The Dawson journal., 1885-01-29
LABOR SAVING ABcHfNfRY. 5

VI lHe IUture Will De TO know now
to keep the world employed anc
to keep humanity contented anc
happy. The whole tendency Of
the world, to-day, is to turn into
villages, towns and cities, and tc
reduce all labor to mechanical
pursuits. If things keep on as
they are there will, ere long, be
no land to till, or what is titled
will be worked by but few, and
that work done with a machine
The great mass of mankind, after
awhile, will be engaged in profess
sions, merchandise, manufacture
railroad, marine, mining, tele-
graphic, governmental and other
operations. AS the skill of the
inventor progresses, the time must
come when our cotton, corn and
other productions, as in all me-
chanical pursuits, will be pro-
duced by machinery, and when
one man will take the place of ten
on the farm even. AS the world
progresses, each development in
science and art finds some new
scheme to create demand, and
finds something new and something
more for the employment of peo-
pie.
The great difficulty lies in the
way of balancing supply and de-
mand. 1t will always be fortunate
if the agricultural and food pro
auctions shall give the supply
9 Iual to the demand. 1t wou'd
be disastrous in the extreme if
supply and demand here should
be unbalanced. Everything de-
ponds upon agriculture; but it is
likewise unfortunate for supply
and demand to fail in other direc-
tons. We see that ovre produc.
ton creates disaster In manufac-
ture, for the sim pie reason that
thousands of operatives suffer a
decrease of wages, or are thrown
out of employment. The same is
true in case of financial panic
when money becomes scarce, OF
business uncertain. Moneyed
men may be able to stand disas-
ters of this nature, but when the
great mass of the people are en-
gagged as operatives or employees
In our manufacturing and mercan-
tile pursuits, there is no remedy
for disaster, and we are in danger
of riot and bloodshed.. The mass
IS have no money laid up, and
when business becomes stagnant
and our vast labor-saving machin-
cry stops the country suffers, albe-
1t there may be plenty enough to
eat and to wear. We are some
times astonished at the anomoly
of a country full of provisions,
and yet full of tramps, idlers, beg
gars and men ready to riot for
bread.
The secret lies in the fact that
millions are working at the ma
chine instead of digging with the
hand for bread. Comparatively,
the few are making the bread and
meat of the country, while the
many are working at the machine.
The farmer does not suffer neces-
sarily, but the mechanic outnum-
bers now the farmer. When the
machinery of the country stops
for any reason the multitdes that
run it must stop, while the few
that dig the soil still live on in
comparative ease and quiet. To
be plain, there are, and will be
more so, too few to dig the soil.
China has 400,000,00O inhabitants
and but little machinery. Moth
ing but famine could hurt Chi
ma; but we riot for work and bread
with an abundance of provisions
in the country. The great mass
of Cinnamon dig the soil for a
living, and though financial or
commercial panic may come the
Chinaman has something to eat
and to wear. Agriculture and
MANUFACTURED there are net as un-
balanced in the proportion of men
and women resp ectively employ
ed.
Everything will go very well
with US until labor-saving machin-
cry has to stop. So long as sup
ply and demand with US keep bal