The Wilmingtonian., 1886-05-15


establishment of days labor, and its legal
regulation, with the necessary protection
| from nations that do not follow our example
in this respect. Something of this kind
must be invented to protect us from the re-
suits of the crowding out of hand labor by
the rapid multiplication Of labor saving
machinery. 1t seems to me that it can only
be done by the regulation in some way of
production and consumption At the rate
we are. going now, production will soon gain
on consumption so that one years out put
will suffice for five years consumption, and
these periods of depression will be tho rule
and the prosperous years the exception.
But says one, how can the hours of labor
be shortened or any steps taken which shall
increase the cost of production when even
now we are unable to compete with other
nations in the markets Of the world This
is pertinent question, aud one which de-
L
fear shall be able to give. But [ answer
first-That there are some advantages in this
world fand use the word advantage ad-
visedy aud in its true sense) that are not
worth the price demanded to obtain them. If
foreign trade is only to be obtained at the
cost of domestic prosperity and peace, then
desirable as it may be, should say let it go.
If the wealth to be obtained from this source
can only be acquired by preventing tile pro-
gress of our wage earners in the direction of
a higher civilization then let us do the best
we can without. Foreign trade may be de-
sirabIe, no doubt it would be il we could OBJ
tain it for price that we could afford to
this country is domestic, and to its support
and prosperity everything must and should
tend, and if its interests and that of foreign
trade should be found antagonistic then the
one of less Impotence must give way. In
brief, we must not regulate our own course
in the matter Of social development by the
average course of the other nations Of the
world, unless the development is greater and
higher than our own. We must be loyal to
the spirit and genius of American institu-
tions, even if the loyalty isolate us in
measure from the rest Of the world. We
possess within our own limits everything
that is necessary for human use, and every
thing that can possibly contribute to human
happiness. If the conditions of the advance
ment in our national development are found
to be incompatible with the requirement of
wealth by dealing with the rest Of tile world,
then we must turn our attention to domesti,
trade, and find what we need ia our inter
course with one another in exchanging
among ourselves whatever is necessary for
the qualification Of our personal desires, and
to this VIC must regulate the hours Of labor
and the rate of wages to suit American ideas,
and American needs, protecting our institu-
tions from the competition of less developed
nations, by stringent laws discriminating
against the products Of those nations that
are content to keep their wage earners in a
state of degradation and ignorance, and to
take advantage Of that degradation and ig-
hours Of toll, and mere pittance of
wages. ! answer again that it is by no
means certain that we shall need to forego
the advantages that come from foreign trade.
Themost rapid development OF labor saving
machinery and devices is to be found in this
country. Invention and discovery work to-
gether more rapidly here than in any other
nation on the globe No sooner is a rev
force in nature discovered than the in, en-
tive genius of the hour harnesses it for hu-
man use, the result is that one man is en-
abled with this new power or the new appl-
cation Of known power, to do the work of
s. 10, or even 80 men. Can it be possible
that this fact will not assist the Ane ,an
manufacturer to compete with lDwer wages
paid in other nations. And again, in answer
to this question, we may say that the force
and effect Of the adoption of less number
Of working hours as a days labor by this
nation, must have some effect upon the other
nations of the worlG2 The dissatisfaction
and unrest among the wage earners is by no
means confined to this nation, it is common
to all civilized nations, and the example Of
our free republic in elevating the classes who
toll with their hands for their living, will
not be without its effect on wage earners
everywhere Again, America is to all APP
pearances the portion Of the earth most suit
able for experiments. 1t was born into lib
erty. and has spent its first century Of exist
ence in experimenting in self government,
experimenting in social development, in cd
ucating, and more than all, ia mechanical
invention. Whenever crisis has arisen,
and the experiments seemed likely to fail,
the timid and half-heartod among us have
lost their faith, they have predicted all sorts