24 THE FOOD CRISIS AND AMERICANISM 



tion of merit as a measure of remuneration, is labor 

 not fighting the same phantom as when it destroyed 

 labor-saving machines ? 



It may be noted in passing that many of the middle 

 and higher classes shared with those unfortunate la- 

 borers this same blind fear of mechanical innovations, 

 just as some educated and sentimental people at pres- 

 ent join with the leaders of organized labor in the fear 

 that over-production of life's comforts and necessities 

 may be hurtful to those who labor. 



The sentimentalists of that period rather hindered 

 than helped reform. 



Until all labor controversies shall be settled on fun- 

 damental principles of right the greatest good to 

 the greatest number, and the rights of all those who 

 labor, regardless of class, be taken into consideration 

 our country will be full of unrest. If civilization sur- 

 vives, manual labor must continue. Manual labor has 

 been the characteristic of all civilizations, and its effi- 

 ciency and skill a fair index to their worth. Savagery 

 reduces manual labor to the minimum. Where soil 

 and climatic conditions make only the smallest effort 

 necessary to secure that which sustains life, we find 

 the most degraded species of the human race. With 

 them, hours of labor reach the irreducible minimum. 

 The output is restricted to the individual's daily phys- 

 ical needs. The measure of merit is not applied; brute 

 force takes its place. Every movement toward the re- 

 duction of man's necessities and comforts runs counter 

 to civilization, arrests the development of the race, 

 and is a menace to free institutions. Yet this spirit, 

 fostered by those having smallest claims for our citi- 



