and not upon efficiency of labor. The miner in the poor mine gets the same wages per day as the miner in the adjoining rich mine. The owner of the rich mine gets the advantage—not his laborer. The second channel conveys the goods destined to supply the wants and whims of the rich. This may increase somewhat, but owing to the small number of those rich enough to indulge in whims it can never be greatly enlarged, and at any rate it bears such a small relative proportion to the other channel that in no event can much hope of avoiding a flood of capital be looked for from this division. The rich will never be so ingenious as to spend enough to prevent over-production. The great safety overflow channel which has been continuously more and more widened and deepened to carry off the ever increasing flood of new capital is that division of the stream which carries the savings of the rich, and this is not only suddenly found to be incapable of further enlargement but actually seems to be in the process of being dammed up.
And why not? Man's material wants are limited, no matter how unlimited may be his spiritual ones. If one bridge is sufficient to carry me from New York to Brooklyn, then two will be a surplus. When one car line is built on Broadway, there is no room or necessity for more.
