South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-12-26
BY Philip Francis.

of wealth for wealth-wheat for
shoes, for instance. OF course, we
translate the transaction into terms
Of money. but money is only the
medium of exchange mere con-
venience Of trade and not wealth
in itself. a man naked and alone
on a barren island. with neither
food, water nor shelter, would be
abjectly poor if he had a million
dollars in currency. Wealth is Of
no account except for enjoyment.
and nearly all enjoyment is depend
ent on exchange Men exchange
capital and labor for wealth. When
wealth is plentiful it is cheap Less
capital and less labor buy more
wealth, or. as we say. capital earns
higher interest and labor higher
wages.
Boon TO Small Concerns.
IL is certain that increased wealth
production benefits capital and Ia
Dor. and. of course, makes trade
active. In common talk, the more
we make the more we have: the
more we have the more we buy and
the better we live 1t is remark
able how pithily the common max
inns express the laws of political
economy.
The workman says to his mate:
There are too many men in town
for the job" He states the law of
marginal supply and demand with
exactness. He says of the merchant
who is moving heaven and earth
to increase his business: That fell
low is working to raise his rent"
Which is an accurate characterize
ton of the "unearned increment"
IL is a pity so many economic writ
ers are afraid to express themselves
with equal clearness. common sense
and pithiness.
The effect of the common rate
then, on manufacturing, would be a
very great increase of demand for
manufacturers and the establish
ment all over the country of small
local manufactures TO meet this in
crease. Localities possessing nat
ural advantages, such as water
power, convenient coal or raw ma
terials. and which are now de-
barred from making use of these
advantages by prohibitive freight
tariffs, would become the seats of
profitable industries, employing the
home folk and increasing home
trade and values. There are thou
sands of such potentially capable
localities.
Would Reduce Rents.
The most striking change in
American life which has occurred
within the memory of men not yet
old is the almost total disappear
ance of the small manufacturer and
the Independent mechanic. When
men now of middle age were boys
even the smallest village had it's
wagonmaker. Its harnessmaker, its
shoemaker, its cabinetmaker and
the like independent mechanic-man-
ufacturers. In the process of the
country's growth in wealth and pop
ulatiOn nothing would have been
more natural than the growth Of
these small manufacturing shops in
TO larger ones. employing more ap-
prentices and jOurneymen, and
adding their share to the general
increase of local activity and local
wealth.
But we have seen no such growth
take place. on the other hand we
have seen all this multitude of small
manufacturing enterprises perish.
Single wagon factories, located 1000
miles away. devour whole forests of
timber annually and ship the finish
ed product back 10 the region where
grows the timber; single shoe fac
tories in New England take the
hides OF the western cattle and re-
turn the shoes across the continent
to the consumer: even the beef and
mutton of distant states must go
alive 10 one or two monOpOlies in
Chicago or Kansas City and be
shipped back dressed TO the region
from which il came before the local
butcher can sell the meat to his
townsmen. Every form of manu-
featuring has been concentrated in
a few hands and located in a few
centers. This concentration is due
solely TO one cause.-the possession
OF favorable freight rates.
All Matter OF Rates.
To the legal advantage given GER
tain manufacturing interests by the
factor Of distance haul were added
the illegal advantages, which the I'M
scrupulOus were always ready TO
buy. Of secret rebates. But without
any secret rebates the same result
would have occurred. Ia less agra
waited form. by the action OF the dis
lance haul factor alone.
II may be urged that the posses
sion of improved machinery, the
economy of large production and
the power of craftsmanship pos
sessed by the great factories are the
true reasons for their possession OF
monopoly. The obvious reply is that
in the beginning the great factories
had none of these advantages. be-
cause they themselves grew from
small beginnings.
/ Granting the factor OF business
acumen and enterprise as necessary
I 10 success. IL is still certain that
among all the thousands of men in
] business no three or four or a dozen
men possessed 10 themselves a mo-
! DCrSolv of apumeu and pufaruriSq