KERAMIC STUDIO 
65 
matter be pursued into commercial fields it is a theme of 
common conversation that stock is watered, false reports 
are spread and the market manipulated without regard 
to truth. This is an absence of sincerity and to crown all 
a fortune made by falsehood is distributed in benevolence. 
But is it not the height of absurdity to claim that the 
crafts can change this? 
A young man or woman who has studied any of the 
manual arts is necessarily impressed with a sense of the 
importance of reality. A person of normal temperament, 
dealing with material and manipulation can only derive 
real satisfaction from the work in the absence of qualms 
of conscience. An expert worker was once urged to con- 
ceal a flaw and was told that nobody would ever know it 
was there. "No", he replied "but I should." This knowl- 
edge would destroy for ever his pride in that particular 
piece of work for the true craftsman works not for praise 
or profit but for his own delight. If, therefore, his knowl- 
edge of himself and his motive be not free from conscious re- 
buke "the joy of the working" is lost. 
And as this joy takes possession of the heart of a man, 
he becomes jealous of his reputation. He cannot put his 
hand to any work which is not as good as it can be, for the 
result of any such action would be to him a thorn in the 
flesh. 
Thus does the dignity of labor acquire power. The 
standard of quality is open to the eyes of men. Every 
touch, whether of hand or tool, every gradation of tone 
or color is open for examination and comparison and by 
the verdict of his work the craftsman stands or falls. 
As the individual, so is the nation and as an increasing 
number of devotees bows at the shrine of the crafts, each 
one receiving, even perhaps unconsciously, the blessing of 
a belief in sincerity, the effect upon the people at large will 
be widespread and deep. 
The second need is simplicity. 
Human happiness is compassed not by the maximum 
of possessions but by the minimum of desires. In a multi- 
tude of surroundings the quality and individuality of 
separate articles matter little. If one's life be filled with 
a vast number of small efforts the energy expended upon 
each is trivial. In this way much to have and much 
to do make for the diffusion of powers and the belittling 
of values. In a word, complexity, whether of things or 
thoughts, is opposed to quality. Of course no proposition 
of this kind is capable of universal application, there are 
exceptions,' but in the bulk the contention is true. 
It may be proven by an inspection of the average 
parlor and by an investigation of the average life — meaning 
particularly the living life for which a man works. 
In the home one is confronted with gaudy carpets, 
"tiger in jungle" rugs, machine made ornament, and scroll 
saw grilles. Bric-a-brac abounds and the greater part of 
it is machine made, bizarre in shape and decoration and 
fit for nothing but to accumulate dust. 
It is to be feared that the life is to match. This is a 
subject upon which great restraint must be observed but 
when in summer small groups of women are seen on the 
porch at ten in the morning, clothed in wrappers, gossip- 
ping over the Sunday newspaper; and when it is known 
that these and other women assemble at three o'clock or 
earlier and play bridge for hours, one may be pardoned 
for believing that life is being frittered away in useless 
things. 
These Marthas are "cumbered with much serving" 
but if it were intelligent or useful service it might be ,ex- 
PANEL— SUNFLOWER (Treatment page 66) 
