On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures Part 22

Some of the writers, who have published criticisms on the observations made in the first edition of this work, have admitted that the apparent rate of profit to the booksellers is too large. But they have, on the other hand, urged that too favourable a case is taken in supposing the whole 3000 copies sold. If the reader will turn back to section 382, he will find that the expense of the three first items remains the same, whatever be the number of copies sold; and on looking over the remaining items he will perceive that the bookseller, who incurs very little risk and no outlay, derives exactly the same profit per cent on the copies sold, whatever their numbers may be. This, however, is not the case with the unfortunate author, on whom nearly the whole of the loss falls undivided. The same writers have also maintained, that the profit is fixed at the rate mentioned, in order to enable the bookseller to sustain losses, unavoidably incurred in the purchase and retail of other books.

This is the weakest of all arguments. It would be equally just that a merchant should charge an extravagant commission for an undertaking unaccompanied with any risk, in order to repay himself for the losses which his own want of skill might lead to in his other mercantile transactions.

395. That the profit in retailing books is really too large, is proved by several circ.u.mstances: First, that the same nominal rate of profit has existed in the bookselling trade for a long series of years, notwithstanding the great fluctuations in the rate of profit on capital invested in every other business.

Secondly, that, until very lately, a mult.i.tude of booksellers, in all parts of London, were content with a much smaller profit, and were willing to sell for ready money, or at short credit, to persons of undoubted character, at a profit of only ten per cent, and in some instances even at a still smaller percentage, instead of that of twenty-five per cent on the published prices. Thirdly, that they are unable to maintain this rate of profit except by a combination, the object of which is to put down all compet.i.tion.

396. Some time ago a small number of the large London booksellers entered into such a combination. One of their objects was to prevent any bookseller from selling books for less than ten per cent under the published prices; and in order to enforce this principle, they refuse to sell books, except at the publishing price, to any bookseller who declines signing an agreement to that effect. By degrees, many were prevailed upon to join this combination; and the effect of the exclusion it inflicted, left the small capitalist no option between signing or having his business destroyed. Ultimately, nearly the whole trade, comprising about two thousand four hundred persons, have been compelled to sign the agreement.

As might be naturally expected from a compact so injurious to many of the parties to it, disputes have arisen; several booksellers have been placed under the ban of the combination, who allege that they have not violated its rules, and who accuse the opposite party of using spies, etc., to entrap them.(3*)

397. The origin of this combination has been explained by Mr Pickering, of Chancery Lane, himself a publisher, in a printed statement, ent.i.tled, 'Booksellers' Monopoly' and the following list of booksellers, who form the committee for conducting this combination, is copied from that printed at the head of each of the cases published by Mr Pickering:

Allen, J., 7, Leadenhall Street.

Arch, J., 61, Cornhill.

Baldwin, R., 47, Paternoster Row.

Booth, J.

Duncan, J., 37, Paternoster Row.

Hatchard, J., Piccadilly.

Marshall, R., Stationers' Court.

Murray, J., Albemarle Street.

Rees, O., 39, Paternoster Row.

Richardson, J. M., 23, Cornhill.

Rivington, J., St. Paul's Churchyard.

Wilson, E., Royal Exchange.

398. In whatever manner the profits are divided between the publisher and the retail bookseller, the fact remains, that the reader pays for the volume in his hands 6s., and that the author will receive only 3s. 10d.; out of which latter sum, the expense of printing the volume must be paid: so that in pa.s.sing through two hands this book has produced a profit of forty-four per cent.

This excessive rate of profit has drawn into the book trade a larger share of capital than was really advantageous; and the compet.i.tion between the different portions of that capital has naturally led to the system of underselling, to which the committee above mentioned are endeavouring to put a stop.(4*)

399. There are two parties who chiefly suffer from this combination, the public and authors. The first party can seldom be induced to take an active part against any grievance; and in fact little is required from it, except a cordial support of the authors, in any attempt to destroy a combination so injurious to the interests of both.

Many an industrious bookseller would be glad to sell for 5s.

the volume which the reader holds in his hand, and for which he has paid 6s.; and, in doing so for ready money, the tradesman who paid 4s. 6d. for the book, would realize, without the least risk, a profit of eleven per cent on the money he had advanced. It is one of the objects of the combination we are discussing, to prevent the small capitalist from employing his capital at that rate of profit which he thinks most advantageous to himself; and such a proceeding is decidedly injurious to the public.

400. Having derived little pecuniary advantage from my own literary productions; and being aware, that from the very nature of their subjects, they can scarcely be expected to reimburse the expense of preparing them, I may be permitted to offer an opinion upon the subject, which I believe to be as little influenced by any expectation of advantage from the future, as it is by any disappointment at the past.

Before, however, we proceed to sketch the plan of a campaign against Paternoster Row, it will be fit to inform the reader of the nature of the enemies' forces, and of his means of attack and defence. Several of the great publishers find it convenient to be the proprietors of reviews, magazines, journals, and even of newspapers. The editors are paid, in some instances very handsomely, for their superintendence; and it is scarcely to be expected that they should always mete out the severest justice on works by the sale of which their employers are enriched. The great and popular works of the day are, of course, reviewed with some care, and with deference to public opinion. Without this, the journals would not sell; and it is convenient to be able to quote such articles as instances of impartiality. Under shelter of this, a host of ephemeral productions are written into a transitory popularity; and by the aid of this process, the shelves of the booksellers, as well as the pockets of the public, are disenc.u.mbered. To such an extent are these means employed, that some of the periodical publications of the day ought to be regarded merely as advertising machines. That the reader may be in some measure on his guard against such modes of influencing his judgement, he should examine whether the work reviewed is published by the bookseller who is the proprietor of the review; a fact which can sometimes be ascertained from the t.i.tle of the book as given at the head of the article. But this is by no means a certain criterion, because partnerships in various publications exist between houses in the book trade, which are not generally known to the public; so that, in fact, until reviews are established in which booksellers have no interest, they can never be safely trusted.

401. In order to put down the combination of booksellers, no plan appears so likely to succeed as a counter-a.s.sociation of authors. If any considerable portion of the literary world were to unite and form such an a.s.sociation; and if its affairs were directed by an active committee, much might be accomplished. The objects of such an union should be, to employ some person well skilled in the printing, and in the bookselling trade; and to establish him in some central situation as their agent. Each member of the a.s.sociation to be at liberty to place any, or all of his works in the hands of this agent for sale; to allow any advertis.e.m.e.nts, or list of books published by members of the a.s.sociation, to be st.i.tched up at the end of each of his own productions; the expense of preparing them being defrayed by the proprietors of the books advertised.

The duties of the agent would be to retail to the public, for ready money, copies of books published by members of the a.s.sociation. To sell to the trade, at prices agreed upon, any copies they may require. To cause to be inserted in the journals, or at the end of works published by members, any advertis.e.m.e.nts which the committee or authors may direct. To prepare a general catalogue of the works of members. To be the agent for any member of the a.s.sociation respecting the printing of any work.

Such a union would naturally present other advantages; and as each author would retain the liberty of putting any price he might think fit on his productions, the public would have the advantage of reduction in price produced by compet.i.tion between authors on the same subject, as well as of that arising from a cheaper mode of publishing the volumes sold to them.

402. Possibly, one of the consequences resulting from such an a.s.sociation, would be the establishment of a good and an impartial review, a work the want of which has been felt for several years. The two long-established and celebrated reviews, the unbending champions of the most opposite political opinions.

are, from widely differing causes, exhibiting unequivocal signs of decrepitude and decay. The quarterly advocate of despotic principles is fast receding from the advancing intelligence of the age; the new strength and new position which that intelligence has acquired, demands for its expression, new organs, equally the representatives of its intellectual power, and of its moral energies: whilst, on the other hand, the sceptre of the northern critics has pa.s.sed, from the vigorous grasp of those who established its dominion, into feebler hands.

403. It may be stated as a difficulty in realizing this suggestion, that those most competent to supply periodical criticism, are already engaged. But it is to be observed, that there are many who now supply literary criticisms to journals, the political principles of which they disapprove; and that if once a respectable and well-supported review(5*) were established, capable of competing, in payment to its contributors, with the wealthiest of its rivals, it would very soon be supplied with the best materials the country can produce.

(6*) It may also be apprehended that such a combination of authors would be favourable to each other. There are two temptations to which an editor of a review is commonly exposed: the first is, a tendency to consult too much, in the works he criticizes, the interest of the proprietor of his review; the second, a similar inclination to consult the interests of his friends. The plan which has been proposed removes one of these temptations, but it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to destroy the other.

NOTES:

1. The whole of the subsequent details relate to the first edition of this work.

2. These details vary with different books and different publishers; those given in the text are believed to substantially correct, and are applicable to works like the present.

3. It is now understood that the use of spies has been given up; and it is also known that the system of underselling is again privately resorted to by many, so that the injury arising from this arbitrary system, pursued by the great booksellers, affects only, or most severely, those whose adherence to an extorted promise most deserves respect. Note to the second edition.

4 The monopoly cases. Nos. 1. 2. and 3. of those published by Mr Pickering, should be consulted upon this point; and, as the public will be better able to form a judgement by hearing the other side of the question, it is to be hoped the Chairman of the Committee (Mr Richardson) will publish those regulations respecting the trade, a copy of which. Mr Pickering states, is refused by the Committee even to those who sign them.

5. At the moment when this opinion as to the necessity for a new review was pa.s.sing through the press. I was informed that the elements of such an undertaking were already organized.

6. I have been suggested to me, that the doctrines maintained in this chapter may subject the present volume to the opposition of that combination which it has opposed. I do not entertain that opinion; and for this reason, that the booksellers are too shrewd a cla.s.s to supply such an admirable pa.s.sport to publicity as their opposition would prove to be if generally suspected. But should my readers take a different view of the question, they can easily a.s.sist in remedying the evil, by each mentioning the existence of this little volume to two of his friends.

{I was wrong in this conjecture; all booksellers are not so shrewd as I had imagined, for some did refuse to sell this volume; consequently others sold a larger number of copies.

In the preface to the second edition, at the commencement of this volume, the reader will find some further observation on the effect of the booksellers' combination.}

Chapter 32

On the Effect of Machinery in Reducing the Demand for Labour

404. One of the objections most frequently urged against machinery is, that it has a tendency to supersede much of the hand labour which was previously employed; and in fact unless a machine diminished the labour necessary to make an article, it could never come into use. But if it have that effect, its owner, in order to extend the sale of his produce, will be obliged to undersell his compet.i.tors; this will induce them also to introduce the new machine, and the effect of this compet.i.tion will soon cause the article to fall, until the profits on capital, under the new system, shall be reduced to the same rate as under the old. Although, therefore, the use of machinery has at first a tendency to throw labour out of employment, yet the increased demand consequent upon the reduced price, almost immediately absorbs a considerable portion of that labour, and perhaps, in some cases, the whole of what would otherwise have been displaced.

That the effect of a new machine is to diminish the labour required for the production of the same quant.i.ty of manufactured commodities may beclearlyperceived, byimaginingasociety, inwhichoccupation are not divided, each man himself manufacturing all the articles he consumes. Supposing each individual to labour during ten hours daily, one of which is devoted to making shoes, it is evident that if any tool or machine be introduced, by the use ofwhich his shoes can be made in halfthe usual time, then each member ofthe community will enjoy the same comforts as before by only nine and one-half hours' labour.

405. If, therefore, we wish to prove that the total quant.i.ty oflabourisnot diminished by the introduction of machines, we must have recourse to some other principle of our nature. But the same motive which urges a man to activity will become additionally powerful, when he finds his comforts procured with diminished labour; and in such circ.u.mstances, it is probable, that many would employ the time thus redeemed in contriving new tools for other branches of their occupations. He who has habitually worked ten hours a day, will employ the half hour saved by the new machine in gratifying some other want; and as each new machine adds to these gratifications, new luxuries will open to his view, which continued enjoyment will as surely render necessary to his happiness.

406. In countries where occupations are divided, and where the division of labour is practised, the ultimate consequence of improvements in machinery is almost invariably to cause a greater demand for labour. Frequently the new labour requires, at its commencement, a higher degree of skill than the old; and, unfortunately, the cla.s.s of persons driven out of the old employment are not always qualified for the new one; so that a certain interval must elapse before the whole of their labour is wanted. This, for a time, produces considerable suffering amongst the working cla.s.ses; and it is of great importance for their happiness that they should be aware of these effects, and be enabled to foresee them at an early period, in order to diminish, as much as possible, the injury resulting from them.

407. One very important enquiry which this subject presents is the question whether it is more for the interest of the working cla.s.ses, that improved machinery should be so perfect as to defy the compet.i.tion of hand labour; and that they should thus be at once driven out of the trade by it; or be gradually forced to quit it by the slow and successive advances of the machine?

The suffering which arises from a quick transition is undoubtedly more intense; but it is also much less permanent than that which results from the slower process: and if the compet.i.tion is perceived to be perfectly hopeless, the workman will at once set himself to learn a new department of his art. On the other hand, although new machinery causes an increased demand for skill in those who make and repair it, and in those who first superintend its use; yet there are other cases in which it enables children and inferior workmen to execute work that previously required greater skill. In such circ.u.mstances, even though the increased demand for the article, produced by its diminished price, should speedily give occupation to all who were before employed, yet the very diminution of the skill required, would open a wider field of compet.i.tion amongst the working cla.s.ses themselves.

That machines do not, even at their first introduction, invariably throw human labour out of employment, must be admitted; and it has been maintained, by persons very competent to form an opinion on the subject, that they never produce that effect. The solution of this question depends on facts, which, unfortunately, have not yet been collected: and the circ.u.mstance of our not possessing the data necessary for the full examination of so important a subject, supplies an additional reason for impressing, upon the minds of all who are interested in such enquiries, the importance of procuring accurate registries, at various times, of the number of persons employed in particular branches of manufacture, of the number of machines used by them.

and of the wages they receive.

408. In relation to the enquiry just mentioned, I shall offer some remarks upon the facts within my knowledge; and only regret that those which I can support by numerical statement are so few.

When the crushing mill, used in Cornwall and other mining countries, superseded the labour of a great number of young women, who worked very hard in breaking ores with flat hammers, no distress followed. The reason of this appears to have been, that the proprietors of the mines, having one portion of their capital released by the superior cheapness of the process executed by the mills, found it their interest to apply more labour to other operations. The women, disengaged from mere drudgery, were thus profitably employed in dressing the ores, a work which required skill and judgement in the selection.

409. The increased production arising from alterations in the machinery, or from improved modes of using it, appears from the following table. A machine called in the cotton manufacture a 'stretcher', worked by one man, produced as follows:

Year; Pounds of cotton spun; Roving wages per score; Rate of earning per week s. d. s. d.

1810 400 1 31/2 25 10(1*) 1811 600 0 10 25 0 1813 850 0 9 31 101/2 1823 1000 0 71/2 31 3

The same man working at another stretcher, the roving a little finer, produced,