The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-05-04
PLAN OF WICHITA MAN
For the AmeIi0ration Of the Condi
ton Of the World.

} y
ton OF the World
To the Editor Of the Eagle:-If Mr..
Hun has proven consIusivoly (as you in
your Sundays issue intimate he has that
over-production is. and always win be,
an impossibility. why then, of course
the inference inevitably follows that the
reason why we have bare backs and bare
feet in the world today is because we
are not Yet able to produce shirts and
| shoes enough to go around to all the
! people, and that, as soon as machinery
| has been sufficiently developed to ena-
bic mankind 10 produce enough of the
| necessities and luXuries Of life for every
| body. then everybody viii be supplied.
That such an idea as that IS should be,
| in measure, endorsed editorially in
the Eagle, is to me a matter of amaze
ment
Instead Of practically agreeing with Mr.
Hull that there cannot be too many
shirts or shoes produced so long as there
are bare backs TO be covered or bare feet
to be shod." the editor Of the Eagle
ought TO know that after they have been
produced, the getting of the shirts and
shoes onto the bare back and and feet of
the consumer is Just as difficult and ex-
pensive a task as Is the producing of
the goods. In other words. that the pro-
ducing of a shirt is only just barely half
the work of covering a bare back; and
that, unless the other half of the work
Is done, the back viii remain bare and
the shirt become shop-worn on the shelf |
That there are bare backs and bare feet
in the world today is not owing to any
lack Of shirts and shoes in existence. |
and everybody knows It. The true rea- !
son is that the above mentioned last |
half of the work" of covering the backs /
and feet that are bare. fails Of accom- |
plishment because everything nowadays /
is being done largely by machinery the /
owner of the hare back can no longer !
find his half OF the work to do We ali /
know perfectly well that the factories. /
warehouses and market places are today |
ali crowded to overlooking with all kinds !
cf commodities And we also know that. |
II the necessary outlet for the products /
could be found, the producing capacity
or the world in manufacturing could cas-
ily be doubled just as quick as the nee
essary machinery could be soften in place
10 Go the work
over production can be and is today
being carefully guarded against and kept
down, and win therefore never bereaf-
ter be a source of any great mischief to
the civilized world.
The great anG all-important difficulty
with the worlds business organism to-
lay is chronic under consumption of the
necessities and luxurios OF life. caused.
not by lack O.. producing capacity in
mankind as was the case a hundred years
ago. but by a chronic lack of proper dis
tribution Of Purchasing power among the
masses.
Distribution Of purchasing power among
The masses has always until recent years
been accomplished by means OF every
tody having employment. our economic
system is based upon the theory that
lrO0uction Of the necessities and luxu-
RIGS OF life is carried on by the same
esency, or at least by somewhat nearly
the same agency that consumption is
carried on. namely. the human being;
and that everybody therefore has en-
Di0yment steadily.
This part Of the economic system the
labor-savins machine has already partly
destroyed; and. as machinery continues
10 be improved. the destruction stil con-
tinues. We are today taking the work
II production away from the human be-
Ing and giving il 70 the machine 70 such {
a tremendous extent that there are no {
longer as many Jobs as there are people {
even during periods of the greatest in Z
dUsrial activity; hence we have lack Of
proper distribution of purchasing power L
ard It's resultant consumption OF 7
the good things Il life Instead Of try {
ing TO disguise the true condition Of our 4 q
economic affairs ias he appears 10 have T
BEEN Il Mr.. Han had spent his energies s
n seeking To discover some way iu which S
the human race could use all the labor e
saving machinery that has been or VIII e
be invented without making fewer jobs L
han there are people. he would have 8
been entitled to the esteem Of his fellow @
men. whether he had succeeded or not o
For this is. In my opinion an economic Z
question of exceeding Erear Importance : O
Mankind can employ large amount Of 4
abor-savfnC machinery in '-5ust any old r
way without making fewer Jobs than s.
here are people. but the amount We may II
nus use has limit The question IS how j.
hat limit may De EXTENDED. IS onIy ~ a
comparatively recent Importance from, Ii
be fact that We have never until recent =
ears reached that limit and passed Il 4.
dr. Hull evidently does not believe there
: any s,,ch l.uit; he has doubtless ,ust n
jumped n The conclusion that as some 2.
teau machinery. used without any LEGAL z
estriction. did not result iu fewer iobs ii
han there were people. that therefore 4
n unlimited amount of such machinery u
would net 50 result In opposition 20 this p.
onciusion Of dr. HUI I myself have an
nswer u tho question Of bow machifrv =.
nav be employed 10 an unlimited extent *
Without making fewer opportunities Ter Il
eopie than there are people. which. with q
our Kind permission. desire n this con 81