering, that at any time a state legislator or a member of congress would not carry out his agreement with the people who elected him, that the given section or district electing him can, by vote, at once regardless of his term of office, withdraw him and place an- other in his stead. The people then would be supreme and not governed as at present by politicians. Let the vote be a sacred right based upon the interests of tiie home, and the representative, if not mak- ing good his agreement, should forfeit his right to longer act as the agent of the home. Again, the man who will vote for a price and not from conviction of principle should be disfran- chised. Commercial enterprises are in keeping with farmers' work, and their bearing upon the farm must be studied, for we are both laborer and manufacturer. Concentration of time and saving of wastage is the key to commercial suc- cess. Co-operative business enterprises of all kinds must be adopted by Alliance people in due time. The co-operative stores of the old countries are a marked success and they will be the same here, provided they are placed under the control of such men, who have proved themselves to be a success, and not as has been too frequently the Case, to place such cares in the hands of some enthusiast who, though willing to labor for a pmall salary, had not the first principle of busi- ness or business experience about him. A man who has all to make and nothing to lose is not the proper person to trust with any enterprise, and particularly a co-operative one. Under proper management more profit could be made by the farmer for his produce, ana the con- sumer get his eatables cheaper. As an illustra- tion, the tradesmen"s ^o operative scores in Great Britain supply their customers with our Ameri- can bacon and other products cheaper than is possible for the consumer in this country to buy from our country or ciry stores. But mind you, without good management the outcome will be a financial failure, a disappointment. Telephone service is the next important ad- junct to a farm and when generally adopted, and the building and the keeping up of the lines to be by tax similar to road tax, the telephones to be paid for by the user, will bring the farmers closer together, and will in a gr< at measure less- en the disadvantages which they must now bear, as compared with their city brethren, when questions of daily demand are to be acted upon, ihave made use of farm telephone service for five years and would not now want to work with- out it. In the interest of the Alliance, I have a proposition from Che telephone company, but the rate is too high as yet. Consider this question carefully, also local or township circulating libraries. Statistical enum- erators should be selected from Alliance men; that is, such men as would pass the required ex- amination to prove that they are competent to gather statistics covering farm products. At present the manipulators of the grain and other products in the market have experienced men, well paid, who make accurate reports to their masters, while our government select politicians too frequently whose aim is to satisfy their mas- ters—the men who now run the government, our nation's gamblers. 1 would like very much, and I believe it advisable, for some few young farm- ers to co-operate in farming, to organize a joint stock company, and at first, perhaps, to rent farms and begin a system of farming where ac- counts are carefully kept of all expenditures and incomes. If this can be done then the farmer will have a practical education in account keeping in like manner as is done in business elsewhere, and if carried out to a business conclusion th&re will be much of the lands of our country go into hands of farmers' joint stock companies where less machinery will be required proportionally, and with greater returns. The foremanship of these places will require an educated practical man, a man of intelligence and business capacity, thus making increased demand'! for agricultural colleges, experiment stations, district farm acad- emies with farms profitably handled, attached, and agricultural training in our country schools. It will also have the tendency to make the home farmer, the man with the family and the small farm, king of his holdings. The wife and chil- dren will not be as too many of them are now — slaves to cook for working men— too much to do, and nothing but hardship in return. The home on the farm should be a better source of intelligence than even the home in the city. Too much manual labor destroys the more valuable brain power. Other corporations in harmony should be considered. Local slaughter house building should have a hearing, and if a sufficient number of farmers will kill their own product in cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry, ar- rangements can be made for special refrigerator car rates that our dead meats may be taken to cold storage houses in the East for sale in pri- vate, or by public outcry. I am in correspond- ence with cold storage houses in the eastern markets, and trust before long, if the farmers will co-operate, we will do something toward checking the "Big Four" from getting every- thing away from us. Lawyers are educated at our expense and in many cases pester without cause. Many a note would not be forced to collection at the time jj PEOCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FAEMEES' ALLIANCE. 527 was due, perhaps causing great sacrifice to the giver, and which could easily be paid with proper interest in a short time thereafter were it not that the attorney desired a reputation for being a good collector. Rarely are they ever dis- barred, but in every case forcing themselves into positions of apparent responsibility, but which in the end is mainly a trust for themselves. At- torneys (and other collectors) should pay a heavy license, and their disbarrment not to be brought about by decisions of their professional brethren, but instead if any complaint is made against any one of them, that there should be a proper hearing where the statement of the facts should be made upon both sides. This evidence then should be sent to the trustees, say in each township or county in the state, and they by vote pass judgment upon the acts of the attor- ney. Some such check as this would soon make at- torneys and collectors a little more respectable. They would work honestly then, and not as now prick up the creditor with false statements against the debtor that he might be the first one to get his neighbor, perhaps friend into financial trouble and clouded for all time with an un- merited discredit. In this connection, since we must for the present employ attorneys, Alliances should have one attorney or arrange to cut down on expense of suits. In many cases an adjudi- cating board might be established, and having examined the grounds of difficulty might in- fluence the opposition very materially in bring- ing about a settlement. If "not and the case is a just one, the whole should stand the expense of the suit. Judges, like attorneys, labor for their class. The evidence may be sufficient to convince a jury even of farmers that a given decision should be made, but the judge's cnarge to the jury is frequently so worded that the evidence bears no part in the banging about of a decision. All manner of tricks in law fill our statutes and we must look over the laws carefully and discover what must be legislated out of them. One law in Iowa (and likely in other states) I can call to mind is that which gives the right of a fee to the attorney or collector, say on a note, even if the attorney fee clause is stricken out. Again, that no suit could be commenced upon any bill or account unless the claimant first made oath that the account was correct and that thisoath should be attached to the bill when presented. And further, that if the claim then be not a rightful one and suit commenced damages should be paid by the creditor for the insult, Another case in point is that machine manu- facturers should keep certain repairs for their machines within a given distance of the place where the machine was sold, or where the pur- chaser stated at the time of purchase it was to be used, and if the repairs were not so kept there, then the farmer should have the right to obtain damages to the extent of hi3 loss from the ma- chine manufacturer. As it is now, the purchas- er is talked into buying some improved machine and because, oftentimes, the repairs for the old machine being hard to get, he buys a new one wh-i-'a he does not need and can do without, pro- vided repairs— and good repairs— are kept near at hand. It is a moral right that the machine man should act as a partner in a measure in keeping repairs near at hand that the purchaser could receive full value for his investment in a machine which no mechanic ordinarily found can repair, except in minor breaks. A tax or rental for lands used by ranchmen should be assessed to them by the government that they could not then be such vicious compet- itors in the stock market with those of us who raise our stock upon lands upon which high taxes are placed. At present the average cost of a steer on the plains ia less than one-half what it costs us. 'Irrigation, the opening up of new farms in the West, may very materially increase the farm product of the country. Do we want to assist in this movement by granting government aid? Or, is it not better for those who desire to put down artesian wells as a speculative investment to do so at their individual expense? Railroads should have the water taken from their bonds and stocks by simply apprais- ing the roads at given intervals at their actual cost to buiid and operate at that time, and that freight rates should be based upon the value of the thus kiln-dried material, than as at present in its wet goods condition. If this were to be done I think passenger and freight rates would be lowered at once about 75 per cent. Of course the money kings will say this is robbery, but they do not say so when they put a price en our cattle and hogs. All private corporations I believe should be placed under a state board of control similar to the railroad board of commissioners in our state. The main reason for this is, that there are usually certain privileges given to holders of stock in any corporation which an individual in business cannot enjoy. All corporations should in a measure be linked under the same general state or gov-, rnment supervision as railroads. We must come to it sooner or later— why net the Alliance take the credit and thus make a strength outside our ranks? In place of advocating the voting of a large tax to assist in the building up of a great city we should begin by making use of this tax for the bettering of our public roads — all road tax should be aided by general state tax and this to be made upon mainly if not wholly from corporations, private or semi-private, and other large accumu- lations of private or individual wealth. Let us free the home as much as possible from debt and direct taxation. In times like these, when business of all kinds is demoralized because of the stringency of money, and prices of farm products are reduced very much in value, so that the producer can not get even just pay for his labor, and further, that our government has at many time3 and all times when asiied, come to the assistance of Wail Street and other financial strongholds, it would seem that some assistance should be conceded as proper were it to be bestowed upon the farm- ers who are by far the the greater number of debtors in this country. And further, in a crisis like the present, when banks will not lend any money, would it not be justice should suit be brought on any note and thui causing additional expense to the debtor, and other loss that he might sustain in sacrific- ing his products to meet the demand, that the creditor should be compelled to deduct from the claim the amount of damages so made to the debtor? A leading western banker told me a few days ago that it was not safe to force a claim against any one for fear of causing a stampede of depositors, and the bringing about of a finan- cial crash, claiming money to be closer than in 1872. If bankers consider the present financial status of the country to be in this condition, is it not just that persons having claims should wait until such times that confidence is somewhat restored and at least a partial return of prosperity, before demanding a forced collection? For times like these, we should have township committees, whose duty it would be to act as an arbitration board, to whom all claims against any citizen within the township could be referred, and these men decide, by calling for evidence showing the debtor's financial condition, whether, or not, under the circumstances under which, ne was laboring at the time, and consistently with the better interest of his position as a citizen of that township be compelled to sacrifice his products to pay the debt, or with proper (average) security he would be permitted to wait his pleasure in 5a8 FEOCEEDINGS OP THE NATIONAL PARMEKS' ALLIANCE. making payments, the debt, however, to bear in- terest as agreed upon in body of note. This same practice wonld be very applicable to merchants and others in the r hies and towns, f;>r I am aware of the greatest crimes committed by bankers who in their dec-ire to loan money to their customers, or to ne^h~. some wholesalers to Bell goods, leads the borrower on and promises to continue farther assistance, bin who without any excuse or notice given in time to be of any assistance, would file claims at once against the d'iped creditor, many times closing bim out and thus causing hiaj irreparable Iobs in property, and above all in name. To convince myself of the cause of failures in the state of Iowa for one year, I made special investigation of nearly every case some years ago and found this deception to be the main cause, and it is this, and this alone, which makes such a large list of failures in the cities and town3. Men are made bankrupts because of the viclousness of the mGney lender and his attor- ney. Have a law granting the existence of self- defense committees, who can also act as an arbitration board lor ali disputes aud claims and we will have checked the villany of what is now considered just under the caption "busi- ness," and will have saved m rh loss to those who are more rightly entitled to the accumula- tions of an average birthright. Business as we now know the term is that cor- relation of forces which says to every man, every woman, every child, you are a rascal. And in times like these the many who are be- ing oppressed, driven from pillar to post to make good some cia:m— Eorae paltry sum to keep some greedy conspirator of a creditor from ad- ding costs and taking the hard earnings of the debtor and family fur a life lime, the accumula- tions which have been made through the loss of flesh and blood is struggling in millions of instances at this moment. Is not this anarchy? i say yes. The credit system is the curse of the world. It is unnatural, therefore severe. Then let us meet the issue for we are the defenders of homes. This much and I must call your attention to the fact that the operating crowning influence by which we can bring about proper relief through new laws or commercial and social co- operation comes under the idea to federate. With all our plans and purposes of education to accomplish much outside of oar own respective states, we mutt federate, and in federation in a limited or to a greater extent as we may deter- mine, we can co-operate with others with like laborers, who perhaps having demands we can not consent to, stiil in the main may not be far separated arid by a thorough investigation of the effect that the demands might have upon each other, a reasonable settlement could be made, and a farther strengthening of our farmers' position, which is the aim of all producer's orders, no matter under whut name they may be knows. I» turn we might have a clwini or demand to make 'apou congress, and without the assistance of all other states' orders it would prove of no avail, whereas if we extended a helping hand, the Slier of the soil anywhere would not be the first to forget it. Business secrecy should permeate all our work- ings; it is of much value, of vital importance; il e tell too much to our opponents, we should irtdy let them know just enough to make them tt-il «s as much as we can gel from them of the secrets of their business. Give but little, but get ail you can, for we need it. As a aon-partisan organization we hold the position of a great electro-magnet, having back of us our natural resources, supplying our eduear tional facilities with the require d" electrical cur- rent to form us into a magnet of such strength that the better metal of our opponents, for gen- eral purposes, is drawn to us, leaving the dro^a behind. We have this natural position -will we make use of it? Let me eay with you, and mu- thinks 1 hear it throughout the whole land, w e must, we will make use of it. The partisan press and leaders may accuse U3 of being fanatical, communistic, anarchi»l, dem- agogues, cranks and the like. This is their plea, this their defense to our just demand?. Do not heed them; the more said, the more we must do, as the boys have done when leaving the farm. We must heed logical argument, but none that are merely given to lead us away from our object — even by paid deceivers within our ranks. Once it was written: "These are the times that try men's bouls. The summer eoldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink from the service of his country; but he that etnnds it now deserves the thanks of mar and woman. Tyranny, lika hell, is not easily conquered ; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph." And, brothers and sisters, in our mind's concep- tion do we not hear the echo from the dried-np plains of Kansas, the Dakotas of. the north, and continuing \v ith its calls and answers in rever- beration from throughout the whole land, with- out break for cause of line rr section, returning to the prairies of Nebraska andmyor7nHawkeye home and birth-place, that we will notyield until our insignia, with its stars and stripes, be not complete nor prove its intrinsic value in quantity and quality unless it shall bear the center piece representing the home and its surroundings,, trulv representing ownership and occupation by intelligent beings— an ideal, yet practical re- public. And yet while wc feel that it is just and right to attempt the working out of this broad plat- form, let hs consider a little within our own cir- cle. The farmers as a whole have much heredi- tary influence to combat; in this I refer particu- larly to the inert condition of the farmers them- selves; for ages they have been the common feast, the tidbit for all, and, like the deer of the forest, thev have been hounded and huuted uutil every fall of a limb, every crack of a twig or rus- tle of a commercial or political leaf has caused him and Ins family pain, and well it has, thus calling into action nature's better elements for defense, or there would be none left to form an Allianc e. With this hereditary taint upon our brothers and sisters in this work, we must study well the illustration of the deer and his cares; when the weak ones, throsgh fear, rush unto bim for assistance oft-times, in his rage and because of his low order of intelligence, he will strike friend and foe alike. Let us defend our homes, and with special care those we are in the habit of calling weaker ones, until they can defend themselves; but let us not be too mindful of our own views, our own importauce; make no sport of the man or woman, old or young, who, per- haps not yoor ideal, you think cannot, or ought not, to be taken in full harmony with your labors. Bear in mind that the ragged boot-black has often-times assisted in arranging the master- pieces of statesmen. Let us first have faith in the honesty of our officers and members alike; let each person make the comparison of his fellow workers upon the like basis as himself, and the All'ance must then be a unit. Let us look forward to better times, less inter- est, less taxes, better schools, more learning, greater knowledge, more equitable relationship between producer and consumer, socially as well as commercially, to the time when tele- phones will be of common use, our wagon roads be much improved, and traction engines and wire tramways or electric cars be in use carrying our products to the railroad station, instead of as now by the heavily burdened wagon. These and psasssBmsss &f she sjAfnoxAL eaemees' alliance. 529 numberless other required improvements will give us E^ore hours for study, and to obtain them we fattst first begin by study and improvement in ourselves. In conclusion, permit me to offer a suggestion : I>al justly with all, har.nonize all conflicting in- teie'jts, firht ^viihiD our own ranis; then will we be the strous/er to offer cue hand of compromise, of treating consistently even with our enemies, :a mi earnest wish of one whose interests and sympathies are Grst, last and all the time with >'ho Alliance. I rhank you, progressive tillers of ;h-? soil, for your attention. To *he b -others and sisters of the Farmer8' t Al- Uvn..-,e: Our honorable president has deemed it hc.it for the Alliance to appoint an educational is&oraiitiee of rive, the writer being one of them. v> ifh this appointment I would respectfully ask tii 1 !o correspond with me upon any matter out- lined in ihe above. Any question asked I will •■ iia- rt'ully answer if possible, and will consider i t a great favor if you will make report to ma of the result of your discussion upon any coinmer- ci« ! question suggested above or which in your opinion suggests itself as likely to prove of value to other Alliances. Following which Mr. Milton George, publisher of the Western Rural, Chicago, read the following paper : BEJORMS AND REFORMERS. The human race has struggled along through the ages with alternate periods of hope and de- spair, aBking tor God-given rights that were so evidently man's, that even those who denied them would not dispute the justice of the claim. We are to-day living in the midst of a brilliant civilization. The world has reached it through many hard and discouraging experiences, through severe struggles, and even through seas of blood. Upon every hand the genius of intel- lect . is painting even nature with additional splendor, and turning the rough elements of the mine, the field and the factory into wealth and beauty ostensibly for the comfort of the humau re ce. '__ We touch the wild plain and the valley, and ib;y become blossoming fragrant gardens. We Horn the river and the rivulet into the desert, and it, too, buds and blossoms like the rose. We *t. j p upon the marshes and the quicksands, and the most magnificent cities of the world, throb- bi ug with life and enterprise, lift their splendid proportions and charm the world with their iraatness and stately grandeur. If asked to-day what splendid America needs to perfect her material maguificenee and insure her highest future material development, he who knows America knows her splendid resources, her rest- Lees enterprise and the sturdy character of her men and her women, would answer nothing save the universal recognition of justice between man and man, and class and clas3. Through all the centuries the world has been starving for jiwt what America lacks to-day. Ours is not the only brilliant civilization that the world has seen and enjoyed. Genius is not peculiar to our tiaica. It has glowed like a quenchless sun in the studios and art galleries of the past; in the magnificent architecture upon whose walls and pillars are to-day the rust and masses of the sees; in Pompeiis, and Athens and Romes, with their temples and refinement, and extravagances and crushing vices, and yet upon all these sits now the hideous skeletons of death and decay. As we grope our way back through the ruins of fae material past, the crumbling and crumbled st.iteliness of the grandest conceptions of the human mind, and the grandest executions of the human hand are full of pathetic suggestive- jnesii. rUtious have arisen in a blaze of glory, ruling even the world for the time, and then faded into m black shadow upon the pages of history. Athens was magnificent in her tastes and achieve- ments. The enthusiastic love of the beautiful which animated the Athenian turned even his religion into an art, making his worship an edu- cation in EB&theties. Their mythological faith stvod daily before their eyes in monumental spiendor, for nearly every Deity had his temple or shrine in the elegant city of art. But the very brilliancy of the limes and place, shown in the architecture, art and literature, consumed the very class that made these things possible. The plebeian who had created all ihe splendors of the famous city was reduced to serfdom, while the Patrician— the "man of affairs"— lived amhlst luxurious elegance, and rioted in idleness and worse. Rome, brilliant, imperial Rome, forgot the men who had built her temples and Elled her nrt galleries and clothed her with magnif- icence, and then the glory of proud Rome be^.au to fade, audit ceased 11 ■£ until all that was left of Rome was a disfigured memory. It is the duty of the American nation to study the causes of the downfall of the nations that have preceded it, and to avoid them if possible. It i3 not difficult to discover that some of the causes which worked the ruin of ancient com- munities are at work in this nation of ours. The centralization of populations »nd of power is inimical to the best interests of any peopie. The ignoring of the rights of the masses is in- evitably disastrous, and when the rights of labor are neglected and its dignity despised, and the people who are guilty of the indiscretion and wrong are heading not toward great prosperity, but toward a fatal plunge to deaih. While great cities may contain much that is good and best in government, they also contain that which is worst and vilest, and furnish a great source of danger to society and to the Re- public. The tendency of society during all periods of the World's history has been so much toward that which is evil, that reformers have been necessary and have attracted the attention of all historians and have done much to amel- iorate the conditions of mankind. Many of these well meaning people have been extremists .find often exceedingly impractical in their meth- ods and thus hindered what they wished to pro- mote, gs It has usually remained for conservative, prac- tical people to follow with practical measures for the accomplishment of reforms. The anti slavery agitators— the men and women, who 1b their indignation resolved that ihe constitution was a "Covenant with death and a league with hell," who denounced the flag as a flaunting lie, and were otherwise intemperate in expression and action, provoked the rebellion which led to our late civil war, while the conservative party, abolished slavery, the greatest sin of the Isation and saved the union. The Greenback party, composed of some of the most sterling men, contended for the issue of all money by the government through several political campaigns, but owing to some of the party fanatics i leaders, it failed to attract a mighty following. Bat it called attention to a great principal which a conservative supreme court representing fee conservative sentiment of the people, pronounced constitutional, aud to-day the right of the people 10 issue their own mo T iey is unquestionable, which now may be elaborated to meet the demands of business and commerce. By the persistent, effort of the pro- hibition party, the cause, of temperance has been delayed ten years, by roason of its exacting de- mands, and it now remains for the conservative party to rrystalize the temperance sentiments into an engluory of power to sweep the rum traf- fic from the face of the earth foievot; During our political campaigns, the war of the rebellion is usually fought over and over again with fierceness that amoinus to an unreasonable and unpardonable radicalism. The partisan press applauds all that is said to 530 PEOCEEUDTOS OF THE KA-TIONA^ 'FASMKBSSA-B&IAaJCE. create or widen the breach between two great sections of ftcounrnon country. Living under a government that- has been founded as no other government has been founded — upon frater- nity — our political campaigns are largely an as- sault upon the doctrine of the universal broth- erhood of men, and weakening to the bonds that hold the Union together. It is the patriotic duty of the conservative farmer, who is to-day crying out for the rights of a citizen and a man, to,rec- ognize the deplorable effect of radical, rasping partisan utterances and actions, and endeavor to conteract the influence by demanding a fuller recognition of the principles of fraternity, the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men. The husbandman has a much broader mission than simply securing his own rights. It is true, that in securing these he will bestow a gTeat blessing upon the whole country, as well as upon himself. It is surprising that while America is pre-eminently an agricultural country, hus- bandry has been looked upon as having little significance in its bearing, in its economic and social questions of our time. Great fortunes have been amassed during the past quarter of a century, or more colossal than any previously recorded in the history of the world. The new improvements in the facilities for communica- tion, commerce and travel have opened up the gateways through which must pass the products of the soil to reach the ma kets of the world, and through which must come the necessaries of life which the producer must receive in exchange for what he has to sell. Neither has the hus- bandman any voice in what he shall receive, or what he shall pay for what he sells or buys. He Ls even at the mercy of the public carriers, tbe transportation companies, which exact all the traffic will bear. ; The farmers have patiently submitted to being heavily assessed by the army of middlemen along these avenues of trade and commerce to the extent that untold millions have gone into the hands of the few, which by right belong to the many. He also bends his back to the bur- dens of direct taxation because of the tangible nature of his property which produce the reve- nues necessary to support the great aTmy of office holders who legislate in the interest of the capitalistic classes and corporations, instead of the people who produce the wealth of the na- tion. There is a great multitude of non-produc- ers who look upon farmers as a common property to be leased at will, and all sorts of schemes are concocted in the name of business to relieve them of their legitimate earnings. Is it to be expected that they will continue to submit to being thus ruled and financially min- ed? The notice has already gone forth that they will not, and if they, in c ming to the front on the economic, social and political questions of the day, give "the other fellows" a dose of their ownlkindof treatment, as retributive justice, they cannot well be blamed for imposing meas- ures of retaliation as the only way by which tbe farmers will ever recover lost ground"financially. The publisher of the Western Rural was in- strumental in founding the Farmers' Alliance April 15- L n, 1880, and the National Alliance Oct- ober 1-ith of the same year, as a non-secret and non-partisan organization, with the belief that the only way the farmers could "hold the fort" against the encroachments of the aggressors was by standing together in an organized body; that by special con tact the walls of prejudice might be broken down and farmers lifted out of the old environments of inherited opinions and preju- dices with views broadened and fraternal rela- tions strengthened for the better performance of the duties of citizenship. The independent vote in the late election was the result of the social contact and interchange of opinions in the farm- ers' organizations, and inclined to intelligent action at the polls. While the fanners' organi- zations, in their official capacity, are non-parti- san and must remain so, xtiva individual merri bership outside the orders, as free Amencan citizens, refused to fall into line at the dictiaion of the "party bosses." Ours is a progressive age, and the farmers' movement has come to stay. No party has la". right to claim tho victory. The action of iho farmers in the late election was conservative, and in its results meant the success of nei'.hci party, and proved conclusively that a new party movement based on a conservative platform em- bracing the leading reforms so much needed, would gain a sweeping victory in electing e!l officers in state and national government, in 18G2. A free people in its dependent citizenship must finally rule this country instead of the money power and the chronic office holders. The Farmers' Alliance, north and south, with its ed- ucational facilities, might finally solve the race problem by fitting the colored people for a self- reliant citizenship. The prejudices between tbe two sections of our coun ry, North and South, might be allayed, and fraternal relations between all classes intensified. The bitter enmities be- tween the two old parties engendered by strifes of the late civil war would disappear, the rum demon in the open saloon might be suppressed and finally blotted out, and other reform work advocated by the farmers and the labor elements of the nation might be promoted. All these ob- jects are worth striving for. The Farmers' Alli- ance and other organizations should be caution- ed along these lines of conservative but persist ent action by all who have an interest in the final triumph of the many needed measures of reform now agitating the public mind'. Complete or- ganization is one of the first requisites for suc- cessfully reaching any great results for the bet- terment of the condition of our people, whether they be farmers or wage workers. If the actions of the farmers are persistent and progressive, as outlined above, they must soon be the ruling class in all the affairs of government. It may seem to some of us that our progress in the work of reform has been slow and discouraging. Foi fifteen years we have been laboring steadily to correct existing evils and to establish better sys- tems. We are familiar with what has been done and desire to say with all possible emphasis that under existing circumstances progress has not been slow. We have been compelled to work for the uprooting of systems and wrongs which have been gradually maturing for fifty years, and which are to-day backed by some of the strongest men in the country, in many cases by an utter lack of conscience and by millions oi capital. We cannot reform such evils in a day or year, or a dozen years, but we have made an advance wherever we have made an attack. We have es- tablished the principle that the state can regu- late the rates of railroad companies ; we have arrived at a period when even congress steps forward to regulate inter-state transportation ; we have secured legislation to prevent the utter- ly reckless sale of adulterated farm products ; we have forever put a stop to the further giving of the public lands to corporations ; we have seen political parties getting down upon their knees to the farmer:-— whom tbey once ignored— and begging for their influence and s'-pport, and we see to-day several legislatures in the hands oi the farmers, and we behold a farmer's move- ment that really threatens the distraction of all political parties unless the farmer receives such attention, by the government, as his interests demand. If that is not a wonderful change in affairs in the short period of fifteen years, we are at a loss to conceive what more could be ex- pected in that time. Of course much of vital importance is yet to be accomplished, and will be accomplished. Our circulating medium has never yet been properly regulated by our government. Tha time has come when the farmer shall be emanci 53i PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. pated from the tyranny and imposition of the until a mighty nation under the star spangled money shark, whom our financial policy has di- banner shall rule the world with a beneficent rectly encouraged. Any financial system which and christian impulse. ^^y^&eJX^iOTlS Nati0 * al Lecturer A*** then briefly justice and a fraud. Any system that places the addressed the convention after which it power to increase or diminish the circulating adioured till 9:00 a. m. Wednesday medium, and to charge extortionate interests on .„ m ™ -^ . v M „„ wmf . • n^&^U- loans, in private hands, is a stupid blunder on .-SECOND DAY— MORNING SESSION. the part of government, and a great wrong upon President Powers in the chair. Ses- the masses. ,.'.£,*, c „ . , * sion opened by prayer. Minutes of yes- JfeSISSSSiMihS^xS}! Tshoull ^rday's convention „ead and approved. issue the m one v direct instead of indirectlv, as A rule was adopted limiting debate to it now does, and should devise some method by five minutes and no delegate to speak which the people could borrow at a reasonable _„_„„ +u„„ ™™ „, „ ~ „ +.• interest. The Alliance, however, can bestow no mo ™ th an once on any one question greater blessing upon the farmer than to discour- without consent of convention. age the credit system and by aiding him to get A vote of thanks was given Messrs. upon the soud rock of prosperity bv making his rr<«ii + r\ . ^ a ^^ e j-u 11 1 purchases on a cash basis and keeping out of Talbot, George and Ashby for the able ad- debt, dresses delivered by them at last night's It will be an unpardonable crime against man- session. kind— and the sooner we re-dize it the better— if -., ™ ^ a • n ,„„,„ . ., a , » tt the American people, with all their splendid op- ^ r - &• m - b - J^agie, Ot the hrm 01 H. portunities and varied resources, fail to lift R. Eagle & Co., wholesale supply house, themselves and the race to the highest point of Chicago, Illinois, was then introduced material • ' *' *' physiCiilly and and addressed the convention upon the Our citizenship is of sterling worth, composed benefits of co-operative and direct buying. of some of the best. minds and hearts of all na- The remainder of the session was then tions. The experience and the ability of the „„„„„j„j w„ v.™-,- ~ *i j. * *i „ world is represented beneath our flag, and should occupied by hearing the report of the amalgamate to the end that liberty shall be com- Committee on Constitution and the adop- plete and justice established among men. Under tion of the Constitution. (The Consti- a system of government like ours the importance ± .,.• j 4. A ■ ui-uj" of the individual is emphasized. tutlon as adopted is published in separ- When the hearts, minds and aspirations of ate pamphlets and will be sent free to all every individual are right, society will be insured applicants) against danger and there will be no couflicts be ■D»„,,{ / i„_i otnimAii ^f+i^xr> tit -» a tween class and c'ass. In some quarters there is rresiaent otnnven, 01 tne a . ivi. a. &.., a disposition to sink the individual out of sight then addressed the convention urging and make -society paramount. It will not work, co-operation between the two organiza- (ommunism has never proved a success, and +,•.„„ tj„ ,„„ , „„„„ j„j +„ 1™ -o„ n „\ uever will unless human nature itself is radical- llon S- lie was lesponciea to Dy rresi- ly changed. dent Powers promising a hearty and Civilization will never enter into the splendors brotherly co-operation on the part of the of Bellamy s Utopia, hut the selfishness of the Au\a n ca human heart may be trained to realize the truth Alliance, that there is more happiness and more prosperi- Adjourned till 1:30 p. m. ly in the observance than in the violation of the AFTERNOON SESSION. nolden rule, Many reforms have utterlv failed r> „i«»„ * r>~ \. t +k« „\ „,•„ mt,. because, while they possess a high degree of President Powers in the chair. The merit, they were under the management of vis- first business of the session was the ap- ioimry leaders. We must take this practical old pointment of a committee of five to COn- world of ours just as we find it; we must take f witVl iha rnmmHtPP nf thA IT M Tt man as we find him, with all his selfishness and * er wltn , ™e committee 01 the 1< . M. ±$. with the lingering spirit that led the poet to ex- A., as follows: C. fe. Bradley, A. R. claim that "the greatest enemy of man is man." Wright, J. H. Mason, A. E. Brunson and We must take him with his weak points and evil -pv pi r> uf>11 „ inclinations and seek to develop the better part * ' "<* ve "f- of his nature by systems of education on more The Auditing Committee reported: practical lines in the training of our youth. We, your committee appointed to audit Man is now an improvement upon the man of t \.. m * __,,___'„ „„„«,,,,*,, \, nrr i„„-,,« +^, the past. He is the product of a steady evolu- the Treasurers accounts, beg leave to tion and of the influences of a christian civiliza- report that we have carefully examined tion which itself is the condition of growth. He the same and find them correct, may never be, and consequently society may . , _, „ ,_„„ » ,.,, -,, never be what we would wish, but both may be £ mo , ,mt °? hi \? d ^ec. 6, 1889 ...... .9 1 34.59 improved, and both will be if each of us is true Tolal receipts for the year to Jan. 24, 1891 . 1804.10 to the clear demands of duty. The wise will ex- „ pect no millenium, no condition of perfection, _ -Total ... !M4~».b9 in ideol state of society, but in this nineteenth Total expenses for same period- - 1804.91 century and in this American nation, with its _ , , . ' „,.„ _„ magnificent civilization, and with the splendid Balance on han d ............... .» S2d.7S history of its sacrifices for the establishment of Received since Jan. 24 to Jan. 28, 1891— - 2S5.wO the principles of equality of rights and equality _■ . . ._ nD tont „„. ~ of responsibilities, there ought to be and must On hand January 28, 1891.. &>09.SS be a full acknowledgement of the universal Allen Root, | brotherhood of man, with all its glorious possi- J- g. Mason, VCommittee. bilities, for the happiness and prosperity of the J - "• fueeow, ) - human race. On motion report was approved. Let the work of organization go on and let con- Cnmmittpo nn rpl0 o year, on the other hand we have a list of thirty-flvo millionaires, whose accumulations vary from $125,- 000.000 to $35,000,000 each ; 250,000 people own three- fifths of the wealth of the entire country; the farmers and the balance of the p •'pulatlon own the other two-flfths. We find, also, that the manufac- turers of this country in the last thirty years have made an extra profit of $^4,000,000,000, or about 37 per cent, on their invested capital. Now, there can be no doubt but that these state- ments are true, and many other facts could be Cited. There can be no doubt but that the farming population are worse off and get mu- ; handling of our cereals, the- ebi reducing the o. 536 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE. of marketing the same to a legitimate minimum; »nd be it further Resolved, That each and every 'ndlTidual pait of this convention be requested to urge upon their na- tional and state legislators the importance of svs- trJning and enforcing, not ordy the present inter- state commerce lu w, but sueSi Emendments as may bo made to it that wili persecute none and subserve the best Interests of all concerned: and be It farther Resolved, That In the sense of this convention, the fallowing feature i could be advantageously Incor- porated into the existing lnter-state law as an amendment: First, Require clean bill of lading upon all inter- »l.ate grain shipments. Second, E squire railroad and other transportation l\aea to deliver all gi am they receipt for and con- U'«v.;t to deilv.er to a given destinati n. Third, Provide for a periodical examination of all public grain warehouses that receive grain for Miiige or transfer by disinterested bonded officials to be appointed by competent authority after the esxne manner as national banks are examined for the purpose of rucking them properly accountable B8 custodians of private property. This examina- tion to limit, regulate and determine ths amount of Overplus that shoi:M accumulate In such public warehouses, uad which is now sold for the benefit of tho rraDagers and to the detriment of its deposi- tors or legitimate owners. Fourth, Prohib t any warehouse man that re- ceives grain on storage or lor transfer from dealing Got grain dlrectli or indirectly, and require that a record be kept of all fcr=iin received into and de- livered from said warehouses and the records shall be »o k'pt aa to show t .e exact amount of each kind and grade of grain received or shipped, from whom, where to and to whom delivered. In addition to which ra.wingh shall be m,\de sbowing interior construction of houso, looatlon c f scales, sinks, Spouts, bins, their sizes and capacity, which, with toe records, plans and everything pe r tainli!g tliereto, shall be at all times open for the inspec- tion i f any duly authorised persons. Fifth, Impose heavy pen iluee for any vioiatlon erf this lw, which shr said local Alll- anoes that the constitution of this Alliance permits tsiti. thr.t eteps be taken to organize these Alliances asder our order. A communication from Hon. W. I. Buchanan, Chief Gf the Department of Agriculture of the World's Columbian Exposition, requesting the appointment of a committee in each state under the jurisdiction of the National Farmers' Alliance to co-operate with that depart- ment, was read, and on motion the Presi- dent was instructed to appoint such a committee. The President appointed the following persons as said committee: August Post, Moulton, Iowa; S. P. Groat, Argyle, Nebraska; Chas. Morgan, Horn- by, Pennsylvania; J. C. H. Cobb, Wells- ton, Ohio; W. A. Kelsey, Dunfee, In- diana; A. C. Eaidwin, Vermillionville, Illinois; C. M. Butt, Viroqua, Wisconsin. G. W. Haigh, Mankato, Minnesota; G. D. Fullerton, Skidmore, Missouri; D. F. Ravens, St. John, Washington; Thomas Sphinx, Wheelock, Pennsylvania. The Secretary was, on motion, allowed three hundred dollars as salary for the past year. The following from the Joint Confer- ence Committee was then presented and on motion adopted: Wersreas, The National Farmers' Alliance and the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association are kin- dred societies, that their interests are large y the same, and that they are laboring for the same great purpose — the emancipation of agriculture from the thraldom of class legislation. Resolved, That we ere In favor of co-operating with each other to the fullest possible extent com- patible with the interests of our fep'irate organiza- tions, that we will assist each other in tfce great work of building up and educating the masses, that we will support each other's measures as far as Is consistent with our respective forms of organiza- tion, and that we will ehare with each other what- ever benefits of co- operation in trade we may attain, and at our various meetings we will cheerfully wel- come fraternal delegates. C. 3. Bradley, Oh'm., w. T. Ptilwell, J, H. Mason, Seo'y, Joseph Jennings, A. R. WRIGHT, THOS. W. HAYNES, A. H. BRUNSON, F J.CLAYPOOL, D. F. Ravens. John p. Steele, Committee for N. F. A. Committee F. M. B A. Report of "Unit Committee" was then received and on motion adopted. (This report is printed in separate pamphlet and will be sent free to all applicants.) The following vote of thanks was unanimously adopted: Resolved, That the National Farmers' Alliance tender to the board of trade of the city of Orn'ha their sim-ere thanks for the courtesy extended to them in granting the free use of the Chamber of Commerce in which to hold the meetings of the eleventh annual convention of the said Alliance. Convention adjourned. August Post, Secretary. 111 Temporarily Unemployed? If so, your careful attention is called to the special mention of a few of our most popular publications. The sale of books by subscription has grown to enormous proportions. In fact, it bids fair to soon supersede their sale through book stores. Our private terms to agents are extremely liberal. See address on the title page of this book. "A JOLLY TRIP" OR, Where We Went and What We Saw This Summer, BY K. A. ALLEN, Author »f " Labor and Capital.' The title indicates the general idea of this ex- tremely interesting work. 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