6o6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



clear this vexing but important subject. Scientific methods are un- 

 thought of, and scientific conclusions either ignored or denounced as 

 cold, hard, and unsympathetic. They never trouble themselves about 

 ascertaining wliat it is possible to do under the circumstances^ but, 

 without a minute's consideration, set up their Utopian standards of 

 right, and at once proceed to bend everything in that direction. 

 Should they deem it right to reverse the course of the Mississippi, we 

 might almost expect to see them undertake the impossible task, care- 

 less of all disastrous consequences. They have wasted power by ask- 

 ing what ought to be done, instead of inquiring what can be done. 



If ever this problem receives an accurate solution, it will come 

 from viewing it pliysically rather than morally. As the bone and 

 sinew of man is the stored energy of sunbeams, so property or capital 

 is the same energy re-stored after being unlocked as Avork. As the 

 former is the potential energy of physical life, so the latter is the po- 

 tential energy of social life. Any attempt at viewing the matter by 

 ignoring this law of the conservation of energy, Avhich is at the foun- 

 dation of social order, can only result in false opinions and lead to 

 dangerous measures.* When men were savages, and bone and sinew 

 ruled, he who had most physical power was chief. Now, a vaster 

 magazine of energy is accumulated in capital, and whoever has most 

 of it rules. This is but a plain statement of fact. The power is there 

 lodged by the very constitution of society, and no attempts at realiz- 

 ing the dream of communism can wrest it away. What can the man 

 of muscle do ? 



In early stages of human development, the accumulation of bodily 

 vigor and strength was the main object of life. Natural and sexual 

 selection conspired to pick the strongest, best-formed specimens, while 

 driving the weak and worthless to the wall. Strategy soon com- 

 peted with strength, and, when victor, intellect was picked with it. 

 From among all the strategic devices of intellect property was selected 

 as the fittest, and society became a necessity for its protection. As 

 at first men found that such life as they sought could only exist when 

 bodily waste was balanced or overbalanced by accumulation, so now 

 we cannot long maintain physical health if nutrition fails to keej) pace 

 with waste. Some form of phthisis may take hold of us and increase 

 the waste beyond the normal, or our supply of food may be with- 

 held, and we die of inanition. Social life is subject to two just such 

 sets of dangers. In a machine we have friction and interference an- 

 swering to similar ideas. These must each be brought to the minimum 

 if we would have things work smoothly. 



Are working-men, as a class, frugal and provident ? Do they 

 curb self-gratification, and make present sacrifice for future advan- 

 tage ? HoAV many mechanics or day-laborers calculate their annual 

 waste of means on such unnecessary articles as tea, coffee, tobacco, 

 ' Whcti this was penned the writer did not suspect it would be so quickly verified. 



