JUNE 16,-1903.
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
THAT "COMMODITY"
The Independent does not care to
Indulge in captious, hair-splitting dis
cussions of economic questions which
will tend to bring ahout no practical
results. But it believes there is a
fundamental error in the Marxian the
ory of "surplus value," and if this
can re demonstrated, it follows that
to- iK'ist doctrine will be broken.
Practically it does not help the man
who is robbed to be told that it can
cnly happen via the surplus value"
route. If he is robbed, he loses; and
"the robber gains that is the substance
of it The net result is no different
whether he be robbed in a negative
way by withholding from him the
equivalent he should have for expend
ing his energy that Is, by unjust
wages; or by paying him in full, and
Afterward by devious methods of un
just, taxation taking it away from
him.
Some time ago The Independent
asked the Marxists for an explanation
regarding the "surplus value" theory,
especially as relates to the statement
that "labor-power" is a "commodity,"
but to date the explanat; 1 is not
forthcoming. Dr. Edward Aveling r-
in "The Student's Marx" that a com
modity is "an external object;" that
it must have a "use-value intrinsic"
to it; that exchange-value is "the ra
tio in which use-values exchange;"
and that "equivalents are exchanged."
If all these statements are true, then
it follows that "labor-power" is not a
"commodity" viewed from the labor
er's standpoint, because it is not "ex
ternal" to him. It also follows that
if "equivalents are exchanged," and if
exchange value is "the ratio in which
vse-values exchange," that the use
value of the wages paid is equivalent
to the use-value of the labor-power
given in exchange for the wages. Such
being true, there could not possibly
be "surplus value", for either party to
the transaction.
, But the fact is that, the capitalist
buys not "labor-power," but "labor"
that is, labor-power in acticm. What
he pays for (and always, or nearly al
ways, underpays for) is the human
energy in action. Latent human en
ergy, labor-power, possibly might be
the subject of contract; one might
pgree to sell, the other to buy; but
the transaction is not completed until
the delivery of the commodity- It is
this delivery of labor-power which
the socialists call "labor," and labor
is really the thing bought not merely
"iabor-power."
Electricity is also a subject of pur
chase and sale but the, buyer pays
for it in action, not as a latent force.
Latent electricity is useless for run
ning, say, printing presses. What the
proprietor of the printing presses buys
from the trafficker of electricity is so
much of the unknown "fluid" in ac
tion. Delivery is an important part of ev
ery purchase and sale; and the so
called purchaser of labor-power always
contracts for it to be delivered, gen
erally paying for it after delivery, and
almost invariably underpaying for It,
because the 'thing he offers in ex
change can perform certain urgent
tervices for man which not even his
own energy can perform; and lor the
further reason that latent human en
ergy cannot be stored up in one's body
and accumulated, but, like water in a
stream, flows on uselessly if not util
ized. " THEY TAKE IT A IX
The report of the interstate com
merce commission recently published
rhows that the net earnings of the
railroads since 189G have Increased 62
per cent and wages 5 per cent There
are 1,200,000 employes. In 1896 the
amount paid them was $468,000,000.
During the year 1902 they got $676,
000,000, or an average of $580. The
advances during 1903 will slightly in
crease that amount. A raise in net
earnings of 62 per cent and a raise in
wages of 5 per cent, which represents
the conditions among capitalists and
wage-workers generally, accounts for
the almost universal disorder and the
innumerable strikes ' of the last year.
But thafthe wage-workers' condition
is far better than such figures would
indicate, no one will deny. That arises
from the fact that there has been
work for all. While in 1896 one mem
ber of a family could get work, now
from two to four are engaged in gain
ful occupations which Increases the
income of the wage-worker's family
far more than the small rise in wages
would indicate. It will be seen, how
ever, that what The Independent has
so often stated is true. Capital is
taking all the Increase in wealth re
sulting from invention, the discoveries
of science and the better education of
the people.
. THE GRAFT HOLDS GOOD
The republican party, in Nebraska
is organized and worked for graft
The readers of The Independent will
remember the "skin game" that was
worked at the Neligh land office in
the sale of Indian lands. . The sale
was set aside and a good part of the
manipulators were heavily fined. Now
another sale of the same land has
taken place and it is worse than the
first The land without any improve
ments was run up as high as $146 an
acre. ... A piece of bottom land, ail this
season mostly covered with water and
which lies in sight of the editor's
farm was bid up to $81 an acre. Of
course these bidders never expect to
pay such prices, but they will hold
the land for a year or two without
rent or taxes and then there will have
to be another sale for they will never
pay anything on the .land. Under
Mathewson as agent the deterioration
smong the Indians, especially among
the Winnebagos, has been terrible.
For years the better class of Indians
have been working to get the agency
abolished as they thought that was
the only way to get rid of Mathewson
They succeeded in that, but no sooner
was it done than Dietrich and Millard
got him appointed as a "bonded su
perintendent" and he will exercise the
came power as before, against the pro
test of every decent Indian and all the
Uetter class of whites on and surround
ing the reservation. The graft holds
pood and will so hold as long as the
republicans are in power.
Some thirteen or fourteen congress
men have already been caught in ad
vocating and securing contracts in
which they were personally interested.
That whole thing is rotten down at
Washington,- congress as well as the
departments. During sessions of con
gress the secretary of war, the quar
termaster general and other executive
officials are daily besieged by senators
and representatives seeking' to push
through contracts in behalf of their
constituents. Not infrequently the
members of congress ' appear in behalf
of jobbers and manufacturers of army
supplies in which they have a finan
cial interest, and very often the job
ber may be only a straw man so as
to conceal the member of congress
who is interested. The most persist
ent efforts to get. large contracts has
been in Mark Hanna's home and the
most outrageous efforts have been
made by Hanna and Ohio members in
regard to contracts in the Cleveland
public buildings. There were bids for
Maine granite and Ohio sandstone, and
the granite was $308,000 less than the
Ohio sandstone. Senator Hanna ap
peared in behalf cf the bid presented
by the Cleveland Stone company, of
which Representative Jacob A. Beid-
ler of Ohio is president and which
provided sandstone.
A BRILLIANT STAB
With its' issue of July 4 The Star,
edited and published by James H.
Barry, San Francisco, Cal., began its
twentieth year. Mr. Barry gave a
brief review of the Star's history and
tin
jr?rrr Special nail Order
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teed Satisfactory or Your Money Back
Special '
$5.00 Suit
Coatand Vest $3. 75 Pants
not sold separate
Men's Suits made from all wool worst
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15.00. All well made and have good lin
ings and trimmings. They're put to
gether to stay together; and come in
regular sizes also stout and slim cuts,
made in four button cutaway sack style.
In all sizes fiom 34 to 46.
Your home merchant will tell you that
it is cheap at 18.00. If you don't like
them after you get them we want you to
send them batik to us and we will refund
your money. This applies to anything
we sell as well as these suits.
Pure Worsted
Four-Button
Sack Suit $9.00
Coat and Vest, $7.00. Pants not
sold separate.
Men's fine pure worsted suits in a neat
stripe and cut in the very, latest styles,
four button cutaway sack. t
This material is made from pure long
worsted yarn, will probably wear longer
and give as much satisfaction as any
cloth that you can procure no matter
what price you pay. The coat is made
with hand padded shoulders, hair cloth
fronts which keeps coat in perfect shape;
also lined with a good serge lining and
well tailored throughout. Comes in
sizes from 34 to 4G, regulars. .
NEW GROCERY LIST NOW
READY FREE FOR THE ASKING
HAtUtra M
Wholesale Supply House Omaha,Neb.
his struggles against the civic rot
tenness of San Francisco. Like every
other uncompromising reformer, Mr.
Barry's nineteen years as editor of the
Star have been almost one continual
round of harrassments from the cor
ruptionists he exposed and attacked.
Yet in large measure he has succeeded
in driving from power the corrupt
judges and other officials who tried to
crush him. , Once he suffered a five
day jail imprisonment for "contempt"
of court, and this resulted in the
formation of a "free press defense as
sociation" and one of the largest mass
meetings ever seen in San rancisco,
culminating in what is known as the
Barry Contempt Law a part of the
present California statutes.
The Independent cannot do better
than quote from Mr. Barry's statement
ot his position. Every line of the
Star shows honest, intelligent efforts
to bring about those reforms which
will insure equality.:
While the Star has ever fought
persistently and consistently
against the corruptionist of or in
public office, it has striven harder
to eliminate the causes, by advo
cating measures such as the in
itiative and referendum, propor
tional representation, election of
United States senators by direct
vote of the people, municipal own
ership of public utilities, and na
tional ownership of the telegraph
and railroads. Some of these
things have come to pass. The
rest wiil surely come.
The Star has ever fought against
monopoly in every, form, for equal
rights to all and special privileges
to none for industrial freedom.
-It has always fought for democ
racy, although ofttimes compelled
to oppose the regular democratic
party locall;-, at least, as it would
nationally should that party sur
render its principles for the
"spoils of office," holding, as we
do, that if we cannot have vic
tory with honor, we can at least
meet defeat without shame. ;"'--
The IndepeloriTtn reccip1. of a
marked copy of the Pittsburg Leader
containing an article by our subscrib
er, William Looser, of Greenville, Pa.,
commenting upon the recent Mercer
county democratic convention. Ons
sentence will be sufficient to' show the
drift: "I make the statement," says
Mr, Looser, "that the democratic par
ty of Mercer county is today con
trolled by that same element, the oily
James Stranahan its boss, which in
February, 1900, had the county com
mittee called together and undemo-
delegation, a part of which later in
the campaign became Hanna proper
ty." The associate editor of The In
dependent was born in Mercer county,
and as a boy twenty years ago looked
upon James Stranahan as democracy
personified. - What a vigorous icon
oclast Old Father Time prives to- be!
"Registrar" John B. Howarth, of
the magazine called "What's ".The
Use?" published at East Aurora, N.
Y., uses a portion of his space in the
July number in a rejoinder to one
Henry Burton of Marietta, O. one of
the socialist fraternity so saturated
with- the "labor-causes-value" idea
that he can't see straight. It is need
less to say that Howarth makes him
look like 30 centx
What is the matter with the Youngs
town Labor Advocate? Five issues
have been printed and it continues to
come with one of Ben Franklin's steel
engravings pasted on the wrapper.
Maybe the management better consult
young Barrett of Baltimore he knows
how to effect an "entry" for a 55,000
fee, so Wilshire avers.
The Rallying Call
Unite, unite! O sons of toil, - - -While
yet you can and may. r
Unite, as do the lords cf spoil
. When rounding up. their prey.'
As the Tenth Legion stood of old
Shoulder to shoulder stand;
Nor yield to hypnic gifts of gold,
From sleek exploiting hand.
Unite, in one grand phalanx, strong
Like comrades brothers, true.
Unite and face the czars of Wrong,
And dauntless claim ' your due.
VillUU 1(3 Oil 111 LI 111 VV71X1 U1U
O masses are you blind?
Do you not see their foul design
Those chains which soon will bind?
Unite, unite on common ground;
Wisdom will point the way.
Comrades, unite, and thus confound
The push, whose gold bears sway.
Unite, unite! 0 s?ns of toil,
While yet you can and may;
Unite, as do the wolves of spoil,
When rounding up their prey.
LYDIA PLATT RICHARDS.
Pasadena, CaL