The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-14
THE B QUESTION.
The Part PIayed in Late Years by Ma
chimes of All Kinds.

chimes of All Kinds.
To the Editor Of the indianapolis Journal:
Too much praise cannot be accorded to
Senator Hanna for his heroic attempt to
throw light upon the burning question of
the day-the labor question, and too much
scorn cannot be heaped upon that narrow
minded crew, who themselves never do
anything. great or small. but from low,
selfish motive, who attribute TO him slnis-
ter motives for what he is doing. His high
personal character, as well as his long and
successful business career. ought to shield
him from such vulgar attacks. but they
do not. These defamerS constitute ar
old tribe, but fortunately their shafts are
usually harmless, though often temporarily
annoying. But II seems to me, with all
his good intentions and his probable par
tial success, the honorable senator, with
many others, has failed TO tackle the prin-
cipal factor in the whole business. The
patent fact-the underlying fact of all is
that not one-tenth the manual labor is re-
CURED now TO produce given results that
was required even fifty years ago, nor one
twentieth that was required in America a
hundred years ago. Two men in a saw
mill of to-day will turn out a hundred
times as much building material of it's kind
as two men could a hundred years ago with
a whip saw, and two men in a planning
mill Will turn out fifty times as much in
floors and doors and sash and other finish
ings of a house as two men could do a
hundred years ago and much later, and
the same is true of nearly every vocation
except farming. and there is not one-fourth
the manual labor on a farm that was re-
CURED even fifty years ago. Even the
printing business has dismissed three
fOurths or more of it's working force, as IL
was when every impression of every paper
had to be made by a hand press. and every
form" had TO be specially linked by the
roller boy, and every sheet had to be folded
by hand. Only a few years ago here in
N oil E0 a nDnT - tho fUnaGaffnrz
were turned out 20 seek other e-mplCyments
or to starve by the Introduction of the
type-setting machine. The Introduction of
labOr-SaVing machinery is the sole cause
of the present Industrial embarrassment.
1t has completely wiped out some honorable
and profitable industries. n hundred years
ago and much later teamsters and stage
drivers constituted an honorable and in
dispensable body of men, but the ubiquitous
railroad has left hardly one in the United
States. The employees of these railroads
constitute an immense army, but one man
on a railroad transports more goods and
more passengers and more mail than 500
did before railroad times. What has be-
come of the 449 who have been turned out
of employment? 1t is not extravagant,
therefore, to assume that not one-twen-
tieth as much manual labor is required
now to produce given results as was re-
quired a hundred years ago and much later,
hence the burning question is. what can
the Ousted men do for a living2 And this
question will never be settled until it is
80 AA2LAF oA1 II w AAA III III
right until it is settled on the fundamental
principle of the Christian religion-Of the
Hebrew religion, i ought to say, as il was
explained and enjoined by that model
teacher of Hebrew doctrine. the Christ.
How much the remedy proposed by Sen
atOr Hanna is built upon the Christ motto,
DO unto others as We would they should
do unto you" l do not say. 1t is enough
for the present to say that the question
will never be settled by a few of us mo-
nOpOliZing the best industries and not al
lowing others to work in them.
The operation of labor-saving machinery
necessarily requires great concentration of
capital. Railroads., and factories, and
printing houses, and steamships, and de-
partment stores, and coal mines cannot be
conducted without the concentration of
much money in the hands of individuals or
the golden rule before an ideal industrial
and social condition can obtain. This new
order requires an army of employees. These,
too. must observe the same divine law.
and. while entitled to a fair share of the
proceeds OF their labor, they are not to
assume and assert that they alone are
entitled to employment. Give every man a
chance. Senator Hanna is doing a great
work. and he is working in the right direc-
ton. but the foundation truth must be
recOgnized-that labOr-saving machinery
has revolutioniZed conditions, and any and
every attempt TO adjust capital TO labor
or labor to capital, as the relation of EN-
plOyer and emplOye, is enormously olassi-
fed. must recognize this condition. 1t is
a big question. but it will be solved in time.
and that time is not far in the future.
The schoOlhOuse, next 10 the church, if not
more than the church-or, better. the
schOolhouse and the church, working hand
in hand. will bring about the necessary
adjustment. L. L. SEE.
VHHgo-anafga Ay- -