Page:On the economy of machinery and manufactures - Babbage - 1846.djvu/237

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(253.) great competition introduced by machinery, and the application of the principle of the subdivision of labour, render it necessary for each producer to be continually on the watch, to discover improved methods by which the cost of the article he manufactures may be reduced; and, with this view, it is of great importance to know the precise expense of every process, as well as of the wear and tear of machinery which is due to it. The same information is desirable for those by whom the manufactured goods are distributed and sold; because it enables them to give reasonable answers or explanations to the objections of inquirers, and also affords them a better chance of suggesting to the manufacturer changes in the fashion of his goods, which may be suitable either to the tastes or to the finances of his customers. To the statesman such knowledge is still more important; for without it he must trust entirely to others, and can form no judgment worthy of confidence, of the effect any tax may produce, or of the injury the manufacturer or the country may suffer by its imposition.

(254.) One of the first advantages which suggests itself as likely to arise from a correct analysis of the expense of the several processes of any manufacture, is the indication which it would furnish of the course