138 PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS—SECTION F. 
Thus, if A be 8000 miles distant, and B 40 miles, it follows 
that the extra Jabour and time consumed in carrying the extra. 
7960 miles is a serious disadvantage. Men do not consume 
distance. In itself it does not add a jot to the ultimate material 
wants of man otherwise produced. Distribution is certainly a 
necessity, but the smaller the need for distribution the larger the 
produce to be divided, for it is obvious that the more machines 
and human beings that are abstracted from direct production of 
essential satisfactions, the smaller is the quantity falling to the 
share of each consumer of wants. Thus, if 100 producers and 50 
distributors provide the ideal quota of wants of an Euphrasian at 
the maximum of eight hours per day—say 10 wants per day— 
then the 100 producers must each have produced 15 wants, for 
consumers include producers and non-producers, or producers and 
distributors, and these number 150, and 
VOOM PA 
150 
for each consumer, or, on the basis of exertion which lies at the 
root of price or cost, we might put it that for the aggregate hours 
of labour in producing and distributing each consumer was put in 
the possession of 10 wants. Now, if we increase obstacles, we 
cannot supply the same number of wants without individually 
increasing the hours of labour. Thus, if the additional distance 
involves the labour of 50 additional distributors, and if producer’ 
and consumer alike share the additional labour thrown upon 
them, we have 
=e) 
200 x 8 
150 
Thus, to maintain the same share of wants as formerly, the 
necessary increase of 50 non-producers or distributors involved 
fully an extra two hours labour per day, or 25 per cent. extra 
exertion on the part of all breadwinners. In like manner it may 
be shown, if the amount of exertions per individual remain undis- 
turbed, then the amount of wants formerly supplied to each 
consumer must be lessened, thus :— 
150 x 40 
Sema =7°5 wants per consumer 
Thus we have with the increased obstacles a diminution in the 
satisfaction of wants equivalent to a reduction of 25 per cent. 
In these simple illustrations the direct effects of increased 
obstacles between producer and consumer are set forth in plain 
terms, so far as interchange with a distant country affects the 
conditions of a country circumstanced like our ideal Euphrasia. 
To apply the argument involving obstacles to other countries not so 
favourably conditioned as Euphrasia might favour the adoption 
of interchange between two or more distant countries, as effecting 
