Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1912-02-21
HILL ON COMPETITION

Ien@. ! Hell = evidezstIy bibli-zI scholar
=. vel - : rziF5zd builder and like most Who
haze stadsed she Bible closely b. firmly belieTes
thar hnmzn nature has nof changed particle 70 I
fbe rhree thoussnd YEAR ~ thereabouts- Waleh
have e.ersed sine~ solomon wrote I'D that ran
t@ .aH8 sbanr that subject Since men have al-
ways strIxen wErh sne Another for what they Dr.
sir ur TEM $ convinced thst composition VIII
Dngs dse ouf with the truman rare
pr Il'i o.. bern : egmIsstit0r al his life lie
g0s ~ government grant for his railroad, but he
bui.f II - compete with subsidized railroads on
i.sf6 silas 81 the international boundary line His
own exTrrienre gives him confidence ~ BIZ Po-
s5tian Still ne may b. mistaken. for some things
haze changed ~ the last century and half
ihongA to- desires and passions II men are Just
- Solomon de.eribed them-
TIE invenf0n u the steam engine, the appli-
estion u electricity 10 industrial arts and the de-
yIapment 81 the factory system have completely
altered the methods Of producing the chief aTti-
ei-s Il merchandise Where men once worked
simgiy Or il small groups. they now work IN
small armies under one control The division
II labor has been carried to such an extent that
the average workman does not know how 70 make
the finished article On part Of which he exer-
cises his skill This division Of labor and union
0f effort 5 something and IL effect on soeial
conditions has been revolutionary
II the Old days the shoemaker or cabinetmaker
who worked for another could start IN business
If lis trade and room ~ which to work
and If b. was possessed Of sufficient skill he
could compete successfully from the start
The factory empIoye cannot do this today
without eulisting the cooperation of capital The
character Of competition has changed with meth
DDS II manufacture Working alone or IN small
groups men fixed the selling price Of what they
produced basis Of cost Of labor and material
No one could have stock on hand large enough
to disturb market prices when forced to sale.
This is al changed today a manufacturer
employing five thousand hands can soon aeeumu-
late stock Of goods the sacrifice Of which will
break the market. Such competition may easily
become rlnons The state Of the cement trade
today i an excellent Illustration Of this fact
Priee-cutting ii cement must soon stop the
manufacturers win al be broke Such cond
ton naturally leads 10 agreements 10 restore
prices and save the industry
The small lImeburners and cementmakers
Of days gone by only competed locally with one
another and prices were stable
Since the steel trade is now under considera
ton and sIr Hill Is one IF the chief witnesses
il MAY b. remembered with interest that absurd
competition and price-eutting some twenty years
ago put the price Of wire nails below the price oil
the raw steel billets from which the wire wa,
drawn. Wire rods were cheaper By the ton thar
bilets. wire cheaper than rods and wir,
nails were sold for less than wire; and this wal
went on until junk dealers could buy nails anc
sell them for scrap Al a profit That sort Of com
petition did no one any good
II was simply trial Of financial strength foi
which there was no more real justification thar
for barroom brawl Human nature has moi
changed but it has had to accommodate itself t,
changed conditions many times since the days Of
Solomon.