tion on the part of any to a
government enterprise which can be shown to serve in that way the greatest
good of all, nobody ought to assume that the nationalization of industries
is for the greatest good. Each great undertaking will require its own
proof, not only of the welfare to be expected, but of the practical means
by which that end can be secured.

_The spirit of equity chief._--The trend of experience goes to show that
true economic interests, not only of the community but of individuals, are
in accord with general principles of welfare. It seems certain that
communities paying the highest wages are those which gain the highest
return for labor in product, and maintain the highest general rates of
profit. In general, also, those enterprises which are controlled with most
care for equity in wages and for the general welfare of employes are most
stable under fluctuations of business and most genuinely successful. While
wealth may be accumulated unjustly in the hands of those who oppress their
neighbors, there can be no doubt that in long periods of time the best
adjustment of all interests gives not only the truest welfare but the
largest wealth and the best use of it. The spirit of equity must
eventually control both managers and wage-earners, and no other
disposition can furnish a final solution of the problems of distribution
between employers and employed. If employers are greedy, the wrong will
not be righted by an equal display of greed on the part of wage-earners.
The spirit of true philanthropy is the only proper spirit for discussion
of these questions.

Chapter XX. Proceeds Of Capital: Interest And Rent.

_Practical distinctions._--The terms interest and rent are distinguished in
actual practice by the fact that interest is paid for the use of capital
in some circulating form, while rent is paid for the use of fixed capital.
One who borrows anything, expecting to return not the thing itself but its
equivalent in value, is said to borrow upon interest. One who borrows the
same thing, expecting to return the identical thing, is said to pay rent
for its use. Thus interest is paid for control of circulating capital
until an equivalent is returned, and rent is paid for control of fixed
capital until the same articles are returned in prime condition. A farmer
who borrows a mowing machine from the warehouse, giving his note for its
value, pays, when he returns that value at the end of the year, interes