Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-11-03
INDUSTRIAL COMBINATIONS.

1900.
A combination ct labor is a trades
union. a combination Of intelligence a
university. a 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
coincldent 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 subdivide 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 opp0si-
| ton. There have always been those
who, appealing to special interests, to
the unsuccessful, the Disconnected 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
|
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
| have been opened to them through the
| great systems of railways, which have
resulted in the heavy steel rail, the 50
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 suprem-
acy of the American farmer, the Amer
! 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
whose leadership, If accepted. owing to
! their inexperience, would conduct us to
! inevitable disaster.
Centralized manufacture permits the
| highest development of special machin-
| cry and processes. The factory run
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 it's as yet
| highest development here in the United
| States. Every unprejudiced man must
recognize its advantages and that it is
| because of them that we are taking SC
| 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 a 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 sutti-
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 a 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, the manufacturer 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, $2,500,-
| 100000.
| Latest Republican Forecast
Hon. j. II. Manley of the Republican
national committee on Oct. 22 issued
/ Il. fnr.n.nr+ &c lar.