The record-union., 1897-10-13


time. The value Of his method was
equal to the cost of one-half of all the
telegraph wires thereafter to be used in
the United States, since he made one
wire as effective as two would other
wise be- Hence the value of his device
must be measured by hundreds OF
thousands, if not millions.
Surely, the men, or group of men,
who can by their abilities bring in these
enormous gains are fairly entitled to a
portion of what they thus secure to the
general good. They are cheap at any
price, and society needs more of them
"Bessemer, Vanderbilt and Edlson
may stand as representatives for long
line of men who, like them, have brought
in and sold to society, on terms most
advantageous to both, the materlalZed
product of their genius or their enter
prise. Notice this: That it was all a
matter of free exchange of perfect Qp-
erty There was no compulsion- Whlie
these men successfully toiled and reach
ed large rewards by producing Things
of Incompatible value which the mar
kets would buy, others like them strug-
gled vainly to reach the same result
They also brought forward, after years
of thought and labor, devices and IN
ventions, many of which the market
would not buy. This also was a hber-
ty which society, with due regard to
it's own interest, had the free right to
exercise.
ION the other side of the question, it
may be asked, if we admit the great
economies brought in by exceptional
ability and inventive genius, and &C
knowledge it all as a negative good, can
it be demonstrated that, affirmatlVely
speaking, they have put increased pow
er. more actual financial rewards into
the hands of the masses? The answer
is, yes. In a recent contribution to the
Atlantic Monthly by Carroll u
| Wright, late Chief of the Federal Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics, an authority
acknowledged as good by the laboring
classes, the following appears:
"'Analyzing the statistics, we find
results, and, in general, that the num-
ber engaged in the lowest walks of bus
| mess, laborers and the like, is decreaS-
ing in proportion, while those employed
in the higher walks are increasing IN
number relatively to the whole popula-
! ton
CONCERNING the wage QhCoNAOAif
| ex-Labor Commissioner declares: For
| tunately, we are not obllged 10
depend upon the rates of wages to show
that the ordinary man is better or than
at any former period in Our history be
cause our censuses report aggregate
earnings, and also the number or per
sons among whom the earnings are Ill
vided. Looking at this side OF the pfop-
| lem, we find that in 1890 the average an
nual earnings of each enploye engaged
! in manufacturing and mechanical pur-
suits including men, women ana chli-
dren, in round numbers were S24l; IN
| 1860. $3.50; in 1870, S302; in 1880, S34l,
and in 1890, $40. Here is steady,
positive increase in the average annual
earnings of the employees in our great
| industrial pursuits.
professor Mulhall a well-recognized
authority. in comparing the census data
of 1850 and 1890, finds that between
these periods the annual product OF the
factory operative has increased from
81. 324 to 81, PAT. This increase III
power must be attributed most largely
to invention, and to the more eftectlVe
coordination of capital and ability IN
mana cement Nevertheless, the result
of this increase in productivity mas peeh
fully shared in by the operative, since
If appears that while his productivity
has Increased 20 per cent. his reward III
the way of wages has increased ~ pei
cent.
In a late study of this question by
w TT. Mallock of Great Britain, he
brings out some striking. conclusions
from which I quote two or three para
graphs: In 1S43, seven years after
Victoria became Queen, the gross IN
come of the entire people, laborefs
landlords. capitalists, and all, was
E515, 600 600, of which f23o, ,00o,OOO Went
to the laborfng class. In 1898, 1ifty
years later. the income of the labor
ing class was f660, 100000 The labor
ing class had increased 81 per cent
while their income had increased near
ly 200 per cent. From all the data he
deduces the conclusion that, through
the aid of invention, the increase OF
capital. the marshaling of industrial
forces, under the control and direction
| of ability. the working people now
have divided among them share man
for man, of the annual income of Great
Britain. larger than their fathers in
|
| whole public income of that period
from all sources, been divided among
them.
Lest I be misunderstood, let me has
ten to admit, that while honorable
wealth can be acquired only by CIV
ing service of equal or greater value
to society, in too many instances
wealth, great wealth is acquired where
the service rendered in return is very
inadequate, where foresightedness and
ability perceiving the enormous value
Cf natural opportunities, in municipal
privileges, such as water, gas or street
railways make thriftful bargains with
corrupt or ignorant representatives OF
the people, to take up and monopolize
to their own ACKNOWLEDGMENT the rights
which inhere in all of the people. II
may, however, be pleaded in abatement
of even this one-sided operation, that
it is better that these natural Opportun-
tiles should be thus exploited than tc
have them remain inert and unavaile6
of
1.-THE service which ought to be rem
dered in the acquisition of wealth is
wholly lacking; when it is secured by
sharp and inequitable practices, such
as were recently illustrated by some
who, in a position to seize the oppor-
tunity, made enormous importations o1
| goods ard wares, not to supply the
reasonable and ordinary needs of then
trade, but in order to anticipate an6
take over to themselves the revenues
which Congress was endeavoring to Sc
cure for the good of all. To put il
plainly they picked the public pocket
| while the peoples representatives ir
Congress talked. There was no Law
| against 1t, but there is a public con-