The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1877-07-22

II
by machinery il surplus and linda no de
msEd.
| This 10 q revival of an old prejudic'
which we had supposed exploded half Z
century ago. The spinning jenny, the
steam engine, the railroad train-each wal
going to throw countless men, not to speas
of horses, ont of employment. There WEI
great popular excitement supplemented
sometimes by violence, but time went or
and it was found that where an invea-
ton threw one man out of work it ere
ated employment for q dozen Others
directly or indirectly. Even horses were
in much greater demand as adjuncts to
railroads than they had formerly been 81
principal motors.
And that result was in accord with cor
rect principles of supply and demand
Improved machinery creates wealth
wealth creates wants not dreamed of be
fore. The wants of poverty are necessi,
ties: the wants of wealth are luxuries. II
q great landowner gets his crops made
with one.fourth the number of men for
merly required his profits are, of course,
much greater. What does he do with the
surplus money! Leave it in bankf Ger
tainly not. He builds more barns and
fences, or employs fancy gardeners and
constructs handsome Improvements, or
spends his money in q more luxurious
mode of life than formerly.
It will be observed that machinery gen.
orally invsdes only the ruder and simpler
fields of human labor. 1t is rather
1t is rather che necesssries of subsistep ce
than the refiuements of art that are sought
to be supplied through its agency. Where
shoes are to be made by the thousand on
one pattern for the poor, machinery is their
benefcent friend, while fastidious ladies
demand hand work where cotton prints
are struck off by the millions of yards with
steam power, for the poor, the rich are
hunting after laces and tapestries grown
into kind of life under the patient skill
Of human fingers.
There are then two legitimate results
from the Introduction of labor saving ma
chinery
LIST; it economies wages to Is certain
extent and to that extent enriches either
the producer or the consumer, leaving
just so mach to be spent on something
else:
Cad; it displaces the bewers Of WOOD
and drawers "of water and creates q de-
mand for work requiring intelligence and
cultivation,
We think Mr.. Wells will have to try it
over again. For our part We are satisfied
with the hard times theory of origin that
we had supposed TO be by this time uni
versaily conceded as the correct one, viz.
reckless expenditure. Every body had
been making money in an inflated wal
style and spending it lavishly; after &
while, the opportunities having paeSS>ss
away, speculation became less practicable
and money making lees rapid, but people
won't on spending in the came lordly way
HGreat expectations" was the rule, credi
| was abundant, debts multiplied, finally
| the crash.
People have had core heads ever since and
have been studying principally the problem
of how to pay. their debts. Everybody il
crazy to get out of debt. From extreme
layishpess folks have collapsed into almos
sordjd meanness-uot that they want t.
bs mean, bnt they are in mortal dread O
debt. When those came debts are onct
paid, or nearly so, they will commence
\ spending money again. Then-uew house
and fine ones, new carriages, new coats, new
pictures, plenty of work.
But whenf
Fret let Us know when agriculture /
nearly out of debt, for agriculture is tn,
one, controlling interest in America.