Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-06-21
From Other Viewpoints
Land, Labor and Capital.
BY HOMER IOYT.

II some business philosopher should break
off n tiny chunk from any part OF indus
trial mechanism and examine a cross section
Of il under the microscope he would md three
distinct kinds OF matter known as land labor
and capital.
Not single business molecule, whether it
be small shop. n farm. or room in big
factory. would lack any OF these three e!e-
rncntary economic substances.
There must be land. some labor and
some capital in every factory and on every
farm or the factory and farm will remain
lifclcss and inert proitless and barren. But
while any combination of the three vital fac
tors will cause the motor of the industry TO
begin TO hum. there is in every case certain
light combination that will yield the maxi.
mum results for the given expenditures Of
effort.
To obtain a correct receipt for mixing land.
labor and capital our business philosopher
might ascend in his airplanc and sweep the
earth with his telescope. He viii certain
parts Of the earth. labeled on the map China"
and India" where the labor atoms are so
numerous in proportion TO the land and capt
tai atoms that the total production is small
and the labor atoms ore feeble and emaciated:
He will see other parts OF the earth labeled
Australia" South America" and Africa
where the land atoms numerous and
abundant but where the labor and capital
particles too few to insure n large pro-
duction While the labor particles well
fed in these sections. there still remain great
unabsorbed units Of land which have not been
attacked by the labor capital atoms. and
which consequently have not given OF any
productive power.
Then our business philosopher will
other section OF tho world labeled Europe"
where the proportions OF land, labor and cap
itnl fairly well-balanccd, but where the
productive reaction Is sluggish because de-
structive has crippled the labor atoms
and torn up some land atoms.
Finally, the gaze of philosopher will
rest upon the North American continent
particularly upon the United States. Where
he viii balancing OF the three factors
tina, is the most productive OF results The
labor atoms are abundant enough to react Wig
oiousty upon the particles OF land and capital.
but not plentiful that unemployed labor
atoms are floating around without capital
land TO operate upon.
There are. on the other hand, unabSo rbed
pieces OF land and capital. In spite OF some
temporary inertia due to strikes. there is on
the whole a vigorous productive reaction and
every particle or the economic organism seems
wen nourshcd and well satisfied
The surplus labor atoms in Europe and Asia
tend flow automatically to places where
there are unemployed land and capital atoms.
such in the Americas and Australia. Gut
man made barriers such as oriental cx,lu-
sion acts and litcracy tests. prevent many Of
the cxccss labor atoms of Europe and Asia
from coupling up with their afhnitics situated
on other continents.
The proportion of land labor and capital in
any one country beyond the control Of
any one man. The extent and quality Of land
are hXed by nature. the quality OF capital Is
determined by previous production and the
thrifty impulses OF masses OF people. and the
number fitness OF the population depends
upon sexual impulses and the standard OF liy-
ing OF the multitude.
The national supply of land. labor and ca pr
| tai 10 some extent controls every business man
within the nation. Thus business man in
! China Will mix relatively large amount OF
the cheap labor with small amount OF land
end carital. while the business man in Amer
lea Will do exactly the opposite, or he viii uso
relatively little OF the expensive labor with
much land and capital.
! Yet every business man must determine for
himself. by experimenting, exactly what pro-
portion of land, labor and capital to ,so In III.
own shop. He can buy labor, land or capital
In the market In almost any quantities.. While
the ultimate supply is limited, while the price
OF land. tho interest ON capital and tho wages