The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-01-11
MACHINERY AND OVER. PRODUC-
TION

Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of La
Dor, in his first annual report, devotes sew
eraI pages to Machinery and Over-produc-
ton" and the statements made are well
calculated to attract attention. Mr.. Wright
starts out by saying 'the rapid develop
ment and adaptation of machinery IN all
the activities belonging to production and
transportation have brought what is COM
monty called over-producti0n, so that ma
chinery and over production are two causes
so closely allied that i. is quite difficult to
discuss the one without taking the other
into consideration" There has existed for
many years a mania for machinery, and the
disease was never more active than at pres
ent, and, strange to say, the man who in
vents a machine which displaces labor is
regarded benefsctor, and the more men
displaced the larger is the measure of pub
lie gratitude, the theory being that ma
chlnery is labor saving" or, more prop
erly, "labor assisting"
While this mania for "labor.saving" or
''labor-sssisting' machinery has been
rapidly developing, there has been a cry
EOluk up A1OLl AAOob VI VIC W CobOAh ohN
Southern States for more rapid increase
| of population, and many States have had
regular organizations setting forth induce
ments which demonstrate pretty conclu-
sively that, If the people would only come
it would result in great blessings to them,
as also to the State, and, sure enough, the
immigrants have come, have come to
stay, 80 the country has enjoyed unexam-
pied prosperity in the increase OF 'labor-
saving" or ''labor. assisting" machinery and
the increase of population. 1t will be In
teresting to note how these two great bless
sings, an increase of labor saving or assist
ing machinery and an increase of popula-
ton are working together. The Commits
sioner of Labor devotes several pages Of his
report to giving facts relating to the dis
placement of men by machinery. For in
stance, the proprietors of an extensive es-
tablishment furnishes the figures showing
what machinery sccomplishes in the man
ufscture of agricultural Implements in the
way Of displacing men. The statement is
that the number of hands required with
machinery is 600, and without machinery
l2145 would be required. Consequently
the machinery displaced 1,545 men. The
Com mission refers to twenty-nine other de
| part ,nents Of industries in which the con-
ditiOa Of things in some cases Is much
worsa for labor than is the manufacture
of agricultural implements. He cites, in
, the manufacture of small arms, that one
man with q machine displaces from forty
! four to forty.nine men. He notes that il
J the manufacture of boots and shoes 10C
men with machines perform the work o.
| 500 men without the machine. In the
| | manufacture OF brooms, wagons and car
riages, carpets, clothing, furniture anC
; lumber, coal mining and paper, indeed al
; most everything, the work of displacinI
a labor goes forward. At the same tim
s population is increasing and ploduc
! ton is increasing. A careful analy
r sis CT the facts will show that
t man with a machine on an aYerag
( IS equal to five men without machine
t hence it will be seen that the machine dis
T places four men. Says the Commissioner
a THAT labor saving machinery, so-called
8 but which more properly should be calle'
) labor-making or labor-assisting machinery
5 displaces labor temporarily can not sac
( cessfulIy be denied" If this is true, an
1 1t is absolutely true, why call 1t labor-sav
= ing, labor-making or labor assisting mas
{ chinery2 1t is shown by the figures SUP
!; piled by the Commissioner that machinsr
D displaces at least four men for every one