16 LAND AND LABOR. 



attempt at demonstration, is to be found on page 

 clxiv, of volume 2, Agriculture, United Census Ee- 

 ports for 1860, as follows : - 



"The first impression made on the popular mind, by any 

 great improvement in machinery and locomotion, after the ad- 

 mission of their beneficial effects, is that they will, in some way 

 or other, diminish the demand for labor or for other machinery. 

 It is now established as a general principle, that ma- 

 chines facilitating labor increase the amount of labor required. 

 There was an idea that the transportation of agricul- 

 tural products [by railways] would result in diminishing the 

 number of horses, wagoners, and steamboats The re- 

 sult, however, proves precisely the contrary. Horses have mul- 

 tiplied more rapidly since the introduction of locomotives than 

 they did before Three fourths of all the miles of rail- 

 road have been made since 1850 ; and we see that since then 



the increase of horses has been the greatest Hence it 



seemed that railroads must diminish the number and import- 

 ance of horses, but such was not the fact." 



This evidence and argument are deemed by those 

 who use them as proofs that will not leave a peg to 

 hang a doubt upon, that no " great improvement in 

 machinery or locomotion," will in any "way or other, 

 diminish the demand for labor." 



Those who use this argument have not yet discov- 

 < n <l that the locomotive and railroad have come into 

 competition with the horse only on the great roads 

 and routes of travel and transportation for long dis- 

 tances, from which he has been undeniably driven, but 

 leaving him in undisputed possession of a thousand 

 and one other employments ; whilst machinery has 

 come in direct competition with manual labor in every 

 place where force or power is used, from the manufac- 



