The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1854-04-07
COMPETITION.

one of those fallacious ma&ms, which the
ign ORANGE of men has passed into the lumber
house of proverbial wisdom. Proverbs are
generally untrue. They contain conclusions,
the least natural, or Obvious to reason. and
are therefore, supposed 70 contain world of
subtle wisdom.
Every one will say, that "compe,ition is the
life of trade" and perhaps think, they are ut
tering truth. Now, what does it mean p
Unless competition increases the profits of
| trade, and stimulates and epriches the ira ers.
il certainly cannot be ':the life Of trade If
on the contrary, it reduces the profits of trade,
and ruins and impoverishes the traders, to cx.
press the truth, the maxim must be reversed.
The reverse is the truth Competition is the
death of trade. Now, TO n certain extent
competition is des'r' ale And necessary, us it
is the only projection :s..ns: monopoly -
Connection and monopoly are adverse prin.
cples, which enter into every effort of human
industry. Producers and consumers, sellers
and BUYERS have adverse and opposite inter.
ests. II is the interest of the former to ex-
| tort the last cent from the consumer or buy
er, while it is his interest, to cheaper and buy
at the lowest price, To effect trade, price
must be fixed, and this is regulated by inn
mutable laws which, however, produce very
mutable results. When these opposing facts
monopoly and competition hold each other
in equilibrio, the result is favorable to both
interests. Competition protects the consum-
or from the evils Of monopoly, while it in
fuses rivalry and energy among competitors,
without breaking them down. These deduc.
tons are 81 selt-cyident, that they do not
need the nd of familiar Illustrations. But we
will give one or two illustrations Apply the
maxim to facts; and sec, whether competition
is the life, or the death OF trade. Apply it to
merchants. Assume rs fact, that six dry.
goods merchants sell an aggregate Of $780,.
900 worth of goods, and that they make Il
profit of % per cent. Their profits foot up
$4,000, which being divided by 6, gives to
each Il profit Of over $4,000. 1t does not
matter, whether these data are correct or not.
As test of truth, hypothesis is rs good as
Fact Six merchants can live on these
profits, but how would it be, if to sell this
amount Of goods, twenty merchants entered
the lists Of competition, to give life to trade.
Whether there were six merchants or twenty,
thcpeople would only Luy the $l5O,OoO worth
OF goods.
If there were twenty, instead of six, Of
course, the profits Of trade, divided between
them, would be 50 small, as to ruin the whole
oI them. They Would t've necessarily, IL
reduce the amount of their stocks, or the
market would be flooded, and they ruined
Thus they would sink into shop.kecpers,
rather than merchants The force Of com.
petition would produce desperation, and ex.
trcmc anxiety to sell. This would lead to
undcrscIIing, and every paliry cXpedicnt.-
Honorable merchants would quit in disgust,
and the trade would be left to l,raeiti,lI
shop-kecpcrs. The consequences of compc.
tition, drawn from this example, are such rs
follow extreme competition, in any branch Of
business, proicssion,or labor 1t ltimpoverishes,
ruins, and corrupts the competitors. Men are
so strongly impressed with the idea, that they
'nust live that they feel justified in ''living'
even by knavish cxpcdicnts. Necessity has
no law, and desperation has no morals.
We think that we have proved the absur-
dity of the maxim about competition, and
that in proverbs, as in dreams, the truth is
found in contraries.
BLUE DEvILs.--lt is fashionable habit,
particularly among people who have no great
real sorrows, to indulge in what nre called
"the blues" The complaint, We are inclined
to believe, either has its ori gin in n diseased
liver, or Il morbid sen,imenai,m. In the first
casc,wc would recommend partial fasting and
a purgalvc;i in the sccond,a chapter ofchecrfu
philosophy. What's the use Of signing like
4 furnace over imaginary gricfs' What's
the use Of repining at fortune? Be content
Life on earth is nce,ing: it will soon be
over.
The darker the night of human existence,
the brighter will be the dawning Of the !
eternal day. Don't sigh for wealth; don't |
pine for woman. Gods universe is full of /
riches, full of love, full Of beauty. All will |
come out right in the end; and every soul,
sooner or later, will have its share of happi-
ness. Only wait and work IN hope and pa
,ience, and the "Llue devils" will vanish with
the phantoms of darkness.
st5- They have some queer jurymen in
Iowa.-A few days since m old topper died
rather suddcny--the coroner. in conse-
quencc. held an inqucst-Iistcned to the ties
timony OF physirian-and was about rem
deriug n verdict "watcr on the brain" when
Mr.. Slocum Pcpplepodis, riz to object. "Mr.
Coroncr, have known the deceased for ten
mort Il wears, and know he has never seen
hat "