The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-02-08

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or deficient for none affirm that it is supe
ficient. If the supply is simply sufficient,
it true policy to make by subtraction, Il
he supply deficient? But if the supply is alread
e. deficient shall we aggravate the deficiency
al Shall we subtract labor from one departmeI
n. of production, in order to add to another
W Shall we enrelop agriculture in order to d.
i yelop manufactures? Is our policy ENvELoI
g. MENT OR DEVELOPMENT? 1t must be one
re the other, for policies will not straddle.
e; MORE FARMS AND MORE FACTORIES.
e. Shall we be less agricultural in order to b
C. more manufacturing, or shall we be not onl
l. more manufacturing but also more agricultu
II raj? Shall we decrease our agriculture to in
e crease eur manufactures, or shall we increas
e both +? Shall we have less cotton pickers, t
e have more cotton weavers, or shall we hav
y less of neither. but more of both? Such i
y the question to face and answer. If we sub
tract from agriculture labor to be added +
Q m nufactures, what will be the effect? l
will be certain loss by subtraction for I
S doubtful gain by addition. Manufactures il
: point of fact, directly or indirectly employ
more labor than agriculture. II, then, on'
half of our field hands become factory hands
i but half crop is made. But since decrease
of crop makes an increase of price, will tht
! half crop net so much as the whole? VIII Z
half crop sell for double price? That is the
issue. If we this year sell ct ten cents pei
pound, four million bales, could we next yeal
; sell at twenty cents per pound, but two mil
lion bales? If we could not, if halving the
product will not double the price, then for our
agriculture it would not be profitable to sub
tract half of its labor to add 10 manufactures.
HALF CROPS AND DOUBLE PRICEs-A MISTAKE.
If less cotton is made, we will, it is said,
get higher prices. This is true. It is true
that if we decrease the crop, We increase the
price. But that this increase will be either
exactly or proximately propOrtioned to the
decrease is error. A half crop will not sell
for double price, nor will third, or fifth or
seventh nett SO much as whole crop. Girls
can understand the reason; it is simply this:
The consumers ability to purchase limits pri-
ces. They, therefore. can never raise higher
than that limit, for those not able, of course,
cannot purchase. Of the consumers, there
are three general classes. These are the
wealthy, the middle, and the poor classes. The
wealthy class is the least numerous, and the
poor the most numerous Thus the solid of
consumption is an upright cone broadening
downwards, and narrowing upwards; but the
| solid of wealth is an inverted cone, broadening
|
solid, or what curve shall with its coordinate
and abscissa, precisely represent the relation
Of Consuming Numbers to Consuming Abii-
| ty, is not vet known. Different communi-
| ties will show different ratios. When known,
| these ratios will show uniform and startling
| relations to disease, crime, malformation, i'd
Joey, celibacy, intemperance, underground,
suicide, fatal accidents, superstitions, mobs,
ignorance and war. The ratios will show en-
Tightening, suggestive and most exciting cor
responsiveness in all quantitative sciences, from
| astronomy and meteoro.ogy to anatomy and
pathology. For whatever is spiritual is sooner
or later gariable by whatever is material, and
whatever is material is sooner or later mathe-
matical that is, its changes are capable Of ex-
preston in numbers or ratios. Thus God
anaogizes; thus all science is, sooner or later,
quantitative, and Gods analogies in mat
ter are analogous to Gods analogies in mind
What these important analoges these momen- |
tous ratios are, we now can scarcely suspect. |
The knowledge of them is and must be Stats |
tic, and such knowledge is neglected. But the |
science of statistics is the science of humani- |
ty, the invaluable science, the chart Of our |
progress. Information must precede reforma- |
ton. Sooner or later the census-book will be |
the second volume of the Bible. Let US, then, |
have in our Universities great professorships Of |
statistics; let the census be frequent; let the |
tax-assessor be truth-colIectOr; let every
thing be counted, recounted, and ratiocinated.
THE POORER CLASSES CONSUME MORE THAN
THE RICH.
We do not yet know what may be the gen.
eral ratio of the wealth of a class to the num-
bers of the class. 1t is probable that on an
average, the wealth is inversely as the square
Of the numbers. This would be in analogy to
the law of gravity. 1t, however, is q fact
fact not to be disputed, that the ratio of wealth
to numbers is not arithmetic. For instance,
if one class of population has given wealth
and given number it will be found that the
class above which has twice the wealth, has
far less than half the numbers. Thus, if in
a community, one hundred citizens are worth
twenty thousand dollars, it will be found that
the number worth forty thousand dollars is
not fifty, but perhaps not even twenty-five; |
and in the lower class the number worth ten
thousand dollars is more than two hundred.
Hence within the limit of their ability to pur-
chase, the poor class, because more numerous
consume more than the middle class, and
the middle class consume more than the
wealthy class. Less wealth, therefore, is to
be made by less cotton sold for higher price
to few, than by more cotton sold at present
prices to great many. 1t, therefore, would
not be more profitable for us to get the price
which only half crop would bring, because
there would not and could not be an increase
of price directly proportionate to the decrease
of crop. Thus every rise Of price passes be-
You'd the limit of some class ability to pur-
chase. Our true economy, therefore, is to
double our crops, because we more than
double the consumers at more than half the
price. The Greatest Nett is our policy. But
a double crop at more than half the price,
Nets more than the present crop at the pres
ent price. Eight million bales at thirty dol
lars per bale, are worth millions more than
four million bales at fifty dollars per bale, or
than two million bales at less than one hun
dred dollars per bale. Such is the result of
the ratio of wealth to population, Of consum-
ing ability to consuming numbers. II
OUR PoLIcY-THE GREATEST NETT.
Thus our true economy is not decreased
crops with increased prices, but increased
crops with decreased prices. Our true econo-
my is the increase of consumption by the in
crease of consumers, the increase of sales by
the Increase of purchasers. Our policy isthe
of our commodities. Our poll
cy is extension by cheapening. Our policy is
the Greatest Nett. Our policy is Develop
ment. Thus economy tends from the few to
the many, from the rich to the rabble, from
the aristocratic to the democratic. Thus the
greater wealth of all is the greater good of
ALL Thus the increasing comfort of the poor
er classes is the increasing interest OF the
richer classes. Thus the best policy is the
best economy, and the best economy is the |
best morality.
AND PLANTERS EXPENSIVE MIS-
TAKE.
But while our policy is to increase con-
sumers in order to get the Greatest Nett the
true statesman will not forget that for this
increase there must be due preparation. Prep j..
aration must be proportional to production; !.
but none seem to think Of this. Our crops :,
expected increase, therefore, must be duly es-
timated. This may be done by the agricul-
tural bureau, through the tax-asseSsors, the
road overseers, the members Of the police .
boards, or special reporters The increase
also must be duly advertised. Our planters
and commission merchants, and allselleEs now /,
make a most expensive mistake. Ihey think
that the advertisement of an underestimate !
is more profitable than an over-estimate, or
even true estimate. The truth, however, !,
is the true economy. In point of fact, an
for an under-crop is more prof !
table to sellers than an underestimate for an !,
over crop, or than an under estimate for an I'M
der cropbut the true estimates are most profita-
BILE. Underestimate are always Improbable;
their nett has a good beginning, but bad con-
tinuing. and worse ending. For the con-
sumers are the manufacturers customers.
When the crop is growing, he makes his en-
ragements with them; but when the crop is
grown, he makes his purchases from us. In
case of an under estimate, therefore, the man
ufacturer's engagements with consumers, must
be reduced to the advertised estimate, for en-
gagements are proportioned to the advertise
ment. So much of the actual crop as is not