THE EFFICIENCY OF LABOR 153 



THE PEOBLEM OF THE EFFICIENCY OF LABOE 



By HOWARD T. LEWIS, M.A. 



HIEAM COLLEGE, HIRAM, OHIO 



IT may truthfully be said that industrial evolution is little else than 

 the progressive development of economic efficiency, and the vari- 

 ous stages in the story of the evolution of industrial society have been 

 largely based upon man's control over nature as indicated by his indus- 

 trial efficiency. The transition from one stage to the next has ofttimes 

 been imperceptible; at others it has been very marked. The modern 

 period, with its great aggregations of capital and its machine-made 

 products, is so far superior to the handicraft stage that comparisons 

 are made merely for the sake of measuring that development. Yet even 

 before we are thoroughly accustomed to the change, significant facts are 

 presenting themselves which would seem to indicate that we are on the 

 verge of still another era of industrial expansion. And though it is al- 

 ways rash to prophesy, yet it may be safe to say that the effect of this 

 transformation upon society in general and especially upon the relation 

 of employer to employee, will be far greater than we may at first think. 

 This much at least seems certain, that tremendous strides are about to 

 be taken from a purely productive point of view which will at the same 

 time materially affect the condition of the working classes. 



If we eliminate from consideration the element land, and we may 

 safely do so in the present discussion, the production of wealth is the 

 result of two factors, labor and capital, both of which are more or less 

 variable in character. The development of modern power-driven 

 machinery has in recent times been remarkable, and no one would for a 

 moment maintain that the end is in sight. Greater care in the con- 

 struction and location of mechanical devices already invented will 

 immensely increase their efficiency. Yet it is very questionable if in 

 the future any such radical changes will occur as were witnessed 

 between 1750 and 1850. Perhaps, indeed, it was because of that prog- 

 ress that attention has been in the past chiefly centered upon man's 

 control over nature through the means of mechanical devices. Be that 

 as it may, this much can scarcely be contravened, that those engaged 

 in the active work of production (as well indeed as many theorists) 

 seemed until very recently to have forgotten that capital in the form 

 of machines is only one of the factors upon which the production of 

 wealth depends. 



VOL. LXXXII. — 11. 



