He is the next
member to be called upon.
In an impressive, convincing argument he approves of the proposition.
Not that it is faultless, but because it offers the only remedy for the
vicious condition of the country's social condition.
In presenting the arguments in favor of the adoption of the proposition,
Professor Talbot demonstrates that the centralization of capital in the
hands of a few men is the gravest mistake that a republic can permit to
occur. It creates an oligarchy that is more pernicious than one of class
distinction, since such a one can be coped with, while an oligarchy of
wealth possesses so many ramifications that it is practically
unassailable except by direct and physical means.
"It is the common belief that labor-saving inventions are accountable
for much of the distress that exists in this country," he says, "but
this is not so in so far as the inventions themselves are concerned.
"The evils that have followed the introduction of labor-saving machinery
are the results of capitalists seeking to squeeze the last cent of
profit out of their enterprises.
"When an inventor produces any improvement in manufacture he does the
world a good; when the manufacturer who adopts this invention, at the
same time discharges his adult male operatives and substitutes child
labor, he vitiates the good that has been done and works a great harm to
society.
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