543 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



tion now assumes a position of greater importance than it held in 

 former generations. Changed environment, crowded cities, more in- 

 tensive and more scientific agriculture, quicker and more regular 

 methods of transportation and communication are producing effects 

 which are plainly noticeable in the life, thought and action of the 

 entire nation. It is, however, extremely difficult for a people schooled 

 for generations in the university of self-reliance and of individual 

 liberty to graciously accept the restrictions and modifications which this 

 new era makes necessary; but such acceptance is inevitable. If educa- 

 tion lags behind, rather than precedes, this changing sentiment, if it 

 is merely passively carried along with the stream, instead of actively 

 aiding in controlling its progress and direction; it fails utterly to 

 effectively perform one of its most important duties — that of mini- 

 mizing the friction of readjustment to a new environment and a new 

 set of social and industrial conditions. This need of adjustment should 

 be recognized by educators, and intelligently dealt with. 



The men of the present are not Robinson Crusoes, they live in a 

 busy world peopled with millions of other similar fellow creatures. An 

 individual is what he is because of the existence and influence of other 

 men; he is distinctly a social product. Development of the individual 

 is the resultant of individualistic and of social demands; but the latter 

 are now beginning to take precedence over the former. Purely psycho- 

 logical and individualistic needs and desires must more and more be 

 modified by those of a sociological character. Society is a complex and 

 delicate organism or piece of mechanism; the wishes and ambitions of 

 the individual must, in an increasing measure, be subordinated to and 

 dovetailed into, the needs of society considered as a whole. 



The disappearance of the frontier leads to the gradual elevation of 

 the moral tone of the people. It is an important factor in assigning 

 greater importance to questions of distribution and consumption. Busi- 

 ness and political ideals are higher to-day than formerly. Many polit- 

 ical methods which were in vogue as late as 1896, are not considered 

 to be in good form to-day. The doctrine that property is a social trust 

 is gaining ground as it could not have done twenty or forty years ago. 

 We are examining closely the methods employed in wealth production. 

 The monopolist and the men of great wealth are now put on the de- 

 fensive. Each must justify the social utility of his industrial power 

 or his amassed fortune. Eace solidarity and the brotherhood of men 

 are now shibboleths. This spirit of brotherhood is first manifested 

 between members of the same trade or society — comparatively small 

 groups ; but gradually it enlarges its scope and becomes more inclusive. 

 To-day the laboring man is found preaching the solidarity and mutual 

 interest of all workers in the United States — skilled and unskilled 

 alike. A great strike is conducted upon a clear recognition of this 



