The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-11-06
INDUSTRIAL COMBINATIONS.

Extracts From the Address by
Charles r.. Flint to the Illinois
manufacturers Association Oct. o,
1000.
A combination of labor is a trades
union, combination of intelligence a
university, combination of money a
bank; an Industrial combination is a
combination of labor, intelligence and
money.
In studying the evolution Of indus
trial life we find that combination is
coincident with civilization. Savages
have little power to combine, because
combination depends on trust in our
fellow man, and in primitive life it is
fear that rules.
One of the first steps in Industrial
evolution was to subdiyide production
into trades. Each did what he could
do best, settling accounts by an ex-
change of products. Later those en-
gagged in the same trade formed part
nerships, then corporations and finally
consultations of corporations.
Against this march of industrial
progress there has always been opposi-
ton. There have always been those
who, appealing to special interests, to
the unsuccessful, the discontinued and
the misinformed, have endeavored to
obtain political favor by opposing prog
ress, by endeavoring to prevent the
natural and mutually beneficial coop
GRAFTON between capital and labor.
In this great territory of ours we al
ways have with us those who try to
make people believe that their siding
Is the main track. We have had the
"Know Nothing" craze, the Green
back" craze, the Granger" craze and
the silver craze, but they were all re-
jected by the good sense of the Ameri-
can people. Today our farmers recog-
nize that the markets of the world
great systems of railways, which have
resulted in the heavy steel rail, the 80
ton locomotive and the continuous haul.
Economically the wheatfields of Da-
kota are nearer to London and Paris
than the farms of Yorkshire and Bur-
gundy.
The men of sound judgment, leaders.
in the industrial wars for the supreIn
acy of the American farmer, the Anne
lean manufacturer and the American
wage Garner, should not be disturbed
by the clamor of those who are not in
the struggle and therefore cannot APP
preciate the actual conditions and
xr,1ooco loo archirl If oooonfo6 oxliO<y m
their inexperience, would conduct us to
inevitable disaster.
Centralized manufacture permits the
highest development of special machin-
cry and processes. The factory rum
ming full time on large volume reduces
the percentage of overhead charges.
Direct sales on large scale minimize
the cost of distribution Capitalization
of manufacture and distribution reduce
aggregate stocks and therefore save
shop wear, storage, insurance and in
terest. Consolidated management re-
suits in fixing the standards of quality,
the best standards being adopted; in
avoiding waste and financial embar-
rassment through overproduction, in
less loss by bad debts through COM
PARSONS of credit and in securing the
advantages of comparative accounting
and comparative administration.
Industrial evolution, which is as in
evitable and as unalterable as the law
of gravitation, has attained its as yet
highest development here in the United
States. Every unprejudiced man must
recognize it's advantages and that it is
because of them that we are taking 80
important a position in the worlds
markets, increasing our national wealth,
furthering the welfare and increasing
the prosperity of our people.
The tendency is today to minimum
of profits and to a maximum of wages.
When profits become abnormal they
invite competition and are Immediately
reduced, in which case the consumer is
benefited solely. If they are not suf1i-
GENTLY abnormal to invite competition,
then labor demands a larger share of
the profit in the form of increased
wages and it is either voluntarily or
necessarily agreed to, in which case
the body of wage earners reap the adj
vantage. The wage earners of the
United States are today enjoying
higher standard of living and larger
measure of well being than wage earn
ers have ever before enjoyed in the his
tory Of the world They are the real
money power The railroad managers
have rails and rolling stock, the miner
has mines,s the manufactures has
bricks, mortar and machinery, and
most of them have debts, and many are
mortgaged to the banks for savings,
but the wage earners in the United
States have on deposit in cash in the
. savings banks, subject to call, $780,