The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-31
Does Machinery Rob the Lab,rer.

The complaint that machinery robs
the laborer of his OIL capital is entire,
ly uDfounded. Machinery never les.
sened the amount of work to be done,
though it has constantly changed the
character of the work. The labor
saving machinery employed in asricu'-
ture Is almost entirely the PROD . OF
the inventions of the past thirty years.
la no part of the world has the Intro
ductIon of such machinery been more
| general or more rapid than in the grain
/ growing States of the West. The rc =
suit Is shown in the census reports.
During the ten years ending in 1860,
the farm hands of those States
increased in number more than
City per cent. During the next ten,
in spite of the losses of the war, the
increase was about thirty per cent.
During the same twenty years, the
population of the country as a whole
| increased only sixty-seven per cent.
When Walter Hunt invented his
| sewing machine in 1888, his wife pro-
tested that it would throw ali the sew
ing women out of employment, and
persuaded him to suppress il. Howe's
and Singers aud no emu of other ma
chimes have come since then, and yet
there is work for women to do. Not
w!thstandlng the thousands of family
machines ia use, the number or per-
sons earning living with the sew
ing machine in this country is
to-day much greater in proper
tion to the population than was the
number of tailors and sowing women
before the invention of the machine,
which 8 recent pretended labUr-lover
has classed with the steam engine as
one of the two worst evils that ever be.
fell mankind. In noting its inf uence
on labor we must not forget the 90, 900
or more mechanics employed in our
sewing machine factories, and the thou
sands of others engaged in mining and
making the iron, cutting and saving
the lumber, and in transporting and
preparing these raw materials for the
machines and their cases; nor the men
employed in making the machinery
used 10 the construction of sewing ma
chimes, and in transporting and selling
the finished product. Counting these,
the invention appears in its true light
as great creator OF labor; and the
average wages of the persons directly
or indirectly employed by the sewing
machine is doubtless four or i've times
that of the old-time sewers.
1t is but little while since a metro
politan paper of high rank pointed to
the shoe business as furnishing forci-
BILE illustration of the disastrous COM
petition of machinery with men. The
truth is that while within twenty years,
not less that eighty FIVE per cent. of
the work done on factory boots aud
shoes has been turned over to ma
chinery, tho are to-day more men at
work in shoe factories than then, and
more than would now be employed
except for machinery. 1t is but an
other illustration OF the old Industrial
paradox. During these years of rapid
progress in invention, the cost of ma
teriaIs has advanced, wages have
nearly doubled, and the quality of
factory boots and shoes has been
improved twenty-five peg cent. yet
the cost of manufacture US been SO
much reduced by new g.. improved
machinery that American shoes have
not only excluded the foreign made
from our market, but have successfully
invaded the markets of the whole
world. AS natural consequence,
many more shops are required not only
in New England, but throughout the
Middle States and the West; more
workmen are employed in shoe fac.
tories, higher wages are paid, and a
0raat multitude Of othnr mon ora fnr-
nisbed with employment in tanning
the additional leather used, in pack
ing and transporting and selling the
additional product, md In making
shoemakers' ma5kn ] and lnple-
t.,e,its,a5ls lanes ri IN; Seri1ner for