THE BEAUTY OF MACHINE-MADE THINGS 
By JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 
stay; as we must accept 
it as our companion and 
helper, instead of con¬ 
tinuing our thoughtless 
condemnation and cry 
of “Away with it, away 
with it,” let us summon 
it before the bar of 
esthetic judgment, ex¬ 
amine the evidence, 
then render an unbiased 
decision. 
A DESIGN SUITABLE FOR EXECUTION 
BY MACHINERY 
A cupboard above an enclosure for a steam radiator 
T HE worshippers of art look upon the 
machine with as much horror as do loyal 
subjects upon the anarchist accused of assas¬ 
sinating their queen. For, since the advent 
of the machine, the beautiful has been ruth¬ 
lessly strangled; art has been pushed aside; 
vulgar and hideous usurpers have taken pos¬ 
session of her wide domain, and every crime 
in the category has been committed against the 
dainty goddess who was wont to give grace 
andrefinementtoso much of man’s handiwork. 
As the machine is looked upon as the 
arch-criminal, it is with some trepidation that 
one who loves the beautiful takes up the 
machine’s defence. But the machine cannot 
defend itself. It can only whir and clatter 
at the command of eager capital and invent¬ 
ive brains which compel the pliant brass, 
steel and steam to transform the treasures of 
nature into heaps of 
gold. It is undoubt¬ 
edly the hope of many, 
and the belief of a few, 
that the machine age 
will pass away, to be 
succeeded by the golden 
age of handicraft. But 
the world never did, and 
never can, turn back. 
Besides, machinery has 
become such an integral 
factor of modern life 
that it could not be dis¬ 
entangled without up¬ 
rooting the whole in¬ 
dustrial system. As the 
machine has come to 
Let us first call Art to the witness stand 
and examine her on the Magna Charta of 
her Kingdom. We ask : “ What are the 
fundamental principles in art?” She an¬ 
swers : “ The absolutely essential elements 
in every work of plastic or decorative art are 
line, form, color and proportion.” However 
keen I v the witness is cross-questioned on the 
character of painting, sculpture, architecture, 
decoration, etc., she never contradicts this 
testimony and in corroboration declares: 
“ Every masterpiece, whether it be the 
Venus de Milo, the Parthenon, the Sistine 
Madonna or some humble object of daily 
use, can lay claim to dignity and beauty on 
no other grounds than the grace and har¬ 
mony of its lines, colors, and the proportion 
of each part to the whole.” 
We examine the witness further as to the 
kind of lines that go to 
make up the grace and 
beauty of concrete 
things. She answers: 
“There are only two 
kinds of lines, straight 
and curved. Beauty as 
well as ugliness depends 
entirely upon their kind 
and combination.” 
We now call the ac¬ 
cused and examine it as 
to its industrial position. 
The machine answers 
that it is a mere slave, 
the tool of man, having 
no will of its own, and 
that man is responsible 
for all of its deeds. 
“But can you make 
beautiful objects? Can 
you, for example, cut a 
straight line?” It an¬ 
swers: “Why, of course, 
I can cut a line as 
straight as a die.” 
“Well, how about 
curved lines—can you 
cut them?” Answer: 
“ l can cut a line per- 
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