The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
Until the advent of motor vehicles, the main form of transportation, whether of people or goods, was by horse. By 1880 the horse population had reached problem levels. The cities functioned on horse power, literally. London (then the largest city in the world) in 1900 had 11,000 cabs, all drawn by horses. There were also several thousand buses, each needing 12 horses per day. There were also various carts, drays, wagons and buggies for the transportation of goods and persons.
Waste:
Reliance upon equine transportation produced unpleasant consequences in respect: urine, flies, congestion, carcasses, and traffic accidents. The main problem, however, was manure. A horse produces between 7 and 15 kilos of manure daily. In New York in 1900, the population of 100,000 horses produced nearly 1,200 metric tons of horse manure per day, which all had to be swept up and disposed of. In addition, each horse produces nearly a litre of urine per day, which also ended up on the streets.
We should draw two lessons from this. First, Human beings, left to their own devices, will usually find
solutions to problems, but only if they are allowed to; that is, if they have economic institutions, such as property rights and free exchange, that create the right incentives and give them the freedom to respond. If these are absent or are replaced by political mechanisms, problems will not be solved.
Second, the sheer difficulty of predicting the future, and in particular of foreseeing the outcome of human creativity, is yet another reason for rejecting the planning or controlling of people’s choices. Above all, we should reject the currently fashionable “precautionary principle,” which would forbid the use of any technology until proved absolutely harmless.
Left to themselves, our grandparents solved the great horse-manure problem. If things had been left to the urban planners, they would almost certainly have turned out worse.”
DYI
The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894 is an internet myth created by Stephen Davies at fee.org in Sep 2004, and has been used to claim that government and/or scientific inquiry are a waste of time ever since. Try searching prior to Sep 2004 -- no results. While horse manure was a problem, the supposed times prediction and abandoned conference did not happen. In reality, you can find contemporary articles providing thoughtful discussion about the impact of automobiles prior to their widespread use.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your input!
ReplyDeleteIt appears that I've been had!
I believe there is no dispute regarding the level of manure especially in our large cities prior to automobiles and other forms of mass transportation.
When it comes to the government I have no problem with State and Federal agencies doing core research. However, I do have a problem when they become actively involved in venture capital. This is not a poke at the current administration as both parties have been guilty of this practice(along with the waste of taxpayers dollars)
Having governments doing core research and then allowing inventors, R&D departments of corporation to tap into and then develop potential products. Many of these products will fail at least it will be done with willing participants of risk capital.
However, most of the innovation have come straight from R&D departments. So there is a place for both.
Kenneth E. Royer
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
As far as being "had" you are in good company. The fictional crisis is referenced in many places. As far as your views on the role of government and venture capital we are probably in the same general place on viewpoint, not that I am any kind of expert. Have a great New Years!
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