The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-18
POWER AND MACHINERY
ADDRESS By f. b. THURBER AT THE
TRANSMIsSISSIPPI CONGRESS-.
Some of the Effects of LabOr-Savine
InventiOns-"Wider Markets and
How to Get Them"

HOUSION, Tex, April l.-Ine eleventh
annual session of the Transmississi2pi
Congress formally opened this morn
ing by President E o. Stannard. of st.
Louis. The morning session was taken up
with addresses of welcome and responses
thereto. At the conclusion of the first
sion the different State delegations met and
selected vice presidents, executive commit
teemen and members of committees on
resolutions and permanent organization.
Hon. John H. r. Pitkin, of New Orleans,
was the first speaker, his subject being
1.-The South and the Seas" He advised
Southern ports to get together and advo-
Gated the ship subsidy bill now pending in
Congress.
At the conclusion of his address resolu-
lions were called for and several were in
PRODUCED, among them three indorsing the
merchant marine subsidy bill now pending
in Congress, indorsng the Nicaraguan
canal, advocating statehood for New Mex
leo and indorsing efforts to secure deep
water at Houston. Mr.. Montgomery, of
Colorado. introduced a resolution instruct
ing the president to request w. J. Bryan,
as ex-president of the congress- to attend
the sessions of the congress. With few
dissenting votes the rules were suspended
and the resolution was adopted.
F. B. Thurber, of New York, then read
an address, on wider Markets and How
to Get Them" He said in part: Power
and machinery brought to bear upon our
wonderful natural resources have in
creased production that wider markets are
necessary If We would escape in the future
more frequent periods of overstocked home
markets. idle mills, and commercial crises
Hon. Carroll ID. Wright, United States
commissioner of labor, and one of our
most conservative statisticians, recently
stated the result of his investigations of
the relative productive power of hand and
machine labor.
"a thousand paper bags could formerly
be made in six hours and thirty minutes by
| hand; they are now made in forty minutes
with the aid of a machine. To rule ten
reams of paper on both sides by hand re-
quired 1850 hours; with a ruling machine
the work is done I'm two hours and thirty
minutes of one mans time. In Smelling
corn by hand, sixty-six hours and forty
minutes would be required to shell guam
tity which can be handled by a machine in
thirty-six minutes. A moving machine
cuts seven times as mucn grass per hour
as one man can cut with a scythe. These
examples might be extended indefinitely,
but a more forceful illustration is found by
considering the total horsepower applied
to machines In this country and calculat-
ing how many men 1t would require to do
the work. For such calculations the census
figures OF 1890 must be used
lone horse power is equivalent to the
power of six men. Thus. II the work of
| GO. 4M men in the flour mills of the United
States is supplemented with the use of
52365 horsepower, the power is equivalent
to the work of 4,514,190 additional men.
In other words, the power does seventy-one
times as much work as the employees. The
llxr IT,
tries. Mr.. Wright finds that the toal horse
power used In the United States i'm 1890
was about 6.000,Go0, equivalent to the work
of about 100000 men, while only 4.476SS4
persons were employed, the two kinds of
power having ratio of to l. A force of
| &c, 100000 men represents a population of
| 1901 900. so that. if the products of the
manufacturing establishments all
made by hand, IL would require a popula-
ton of that size to do IL, with none left for
agriculture, trade. transportation, mining.
forestry. the professions, or any other &C.
equations.
"A still more striking illustration is found
in our transportation system. In 1890 there
were over 10000 locomotives in this country.
II would take 57.9i0.320 horses TO do their
work, or 347, $3.50 men. In countries like
China nearly all the work of transportation
is actually done by man power, and no
further explanation of the difference be-
tween America and Asia is required. BY
the use of steam We are evoking aid from
the stored-up heat in our coal beds equiva-
lent TO the population of the whole earth,
while the Chinaman lets his coal lie under
ground. packs his load on his back. and
does his manufacturing largely by hand.
There are LAO, 900 people on the earth.
of which we have 100000. but they are
the most ingenious, energetic and progress
sive people on the face of the earth. We
make literally thousands of articles so
much more useful and convenient for the
purposes of mankind than those which
they have been using that all we have
to do is to show our goods and the world
will buy them.
"As a rule the same methods which are
successful in developing home market
will be successful abroad. Show your goods
and advertise them. First catch the eye,
must be done by competent representatives
| in the language of the country. Ever since
| the confusion OF tongues at the tower of
| Pabel diversity OF languages has been a
barrier TO commerce. We must teach
modern languages in high schools and edu-
cate our young men as our competitors for
the worlds trade are educating theirs.
We must have permanency and promotion
in our consular service, international
| banks. ocean cables and all that makes for
wider markets.
"while the interests of labor and capital
sometimes diyerge on the question or how
| the profits of industry shall be divided they
are absolutely identical the question OF
keeping those industries going; and the
party which will keep the workingmans
| dinner pail full is the party which ought
| TO be kept in power, for il means good
markets for the farmer. good profits for
the merchant. employment for the profess
sional classes and prosperity for all
George b. Harrison. jr.. OF Missouri. fol-
lowed in an address on the consular serv-
ice.
At the conclusion OF the address Mr..
Harrison introduced a resolution reaffirm-
ing the declaration OF the congress at
Wichita in favor OF trained nonpartisan
consular service.
Mr. Young. of Utah. arose to a question
of privilege. and declared the resolution