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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



fen, should take up this subject carefully 

 and systematically, and furnish us with 

 trustworthy conclusions in regard to it. 

 Dr. Giffen has prepared an elaborate 

 essay on " The Progress of the Working- 

 Classes in the last Half-Century," frag- 

 ments of which have appeared in some 

 newspapers, but which we now give to 

 the readers of "The Popular Science 

 Monthly " in full. It does not confirm 

 the theories of Henry George, but, on 

 the contrary, invalidates them. As Mr. 

 Gladstone writes to Dr. Giffen : "I have 

 read with great pleasure your masterly 

 paper. It is probably in form and in 

 substance the best reply to George." 



Dr. Giffen goes exhaustively into the 

 particulars of the social condition of the 

 working-classes of England fifty years 

 ago, and at the present time. He shows 

 that wages have very greatly increased 

 in that period, and he shows how much 

 they have increased with different classes 

 of laborers. He shows that accompa- 

 nying this increase in the money-earn- i 

 ings of the masses there has been a 

 marked diminution in the prices of all 

 the chief articles which the masses con- 

 sume. Moreover, while the money 

 wages have increased, the hours of labor 

 are diminished. And, while the pur- 

 chasing power of money has been in- 

 creased over the whole range of neces- 

 saries and conveniences to be had fifty 

 years ago, there are many new things 

 in existence at a low price which could 

 not then have been bought at all. Free 

 trade has cheapened wheat in England 

 to such an extent as to revolutionize the 

 domestic economy of the poorer classes. 

 Tlie fluctuations in the price of bread 

 half a century ago and earlier led to 

 periodic starvation; with free trade 

 those fluctuations are greatly dimin- 

 ished, while the higher wages of laborers 

 afford better protection against them. 

 Meats generally, except bacon, have in- 

 creased sensibly in price; but meat, 

 fifty years ago, was a luxury to a great 

 degree out of the reach of the laboring- 

 classes. Rents are also higher, but the 



houses are much better ; while the la- 

 borer, consuming meat, and with supe- 

 rior household accommodations, has still 

 a large surplus from the rise of wages, 

 as Dr. Giffen proves in detail. It is 

 also shown that the cost of government 

 has been greatly diminished to the work- 

 ing-man. Taxes are less, and local gov- 

 ernment is cheaper. Education is great- 

 ly reduced in cost, postage is cheapened, 

 free libraries are open, sanitary meas- 

 ures are carried out, and such has been 

 the general and substantial social im- 

 provement that life has been lengthened 

 with a gain of two years in the average 

 duration among males, and of nearly 

 three and a half years among females. 

 No such change could take place with- 

 out a great increase in the vitality of 

 the people. 



We enumerate some of these points in 

 this opportune and admirable paper that 

 our readers may be attracted to read it 

 with care, and not pass it by because of 

 its length and its tabular statistics, which 

 are, in fact, its most important part. 



TALE PROFESSORS ON COLLEGE STUD- 

 IES. 



The " Princeton Review "for March 

 opens with an article, by Professor 

 George P. Fisher, of Yale College, on 

 " The Study of Greek," and to this suc- 

 ceeds an article entitled " Our Colleges 

 before the Country," by Professor Will- 

 iam G. Sumner, of the same institution. 

 Both papers deserve attention. Dr. 

 Fisher begins his discussion of Greek 

 by making some concessions which are 

 significant at the present time. He says : 



The defense of the classics is often based 

 on exaggerated statements, and is really 

 weakened by being placed on narrow grounds. 

 It is idle to pretend that the study of the 

 classics is as indispensable to culture now as 

 it was three or four centuries ago. 



There is truth in Macaulay's sharp saying, 

 that if " ancient literature was the ark in 

 which all the civilization of the world was pre- 

 served during the deluge of barbarism," still 

 we do not read " that Noah thought himself 



