ESSAYS 129 



was higher than when the manual labour was used. Experience shows, however, 

 that taking the country as a whole its prosperity is measured by the output per 

 head ; and this is increased by the use of machinery. Upon this point the Report 

 to which reference has been made states : 



" In the United States the amount of power used per worker is 56 per cent, 

 more than in the United Kingdom— if we eliminate workers in trades where the 

 use of power is limited, or even impossible, we shall probably find that in 

 the U.S.A. the use of power, where it can be used, is nearly double what it is here. 

 On the other hand, not only are the standard rates of wages higher in the U.S.A., 

 but living conditions are better. There is little doubt that in the U.S.A. the 

 average purchasing power of the individual is above what it is in this country, and 

 that this is largely due to the more extensive use of power which increases the 

 individual's earning capacity. The best cure for low wages is more motive power. 

 Or, from the manufacturer's point of view, the only offset against the increasing 

 cost of labour is the more extensive use of motive power. Thus, the solution of 

 the workman's problem, and also that of his employer, is the same— viz. the 

 greatest possible use of power. Hence, the growing importance of having 

 available an adequate and cheap supply of power produced with the greatest 

 economy of fuel." 



Modern industry requires the use of a greater number of skilled research 

 workers and of men with technical knowledge for responsible positions. The 

 Census of Production shows that the net annual output per head is generally 

 highest in those industries which employ the highest proportion of persons 

 receiving salaries as distinct from wages ; and it diminishes in passing to 

 industries where the percentage of wage-earning employees increases. Thus, 

 taking the nine leading industries, but not including coal-mining, the highest 

 annual output per head is ,£185 in the chemical industries, where 12 per cent, of 

 the persons employed receive salaries and 88 per cent, wages. Next in order 

 of annual output per head and proportion of salaried employees come iron and 

 steel factories (,£118), and engineering factories, including electrical engineering 

 (,£108), and at the bottom of the list are the jute, linen, and hemp factories, with a 

 net output of £b\ only, the percentage of Wage-earners being 98, of salaried 

 persons 2. These figures indicate that the employment of skilled technologists 

 means increased productivity ; and they point to the importance of improved 

 training of artisans in technical schools. If research methods are to be more 

 generally applied to industries, greater skill and accuracy will be required from 

 the general body of workers, so that it is not merely the duty of the universities 

 and colleges to supply highly trained research workers, but the technical schools 

 have also the important task of educating the artisan for the new type of work 

 required under the new conditions. 



The way to , increase the number of highly skilled technologists is to make 

 their position and prospects better than they have been. Many employers still 

 express their preference for the so-called practically trained man over the man 

 with scientific training, whereas in other countries the college-trained technologist 

 finds ready acceptance in all branches of industry. Whether we like it or not we 

 must face the fact that much of the commerce and the manufacture of the modern 

 world demand the leadership of highly trained, widely informed men ; and that 

 these men must be forthcoming if we are to be able to take a leading place among 

 the nations of the world. In the Report of the Board of Education a couple of 

 years ago, it was pointed out that " the provision for full-time education in applied 

 science is regrettably small in bulk compared with the industrial development 

 of the country." We have, in fact, in the United Kingdom only about three 



9 



