INEFFICIENCY OF LABOUR 183 



those in which a mechanic in a large European town 

 brings up his family. Their houses, though much 

 rougher, are larger and airier, and their food, though 

 coarse, is sufficient. 



As regards the productiveness of their labour, how- 

 ever, there can be no comparison. They work in 

 conditions which make it impossible for them to create 

 value upon the same scale as European artisans. The 

 reason of this has already been indicated. The indus- 

 trial organization of Indian society does not permit of 

 the division of labour. The labour which is at pre- 

 sent expended by the blacksmiths and the carpenters 

 in these provinces would result in the production of 

 articles of much higher value if, instead of being- 

 scattered about in numberless villages, they were 

 grouped in a few large centres and worked under the 

 direction of skilled managers. If they were so aggre- 

 gated, their operations would be on a scale that would 

 make the use of steam or electric power remunerative, 

 and each man could be put to that work which he is 

 best capable of performing. But even if society could 

 be reconstituted with a single eye to the production 

 of more wealth, it is not certain that the modern 

 organization of industry is yet possible in India. 

 There are serious obstacles to the success of large 

 factories in the present condition of the country. The 

 first of these is the still existing imperfection of the 

 means of communication. The industrial organization 

 of Europe or America is impossible without cheap and 

 rapid transit. Every producer must have easy access 

 to the great markets, and the great markets must be 

 able to redistribute the finished product to the con- 

 sumers, wherever situated. Those who exclaim against 

 the extension of railways in India ignore the impor- 

 tance of cheap communication in developing manu- 

 facturing industries. A second obstacle, which is a 

 consequence of the first, is the absence of distributing 

 agencies. A manufacturer in India who produced 



