What's What in America

by Eugene V. Brewster

"My friends, you have advanced and progressed and developed wondrously in one direction, but you have made a fatal mistake. You have specialized and localized your industries, and have affected an efficient system of division of labor, but, you forget that this means monopoly in private hands. You have overlooked the fact that now, every man is dependent upon every other man, and every industry is dependent upon every other industry. Again, when one hundred concerns combine into a partnership, or Trust, as we call it, and throw thousands out of employment, or when a new machine does so, you now have no way of providing for these unemployed thousands, and you cast them out upon the world to shift for themselves."

"O, Sir," cried one of the islanders, "why can we not return to the old way and not have all these modern ideas? We were getting along all right before we began to exchange commodities with each other. Why can we not go back to the old way?"

"Ah, too late, my friend, even if you all wished it," the old philosopher said.

"But, surely, you do not wish it," he added. "Do you remember when you worked from early morn till late at night and then had no stoves, no lamps, no blankets, no carpets, no crockery, no cooking utensils, no gas, no chairs, no wagons? Do you wish to return to that? Do you wish to isolate yourself from your fellow men and separately make and raise everything you eat and wear?"

Everybody saw the logic of this simple philosophy, and he was beseeched to show them what to do.

"What you must do, my friends, is to organize. Organization is all you require. You have as yet only organized into simple isolated groups. You must now organize all these groups. Every industry, every partnership, is a group. Each group is dependent upon all the others. This being true, you must form a whole. Let every man stick to his special work, let every locality remain in its special work, let every industry and every partnership stick to its special work,—don't disturb nature—but all these must stick to each other! How? By forming yourselves into one solid, compact, organized body. Call yourselves a nation. Have a convention at stated times, and let every industry, every labor organization, and every locality send representatives and delegates to this convention. It is foolish of you to let the coal villages send coal wherever, whenever, and in such quantities, as they wish. And so with every other industry. The law of demand is not always sufficient, as a guide to what is needed. All are demanding more coal now, yet the coal village is sending it out, here and there, without organized plan, system or method. The national convention should determine these questions, and all other national questions that do not adjust themselves naturally. When they do not adjust themselves naturally complaint should be and will be made to the national convention, and then the convention shall have power to settle the question in dispute. If one industry fails to do its duty and supply the others with its specialty, be it coal, oil, cotton, bricks or gloves, it is ground for complaint, and it then becomes a question for the national convention. If a partnership or industry fails to pay its employees suitable wages, and those employees refuse to work, it becomes a national question, and the national convention must direct that that industry must give to the workmen a greater share or proportion of the profits of that industry. Whether it shall be a raise in wages, or compulsory profit-sharing, is a question for the national convention to settle. Again when men cannot work, and they become a burden upon society, it becomes a national question, because their non-employment is caused by the organization of the industries, and it becomes the nation's duty to give these men an opportunity to earn a living. This it can do by lessening the hours of work in the industries. If all the workmen are required to work fewer hours each day, more men will be required to work, and thus employment can be given to all. Every national question can therefore safely be entrusted to the national convention; and, so long as that convention has power to act, you will have no trouble.

I believe, however, that so long as the national convention is known to be in existence, and that it has such power of direction, there will be little for it to do. Because, the great partnerships and industries and labor organizations, knowing of such a supreme judicial power, will usually so adjust their differences, and in a natural and peaceful way, that but few questions will come before the national convention. It is therefore the knowledge of the existence and power of such body that will urge all men to act honorably with one another. It is the fear of it which will be the potent factor, and not the thing itself."

After a few more remarks of explanation, the old philosopher disappeared as mysteriously as he had come. After deliberating upon his wise suggestion for a while, the islanders finally adopted his plan, and forever thereafter the island never had occasion to seek his counsel.

PART VII.

CONCLUSIONS.