CONDITIONS AFFECTING INDUSTRIAL LIFE 289 



change in the character of the rural population and of rural 

 life generally over widespread areas. 



SUMMARY ' 



The relationship is very close between the geography of any region, 

 the occupations of its people, and their advancement in trade, industry, 

 and civilization. 



As the population of a country becomes more dense, complex ques- 

 tions arise affecting transportation, cost of living, and employment of 

 labor. There must be adjustments of government to varied interests 

 that are more or less conflicting. Some knowledge of the college sub- 

 jects of Economics and of Sociology becomes highly desirable. But one 

 does not have to make a study of these branches in order to understand 

 a great deal about the mutual dependence of the people of different 

 sections of any country, and of the people of all parts of the world. 



Within the half century following the Civil War a marvelous develop- 

 ment occurred in the United States affecting its industries, population, 

 wealth, and the manner of life of its people. The history of this period 

 will strongly emphasize the development of natural resources that took 

 place, and the extensive changes and readjustment of conditions that 

 occurred, incident to the introduction and use of machinery. An 

 understanding of these changes in the life of the American people is 

 impossible without a knowledge of the scientific achievements of this 

 period, and of the years just preceding it. 



Exercises 



1. Mention some of the differences involved in making a living by business 

 or professional life, and by working at a trade. 



2. What general relationship exists between transportation facilities and the 

 size of towns? 



3. What very largely affects the choice of location and the development of 

 any particular manufacturing industry? 



4. What are the serious disadvantages to any country in having its industries 

 centralized rather than widely distributed? 



5. Give some of the principal reasons why people move into towns and 

 cities to live. What are some of the decided advantages of life in rural 

 districts? 



6. What conditions affecting the workers in mill, factory, or shop correspond 

 to the uncertain returns from farming? 



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