The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1903-04-11
The Competitive System.

viduals, is almost as old as the
human race, but as space will not
admit of full discussion of this
subject, / shall only attempt to
show how it became great power,
overcoming and to a great extent,
destroying all other systems pre-
ceding it.
During the early years in which
cOmmercialism was gaining in
power the free labOTers of the
the cities owned and controlled
their own tools, and the materials
upon which they worked, and
were the rightful owners as well
as the actual pOssessOrs of the
finished products. Things were
not produced for some unknown
impersonal market, but for some
specific individual whose needs
they were to supply.
The Boss, the Superintendent.
or the owner of factory had not
yet come into existence, so the
only class, the Free labOrer, had to
contend with, was that of the
powerful laborers and mobiles OF
the feudal system, who at that
time still held the power of State.
Exchange between nations or
cities was hampered, restricted,
and regulated at every point in
the interest of a multitude of
little cliques of nobility residing
in different centers of trade. Pop
ulatlon was gathered in small So
cial groups, In towns, villages
and parishes, around individual
members Of the ruling class, and
held together by a system Of land
tenure, which l referred to in my
last article. But within this ap
parently fixed and permanent
social organization, there were the
developing germs of a mighty
transformation that was destined
to change all this almost in the
twinkling Of an eye as compared
with former social changes.
Gradually, but still swiftly, this
change took place. The individ.
ual mechanic began to increase
his business. From being a small
producer, doing his own work,
with possibly the help Of single
man, he became a manufacturer,
employing many other mechanics
and laborers.
This was the commencement of
the new classes of society. The
free labOrer, while endeavOring to
free himself entirely from the
burden placed upon him by the
lords Of the land, came under the
yoke of the manufacturer; in other
words, while gaining his liberty in
one direction he lost it in another.
He was not able to perceive that
he was only obtaining a change
of matters, and that the time
would soon arrive when he would
be as much of slave to his new
masters as he had been to the
Feudal. lords. He could not see
that if he worked with tools, fur.
nished him by his employer, he
would be as much at the mercy of
that employer as if he were owned
by him. He failed to understand
that if the tools by which he pro.
cured the necessities of life could
not be obtained without selling
his labor power to the class that
owned them, he would actually
be in the same condition as The
serf who belonged to the land,
and could not use it without the
consent of the owner Of the soil.
The free laborers of the cities,
and also the serfs of the country.
not being able to look into the
future, were perfectly willing te
help the manufactures or trades
men obtain control of the govern
ing powers, they knew full well
what was, and what had been
their conditions in the past and
thought that the change would
be for the better, so they followed
blindly the lead of those who
knew full.well that the overthrow
of the feudal lords would mean
the substitution Of the leaders OF
the commercial class IN the ruler.
ship Of the nations.
To secure this, they enlisted the