Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-14

Machinery Has Not Increased the Number
of the Unemployed.

Carroll d. Wright, commissioner Of the
bureau of labor statistics, delivered the second
of a series of lectures to young men in the
the other evening.
"We are yet in the first age Of the history of
industrial progress" said Mr.. Wright. 1.-THE
feudal. the slave and now the wage system have
been successive steps. The natural history of
industrial art is properly divided into hand
work and machine work. Prior to the dawn
of the age of machine production there was
but little pressure upon labor.
"a brief review Of hand industry is interest
ing, though it must of necessity be based upon
comparatively meager material, ending, in
deed, about l1G0 The evidences OF nanufac-
lures in the prehistoric age are numerous
The prehistoric man could build boats and
knew how to make a rudder to steer them He
must have known how to make tools for such
tasks. Tho golden candelabra of the Israelites
must have been hammered or cast, but there
is no record Of how it was done. Yet that is
not SO strange, for today in a catalogue Of tools
or machinery one would not expect to find a
description of tools and Of the process Of max
ing.
Work such as the ancient Assyrians did in
bronze would attract attention today il it could
be reproduced. The Rncients left little to be
learned of hand work. Prior to the discovery
of the Assyrian specimens none knew the art OF
casting copper upon a framework of iron. The
hssyrlan carved ivory, wove marvellous things
and made bronze bits almost identical with
those in use today. The Chinese had marvellous
knowledge of tools and the industrial arts GEN.
turtles ago. The middle ages produced some of
the great nventions-gunpowder, firearms,
movable types.
1.-The condition Of the people during the
hand-labor period changed but slightly.
Wherever the handworker was found he occu-
pied the lowest position in the social scale, and
his work was done at home amid squa.id sur
roundings. knowledge of the truth concern
ing hand labor can only cause the workers of
today to thank God that machines have su-
perseded hand labor. The age OF machinery
has brought general prosperity.
Inventions brought the factory, and that
stands today for industrial production The
factory is tie thing in which mathematics AID
mechanics find their highest development. Ma
chinery has created employment for the many,
has made OF the unskilled workers skilled labor
ers The factory ID reyolutionizing agricultural
as well as all other work. Many products of the
soil go from seed to store room without touch Of
a hand.
lit may be said that machinery has in
creased the number of unemployed. This,
think, is not true. England has the moot ma
chinery and the greatest ratio Of people en-
ploycd to population. Russia has the least
machinery and the greatest ratio OF unem-
ployed. Machinery means the survival of the
greatest number in the greatest comfort.
Wages have doubled since the day of hand
work. and while prices Of some necessities
have increased most have decreased.
Had the band workmen Of the Pyramids
built the Brooklyn bridge they would have
earned in money OF the same value cents a
day against $3.50 averaged by the men who
worked on the structure. Krupp is the greatest
peacemaker. The great engines Of war lead to
peace. Machinery has done it oil. 1t is indus
trial progress