St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-16
INDUSTRIAL DEPRESSIONS.
Written for the Globe.1
CHAPTER /.


THE FOUNDATION OF ALL INDUSTRY.
If the question were asked OF a thou
sand meu, What is the foundation of
all our Industries? What is the basis of
every business enterprise?' thousand
voices would almost immediately make
reply, why, the earth. of course" Aud
yet how few really appreciate its full
meaning! The earth is the original
raw material" Out of its fertile soil
grow all the grains and fruits that fur
nish food for man and beast. From
forest and pain and mountain. from
river and lake and ocean come the fish
and the fowl, and the whole brute crea-
ton that minister to his wants. Every
thing he needs or likes to have-hiS
food. his clothing, the house that shell
tiers him. and the fire that warns him
he must bring forth from the earth.
Only from the earth can he obtain it;
only by labor can he get it.
Land and la5or-these are the two
factors in the production of all good
things. Land, in the economic sense,
meaning not Only the surface of the
earth. but al! that lies below or can he
found above land, including the air, the
water. the sunlight. and all the power
and forces of the universe outside of
NAH himself land, Natures free gift
to all mankind. is the passive factor in
all production, the basis of every indus
try.
Labor-meaning ali the powers of
man-all the dizziness of his hand-all
the strength and force of his supple
limbs-all the cunning of his active
brain-labor it is, and labor alone. that
changes the face of Nature, that guides
and controls the forces of the universe,
and molds the materials of the earth
into useful forms. Labor alone applied
to the earth has produced. and must
ever continue to produce. all the food
that noursheS our bodies, all the cloth
ing and shelter that protect US from
the elements. all the comforts and lux
uries that minister to our needs and
stimulate US to greater physical and
mental activity.
All the vast accumulation of capital
that oS SO greatly helps labor in the
production of weaitil-all the mills and
factories, stores and warehOuSes-all
the wonderful and complicated machin
cry by which man infinitely multiplieS
his productions. all these are only the
products of the labor Of man applied to
the natural resources of the earth. All
are laDor'S creationS-simply tools that
labor has made, the Tore easily and
perfectly to supply the wants OF man.
Again, remember that labor can do
nothing without land to work on. Our
very existence depends upon the land,
that we may use il, labor on it, draw
SustenaEce from it.
TO be more specific, consider the great
Industries by which man supplies his
wants. His first need is for food, then
clothing. then shelter. and, last of all,
luXureS. In the preparation of all these
things he must ever and always use The
land. Suppose man wants to start
farm to raise wheat, or cattle for meat.
or to produce any of the thousand things
thai people need for food The first
thing is 10 get piece Of land to use.
If he wants 10 make clothing he must
first have land on which to raise the
cotton, to pasture the sheep, to build
the factory where it is made, or locate
the store where it is soli.
Is he builder of houses, or mills, or
stores; of schools, or libraries, or
churches? Then he must nave lots to
put his buildings Oh. Without them he
can DO nothing.
DO you minister to the needs of mans
later and higher development? DO you
furnish his papers or books, his carpets
OF curtains. his soft couches or easy
chairs, lectures for his instruction,
music for his entertainment CT poetry
for his imagination? Equally necessary
Is land for the production of all these
things.
Without land man can do nothing
not even exist; with it everything is
possible. Without land all production
and exchange, even life itself, must
cease. With it man goes forward, ever
improving, ever growing in power, ever
Increasing in knowledge and skill.
How necessary, then, that land be
easy to get? How important that all
have an equal chance to use the boun.
ties OF nature. and how destructive of
Industry must any system be that pre-
vents men from using tine earth 10 pro-
duce the things they need-to draw
from It's bosom the sustenance their
bodies require, to obtain from its boun-
ties the materials for their clothing and
shelter, and to minister to the wants of
their higher nature?
All the propositions set forth in this
chapter are truisms. Everybody under
stands them. And yet how few realize
their full importance! Land in this
country has been SO easy to get; until
recently it has been so abundant and so
nearly free that we do not half see the
fact that it is HOW about all mon0polized
not used, but monopoliZed-no in the
hands of the people who need it and
ought 10 have it. but monopoliZed by a
few plutocrats, who will neither use it
themselves nor let Others use it without
eXacting enormous tribute.
Land monopoly and its evil effects on
Industry Will be the subject of the next
chapter. c. }. BUELL..