236 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



nance. To-day it is the other way. In the 

 future, thanks to electricity, that great power 

 of coming ages by which the forces of nature 

 are to be harnessed, food and clothing and 

 every thing that machinery can make will be 

 inconceivably cheap. Some thinkers believe 

 that even by the year 2000 one hour's work a 

 day will suffice to give a man more comforts 

 fCc and luxuries than he now earns by eight or ten 

 hours' work. It will be argued of course, that 

 what man considers his necessaries will grow 

 faster than his means for supplying them : in 

 those favored days to come the day laborer 

 will deem himself unfortunate if he cannot 

 dwell in marble halls and eat off gold plate. 

 Nevertheless there is a point when we can say 

 that a man is well sheltered from the elements, 

 well clothed, well fed ; intellectual food in the 

 shape of books and newspapers will then be so 

 cheap as to be scarcely worth considering. It 

 is probable that in those days people will not 

 herd together at the sacrifice of sunshine and 

 quiet. 



The workman of to-day earns by his day's 

 labor twice as much food and four times as 

 much manufactured goods clothes, tools, fur- 



