STOCK EXCHANGE AND AMERICAN BUSINESS 493 
Organized Markets and the Consumer.—But before con- 
cluding the present sketch of the benefits conferred by the stock 
exchanges upon American business and society, not simply 
the services which they have rendered to producers, but 
also those to consumers, must be considered. For the general 
consumer, whether he be a bank president or a bootblack, also 
has a vital interest in the successful operation of the stock 
exchanges, along with the banks and other essential parts of 
the modern machinery of credit. 
It is well known that low costs for goods in America and 
elsewhere too, have been obtained through processes of whole- 
sale production in quantity. But the gradual rise in the stand- 
ards of living has only too often been attributed by academic 
writers simply and solely to new mechanical inventions and 
more efficient methods of production. In reality these elements, 
vital though they be, are only a part of the story. For in order 
to attain wholesale production of any commodity or article, 
large amounts of capital and large corporate industrial units 
are necessary, as well as the ability to distribute wholesale. The 
indispensable services to industry rendered by the Stock Ex- 
change in enabling large-scale capital to be accumulated through 
the sale of corporate stocks and bonds has already been noted. 
Moreover, with respect to the present-day methods of whole- 
sale distribution, the ability of organized markets to facilitate 
wholesale production is significant. To all these factors, there- 
fore, must be attributed the gradual cheapening of goods and 
services in terms of wages and salaries, and the consequent 
rise in the standard of living. 
Consumption the Test of Civilization.—The vital eco 
nomic benefit to the public at large of the present-day machin. 
ery of capital and credit (of which stock exchanges are an 
integral and essential part) can better be realized when it is 
remembered that, in the last analysis, the real purpose of all 
our modern machinery of both production and distribution— 
of all our mills, factories, railroads, warehouses and shops.