The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1897-03-05
The rIachine VS.. Labor.

AuS IHStlHSt vi ldDOI was WlSSI lIldH the
philosophy of the political economist
when it met the Labor saving" machine
entering the domain of productive indus
try. The 1aborer looked at the machine
that with professions of friendship prom
ised to tighten his toll, as his natural
enemy. He did not attempt to argue the
question with the learned philosopher
He said the machine had come to take
his work from him and was not his friend.
The scientist demonstrated to him most
clearly. i'll the opinion Of the former, that
the machine had come to tighten his
burdens by relieving the laborer of the
most exactiug and irksome part of his
toll, and that the amount of.labor per-
formed by the machine would add that
much TO the sum Of wealth and leisure
and consequently increase the sum of
human happiness. Labor could not re-
flute the argument but remained uncon-
WINGED. His homely view of the matter
was that the work to be performed of
right belonged to him and the reward for
the performance was the profit on his
invested capital, his inheritance from
nature. His labor was his only capital.
If that were not employed in producing
wealth it must necessarily be wasted and
he would become the loser.
Time has demonstrated that the in
stinct of labor was wiser than the philos-
ophy of the political economist. The
machine has proven a marvellous labor
saver, but the labor saved by the machine
has been loss to the laborer. The en-
forced idleness of the laborer is his
heaviest loss, and the machine the nearer
it approaches perfection is threatening to
prove an injury to the whole human
family. The loss and hardship it has ill.,
flicted on the laborer is beginning to
reflect its influence on the community in
every condition of life
Statisticians inform us there are three
and one-half millions of people idle and
it is mostly enforced idleness. There are
probably as many more suffering from
partial idleness, losing greater or less
portions of their time. On the other
hand we find the machine is also stand
ing idle half Of its time or more. 1t is
also in state of enforced idleness. The
machine cannot consume the products OF
its industry. 1t has to depend OH the
human consumer for a customer. The
latter cannot consume unless his time is
employed in producing that which others
need and exchanging his products with
them for that which he needs to make
life comfortable.
When men are idle the machine is
forced into idleness for the want of con-
sumers of its products. And this is the
ugly condition which we are now facing.
The idle people have to be kept from
starvation by being fed by charity. There
is no prospect that they can be employed.
They are starving because they are idle,
and millions of bushels of grain besides
other food products in the hands of those
who have no use for them. The machine
stand idle more than half its time, and
that idle condition must continue to in
crease, because the warehouses are cram
med with manufactured goods, which
cannot be consumed because the idle
people have not money to purchase the
food and other things they so much need.
We are approaching condition OF
stagnation and there is no use to try to
deny it. This talk of demagogues OF
opening the mills and giving work to the
idle people is foolishness. Why are the
mills not open and at work Because
their warehouses are crammed with pro-
ducts which cannot be sold And WHY ?
Their natural customers have 10 money.
The customers who are consumers, or
would be, must find money before they
can order the goods. The farmers are
overloaded with food but they connot
sell 1t for what it has cost to make it..
This is the stagnated state of affairs and
there is no remedy in sight. Under exist
ing conditions it must grow worse till the
riddle of this sphinx is read.
To aggravate these conditions there is a
comparative handful of people who are
wasting congested wealth by millions in
vain pomp, idle show and riotous living
and the starving millions are noting it ali
American people are intelligent, brave
and fierce. They cannot be starved long
III sig mt of plenty like the ,Hindoos and
Egyptian peasant slaves.
Yes the instinct of labor detected its
natural enemy in the machine but it was
only necessarily so under past and pres
ent economic conditions. Our statesmen
show no symptoms of being able to cope
with the conditions which environ
society, or even to suspect there is any
thing abnormal. The riddle of the mod.
ern sphinx they fail to read.
The machine will not be abandoned,
but It will force the change in business
and labor conditions which the learning
of the age produced it to bless not TO
damn.
Just try Ioc. box of Cascarets, the
| finest liver and houel ~.