The sun., 1894-03-25

looked upon as wholly beneficent, az aiding
the lsborer by increasing his mobility and
distributing his products. which otherwise
in some cases. would decay at the place oI
production. In fact. railways and tele-
graphs differ radically from productive ma
chinery. although they 90 greatly facilitate
production by speedy communication and
transport and by bringing material with
regularity to the place Of conversion. Ye;
the sum OF labor now employed in trans
porting by rail q given quantity Of COM
modlties is not more than half--if more than
one-thrd-of whatit was thirty years since.
and the power of. the labor unit to transport
increases yearly.
| A most notable instance OF the increase OF
unit productive power is found in the latest
forms OF the printing press. which turn out
hundreds and probably thousands OF times
as many square feet OF printed matter for
each pressman employed as did the hand
press Of FRANKIIN's day. The type-settlng
machine is sending tho compositor to the
rear with great celebrity as other machines
are sending to the rear the makers OF the
| cheaper books. while diminishing the labor
required on the higher priced. Unlike
| wheat. shoes. and such indispensables. the
lessened cost OF printed matter increases
the unit power to consume. but even here
such increase Is relatively small as COM
pared with an enormous increase OF the
unit power TO produce.
1t Is impossible even to approximate the
increase OF unit power of production in such
employments as quarrying. mining, and the
carriage OF sea-borne commerce. by reason
Of the application OF labor-saving devices
and the substitution OF largo steam craft
for the smaller sailing vessels. The steam
engine. electric lighting Of mines. the dia-
mond drill. compressed air, coal and rock
cutting machines. and an lnnumerabe ar
ray OF other devices have lessened In an
extraordinary degree the labor force re-
qulred to accomplish given end; just as
the enlargement of the water craft and tho
railway vehicle and tho substitution OF
steam for sails have increased immensely
the unit power to move commodities and
people by land. lake. river, and ocean. This
displacement Of labor. increasing now at q
progressive rate. has been accompanied by
not the least increase OF the unit power OF
the labor employed to consume the products
OF other labor. except In the measure of the
reduction In the price Of such products.
In the conversion Of ore and metals into
useful forms. machinery and labor-saving
processes have effected nearly as great an
increase OF the labor units productive
power as In the case OF textiles. although
the ratio OF increase varies with every
product. Still. each workman now en-
ployed In such Industries has quite as great
an average productive power as had 100 in
the days Of ADAM SMITH.
For oh npara "A va an, rlnvad tha prrpnrD
horseshoe machine turns out as many
shoes as 500 blacksmiths can make with an
vii and hammer; and q single nail making
machine turns out for each labor unit en-
ployed. more nails than 1000 men could
shape by hand.
Although In agriculture the displacement
Of labor by machinery has been relatively
much less than in other forms OF production.
even In the United States. Canada. Austral-
asia. and Great Britain. where alone IL has
come into general use. yet so great has been
its effect that MULHALL estimates the pro-
ductive power OF one unit OF American agrl-
cultural labor as equal to that Of nine In Eu-
rope. II the small size OF most European
holdings did not preclude the uso OF ma.
ohinery there can be no doubt that the dis
placement OF agricultural labor upon the
Continent would be nearly as great as
in the United States. In America. nota-
bly, in the Northern and Western States, !
the use OF farm machinery has been stimu- |
lated by scarcity Of labor in recent periods. |
and by the size OF farms. Large farms render |
profitable the use Of appliances that the oc- |
cupier OF tho small holding can afford nei- |
Their to buy nor to operate; and this. again, |
has very pronounced tendency to increase |
the size Of farms. /
Probably the use OF labor-saving devices |
and the cessation In large part Of forest re-
noval. have. since 1850, quintupled the pro-
ductive power OF each labor unit employed |
upon American farms: but 1t Is certain that |
this increase OF the unit power to produce
has. SO far as the whole food-consuming
populations OF the temperate zones are
been Offset by but slight in
crease OF the units power to consume farm
products: and the excessive production OF
food by reason OF the cultivation Of too
many acres. facilitated and made possible
In some degree by machinery. has greatly
the power OF the labor units en-
ployed on the farms In the United States,
as elsewhere. to buy OF the products OF the
lubricants labor. So far as food staples
are concerned. machinery. from the very
nature OF things. exerts a most disastrous
effect upon the agricultural wage worker
by lessening his employment without the
possibility OF compensation for the COM
nunity by Increase OF unit consumption OF
arm products. Machinery has driven the
arm laborer out OF the field aud to the
crowded railway, mine. and factory, where
10 eompetes with Others for employment