AND WHERE TO FIXD ONE. 175 



&quot; Thirdly. Again, the accumulation of capital may be 

 accelerated by associating with personal labor some respons 

 ibility. Capitalists, in general, are timid, and desire to pro 

 tect themselves against extraordinary expenses. It is in the 

 nature of capital to surround itself with safeguards, and it 

 willingly pays a premium for guarantees. Thus, though 

 an employer may be able to calculate the cost of an under 

 taking as measured by the labor involved, he would yet 

 prefer to pay something additional to insure its execution 

 for a definite sum. There are many instances, however, 

 where the skilled laborer alone, can form an estimate of the 

 cost ; and in such cases he may, by shrewd bargaining, ob 

 tain liberal compensation for the work. Many of those who 

 have been remarkably successful in accumulating capital, 

 have done so by advancing, as soon as possible, from the 

 position of simple laborer to that of contractor. 



&quot; Fourthly. But the lever of greatest efficiency in pro 

 moting accumulation is association of several for a common 

 2)urpose. Man, however skillful, is, if unaided by others, a 

 very helpless being. There are tribes, we are told, whose 

 cardinal principle it is for each individual to act independ 

 ently of his fellows, never helping each other; but their 

 condition, as may be supposed, is but little better than that 

 of the wild animals with which they are surrounded. All 

 of man s most wonderful achievements, those which, if con 

 sidered disconnectedlv from their performance, seem prac 

 tically and physically impossible, are explained by the 

 mystical power embodied in a combination of numbers for 

 a common purpose. 



&quot; And lastly, the accumulated stock of the products of 

 labor may be vastly increased by the judicious use of credit. 

 Credit is the offspring of good laws and good character. 

 It is one of the advantages of legal protection for person 

 and property that the owners of capital are willing to lend 



