879] Machinery and Labor 81 



boy, who is assigned lessons that are too hard for him, 

 is disposed to quit his books, and he languishes if com- 

 pelled to remain by them. On the other hand, if the 

 tasks are suited to his capacity, and he masters them, 

 he is usually proud of his achievements and anxious to 

 do more ; and if, instead of being assigned further 

 work, he is required to do the same problems over and 

 over again for, seemingly, no better object than that of 

 being dutiful, he becomes dissatisfied and discouraged. 

 In either case there is degradation and loss of power. 



The grown up man is only an older boy. He de- 

 lights to learn new things. He wants to be ever mov- 

 ing forward in the satisfaction of new wants ; and if 

 for any reason, as from the consciousness that the 

 length of the working day or the intensity of his em- 

 ployment exacts too much for his strength or from a 

 feeling that he is subject to some undue disadvantage, he 

 finds that his natural powers are being over-taxed or 

 that he cannot advance as rapidly as he thinks he 

 should, he becomes dissatisfied and discouraged ; and 

 the longer he stays at his post, the less prepared he be- 

 comes to go into another employment. Hence arise 

 the despair and abandon which leads to reckless living 

 and, occasionally, to riot. 



It is idle to say that the mere fact of working with a 

 machine tends to narrow the intellectual capacity of 

 the worker. As well might one say that it is injurious 

 to a pupil to give attention to the more skillful work 

 of his teacher. 1 



The mere fact of working with a machine and of 

 being compelled to follow its orderly processes, tends 



i " It is thought that educates, the contact with quick and fertile 

 minds ; and it matters not whether this contact be produced by a 

 voice or a book or a machine : the result is the same." Washington 

 Gladden : Working People and their Employers, p. 20. 



