The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-30
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ss.ir under the load thus thrown upon u, n
IT, besides, many stocks. aud even bonds, toa
W. level than they had ever before reached;
g ~" demonstrating the strength OF the buying
"ss.mont and its unripeness for an early col
W. A fact also encouraging to buyers for n
~,.T I, Tho continuance Of low rates Of interest
"uoney and the ease with which IL can DO
s~.,,red. Until the support thus furnished
,suli,hdravn. there IL likely to be no rush to
wv and. consequently, nc check TO a further
.Is.nce, At least II, as many good judges
Nil the country has entered upon n long
V.,lod Of q, pcr cent. income from invest
80 80 n Is difficult 10 see why the prevailing
sisb prlccs Of securities should not be main
nIned Indefinitely
=, me recently formed gigantic Industrial cor
...,Ions. such as Federal Steel and lntnrna-
I'll pat.er, as we'll rs Of those OF similar con-
W.. a, longer standing. has called renewed
.,,an,Ion to the progress which the country IL
Ping toward the concentration in a few
~, NJ the capital invested In manufactures.
roiI,icIaps sec In the movement a curtailment
l,,hs independcncc OF citizens OF email means
VA , menace to the interests Of consumers.
Nv az eminent az President Cleveland and
fndvs peckham Of the United States Supreme
c.'r, have rnbltcly deprecated II and favored
u.,,ures for its repression. The newspapers
h.,o ioined in the cry. and denounco the great
",rusts as they call them, as enemies OF the
uahIic welfare. To the economist. however.
~, ara legitimate results OF civilization. and
,Ms natural outcome OF the law that undcrlies
ali human development.
Thu dominant force In the physical universe
4, an attraction Of its particles to one another
vbich has created out OF widely diffused vapor.
ans matter solid suns and planets. Our W
,ol,r system is held together by this force and
hut for Il would ny asunder and be dissipated
into endless space. Air and water cling to the
surface Of the earth and form a continuous en-
rslope around It. Minerals and metals cohere
and serve useful purposes in proportion to the
tenacity with which they retain their solid form.
Inliying organisms, the assimilation and aggre-
cation Of substances 90 on continually. and
whenever the process ceases, the organisms
first decay and then die. Accretion is tho mark
nflife, and disintegration the accompaniment
and consequence OF death. Neither a vegetable
nor au animal can survive the destruction OF Its
unity, and r~csists it to the utmost OF its
History testihes that the same principle
governs the growth and decay of nations.
Powerful empires have been powerful. not
from the extent OF their territories and the
number OF their inhabitants, but from tho
union OF their parts under the sway OF a central
controlling head. China. for example. cm-
braces an area Of many thousand square miles.
and It's people are counted by hundreds Of mil
lions. but It is weaker than Japan. of one-tenth
its size, because Japan is well organized and
vigorously administered In ancient times the
Assyrian. Babylonian. Persian and Macedonian
empires persisted AS soon as they we're broken
IN. Greece fell under Roman domination be-
cause Of the want Of unity OF its various re-
pubIics. and Rome. in turn. ceased to be
the mistress Of the world when 1t ceased
70 be one organic whole. India. immense
as is It's area and its resources. was speedily
subjuGated by the English because it was
divided into numerous petty States. each at
war with its ncighbors. On the other hand.
England itself owes its strength to having
emerged from a succession Of civil wars into
It's present unity. Germany. from a mere con-
Ceries OF kingdoms. principalities and duke
doms. has recently been consolidated into one
nation, and so has Italy. This country. until It
became the United States. remained merely
aString OF feeble colonies. and, only since the
suppression OF the pt to disrupt its union.
has 1t attained the rank OF a first-class power.
When Benjamin Franklin put at the head OF
his newspaper the figure OF a serpent divided
into pieces, with the motto. Join or die" he
showed the sagacious perception for which he
is celebrated. In obedience to the same prin-
cIple his successors acquired Florida and the
territory west Of the Mississippi. and we are
now on the eve Of extending our dominion over
Cuba. Porto Rico and the Philippines. Some
o. four citizens denounce as imperialism " this
irrepressibIe growth, but they do 1t iGnorantly.
Human inluStrv hoe nnIarro,a a ill., IL
yelopment from the isolated and independent
labor OF individuals and families. into the or
ganized activity Of great factories and work
shops. Spinning and weaving are no longer.
as they were. down to a comparatively recent
date. household occupations. but are carried
On by multitudes OF workers gathered to-
gether In mills equipped with machines which
accomplish in an hour what formerly was the
TASK OF weeks. The rural blacksmith has
ceased to forge horseshoes and nails by hand.
Out buys them ready made. Every implement
ana TOOL the workman requires is turned out
lot MIN In quantities. instead OF being made
sInRly by slow and laborious processes. The
result has been an enormous increase In the
supply OF the articles used in daily life and an
equal dlminution Of their money cost.
FROM concentrating into grent factories and
"ofAshOps tho labor previously scattered
among thousands OF little households. 10
uFther concentrating under single heads the
numerous factories and workshops themselves.
previously managed independently. Is evil
uehuy nothing more than n step forward In tho
Nsiue path OF Improvement. The same saving
"'aoor and reduction Of cost that are secured
',epIhhlng and weaving In u factory instead
"n 'he homes OF tho s~pinnors and weavers
u secured In a greater degree by combining q
"umoer OF factories. as far las practicable. into
Ve' IN place OF competition we have unity of
."Serprlse. The cost of the raw material Is
reduced. and likewise the expenses OF manage
"en' aHd 6i distributing the product. and the
'nuus'ry' from being weakened by being split
Tsm'hg number Of conflicting owners. be-
ali Industrial empire. with all the ad-
,an'asee that imperialism possesses over
divided sovereignty.
"sa'hst this Industrial Imperialism the COM
'pa"' Is made, as has been mentioned. that 1t
"'atL,e"'s men Of small means from under
-Nws manufacturers on their own account and
"1e's 'heu 10 become depcndent for employ
.nn"i" h hlohslrous aggrcGations Of capital:
."' 'neS are II" longer freq laborcrs. but
,.h s' lhis same complaint was made. and
!" iI'le reason, when wha. arc now small
al. superseded the home workshop and
JTTV'eu 'he Workmen under one roof. instead
n. @'hg Them scattered over tho country.