On the relations of Commerce to the other Industrial Interests. I propose now to consider the relations of commercial to agricultural, mechanical and manufacturing industry. Commerce implies an exchange of commodities. Without this there can be no relationship between the other branches of industry, farther than they are carried on by the same individual. The Indian, who traverses the wilderness to exchange a bow for a bear skin, is as truly engaged in the labor of commerce as he who spreads the sail or directs the engine. A There are now living in Ohio, men who wagoned wheat sixty miles to market, through excessively bad roads, and exchanged it, at 30 cents per bushel, for salt, glass, nails, and other articles of prime necessity, at much higher prices than are current now. It may be thought that the labor of commerce was not, at that time, very productive. Neither was that of agriculture nor of manufacture. man who, at the present time, should raise twenty bushels of wheat upon a new farm-spend a week with his team in conveying it to market, carrying all the food tasted by himself and horses-and receive in return for his labor and these privations, two barrels of salt, would think himself but poorly paid. When we contrast the present condition of the Ohio farmer with what it then was, we see a vast improvement. To what is this improvement due? To various causes, but to none more than increased facilities for commercial intercourse. The man who was under the necessity of carrying a bushel of potatoes ten miles to pay for the setting of a pair of horse-shoes, is greatly benefitted by the location of a blacksmith near him; because it diminishes the labor of exchange-he expense of commerce. Improved roads are beneficial by enabling us to convey our surplus preductions more cheaply to market, and to procure the products of others at less expense. In short, whatever diminishes the expense of transfer between the producer and consumer, is equivalent to diminished cost of production. Evident as is the fact, that a cheap and speedy transfer of commodities, from the producer to the consumer, is beneficial to both, the means for facilitating this transfer often has to contend against strong prejudice. When steamboat navigation was introduced upon our western waters, it was apprehended that boatmen would be thrown out of business. It may, to some extent, have produced this effect; but it has given direct employment to thousands, and indirect to millions; it has been a principal means of developing the agricultural wealth of the Mississippi valley; it has given birth to numerous manufacturing establishments; it has required and requited the labor of multitudes of mechanics; it has caused towns and cities to spring up on every hand, growing in population and wealth with surprising rapidity; it has done much towards the conversion of the dreary wilderness into a pleasant abode for a thriving people. Every person derives an advantage from having worthy, industrious mechanics in his vicinity; or from being able to obtain their products easily and cheaply. But all kinds of workmen cannot live in every neighborhood. We cannot all go directly to the cutler, the glass-blower, the nail-maker, the manufacturer of cloth, of paper, or of porcelain, for their respective products; nor can we personally convey to them our own surplus, of which they stand in need. Very few of our purchases are direct from the producers, very few of our sales to the ultimate consumer; hence the necessity for that branch of industry devoted to the effecting of exchange, and giving employ. ment to merchants, or traders, and cartiers. This process of exchange is necessarily attended with more or less expense. Could this expense be obviated, the producers and consumers of agricultural and manufactured products would be advantaged to its full amount; whenever it can be in any degree abridged, they derive a proportional benefit. We readily understand, that, in the case of any given commodity, it is abridged by the proximity of producers to consumers; when the producers and consumers cannot be in each other's vicinity, it is abridged by increased facilities for transportation. Improvements in the channels of commerce are not conveniences merely, they are substantial additions to the wealth of the country, adding in various ways to the resources of all classes. For instance: A railroad traverses Ohio, connecting its most secluded portions with its principal cities. The farmer now sends his staple commodities to market at less expense. Were no addition made to the amount of these commodities thrown into market, they would suffer no reduction in price, and the whole benefit, accruing from the reduced cost of transportation, would be enjoyed by the farmer. He also has many articles, as wood, stone, &c., which are too bulky and heavy for carriage upon the common roads, and which were, in many instances, but useless incumbrances, but which can now be carried with profit, although actually sold in the city at something less than their former price. The people of the cities get their hay, wood, marketing, &c., a little cheaper than before; this reduces (to a small extent) the expense of city life, and in a corresponding measure, tends to increase its population. The above mentioned benefits, resulting from improved means of conveyance, are perfectly apparent. There are others, which, although not quite so obvious to superficial observation, are no less real, and exert, perhaps, a still more powerful influence upon general prosperity. We have seen that manufacturing establishments, by the use of machinery, and the division of labor, add much to the productiveness of that labor-that they furnish better commodities at lower pricesand that, in consequence, all classes of community reap an advantage. Large establishments of this kind, however, can be carried on successfully only where they have ready access to a numerous population. Railroads (and other improved means of carriage,) create this success, They supply the means of readily procuring the raw material for the fabric, and of quickly and cheaply distributing the perfected product to the ultimate consumer. These manufacturing establishments give direct or indirect employment, and furnish the means of support, to many workmen and their families; thus adding greatly to the population of the cities and towns where they are located. This access of population creates a large additional market for those surplus products of the farmer, for which the road provides. means of transportation. There is a mutual dependence-an inseperable connection, between the interests of all productive employments. The increased productiveness of agricultural labor releases men for the prosecution of the mechanic arts-mechanical skill supplies the farmer with necessary implements, and furnishes a profitable market for his surplus. Manufacturing establishments perfect, cheapen and multiply the mechanic's products; thereby extending their use, and affording additional employment. Commercial facilities call manufactories into existence; approximates producers and consumers, and supply to farmers, mechanics and manufacturers, improved and extended markets. Were these truths ever kept in view, we would cease to look upon the success of others with a jealous eye. We should regard those engaged in the different productive employments, not as rivals, but as brethren and co-laborers. Self-interest would induce us to labor for the benefit of all-to strive to disseminate as widely as possible a knowledge of correct principles, in the full confidence that the intelligence, integrity, and enterprise of an enlightened, industrious and virtuous people, would lead us on in the sure paths which conduct to individual and national prosperity. |