ART IN INDUSTRY. 415 



were few, and only the ruling classes were privileged to possess them. 

 The laboring masses were busily engaged in obtaining the bare neces- 

 sities of life; no thought of comfort, art or education entered into 

 their lives. The craftsman did unite art and industry; but the 

 modern conception of democracy did not exist. On the other hand, 

 the modern workman is only a link in a great industrial chain. He 

 repeats, in a monotonous routine, certain simple movements; no real- 

 izing sense of the true social value or significance of the work which 

 he performs ever comes to him. Long hours and routine work crush 

 the individuality and ambition out of him. 



The specialized worker necessarily has narrow views of life; his 

 ability to enjoy is limited. The opportunity and privileges of both 

 working and leisure hours are only partially utilized. It has been said 

 that for a man of twenty, pleasure is business; of thirty, business is 

 business; and of forty, business is pleasure. It might further be 

 maintained that there is little pleasure outside of business for the ordi- 

 nary man of forty or fifty. Business, the grind of daily life, has en- 

 grossed the entire energies of the man. Enjoyment in life means 

 enjoyment of leisure and of work. The unskilled laborer, I fear, 

 enjoys neither — why? His work is monotonous and wearing, the 

 surroundings of home and workshop are not inspiring, and he has 

 received no training which will aid him in finding and utilizing the 

 few opportunities for rational enjoyment which come to him. 



The present arts and crafts movement is a protest against and 

 a reaction from the minute division of labor now employed in manu- 

 facture, and the stripping of the artistic features from industry. Arti- 

 cles are made to sell more particularly than to serve a useful and im- 

 portant service. Profit, not service, is now the watchword of industry. 

 Art in the crafts would emphasize service. The arts and crafts move- 

 ment aims to give dignity to the worker, and to teach that all should 

 be workers. The man of leisure is a drone and a parasite. Each 

 individual has some particular work for which he is best adapted; and 

 society needs his services. Only when all are workers and each striv- 

 ing to do his best work does society approach an ideal condition. 



The arts and crafts movement needs educated producers and con- 

 sumers. The task is a double one; the workers must be trained to 

 produce good work, and the taste of all consumers must be educated 

 so that they will demand good articles. Shorter hours and the right 

 use of leisure will give an impetus to the demand for better qualities 

 of goods ; and thus variety and handicraf tsmanship will to some extent 

 replace interchangeability and machine production. All civilized men 

 demand the necessities of life — food, clothing and shelter — of a char- 

 acter not greatly dissimilar; these common requirements lend them- 

 selves readily to machine production. Industrial operations in which 

 machinery is the chief factor are directed toward producing the 



