STATISTICS OF LABOR. 323 



five times the volume of trade of every nature, and 

 five times the profit to capital. But our author does 

 not see anything of that kind. Upon the misrepre- 

 sentation of facts above shown, and upon principles 

 equally baseless, he builds a superstructure of falla- 

 cies and sophistries, all tending to show the " benefi- 

 cence " of concentrated capital, cheap labor, and com- 

 petition. That if there is inequality anywhere, it is 

 in labor getting too much ; and if a division must be 

 made, it must be of that portion received by labor. 

 That our true policy is, not to increase the material 

 welfare of our own masses, and thus improve our mar- 

 ket at home, but to so reduce the compensations of 

 our industrial classes as to enable the capitalist to 

 sell the products of our cold and hungry millions to 

 the still more naked and hungrier masses of Eastern 

 and Southern Asia, and famishing Europe, and give 

 large profits to capital. At one and the same opera- 

 tion not only to impoverish and beggar our own peo- 

 ple, but to destroy the industries of all other nations. 



Mr. Atkinson says that " the lesson which is really 



taught by the condition of Massachusetts is 



that the more the ric\ may gain in wealth the more 

 the poor may gain in comfort." Page 58. 



It is impossible to read and carefully examine this 

 statement without feeling the utmost astonishment at 

 its bold defiance of all the facts of history and " les- 

 sons" of present social "conditions" of Massachusetts 

 and the whole world. The author of the sentence 

 quoted certainly will not claim that what is true in 

 his own State is false everywhere else ; nor that the 

 truths of past centuries are the falsehoods of to-day. 



