390 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



trained, as lie generally is, hardly capable of immediate satisfac- 

 tory work on the improved plan, onr poor fellow is thrown out of 

 employment ; he generally undergoes untold misery and suffering 

 before being employed at something else. Of course, strikes and 

 other labor combinations may, to a certain extent, extort from 

 capital some extra allowances. Organized labor may command a 

 higher price, may even go so far as to form an insurance fund for 

 the unemployed ; but neither legislation nor organization will 

 ever root out the evil, because they do not destroy its cause. 

 After all, out of the total capital employed in the industry of a 

 given country, there is only a certain percentage to be spent in 

 wages. As soon as capital can not obtain its economical due, it 

 flows into other channels, often outside of the country itself ; and 

 as there is no friction possible without material wasted, it is for a 

 short time only, economically speaking, that there can be found 

 an apparent redress for labor through the terrorism of labor. 

 Ultimately it will turn out against it, as the stoppage in the in- 

 dustrial wheel occasions a loss to capital and labor that both are 

 sure to feel, and which generally is felt more harshly by labor. 



Co-operation is a magnificent cneory ; indeed, it reminds one 

 of the golden age ; but, practically sj^eaking, it will, like any 

 other scheme, be subject to considerations of profit and of remu- 

 neration, pro rata of the intellect, work, and capital (money) 

 employed ; and no ism, notwithstanding its popularity, or even its 

 majorities, will destroy this horrible pro rata distribution. Be- 

 sides, any co-operative scheme needs genuine abilities, not found 

 in a fossilized mentality of a one-sided training and more than 

 one-sided occupation. The change demanded, therefore, has to be 

 of another nature than can be brought about by organization, 

 legislation, isms, etc., which by their very presence eventually 

 demonstrate the necessity of a change. It has to go deeper ; its 

 workings will be a matter of the future rather, and the result of a 

 systematic and well-calculated movement in the right direction. 

 It simply aims at a regeneration of our workingmen of the future. 



An educational regeneration, an increase of their capacities, 

 their initiative, their artistic taste, and their power of invention — 

 such elements, once present, would augment the value of our in- 

 dustrial products. They would allow us successfully to compete 

 in the foreign markets, not by lowering prices, but by the supe- 

 riority of our articles in quality, durability, finish, and elegance of 

 design, and would thus increase and not diminish the share of 

 wages. France, England, Germany, even Russia, have actually 

 accomplished this by introducing schools of design, modeling, etc., 

 alongside of their various special industrial centers ; but France 

 and England had their traditional specialties centuries old. In 

 this country, with so many more industrial facilities, with so 



