OCR Text |
Show FOOLISH STBIKEE3. Several thousand workmen in England Eng-land are again out on a etrike, their employers having recently given notice of a reduction in wayes The mill owners, in some instance, h ive gone so far in their t-fljrtt to sitisfy the laborers that wges were to-) high, as to permit an examination of their hooks, showing that not u dollar of profit haa been made for months past. One or two firms, having vaat Bums invested in the cotton nnuiuficturing business, have been s'edily losing money, not on ucoount of any ruie-managemeut, ruie-managemeut, but b3cjusn employs could not earn thoir wages at the preaent low pricen of manufactured goods. In the face of the.se fact the employes quit work, and iua hopeless struggle for more lose the little they were getting. Tho foolishness foolish-ness of their course ouht to be apparent to them, and would be wore they to give the subject a mo ment's Bane thought. Every man who iB dependent upon his labor for a living and prosperity, should know, and will find out sooner or later, that unless his labor is productive of a profit to the one who employs him it will not be required by the man who has the capital. It is neither rpasDu-able rpasDu-able nor just to ask or expect tho capitalist cap-italist to give, more than be receives. Were he to do bo he would soon cease te be a capitalist, and his power to employ be gone. Labor will always be in demand when a profit can be made on it, but never otherwise. A farmer will not employ labor and lose money on it; a mine owner j will not give all the proceeds to the men he employs ; a mechanic me-chanic will not hire men and carry on business when the goods manufactured will cot pay expenses. ex-penses. A man who carries on busi ness of any kind would be a fcol to employ men and loae money. Labor must Bell to capital its productions at a price that will yield a profit. It is true that capital cannot long succeed without labor, but it can bold out longer than labor can without capital, and a disposition on the part of labor to dictate to capital at losing ratos ia certain to prove disastrous to both to capital by locking it up, and to labor by preventing its employment. When the workingmau oan aud will make a profit on his labor, then the capitalist will, employ him, but not before. Tho cotton manufacturers of Englaud cannot rai-e the price of their. wareB so as to pay tho weavers and spinners tho wages they demand, and knowing this the employe's are foolish to refuse to work at such prices as can be paid. This oouree locks up millions of capital that could be made active and productive, and leaves thousands with no bread that might at least get half a loaf. |