SPENCER'S INDIVIDUALISM 153 



being no respirators, baths, or acidulated 

 drinks he could be a physical wreck in a year 

 and a corpse in two. Or he might try the gas- 

 works and, there being no inspectors, there 

 would be nothing to interfere with his in- 

 dividual right to be asphyxiated in an oven 

 or roasted in a retort. 



As wages would be small, unions not being 

 individualist institutions, he might get a cheap 

 room in the top of an hotel without fire 

 escapes, in a town with no fire engines. He 

 could live cheaply on bread from bakehouses 

 that never knew lime washings and had not 

 seen hot water or soap for over six months, 

 and eat fruit and vegetables handled by peo- 

 ple who were not troubled with decent, let 

 alone sanitary, lodgings. 



He would have the liberty to stay at man- 

 ual labor as there would be no public schools 

 or libraries to assist him to qualify for any 

 profession such as, for instance, journalism. 

 This would, no doubt, be a blessing in dis- 

 guise, for if he became a writer, instead of 

 following the brilliant example of Mr. Spen- 

 cer, he might misuse his powers to the detri- 

 ment of the race by advocating the limitation, 

 or even the abolition, of child labor. If he 

 married he might be at liberty to sew on his 



