The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-22

Not long ago the Journal had occasion to
remark that a good deal of the long-explod-
ed economic theory that there was just a
fixed amount of work to be done and wages
to be paid still fingered with number Of
the less progressive labor unions, as exem-
plified in certain restrictions on the amount
of work to be done by the individual. the
number of machines to be looked after by
one man. the proportion of apprentices
allowed and the hours of labor. If any
fact has been established by the science of
economics it is that work creates wealth,
increases the purchasing power of the peo-
pie. permits them to satisfy more of their
wants. and thus creates an increased de-
mand for labor. The thing increases not in
geometrical proportion, for nothing that
has to do with human nature is entirely
regular, but the demand grows very rapid
ly just the same.
The fight for shorter hours may be justi-
fled on higher grounds, as a raise in the
standard of living, but for the restriction
on the amount of work one man shall do,
or the number of machines he shall attend,
which is the same thing, there can be no
reasonable justification in either economics
or social science. The only possible result
to the workman can be the limitation of his
possibilities of getting ahead in the strug-
gle for a competence, the killing of his IN
dividual ambition. The effect on capital
invested in productive enterprises is to
Hr,it itc nroduot;vapacs xrarv cariouslv and
thus increase unnecessarily the cost of pro-
duction. 1t is a very serious matter for
the manufacturer to fail to get from costly
machinery the economies it should pro-
duce. because of arbitrary labor restric-
tions.
The restrictions on the proportion of ap-
prentices and the ridiculously long appren-
ticeship in some of the trades originally
arose among the old guilds from this
ancient theory of fixed wage fund in the
world. and is chung to in the effort to
create an artificial scarcity of skilled labor.
However. economic laws are a good deal
stronger than the efforts of any number
of men, no matter how numerous or how
we'll organized. Glass blowers probably
came nearer to creating an artificial mo-
nopoly of their business than any
other trade has ever reached, but
this very fact compelled the en-
ployers to strive increasingly for a
machine that would break this monop-
oily until they finally succeeded. To the
restriction on apprentices in most of the
skilled trades may be traced much of the
encouragement given to schools of manual
!! training. and even the higher technical
schools owe some of their popularity to the
restrictions thrown about young men in
shops.
The right Of the individual to live means
nothing if the right to work be denied him
| The natural course of industry can be
| turned aside here and there for longer OIL
shorter periods by artificial means, but II
| cannot be diverted altogether for any great
| length of time. Sooner or later origina
| human nature will assert itself all along
| the line in this whole matter of the days
| work. The world will get its work done
| and done reasonably, in one way or an.
other.