The Labor enquirer., 1886-04-17
IT is SOLVED.
The More Men Produce, the
Weaker the Demand for
Their Services. =
''ZenO" COnclusiyely Refutes the
Argument Of a Boston Man
in Bradstreet's,
That the Way for the Workingmen to
Better Their Condition is to Work
More and to Waste Less,
For the Enquirer.

VAS ohu w AVcof
For the Enquirer.
The debilitated condition of popular
political economy and the present sys:
tenn, is occasionally revealed by the i'm
beetle minds of their supporters. 1t
makes one i'll to hear large daily des-
ignate as ga prominent thinker and
writer" the writer of an article in Brad
streets of March 27. His name is Ed
ward Atkinson, of Boston. The leading
proposition in the article is
'The way for the working classes to
improve their condition is to produce
more, or waste less When each one has
found out this secret for himself the 7
labor question will be practically
solved,
By working to establish eight, hours.
laborers are now trying to produce less.
Perhaps this is because "oyer produc-
ton has been dinned into their ears so
long. They have learned til at the more
they produce in day the less they re-
ceive of it as wages. Supply and De-
mand, that immutable law, is ignored by
Mr.. Atkinson, at least until he finishes
his essay for the more men produce, the
weaker is the demand for their services,
and they sink into poverty.
AS for waste, would it not be better if
everybody wasted more, so as to create
demand?
Mr.. Atkinson's aim is to show how
well single men can live on 5000 per
year or even $172. OF course, when sin
gle men are provided for, the labor
question is practically solved"
The bill of fare for the 5000 basisse
to exclude many things that require
thousands of wage earners to produce.
Suppose all single men adopt this
scheme; those earning $500 per year can
save $4O0. Now supp se discharged
cigarmaker, livery man or tailor (for
there is no demand for their services)
comes along and offers t. do the young
single mans work for $4OO. Then an
ice cream maker. or an actor, without
situation appears who will do the work
for 5000. This is supply and demand.
Read the following table of the amounts
paid in the Uuited States for rious
productions presumably authentic):
Liquor, $S5O,OO0,OOO.
Tobacco, $6OO0OOOOO.
Bread, $5O5, 100000.
Meat, $3O3,OOO,OOO.
Iron and steel, $290,000.O0O.
Woolen goods, $237 100000.
Sawed lumber, $233 100000.
Cotton goods. $2l0.OO0,OOO
Boots and shoes, $lS6,000,00O.
Sugar and molasses, 100000.
Public education, 85,0OOOOO
Missions, home and foreign, S. 100000.
Total, $3,669, 100000.
Of this total production the single
young men would assist in consuming
| but five items: bread, meat wooden
goods, boots and shoes and sugar these
they will use in very reduced ratio.
They now amount to but 81 1896, 100000.
Think how the first two items, liquor
and tobacco would suffer; 8l,45O,00O,00O
of trade nearly wiped out Everything
else would also suffer, and millions of
laborers be thrown upon the market,
and the great law of supply aud demand
would suffer severe strain. The wage
system would probably fall under the
load, which would vindicate Mr.. Atkin-
son were that his object.
Two single men are to share room
for 500 per year. This will make a
slight activity in sawed lumber and
landlords. Iron and steel will be dead
entirely, and puddlers and molders will
compete for the 5000 Of the single young
men. Missions will be useless for we
shall soon have barbarism all around
when "the labor question is practically
settled"
The cost of clothing for the single man
is placed at S45 per year. Millions of
men now pay mucn less than that sum,
hence need no instruction from Mr.. A.
Yet the labor question is not settled.
The greatest part of the Revolution of
the labor is in the food, and will be &C.
complished as follows:
The trimmings of the best Joints of
meat are now thrown into a scrap-heap,
and sold in every market at from / cent
to cent pound, to be rendered into
fat. l have myself purchased this good
meat, which is now wasted, at cent a
pouhd, in parcels of ten pounds.
Rejecting the bone and leaving the
] sSewed meat in the broth, ten pounds
remained of very nutritious and appe-
tlzlng food, at cost not exceeding l24
cents, including the fuel. 1t W ts cooked
; in an air tight vessel surrounded by hot
water. In the same vessel-a pine box
i'm which this bouilllon was prepared
there were cooked at the same time
seven pounds of solid ueef in another
vessel, and two plnts of oatmeal LII four
pints of water, making in all about
twenty-five pounds of food material
thoroughly cooked with cents worth
of kerosene oil burned in hand-Iamp.
Continued on fourth page.l