Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-08-21

Of invention and industry, today the
great issue Of the Christian world.
Some; blinded by the general progress
of society and the sharp competition
Of industrial and commercial invest
ments, hold that labor is rapidly ad-
vancing at the expense OF capital;
that the addition Of every labor saw
ing machine cheapens production low
ers the cost Of living, and increases
the demand FOR labor. Others look
ing at the comparative independence
Of labor in the past and the sad and
sorrowful dependence of labor at the
present, beholding with alarm the
enormous accumulation Of capital and
the swarms of idle men begging for
work and bread, claim that the con-
dition Of the laborer is passing surely
and steadily from bad to worse; that
we are marching with giant but I'M
conscious stride. into the snares Of
industrial despotism, snares from
which we al only free ourselves by
means Of blood and revolution. We
grant that there is much truth on
both sides, yet the general tendency
of our industrial system must be di-
rectly in favor either of capital or
labor, for it is scarcely consistent with
reason hat both, exposed as they ever
are to complicated and often conflict
ing circumstances, should yet advance
in parallel lines. To make the direc-
ton Of this tendency clearer to our
minds let us turn to the introduction
Of some important invention and note
its effect upon industry and society.
When the cotton gin was launched
upon the industrial scene it soon STIR
red up a revolution in the manufac-
turing world. The production of cot
ton goods was cheapened. The old
labor was discharged. The demand
for raw material was increased. Some
Of the old labor was employed at the
new process; some in making cotton
gins; some in producing raw material;
some employed later in the growing,
industry and the rest was left to seek
employment in other trades. By
cheapening cloth the laborers neces-
sary expenses were reduced and he
could add SO much more to living and
education. But by stepping down
from his position as an artisan, where
he could be his own capitalist should
he so desire, to become a tool
in experimenting a machine in a
large factory-a factory which he
could never hope to own-his indie
pendence was lessened and his future
yelled forever. His chances for work
were narrowed. He was driven to
compete with workmen less skilled
than himself, for the same amount Of
skill is not necessary in tending a
machine as in performing its functions.
Moreover a machine that performs the
work of ten men and employs but one
can never, by its most widespread
beneficial effects in developing the
industry and creating new ones, com
pletely supply the deficiency in the
demand for labor. What then were
the general effects Of the cotton-gin
on labor? It raised the standard of
decreased the opportunity for
for employment, and lessened indus
trial independence. On the other
hand, what were its effects on capital?
It centralized capital and removed it
one step from it's dependence upon
labor. For where before the capital
list paid most Of his money for wages,
he now spent more for equipment.
His interests and his sympathies, that
before lay with labor, now lay in ma
chinery with his money.
Passing from this partial illustra-
ton of the industrial tendency, our
eye views with rapid glance the ma
chimes, inventions and rewards of
thought as they appear n by one
now and then along up the broad
pathway Of centuries. We see how
fields barren and worn are made to