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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1903)
MARCH 5, 1903. THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT "SURPLUS VALUE" ) nature in producing the thing him- Belf. instead of procuring it in ex change. - He does not desire-it because some other man expended his energy .. of rather mo uiay Editnr Indenendeht: In the Jan durinK a whole ten hours in produc- In? It but because its possession will uarynJmberScomrad". o- SAVE him (the prospective Posses nary uuxuuci vi uo vv; , . nnr tnra nf his nwn ener- SmrM. 11 CooDer Sauare. New York appeared an article-under the head of "How I Became a Socialist," by Rev. T. McGrady. Mr. McGrady begins by saying that he is an "honest man," and farther along in his article seems to assume that only those who are ' "born socialists" are not criminally inclined. He recounts in very beau tiful phraseology how he wandered nraScUlUKj UUW UC naiiuvivu i - ... . i from "free silver" to single tax. ana as uu ZZIZ7 rZ from single tax to his present social - x ....... i. - - is Lie leuueuueo. "For more than a year," he writes, "my ideas were hazy and indistinct, yet I knew all the time that there was something radically wrong with the Industrial system. In my bewildered brain, ..competition was essential to progress, and still I could not fail to see that competition reduced wages. How is this? I asked.: Competition diminishes wages, but at the same time it diminishes the price of com modities, and the toiler gets the ben efit of the reduction. I had not yet grasped," he continues, "the idea that labor power is a merchandise, and that the tendency of increased produc tivity is to reduce wages "and enhance surplus Value." ' Those last two words from the above quotation from the reverend gentleman's article are the ones that stuck in my throat when I came ' to them. What is the meaning of "sur plus value?" Can some socialist tell me? I cannot agree with the Maxian theory that "crystallized labor" is value. I can readily see that "crys tallized labor," or labor stored in ma terial things, is wealth,' but'wealth" and "value" are two different terms in economics. W. H. Ashby, in his work, "Money and the Taxing Pow er" says, "It has been demonstrated that value is not in the things which constitute wealth, but is a valued quantity of that force of demand which arises from the expenditure of energy in efforts to overcome adverse possession of those things, under a system which guarantees that posses sion and prohibits the use of vio lence . . . it is an estimate, or valua tion of the quantity of the force of demand for that wealth." , To use a definition often given in The Indepen dent, value -is ."human estimation placed upon desirable things capable tf being exchanged, the supply of which is limited." : In . other words, value is an idea. Now then, if value is an idea, what is meant by "sur plus value?" Can there be such a thing as surplus ideas in the "valua tion of the quantity of the force of de mand for wealth?" Can some social ist explain? E. SEIDEL. ' Redmond, Wash. (In a nutshell, Captain Ashby's theory of value is this: Man in his efforts to get a living is Obliged to expend his energies to overcome the adverse forces of nature. The result .is a supply of wealth. Under some sort of government , he is guaranteed the exclusive individual possession of the supply of wealth which comes in to his hands as the result of expend ing his energies in overcoming na ture's adverse forces. idven Droduct than' he deems neces sary for. his own uses, he casts about to find another individual who has a surplus of some other product- Find ing him', - the two I producers expend some energy each In trying, to over come lawfully1 the r adverse possession of the. other. This is the simplest form. In the . complexities of ex change, the resultant of all the energy expended in 'trying to overcome the adverse possession of another to ob tain or retain the supply of wealth is. the unseen, but none the less real, force of demand. Just as that which wa call weight' is rnothing more than the quantity of the force of gravita eav has weieht: so ; that which we call value is, nothing more than. the quantity of the force of demand act- W. A. TTtrlrnlr Dnnp-las NaTi? TTia M"""'" J I " "J .3) 1 - ' Sntr nnnVi Viq rViioit Ifenmo TVirHrin nf Tnrteneinflonf la oil rltrht Wo tyii.Ci- 3 AA f- ULJU bU-' UUj-V W.At.-' X AUl.ljf V W I. A A A AA . 1 T V ,kUUAJ the supply of wealth), which we -say hold our organization together, as it A r 1 , mi JiffAH.MAA' 1 A. 1 J a J A. 1 alas value. me . piny uiucieuue iu is sure tu uts ueeueu in tue near xu- gy, say for a period of twelve hours. ..And herein Ashby and Marx differ widely. Value, according to Marx, is di vided Into ."use-value" (the substance of value )and plain, every-day "val ue" (the magnitude of value). He uses the term "exchange value', and admits that, "at first sight (it) pre sents itself as a quantitative relation, use of one sort are exenangea ior those of another sort, a relation con stantly changing with time and place. Hence,. exchange value appears to be something accidental and purely rel ative, and consequently an intrinsic value, that is, an exchange value that is inseparably connected with, inher ent in commodities, seems a contra diction of terms." He then proceeds to cover up this- reasonable appear ance with a mass of formulas tending to prove that that which we call black is "not black at all, and if not indeed white, is at least slate-color. Value, according to Marx, is simply the cost in hours of "social labor.,' Somehow the labor-power used up in producing the thing is "crystallized" in it and that i3 its value exchange value. Which, of course, would make value intrinsic, or in the thing. Cur iously enough Marx admits that these "crystals" of social labor very readily lose some of their virtue when by im proved methods a similar product can be produced in a small number of so cial labor hours. All this is done by Marx to ignore the supply of desirable things as being a factor in the equa tion which gives rise to value and thereby makes his "surplus value" idea at all tenable. With Marx , ev ery purchaser Is busily engaged in quiring how many social labor-hours were required to produce the" thing he contemplates purchasing but there is no look ahead to see how the possession of the thing may save him some labor-power. His famous "surplus value" theory is based upon a state of society in which, (like at the present time) men offer and sell their own energy (labor power) in exchange for other commod ities. The ."value" of that labor pow er, he says, is the "crystallized social labor" which it cost; and its "use value" to the purchaser (employer) is known by the "value" of the commod ities produced as the result of using that labor power. Now, he urges, the employer gives full value for the labor-power he buys for the "value," according to Marx, is what it will cost to keep up the laborer's energy. But in using that labor-power, when ever the laborer works beyond the number of hours necessary to main tain or reproduce his working capac ity, the products produced-, in the hours beyond are "surplus values." He attempts to show by formulas that profits secured in exchange of commodities, other than labor power, result in no "surplus val ues'but simply in a change in the ownership of wealth. As that is the objectionable feature of the wage-sysr tem, it is difficult to see where the difference comes in, mVw n th, Avt he has more of a Bo! led down, his tbeory amounts to .r----..--.. . fc is: mat tne laborer is roDDea oi the major portion of the fruits of his labor. And populists are willing to concede this, even if they deny the soundness of the reasoning by which Marx arrives at his conclusion. Ed. Ind.) Wm. C. Berg, Braldentown, Fla.: I wrote for your sample copies to see if you stood for socialism. You do not You'd lose nothing if you did. When you do, I will try and help you. (There i3 where you are mistaken, Bro. Berg; We'd lose our self-respect if we stood for something and did not believe in it. If we ever do believe in socialism tion acting upon the object, which we whether kangaroo or S. L. P. we'll "stand for it." Ed. Ind.) ture. They way things look now the is that for the force "of gravitation we Cleveland-Hill democrats will take have physical, appliances . for measur- charge of the democratic party here- ing it, while for the force of demand after and then we will have no use there is no physical appliance, but for it I am a Bryan man, but will the quantity of the force acting upon a not follow Cleveland, Hill or any oth- given object-' must; be , estimated or er gold-bug. "valued." ' : ' - , The incentive for trying to over- G. W. Beauchamp, Wichita, Kas.: come the adverse possession of an- I am much pleased by the style, in other is lhat by or through; the new which you go after the plutes, (Pluto, Tirisoacalnn tTio. row nneecccnr Virtrida wlin cite oa nilar mror iha ratrinna rf to-' save himself the- expenditure of the inferno, through which the river come of his own energyr which, other- Styx is supposed to flow). Go after wise, he would be obliged to expend them with a sharp stick and prod In overcoming .the adverse forces of them hard. g OUR SPECIAL , ; I MARCH COMBINATION jv We Pay the Freight. w hi - . tfi w We will deliver the following $10.00 combination to any town in , v m the state of Nebraska, freight prepaid by ny tim during the ! Iv month of March, 1903. Reference: First National Bank or The In- tffo !: dependent ' iv n GOlbs Best Granulated Sugar for.... ..... ; $1.00 W Jv MibaChoice Prunes 1.00 ki JJJ 25 bars Good Laundry Soap 1.00 M W 2 lbs High Grade Japan Tea.... ................ ...T. 1.00 y 10 lbs High Urade I'eaberry Uoliee .uu , srs C lbs Fancy Bright Apricots.;..........' .75 jt 4 lbs Fancy Muer Peaches..... 0 J 4 lbs Fancy 4 Crown Large Raisins .... .50 fljf JV 2 cans lG-oz Cream of Tartar Baking Powder,...,,.., .50 V IV 3pkgs. 10 centsoda..,. .25 ;!w 3 PkS3 10 cent Corn Starch. , . . , .25 . ? 3 pkgs 10 cent Gloss Starch .25 V K 1 lb Pure Black Tepper .25 V 1 bottle Lemon Extract. , ... .10 (i 1 bottle Vanilla Extract. .10 VJ 2 doz. clothes Pins , 05 ffff (lb , All the above .for.. $"l0.00 W Orders for customers outside of the state of Nebraska and on line Sl1 V of railroad entenDg Lincoln add 75c to pay part of freight. . I Branch & Miller Go. i Con ioth and P St. Lincoln, Neb. " 9f AS What we Advertbe we Do. vj . .... MATTHEWS PEERLESS PIANO..; From a musical standpoint tLere is no better Piano on earth than the PEERLESS MAT THEWS. A careful, unbiased, unpreju diced examination of the Pjano itself, will con vince you of the truthfulness of this statement. Matthews Piano Go 1120 O St., Lincoln, Neb. A: STlfjrSN TS fS Tmm nf? the leading and best yarletles of choice selected, il it"IJil II II 11 1 i Clit "1 thorouBhly tested seed corn, which have yielded 7to V f Mt 1 1 S3 " aif kwiwIiM'Hn. CssU Only CSrrAorl3rSM4. .vJIJIlil 1 1 1 1 1 i rv 1 1 1 Ijar8 deocrlptlre catalogue of Corn and all kinds of 4 1 1 I 111 IJl 1 II J llliiil Farm and Garden (Seed mailed free if yon mention thla J2L3L KLJ UU UU paper. IOWA SEED CO., DEB KOIKES. IOWA. $25.00 to California. That is the Rock Island's rate from Lincoln. In effect daily, February 15 to April 30. Tickets are good in tour-, ist sleeping cars, -which the Rock Island runs every day in the weeK through to Los Angeles and San Francisco. These cars make quicker time to Southern California than similar cars over any other line. Cars are operated over both the " Scenic " and " Southern " lines. Folder giving full information mailed on request. ' If you are going to California, GO NQW. After May 1 it will cost you nearly $20 more than at present. Low rates to Montana. Idaho, Utah ana Puget Sound are also offered by the Rock Island. See nearest Rock Island ticket agent, or, if you prefer, write the undersigned. - F. H. Barnes, C. P. A. 1045 O St., Lincoln, Neb.