But a first labor converts these substances into hay, straw, etc., a second into wool, a third into thread, a fourth into cloth, a fifth into clothing--who will dare to say that every step in this work is not _labor_, from the first stroke of the plough, which begins, to the last stroke of the needle, which terminates it?
And because, in order to secure more celerity and perfection in the accomplishment of a definite work, such as a garment, the labors are divided among several classes of industry, you wish, by an arbitrary distinction, that the order of succession of these labors should be the only reason for their importance; so much so that the first shall not deserve even the name of labor, and that the last work pre-eminently, shall alone be worthy of the favors of protection!" The RAW-MATERIALIST: "Yes, we begin to see that wheat no more than wool is entirely devoid of human labor; but, at least, the agriculturist has not, like the manufacturer, done all by himself and his workmen; Nature aids him, and if there is labor, it is not all labor in the wheat." The PROTECTIONIST: "But all its _value_ is in the labor it has cost.

I admit that Nature has assisted in the material formation of wheat.

I admit even that it may be exclusively her work; but confess that I have controlled it by my labor; and when I sell you some wheat, observe this well: that it is not the work of _Nature_ for which I make you pay, but _my own_; and, on your supposition, manufactured articles would be no more the product of labor than agricultural ones.

Does not the manufacturer, too, rely upon Nature to second him?
Does he not avail himself of the weight of the atmosphere in aid of the steam-engine, as I avail myself of its humidity in aid of the plough?
Did he create the laws of gravitation, of correlation of forces, of affinities ?" The RAW-MATERIALIST: "Come, let the wool go too.

But coal is assuredly the work, and the exclusive work, of Nature, _unaided by any human labor_." The PROTECTIONIST: "Yes, Nature made coal, but _labor_ makes its value.