The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-24
CHAPTER VIZ.

How Wealth Essentially Originates.
How does nation or community
grow richer? The question would be an
swered after a fashion by saying that
group Of human beings is better off
with every addition it makes to the store
of those things which our first two chap
tiers defined as wealth. This is quite true,
but we wish, if possible, representations
of the process of wealth growth as if
it were going on before our eyes and not
merely to have a definition of it.
Some have thought that a nations
wealth was added to only by increasing
its stock of money. Clearly this is not
the only way. Adding to the money sup
ply in a country is matchmaking op-
GRAFTON only where money is needed and
needed more than the articles which have
to be parted with to secure the money.
Thus balance of foreign trade in our
favor at any time meaning an excess
of exports over imports, the difference
coming back in money, is not necessarily
sign of prosperity, though, at times, it
may be such 1t is another error to sup
pose manufacturing necessarily more
productive than agriculture; another to
regard agriculture the sole method OF
accommodating wealth. A class of writer's
prominent in France 100 years ago con-
sidered manufacturing STERILE" as hav-
ing no effect, but just to change the
form of things. Whatever value it might
add to materials they regarded as merely
the worth of the food tools, ETC., con-
sumed by the laborers in the process.
Trade, too. these writer's thought "ster-
lie, merely passing wealth from one
hand to another, what merchants won
being at the cost of the nation. So clear
a head as John Locke falls into the per-
feotly patent error that what one party
to a bargain gains the other must lose.
Boisguillebert makes clear the prodic-
tiveness of wise exchange by supposing
three men bound to stakes 100 PAGES
apart, the first with a stock of Yictuals.
but naked; the second with huge pile
of fuel, but no food the third with a
superfuity of clothing, but no other sup-
plies. Could they exchange, all three
would be happy; as they cannot, all three
die.
s Take another case One man owns
dray horse, but needs a roadster; Sec
ond needs a dray horse, but owns a
roadster. They exchange and both are
richer. The community is also richer,
since both these citizens can now better
perform their work.
Transportation not infrequently orig
mates wealth. An instance is the ice
trade prevalent between New England
and the West Indies before so much ice
was manufactured in the tropics. AS
early as 1913 Boston shipped 55.090 tons.
Uncut it cost 25 cents ton; packed in
the ship $2.55. AT destination it brought
Ss5 ton, an advance of more than $500
000, almost entirely due to transportation
alone. Carloads upon carloads of hides
go yearly from New York city to Chat
tsnooga to be tanned and returned az
11ot In, trou ic he
cause of the increased value; it is only
the condition thereof, being necessary in
order that the excellent tanning proper
ties of the Tennessee chestnut burr oak
may be utilized.
1t is thus clear that wealth production
never consists in the creation of new
material deed beyond finite power. 1t
is the bringing into existence by con-
scious finite act of some-of those things,
properties influences or relations which
build up mems temporal welfare We
originate wealth by so shaping, cembin-
ing or placing given elements or forces
of the universe or of mans nature as
to bring forth, impart or increase utility.
Immaterial wealth is begotten by the
development or training of useful intel
1ectual power, skill, sleight of habit, or
by putting human beings in some way
into new relations to each other or to
nature.
Material wealth is b2aught into Being
in many ways of which the following
are the most usual and typical: First,
by rendering available to men the useful
elements or the spontaneous products of
nature, as by hunting, trapping, gather
ing wild fruits or taking water gratis
from the springs or streams and pur-
veying it to people at distance; second,
by extracting minerals, gold, silver, iron,
diamonds, etc, from the earth; third, by
growing vegetable or animal produce by
the wise direction of natures forces;
fourth, by transporting things from place
to place, as corn, when they are burn
ing it in Kansas, to New York, where
it will bring from so cents to 81 per
bushel; fifth, by changing the mechanical
form of matter, as in making tools, fur
niture or cloth. or its chemical consti-
tuition, as in manufacturing soap; sixth,
by exchanging things between different
owners, as In the case of any trade
in which both parties gain seventh, by
creating any material device calculated
to be helpful in one of the above offices.
These processes are all positive in their
nature. but there is also what may be
denominated the negative production of
wealth. All prevention of decrease in
wealth or of the destruction of wealth,
no inconsiderable part Of the work Of
clergy judges, army and police, is neg
ative production. The public servants
named do not for the most part make
additions to the community's stock of
wealth, but their exertions are of char
acter to prevent that loss. that diminu-
ton of wealth, which would be sure
to occur were these exertions not put
forth Religious and other teachers may