CAUSES  OF  WASTE

69

Trades.

1881

Chemists
Booksellers
Stationers
Drapers
Haberdashers
Grocers
Poulterers  and  Fishmongers
Greengrocers,  Fruiterers.  .
Cheesemongers,  Buttermen.
Butchers
Coal  dealers
Ironmongers
General  Shopkeepers  .  .  .

19,000
9,910
'5,241
82,362
9,565
129,818
2  1,497
29,614
4,397
81,702
20,401
16,122
54,860

1891

21,93°
13,596
21.798
107,018
12,481
181,856
29,7"
4°,963
5,io8
98,921
23.799
21,444
53,6o8

Increase  or
decrease  per  cent.

4*  *5  4
+  372
+  430
+  29.9
+  30.5
-f  40.1
+  38.2
+  38.3
4-  16.6
-f  21.1
+  lb-7
+  33-0
—  2.3

Total

494,47*

632,233

4-  27.9

§  11.  The  Causes  of  Waste  of  Distributive  Power.
It  thus  appears  that,  in  spite  of  all  economies  of  concentration ­
  resulting  from  the  increased  amount  of  distribution
which  has  fallen  to  large  stores  and  universal  providers,
the  increase  in  the  number  of  retail  distributors  is  nearly
twice  that  of  the  occupied  classes  as  a  whole.  To  put  the
matter  succinctly,  a  smaller  proportion  of  the  population  is
engaged  in  “  making  ”  the  increased  quantity  of  material
goods  which  are  consumed,  a  larger  proportion  in  distributing
them.  Nor  is  this  movement  adequately  explained  by  the
fact  that  distribution  has  not  shared  equally  with  manufacture
the  economies  of  modern  machinery  and  method.  For
the  large  growth  of  our  population  and  its  concentration
in  larger  towns  must  have  greatly  reduced  the  labour-cost
of  distributing  a  given  quantity  of  goods.  This  consideration,
taken  along  with  the  improvements  in  every  mode  of
transport,  would  enable  the  increased  quantity  of  modern