The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-06-20
MACHINERY AND LABOR.
Has Machinery Displaced Human Iabors
Temporary Disturbances.
'Lig!lt Of my heart.

temporary Disturbances
New York Tribune.l
In every civilized land, at this time there
Is Complaint that times are harl. Every
where the cause Is said by many TO be over.
production. Rut Row can it be q cause to
mankind to have the objects of human
desire supplied in greater abundance and
more chcaplyf IL there is overproduction all
over the world rs some reason, that means
merely that the supply Of things useful for
human happiness IL greater all over the
wCrll than tie present demand. In reply to
.his natural suggestion, we ara told that
vat amount Of labor las been displaced by
machinery, that general distur rbance Il the
labor market has leen cau.ed, and that q
great number of persons have teen thrown
ont Of employment. The very change which
soins call a blessing brings ruin t. many
producers, ani forces many employers 10 cut
down wages ond cur!ails the ability OF
workers to consume products Of other in
duSticS Tsasw are tau sht 10 believe that
tho progress of science and invention Is q
progress toward human misery.
Is il true, then, that machinery has dis
ylat cd human hbors A century ago rcla-
lively !ower persons wefo employed in any
othcr avocation than IN tilling the SOL than
are now so employed Machinery las Gre
ated lew world; IL has chealencd almost
everything tlat mla desires. IL has brou sht
within the reach Of the humbo,t not only n
vast number Of products wholly unknown a
century ago, but luxuries and comforts
which a century ago even the richest could
moi afford TO commonly enjoy. Meanwhile
has it displaced laborl On the contrary, IL
has made WORK for vast population outside
of the ruder arts which were formerly pur
al Jio. lis,lacaI fi. sbn ri
more persons tLan ever before are making
shoes. Lecause more shoes are made aud used,
chealuess permitting multitudes to wear
them who formerly coIid not. So there are
n!ore sewing girls, in spite Of scwing-ma-
chimes
There rre more farm workers, IN spite OF
all tie r. ultural machines. There are
more ,,,tnal woollen and six weavers In
'Ilte Il Loo numerous improvements
which se.m t. DO with steam and iron the
work cf luman hands tet.e: than human
hands could do 1t. And 10 crown all, t.ie
veg 5 in ali lroncl e. o. labor have riem
In every occupation, from tie ludest t. tho
most skillel, fr, III fam labor TO the most
delicate manipulation Of tools and ma
,hinery, labor is letter paid in money than
1t was lcfore the age of invention And,
moreover, each dollar II the money re-
ce!ved VIII tuy far more food than a dollar
would have Lought a century ago, far more
clothing, md more things for the supply OF
all human wants.
Thus it Is simply blundering TO say that
machinery docs, or can, in ito long run, sup
plant on cspiace lu nan labor. On the
contrary, the use OF machinery is limited
only by the human labor that can be brought
TO employ il. Every hLor-sav!ng invention
enables one human want to lie more cheaply
supplied, SO that part Of the human labor
expended in satisfying it can he turned to
heSsupply Of other wants. The overproduc-
tion theory, except as limited to a very mar
row field, and within narrow compass Of
tine, is altogether without foundation The
human race rs whole docs not suffer be.
cause its powers of production are increased,
or because lis wants can be more easily and
cheaply supplied, or because things needed
for Human comfort and use are more abund-
antly produced. Temporarily, and within
some particular market, production may at
times SO far outrun tho demand that dis
turbance results. But this is not tho pha-
pomenon which we are now witnessing