The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-07-11
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editor are not responsible for the views
CORRESPONDENTS
A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF
TRUSTS.
Another Thoughtful Letter From Er.
Murdoch on This Great Question.

Gnother thoughtful Letter FROM ME'
Murdoch on This Great Question.
correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
Individual independence cannot K
ist in a highly civilized country, but
could exist in q degree in the infancy
Of the race when the wants were few
and supplied by the chase. The further
removed from barbarism the more de-
pendent man is upon man and his IN.
creased wants must be supplied by CO.
operation. The facility to produce is
increased as CO operation takes the
places of competition. At the begin
ming of this century the population was
principally in the country. The farm,
blacksmith and wagon makers shop;
the hand-loom and spinning wheel
were the only modes Of production.
A man with an idea and a few hun.
dred dollars could go into business
The same methods of production OBJ
tanned then as existed two thousand
years before.
The invention Of labor saving ma
chinery wrought a wonderful change
In production. AS machine labor can
produce cheaper than hand labor, it
has superseded the individual. The
adoption OF labor saving machinery
concentrated capital and men and
built up our cities. The manutactur
ers have swallowed the individual and
he is a part Of the whole. 1t is impos
sible for him to get back to the age OF
small concerns. Each Individual can
accomplish in these factories as much
al twenty men at hand labor. During
this century we have increased
capacity over 24O fold to produce and
we are increasing ur capacity to pro-
duce per capita over ten per cent. ar
nually, and all that is needed to bring
the necessaries and luxuries Of life
within the reach Of all is a system
which will distribute it. If we retain
the dollar as q distributor Of values,
we must adopt a system by which we
al cur enough dollars to distribute
all produced. We have the facilities
to produce twenty four billion dollars
worth, but we can distribute but
twelve billion dollars worth. There lie
a natural demand for the tw%enty-four
billion dollars worth and all would be
exchanged if the people could command
the dollars. The system that obtained
during the age Of hand labor will not
distribute one half that we can pro
duce. For two thousand years proceed
ing the age of machine labor there
was no increase per capita in the pro
duction Of the n"ecessaries and luxuries
of life. The system which would dis
tribute the output of one year would
distribute all produced from century
to century.
The invention of labor saving ma
chinery increased our per capita
capacity to produce and the system
which answered to hand labor will not
respond to machine labor. Gladstone
said: 1.-The civilized world doubled its
ability to manufacture every seven
years" Each year we increase our
facilities to produce by building new
factories and adopting improved meth
DDS. The civilized world ia increasing
it's capacity to produce at aspeed never
known before and this is piIing up a
surplus that the present system cannot
distribute.
We will enumerate the principle de
fcienCies in our system Of economics.
Furnish the money direct TO the people
at cost and you will save the wealth
producers one thousand million dollars
in interest. We will buy direct from
headquarters and save four thousand
million dollars annually in distribution.
The traffic in spirituoTs liquors per.
tains TO the com pegitive system and
will disappear with the completion of
the co operative System and we will
ave one billion and five hundred mil.
lion dollars annually. We could
enumerate over one billion dollars
more leakage in our system Ct econom.
les, but let this suffice.
REHABILITATION.
Duties pa by the wealth
producers. ....... 81, ZOO. 900, 900
Unnecessary expense in
distribution ........., 1000. 900, 600
Cost Of liquor traffic. 800, OCO 900
Capacity OF factories to
produce not utilized. 5000, 900 900
Total $14 500 600, 900
We have the capacity to increase
the output Of the ~necesaaries and lux.
uries Of life ten billion and five hun
dred million dollars annually. This
sum represents the amour Of the
na-nasaaEiaa ana lnEnrins Of 10 49,