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receiving $10 per day, would that in-efjure you?”“No,” he replied, very promptly “itwould benefit me, Trade would bebetter.” We asked another: “If youicould get workmen at ten cents aday, would that help you?”“Not a particle,” he replied, “othersA«/would be able to hire atthe same rate,71and the coinpetitaon would be as hard as it is now.” He was undoubtedlyThe battle would be transright.ferred to a lower level, but its fierceness and closeness would be undiin-inished. Where is the “sedition” inurging high wages for all ?*“Competition settles the rate ofwages, says the gentleman spoken of above, with the air of one thatlIsays “Two and two are four.” Yes,competition allows the inanufaetur-and the iers, ana tne masters, to fight, and make the workmen bear the losses.The millers “squeeze” two cents a barrel out of the bosses; the bossessqueeze that amount out of the work-rmen,—and the workmen, they squeezeiit out of their dinners, their clothing:and the happiness of their children,by depriving them of things needed for health and comfort. The luxuryof competing is to be bought withithe degradation and life of the workers of the land. But to say a wordagainst the principle or effects of competitive war is “sedition.”IiWe shall continue to urge workingmen, acting as such and as citizens,to strive against the fearful tendencydownwards that threatens to engulfthem.Hall, Dann Co., proprietors ofthe “machine” cooper shop on theriver bank near the lower bridge haveIachieved another “glorious victory,”by lowering wages one more cent per barrel. Let us congratulate them.tThey gallantly hold the lead in ministering to the demand for cheap barrels.tBut other non-machine “bosses”tL*Iare preparing to follow with a corresponding deduction of two cents per barrel. The coopers who now subsist on the proceeds of twentyfive barrels a week at 14 or 16 cents per barrel, must be joyously jubilant over a . still farther draft on their patriotismand generosity to the tune of two cents a barrel.But we must be cautious in our re-disappears. Speculation takes the helm. Much more is produced thanthere is corn, leather or other goodsto exchange for it. The resources of the mills are great; they can borrow from the banks while they pile up their fabrics in their ware-rooms; i a they can, by means of their concen- \ i trated capital, keep their machinery running, even at a loss, if by so doing they can crush out a rival, or manipulate the market. But in the height of this prosperous run tUire is a check—no matter for what cause— and suddenly the work stops. There is little sale for goods produced; the fires must be put out, the doorselosed, and thousands of operatives are deprived of employment. This would not be so unfortunate if this over-production had been diffused among the work-people. But it had not Notwithstanding the high pressure and the excessive manufacture wages have been kept down; while producing in six months as much as could be exchanged in a year, the workmen hive not been paid in this way—their wages have been upon the basis of the whole year*s work—as a result, they are turned, empty-handed, upon the street. And, what is particularly unfortunate, they are reduced, as consumers, to the minimum point. Here the evil works both ways. The excessive production which has shut tip the mill has weakened the power of the community t absorb this production—the goose that laid the egg has beenslain. Inevitably the recovery from hard times brought about in this waymust be slow. The spindles cannot be set in motion until the stock of goods on hand is reduced, and.a fresh demand revives; this demand cannot revive because the great body of consumer's are in a state of impoverishment. This condition of things is entirely sufficient to explain the genesis and the prolongation of business prostration. Capital is not impaired; it is locked up in machinery that is silent, in goods that cannot be exchanged, in money that nas no borrowers. It is PARALYSIS OF CONSUMPTION that is the cause.—Popular Science Monthly.On referring to the article as found in the June number or the Monthly we find other ideas of great value, but cannot give them room in this number. In our next we shall returnto the article, from which we derivegreat encouragement, as it announcesand proves the following fundamentalproposition:“In truth, in an immense number ofthings, a community is rich becauseit consumes, abundance being the product and consequence of e.rtensive destruction.”marks on this subject. We may betaccused of exciting the coopers to “sedition.”Let us, by way of atonement -shout for Hall, Dann Co.And after all, what a small soul must that editor have who can for onemoment, compare the pitiful saving of 25 times 2 cents to be madeOUR CONTRIBUTORS.Our readers will find on Our second page, an interesting communication from Prof. J. B. Clark, recentlychosen to the chair of History and Po-litical Economy in Carleton College,bylio-these miserable coopers with the ble sum to be made by multiplying 2Northfteld, Minn. Prof. Clark hasspent some years in Germany, givinge.1cents by the whole number of barrelsmade in Minneapolis in a year, which amounts to hundreds of thousands ofspecial attention to his favorite study,and, we are glad to say is not onlythoroughly acquainted with the science of Political Economy as it isacents.and has been generally expounded,but it is imbued with the spirit of anPRESENT RELATION BETWEEN PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION.higher, truer, and more profound system of political science than the one♦that has hitherto dominated over conscience, reason and human instinct.PdWe find the following extract in We predict that Carleton Collegethe Labor Standard credited to tha will honor and be honored by Prof.Popular Science Monthly. The arti- Clark, in his present position, and that■snI;ynLarsd.cle had escaped our notice, and we are therefore much indebted to ourthe usefulness of this already popular institution of learning will beNew York contemporary for bringing it to our notice. It is full of interestgreatly increased by his addition toits corps of instructors.and value. We italicise several sentences, on our own responsibility:asde-rest»igP-iyr-lelereProduction and consumption do not have that intimate relation to each other they once had. In old times the weaver, for instance, was in contact with his customers; he wove cloth as he discovered the need; he cautiously set up a second loom when it became fully evident that it could be employed; and thus supply and demand went, as it were, hand in hand. But now gigantic mills, filled with many spindles, have little accurate relation to consumption. The power of production by means of improved machinery is something immense, and it is exercised with no very watchful or cautious regard to {immediate needs of the community. Goods are piled up in vast quantities in waiting for a future market, or for an anticipated change in price, or they are pressed upon the market atsuch low rates, or on such long credits, that buyers are seduced into overpurchases. In favorable times these establishments are run at high pres sure. The old-fashioned, nice relation between producer and consumerWe have also been favored with a contribution from the President of our State University, on the general subject occupying the columns of the Free Flag, which we cannot give in this number, because it came too late. Pres. Folwell’s support of our paper, as given heretofore in various ways, has been a great encouragement to ns—overbalancing many discouragements—and we are sure that our home readers will rejoice withuwhen they read his words of approbation of the great movement of theage.Pres. Folwell’s ability is too well1tknown here to justify us in speakingof it, and we are sure our Easternand Southern readers will recognizein his communication, the thoughts ofone who can give weight and positionto any cause he may advocate.Read also the thoughtful communication from our friend Rogers.
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Minneapolis Free Flag
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Thu, Jul 19, 1877
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