The Wilmingtonian., 1886-05-08
PRICE TWO CENTS.

keted the raw material, the hand labor
that miued the ore, that rolled the iron, that
constructed the machinery that spun the
material and wove the fabric the same Of
the power that drove the machinery /; the
coal that was used as the fuel and finally the
tailor that cut and sewed the materials into
its present shape. The machinery would in
its lifetime make hundreds of thousands of
SUITS SO what proportion of ole suit is hand
made. and what machine made? The only
skilled labor using the term in its usual
Specification, that entered into that suit of
clothes. was that of the man or men who de-
signed the delicate and intricate machinery
that took part in its construction. The
drawing room, or rather the office of the
| mechanical architect is about the only place
where skilled labor is any longer necessary.
A machinist now is person who ''tends
machine" The machines do all the work,
nished from the lice. The machinery en-
ployed in making this suit of clothes may
have been one of thousand similar ma
chimes This machinery to be sure was
guided and directed by labor, the cloth was
made into clothes largely by machinery; cut
by machinery and of course all but the but
ton holes aud buttons, were put together by
machinery. If the suit is valued at ten dol
lars, think it is not too much to say that
eight of the ten dollars was earned by ma
chinery. Human labor entered into its con-
struction only as a director of machine
labor, and this is true think of nearly all
the staple products we need for common and
daily consumption. The utilization of ma
chinery has gone on until it has reached the
kitchen and the laundry. 1t has even enter
ed into the fine arts, and is competing with
hand labor in the field of picture making
indeed it has come TO such perfection that
the chromos and the oil paintings have to be
labelled to enable the uninitiated to distin-
guish between the two. The rapid multi
plicaton of machines has displaced an i'm
mense number of hand workers. One knit
ting factory will turn out more stockings
in day, than whole township Of skillful
, grandmothers could knit in a month. Horse
shoes are no longer made by hand, or horse
shoe nails. Indeed it would be hard to find
7 any article of use or daily consumption
which is not produced mainly by machinery.
! What then is left for hand labor to do? The
7 construction of roads, canals and public
? works, and even in these enterprises the
o steam shovel the steam drill and the porta-
= BILE railroad has taken the place of Patrick
}, and the boss! Agricultural labor? Yes,
IS more than anywhere else, bnJ N into this
: great department of industry steam has
It found its way. Steam plows, agricultural
S engines, and various other devices for redu-
s. cling the quantity of band labor to meet COM
IS petition, are constantly being devised, until
, there is no field left unaffected by these
is modern inventions and devices. This then
;, brings me to the real question, wish to pre-
Is sent to you for consideration, and may add
n for solution if any one feels equal to that
}, task the question is this g
1t If the work of the world is to be done by
d machinery, what is to be done with the mil
d lions thus deprived Of the opportunity to la.
d Dor
10 In what have said SO far, have made
G. no alusion to the more newly discovered
10 force of electricity, which is beginning t.
y loom up as formidable rival not only o
e- hand labor, but of steam itself, and of th'
It's still newer force of magnetism, which is a
il yet only vaguely and mperfectly understood
to have not alluded to the discovery of new
40 capacities for human service in sound waves
IL to the increased facility for transacting busi
e. ness with less human labor by means of the
ht telephone. In short the whole tendency O
Id the age is in the direction of performing tn
X work ul the world with the least possibl
~ employment OF hand labor What does
~ all mean? Can it be possible that the III
'f' crease Of knowledge means the destructlo
), of the human race? That the growth {
10 skill and wisdom in the management an
n manipulation of natural forces, shall be IL
rm direct means Of destroying the happiness q
the race? Oh no A thousand times no
ai- The wheel of human progress is ratch
III wheel it only turns one way, aud that va
he is always ahead, never backward. Wh'
on, ever new force steps in to take the place (
am human labor is sent by power higher ihs
my finite man, for the relief OF humanity; n
:, for its degradation or oppression, If we
!, not regard it, then we fail to compreheu
| is the character Of that power which is over a
ex- and in all. 1t certainly is our duty to a
nee dress ourselves with all diligence aud P