THE GOLDEN RULETo carryon this vast system of exchanges, to place the
forest and the farm, the factory and the mine side by side,
and deliver the products of all climes at every door, requires
immense capital. One man cannot work his farm or factory,
and build a railroad or a line of steamships. As raindrops act-
ing singly cannot drive a mill or supply steam for an engine,
but, collected in a vast reservoir, become the resistless power
of Niagara, or the force which drives the engine and steam-
ship like mighty shuttles from mountain to seacoast and
from shore to shore, so a few dollars in a multitude of pockets
are powerless to provide the means for these vast operations,
but combined they move the world.
Capital is a friend of labor and essential to its econom-
ical exercise and just reward. It can be, and often is, a terrible
enemy, when employed for selfish purposes alone; but the
great mass of it is more friendly to human happiness than is
generally supposed. It cannot be employed without in some
way, either directly or indirectly, helping the laborer. We think
of the evils we suffer, but allow the good we enjoy to pass
unnoticed. We think of the evils that larger means would
relieve and the comforts they would provide, but overlook
the blessings we enjoy that would have been impossible with-
out large accumulations of capital. It is the part of wisdom
to form a just estimate of the good we receive as well as the
evils we suffer.
It is a common saying at the present time, that the rich
are growing richer and the poor poorer; but when all man's
possessions are taken into the account there are good reasons
for doubting this assertion. It is true that the rich are grow-
ing richer. It is also true that the condition of the laborer is
constantly improving. The common laborer has conveniences
and comforts which princes could not command a century
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