28 



NA rURE 



[May 12, 1892 



disputable fact that the force of gravitation is constantly- 

 tending to reinstate the position of equilibrium. What 

 unions claim to be able to do corresponds to applying 

 frequent and stronger pressure on the right-hand side, 

 thus causing profits to yield the higher level to wages." 



To this argument there is opposed a preliminary 

 objection, that friction is not strong in the labour-market, 

 that competition is much more effective than unionists 

 assume. There is wanting, indeed, an exact measure of 

 this friction, as in the case of so many economic forces ; 

 one must be content with a rough mean between 

 the divergent statements of experienced persons. 

 The claim on behalf of the unions may now be con- 

 sidered under two heads — with reference to a single 

 trade, and where the union is supposed to be ex- 

 tended to all the trades of a country. But we 

 cannot here follow the subtle argument into all the in- 

 tricacies of the subject. We shall refer only, or chiefly, 

 to the latter case — which, in view of the developments of 

 the new unionism, cannot be regarded as imaginary — the 

 case of a supposed universal union. The main argument 

 against this sort of unionism is that a rise of wages 

 obtained at the expense of profits tends to cause a 

 diminution, or at least a check to the growth, of those 

 accumulations from which the remuneration of the 

 labourer is derived. "This old argument has both 

 gained and lost strength in recent times." Upon a 

 balance of considerations, it still appears weighty ; it is 

 even cumulative, the diminution of the national dividend 

 being progressive from year to year. Two counter-argu- 

 ments are urged by unionists. First, they claim that 

 through their policy the machinery of the labour-market 

 works more smoothly ; thus it saves the employer trouble 

 and anxiety to be able to buy his labour — ^just as it does 

 to buy his raw material — at wholesale prices (a fixed 

 minimum rate of wage). After a detailed consideration 

 of the policy of trade unions, Prof. Marshall concludes 

 that in some cases— especially where the invigorating 

 effect of foreign competition is felt—*' trade unions, on 

 the whole, facilitate business." It is sometimes otherwise 

 with trades which have a monopoly of some special skill. 

 A second great argument in favour of trades unions is 

 that they have increased the efficiency of workmen, 

 thereby increasing the total produce. The beneficial 

 effect on the standard of life is to be admitted in cases 

 like that of the London Docks. " But this answer is not 

 open to those unions or branches of unions that in effect 

 foster dull and unenergetic habits of work." Where 

 reasons are so conflicting, it were to be wished that direct 

 observation were available. But here, as elsewhere in 

 economics, history is difficult to interpret. There is, 

 indeed, the patent fact that- those occupations in which 

 wages have risen most in England are those in which 

 there are no unions— namely, the kinds of domestic 

 service and the employments of women for which there 

 has been an increase of demand and a check of supply. 

 On the other hand are urged cases in which higher wages 

 have attended stronger unions. But we cannot be 

 quite certain that the gain of one trade is not ob- 

 tained at the expense of a greater loss to some 

 other trade. Also prosperity may be rather a cause 

 than a consequence of the prevalence of trades 

 unions. The general conclusion appears to be that 

 NO. I T 76, VOL. 46] 



unions are not to be condemned or extolled in the 

 abstract, but only after attending to the particular 

 character of each, and considering whether its policy 

 complies with the conditions of success. Where the 

 consequences for good or evil are so widespread, and the 

 issues are to a large extent moral — whether unionists are 

 procuring a small good immediately and for themselves 

 at the expense of a greater loss in the future or to other 

 classes — it is natural to appeal to public sympathy and 

 criticism. " Public opinion, based on sound econo- 

 mics and just morality, will, it may be hoped, become 

 ever more and more the arbiter of the conditions of in- 

 dustry." Among the means of educating public opinion 

 we should place high the study of the " Economics of 

 Industry." F. Y. E. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Elements of Materia Medica and Therapeutics j including 

 the whole of the Remedies of the British Pharmacopoeia 

 6/1885 and its Appendix of 1890. Hy C. E. Armand 

 Semple, B.A., M.B. (Cantab.), M.R.C.P. Pp. 480. 

 (London : Longmans, Green, and Co., 1892.) 

 When a knowledge of medical botany was absolutely 

 necessary to the student of materia medica, such works as 

 Pereira's ''Elements" and Bentley's "Text-book of Organic 

 Materia Medica" supplied a real want in this direction. But 

 with the altered ideas of modern teaching there is a growing 

 tendency among examiners to demand rather a thorough 

 knowledge of the chemistry and intimate action of the 

 active principles of drugs than of their botanical sources. 

 This being the case, it is a little difficult to understand 

 why the work at present under notice has been written. 

 Mr. Semple thinks that by the aid of his book and of the 

 illustrations contained therein, the student will be able to 

 master the subject, and will have the facts impressed 

 upon him more vividly by the pictures. We think, 

 however, that most will agree with us that one of the 

 already well-known text-books, such as the excellent one 

 by Mitchell Bruce, or the larger and more comprehensive 

 one by Brunton — used in connection with a materia 

 medica museum — will make the subject at least equally 

 interesting, and enable the worker to pass a far better 

 examination. Since the 440 illustrations included in the 

 text appear to be brought forward as the strong point of 

 Mr. Semple's cram-book, we must draw attention to a 

 few of their peculiarities noticeable at a glance. In the 

 first place, non-officinal parts of plants are sometimes 

 illustrated, and not the officinal parts. Again, some of 

 the plates, though good enough in themselves, such as 

 those illustrating the extraction of tar and the collection 

 of asafoetida, narrowly escape being ludicrous in a work 

 on materia medica. Others, such as that showing a 

 sulphuric acid factory, give the student no idea of the 

 principles involved in' the processes of preparation, and it 

 is these alone which are of importance to him. Many 

 sketches are evidently inserted simply because the blocks 

 were at hand. Lastly, in the inorganic portion we regret 

 to notice the complete absence of chemical equations 

 and formulae, without a knowledge of which the student's 

 knowledge is indeed rudimentary. 



Elementary Lessons in Heat. By S. E. Tillman, Professor 



of Chemistry, U.S. Military Academy. Second Edition. 



(New York : John Wiley and Sons. London : Gay and 



Bird. 1892.) 



The "Lessons" presented in this volume were originally 



prepared for the use of students at the U.S. Military 



Academy. They are well fitted for students who can 



devote only a limited time to this branch of science, for 



