er people. On the
contrary, by accumulating capital, by building, mills, warehouses,
railways, docks, and by skilfully organising trades, he often enables
thousands of men to produce wealth, and to earn wages to an extent
before impossible. The profits of a capitalist are usually but a small
fraction of what he pays in wages, and he cannot become rich without
assisting many workmen to increase the value of their labour and to earn
a comfortable subsistence.

CHAPTER IX.

CO-OPERATION, &c.

#58. Arbitration.# We have now considered at some length the evils
arising from the present separation of interests between the employed
and their employers. The next thing is to discuss the various attempts
which have been made to remedy these evils, and to bring labour and
capital into harmony with each other. In the first place, many people
think that when any dispute takes place, arbitrators or judges should be
appointed to hear all that can be said on both sides of the question,
and then decide what the rate of wages is to be for some time to come.

No doubt a good deal may be said in favour of such a course, but it is
nevertheless inconsistent with the principles of free labour and free
trade. If the judges are to be real arbitrators, they must have power to
compel obedience to their decision, so that they will destroy the
liberty of the workman to work or not as he likes, and of the capitalist
to deal freely with his own capital, and sell goods at whatever price
suits the state of the market. If wages are to be arbitrarily settled in
this way, there is no reason why the same thing should not be done with
the prices of corn, iron, cotton, and other goods. But legislators have
long since discovered the absurdity of attempting to fix prices by law.
These prices depend entirely upon supply and demand, and no one is
really able to decide with certainty what will be the conditions of
supply and demand a month or two hence. Government might almost as
wisely legislate about the weather we are to have next summer as about
the state of trade, which much depends upon the weather, or upon wars
and accidents of various kinds, which no one can foresee. It is
impossible, then, to fix prices and wages beforehand by any kind of law
or compulsory decision. The matter is one of bargain, of buying and
selling, and the employer must be at liberty to buy the labour required
at the lowest price at which he can get it, and the labourers to