PRACTICAL PAPERS—LABOR AND CAPITAL. 
26? 
THE RELATIONS OF LABOR AND CAPITAL. 
BY REY. A. L. CHAPIN, D. D., LL.D., BELOIT. 
From advanced sheets of the Transactions of the Academy cf Sciences, Arts and Letters. 
The problems respecting the relation of labor and capital, 
V 
which are now engaging the attention of all sorts of people in 
all parts of the civilized world, may be greatly simplified by 
a clear apprehension of a few elementary facts and principles. 
The presentation of these facts and principles is the object of 
this paper. I attempt nothing more than a brief digest of some 
matters familiar to all who are acquainted with the science of 
political economy. In this I follow mainly Mr. Mill’s line of 
thought and adopt often his own forms of expression, claiming 
no merit for the paper except for the putting of things together 
with a bearing. 
We start with the simple fact that all wealth is produced by 
the application of labor to natural objects. In the case even of 
those objects which nature brings forth spontaneously in a 
form to gratify desire, some labor is necessary to find and ap¬ 
propriate them. In most cases some further labor is requisite 
to bring natural objects into a condition fit for use. Fig leaves 
must be sewed together before they can serve for clothing. 
The fish and the deer after being caught must be divided, 
cleansed and cooked before they are fit for food. The dirty 
ore taken from the bog or mountain must pass through a suc¬ 
cession of varied processes of labor before it takes the form of 
a knife, convenient for a thousand purposes. So it is with 
every thing which contributes to man’s necessities, comfort or 
enjoyment. u All things are full of labor. 7 ' In each we find a 
natural gift from God, with an added gift from man’s labor. 
So long as there is found a desire of man ungratified, or an ob- 
