Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-06-03

tune Of the country, that many OF Its
legislators know very little about the
real troubles of the man who Is con-
Quoting q store or a factory or a farm.
This Is an age of progress and these
men in washington should keep up
with the procession. Five years ago,
an automobile was considered great
luxury. To-day, Iowa, a state not con-
sidered as having many rich people In
1t, has $4,000 utomobiles-the largest
number per capita of any. state. That
seems to be getting toward the equal
distribution Of wealth.
The man who buys an automobile or
any other manufactured article and
pays for it, Is distributing wealth In
the only way 1t can be distributed
that Is by purchasing an article the
making of which gives employment.
This talk Of revolution in the sense
in which 1t Is now being used by public
speakers Is not new. 1t Is as old as
the hills. 1t grows out Of continuous
criticism, and the supply of that COM
modify seems to be unlimited.
The revolution that Is going to come
in this country is one that Is cont1nu-
ously going on 1t is revolution OF
business methods caused by the
progress of the world. The politician
cannot stop progress-legislati can
only temporarily check 1t. The man
who thinks there is no competition IN
business today, is the man who has no
investment in business and gives no
employment.
inu0nfnA
the sewing machine, it was regarded
by many as public calam1ty-lt was
going to put all the sewing women IN
the big cities out OF employment and
they would starve. But 1t did not 40
it. The result was that these women
adapted themselves to the new line OF
work, the old spinning wheel In the
home went out of business and more
people wore "store" clothes. When
the trolley car was discovered" 1t was
going to do away with the demand for
horses, but horses are worth more now
than they were then. When the type
setting machines were placed on the
market they caused some alarm, too,
but the typographical union said, we
will not fight these machines, we will
operate them. The result is that there
are more printers working today, at
shorter hours and better pay, than
ever before.
In the last few years many lines Of
business have been centralized and
systematized under department man
agement, and conducted on a gigantic
scale, but at the same time, it must
be borne in mind, the country has en-
joyed a period of. prosperity and the
fullest employment at universally
increased wage scale. In the mean
time, our public schools, our colleges
and churches have kept pace-there IS
a general advancement.
These are conditions that mark
progress. They cannot be stopped.
The cities do not want to go back from
the department store to the little gen
eral store; the farmers are not going
back to the scythe and cradle. In the
natural progress Of things the time
has passed when the shoemaker made
a pair Of shoes and sold them to his
neighbour; when the blacksmith and
the wagon maker made three or Tour
wagons year and sold them In the
neighborhood, yet all these things can
be bought for less now than they could
under the old way. {
1t Is not necessary to destroy the
institutions of today: Competition will
arise when prices Of staple goods are
exorbitant, and lines Of business upon
which the public is dependent for ser
vice, will be justly and eQuitably regu-
lated by the people.
These principles pervade all lines
of business and these conditions are
part of the present. They have been
the cause of big gains and big losses.
They act both for and against invest
ment. It is not all one way.
It Is not necessary to stop all lines
of business while we are fixing one.
The merchant who is remodeling his
store does not shut the door and go
out of business while the work Is be-
ing done. He keeps the store open
and sells goods all the time. That is
the way these matters of regulation
must be. handled-they can be adjusted
without stopping the machinery and
throwing everybody out of employ
ment. That might have been the prop
er way when each family made Its
own clothes, or each line had only a
few employees, but not now.
National and state legislation should
always be such that it will not limit
the field for legitimate investment.
Investment gives employment, and en-
ployment is necessity. The most OF
the people have but one thing to sell
that is their labor. They have to
make a sale Of that before they can
buy anything at any price.