The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-06

area of equal population. But the
United States have a tremendous pros
ductive capacity, which is crying for
markets! markets! and still more
markets! reinforced as it is by a coun-
try Of rich soil, rich mines and rich
of products will furnish the necessary
market. "a shorter working day,
with undiminished or increased pay
is a, step in the right direction.
Mr.. Parry's contention that the high
wages paid to one workman are paid
by his fellow workmen when they buy
the articles produced leads to the lOgi-
cal conclusion that it would be best
for everyone to work without COM
pensation, inasmuch as we have to
pay out the money again in paying
the other fellows wages whenever we
buy anything. The indiscriminate rails
ing of wages would lead to an equally
impossible result. We must, therefore,
consider that, in the last analysis,
money Is only q form of trade
checks" to facilitate distribution and
interchange of products and any in
crease in wages must be within the
limits and opportioned in amounts to
the various lines Of work, as the hui
man experience of thousands of years
dictates. It is just as necessary for
the highest human development that
there should be places of power and
wealth to strive after, as it is that
no one willing to work should be de-
| prived of a comfortable existence,
however lowly the station in life.
An Example. s
The fact that at all times there is
an army of unemployed, the fact that
scarcely a line of industry can give
! CT r1lO
year, or series of years, shows that
labor is right in it's contention that
the working day is too long to permit
all who are willing to work to be
continuously employed, and the fact
that all lines of industry are clamor-
ing for larger markets, and that, with
present wages, products accumulate al
short intervals, tho millions Of PEG.
pie are in need Of or can use those
very products and are willing to work
for them, proves cOnclusively thai
more money must be apportioned Out
among the people in wages. To make
this plain, let us assume that the pop.
ulation Of the earth is only twenty
persons, living on assectiona of lant
from which the subsistence of thu
twenty is drawn. One man owns thu
entire property and controls all oper
atoms, and in return for services rem
dered he issues trade checks" Blu
the amount OIL tFduo CHECKS lSSueu i
sufficient to trade-in only a portion
of the products produced, making al
lowance for what the owner consume
and for products laid away for fail
ure of crops or other calamity, AM
from the very first year surplus be
: gins to accumulate. However, tn
nineteen working people get along
as their trade checks are sufficient t
supply their necessities. At the en-
; Of certain number of years the own
er concludes that he has accumulate
: surplus of products so large that h
must suspend operations until sal
surplus is consumed. Those of tn
nineteen who have lived in such
way as to use up their trade check
l as they went along, are immediatel
r thrown on the charity of the ownel
: The rest Of the twenty may manag
: to tide themselves over the period {
4 suspended operations, but they mu!
e do so on a lowered standard of Liz
s ing. Thus we have a condition wher
e a group of twenty individuals unde
8 one captain OF industry have con
e bined to produce the things necesss
n ry for subsistence, and they have az
r tually produced more than is nece:
/, sary, but because of the low stane
e ard Of living produced by the Unite
r number of pay checks, a large quar-
VI tity of products has accumulated 9