The Redwood gazette., 1910-08-10

till the son or who live close TO X r.
absolutely necessary We might nnd
temporary relief by letting down our
tariff barriers to the wheat or Canada
and the cattle OF Argentina. but such
relief would be only temporary. The
inflow OF cheaper meat and bread
would but accelerate the growth Of
the cities. When the limit of the pro-
duction or Canada and South America
was reached we would face another
crisis OF high prices. this time much
more serious than we are undergoing
at present. The only way the price
level can be permanently adjusted and
lasting prosperity assured is by in
creasing the proportion OF country
dwellers.
At present there are too many drones
Ia the hives OF industry. The unearn-
ed increment, the rapid rise In real
estate values for which community
growth Is responsible, has placed hun
dreds Of thousands OF people where
they can live from the proceeds OF
rents-liye without working. They are
granted perpetual tax upon the in
dustry of others-on the necessity Of
people to live. Legislation that will
put heavy tax on this unearned in
crement viii in large measure right
this wrong and force the property
owners into productive labor. The
decentralizing of the cities will force
down the abnormally high rents and
help to thin the ranks of the people
whom excessive rents have allowed to
remain in idleness.
Aside from the people who do not
work, there is a vast army of nonpro-
ducers who are supported by the men
who work at productive labor Our
system of getting goods from producer
to consumer is needlessly expensive
and cumbersome. There are too many
middlemen on the way, who through
custom have come to think they have
a divine right to an easily earned share
of the consumers dollar
Much Of this awkward system of dis
tribution has been made necessary by
the concentration of the manufactur-
ing industries in large cities and by
! the location Of these cities without ref.
erence to the markets for their manu-
factured goods or the source of Their
food supply. 1t has been estimated
that If Philadelphia were located close
to its food supply the cost of living in
that city would be reduced 20 per cent
The time has come for radical re
adjustment of the system of distribu
ton. The consumer and the produces
must be brought closer together and {
large share of the energy wasted il
duplication and rehandling of producti
turned into productive labor. As al
example, there are nearly 100000 com
mercial travellers in this country
These men are well fed and well paid
The cost Of selling goods through then
is enormous. The consumer pays thi
cost in increased prices. The plan o
selling all sorts Of goods in small quan
titles by personal solicitors is rem
uant of the old days of cutthroat com
petition. 1t has little, if any, place il
modern business. Today business ha
been put on scientific basis Consol
i idation is the keyword Of efficiency
Consolidation has reached its highes
development in manufacture. Trans
portation is not far behind it. 1t /
time that competition the kind o
competition that fosters inefficiency
duplication and excessive COSTS elm
mated from the unproductive indus
tries.
In the very nature Of the case ther,
must always be class Of unproduc