You are correct they lacked scale. They also lacked machinery. They lacked the loans taken out to buy the machinery. They lacked the urgency to repay those loan

You are correct they lacked scale. They also lacked machinery. They lacked the loans taken out to buy the machinery. They lacked the urgency to repay those loans by profiting. That's not "noble." But it's very different at the level of needs and incentives.