The Labor Vulture: A Radical Manifesto in a Seattle Pawn Shop
An anonymous editorial titled 'Capital vs. Lamb' appeared in the Seattle press in 1876, arguing that laborers are currently enslaved by capitalists and must unite to seize all profits of their work.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
CAPITAL VS. LAMB.
Labor profits all mankind; Capital, so far, has controlled labor; but when the great mass of laborers become sufficiently enlightened, and can combine to protect themselves against the shrewd manipulations of the non-producing capitalists and middlemen, so [as] to secure in themselves all the profits of their labor, which they now share with a vast of the non-producing classes, in the way of home interest, rents, discounts, difference in exchange, No.1 then there will be no rich or poor, but all will have plenty of food, and even luxury; and plenty of leisure for improvement, and for discoveries in art, science and invention. When that good time comes, we shall be ready to lie down and out, and to join the grand army of wealth producers and make an honest living by the sweat of our brow. But for the present
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This 1876 editorial captures the raw, early ferment of labor radicalism in the Pacific Northwest, decades before the major industrial strikes of the 20th century. It echoes modern debates over wealth inequality and the 'gig economy,' where workers feel they are producing value that is extracted by non-producing intermediaries (platforms, landlords, financiers).
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