230 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 921 



The scientist, even though he be a rank 

 materialist without any belief in the super- 

 natural, with no thought of any personal 

 existence beyond the grave, has his dreams 

 of the fiiture. He dreams of the time when 

 the engines of destruction will be so power- 

 ful and certain in action that war will be 

 impossible, and the world shall become one 

 great community of enlightened, intelligent 

 human beings, dwelling in peace and unity. 

 He is striving not to send souls to heaven, 

 but to convert earth into heaven. He 

 dreams of a time when agriculture shall 

 have been so perfected that the harvests 

 shall supply of fruits and grains, such as 

 the world has not yet seen, an abundance 

 for all. He dreams of a time when there 

 shall be no suffering or want, when every 

 man shall labor and every man shall possess 

 in equal abundance. He dreams of a time 

 when there shall be no premature death, 

 when sickness and pain have been abolished 

 through the wisdom of man. He dreams 

 of these things, not with the hope that he 

 individually may participate in them, but 

 with the joy that he may aid in their 

 coming to those who shall live after him. 

 It is more blessed to sow than to reap. 



Science teaches, more effectually than 

 any religion has ever done, the necessity of 

 lending a helping hand to those in distress. 

 The spread of infection has been a power- 

 ful agent in demonstrating to man that the 

 condition of his less fortunate fellow is a 

 matter of real concern to himself. Disease 

 in the slums may spread to the palatial 

 residences, and has shown the owner of the 

 latter that the dweller in the former is 

 indeed his neighbor. The typhoid bacillus 

 finds its way from the squalid hut up the 

 river into the great city, and visits the rich 

 as well as the poor. Infection is an in- 

 truder against which locks and bolts fur- 

 nish but slight protection. It comes in 

 water, in milk, in food, in dust. It is 



brought by mosquito, fly or other insect. 

 We meet infection in the street, we brush 

 against it in the street car, and we sleep in 

 it in the Pullman. It comes to our places 

 of business, sits by us in the restaurant, or 

 hotel, and travels with us by both rail and 

 water. It demonstrates the close relation- 

 ship of all classes and conditions of men, 

 and proves that no man can live to himself 

 alone. It compels the intelligent to in- 

 struct the ignorant, and the rich to help 

 the poor. Our knowledge of the spread of 

 infection is the strongest factor in the so- 

 cialistic movement of the day. 



There is another lesson which the well- 

 to-do should learn from science. The man 

 who employs labor should know that the 

 efficiency of the laborer depends upon the 

 conditions under which he lives. His 

 wages should be sufficient to provide for 

 himself and those dependent upon him 

 enough wholesome food to eat, proper 

 housing, proper clothing, means of educa- 

 tion for his children and some rational 

 recreation. Many of the captains of in- 

 dustry have amassed great fortunes by 

 giving to their employees a minimum wage, 

 compelling them to live in squalor and on a 

 starvation diet. Some of these capitalists 

 have distributed large sums thus secured in 

 charities, and have hoped by these gifts to 

 be known as great philanthropists. The 

 time is fast coming when wealth thus accu- 

 mulated will be regarded as unjustly se- 

 cured. It is better to pay a living wage to 

 every workman than to distribute money 

 obtained through the necessities of the poor 

 in charity. Were justice more evenly and 

 honestly practised by employers in the 

 business world there would be less need of 

 charity. I feel very strongly on this point. 

 No man would think of running a costly 

 machine or expect to get the highest effi- 

 ciency out of it except under the most 

 favorable conditions. He knows that low- 



