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280 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
labor and capital shall each be made sure of a just reward . The 
partners join hands each for an expected reward. Men will 
not labor for nothing, nor will capital be put out in uncertain 
risks. To ensure this certainty of reward to each there must 
be— 
1. Division of property, personal ownership in everything 
that can by labor be made an object of value and appropriated. 
Without this capital cannot be. On common property men 
will not labor except on the compulsion of force or stern 
necessity. 
2. There must be also, security to all property rights by both 
prevalent moral sentiment and just laws, equitably applied and 
faithfully executed. Where governments invade or are weak 
to defend property rights, capital withdraws itself into secret 
places as hoarded wealth, and labor is stinted and reduced to 
the lowest degradation. It is' a terrible [mistake to suppose 
that existing wrongs under which labor suffers can be relieved 
by that greatest of all wrongs the invasion or subversion of 
the rights of property. 
3. And once more, there must be for both capital and labor, 
perfect fieedom, unrestricted by monopolies or special legisla¬ 
tion of any kind. A special favor in these relations of labor 
and capital involves an infringement of freedom on one side or 
the other, and that is an interference with natural law—a hind¬ 
rance to the best results. The world is opening its ejes after 
centuries of wrong and mischief, to the fact that the business 
of governments respecting these relations of capital and labor 
is simply to protect the rights of each and hold other things in 
even balance for the free working of natural law—to let both 
alone, giving neither any advantage—but both the utmost 
freedom. They are natural partners, and if not interfered with, 
will spontanesouslv seek each other as birds mate in the spring, 
for a happy, fruitful union. 
There is not time, nor is this the place to discuss in detail, 
measures for the better harmonizing of labor and capital. I 
will, however, as we leave the subject, suggest a few thoughts 
•which come as corollaries from our main proposition. It 
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