The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-25
Thomas A. Edison and Others
Discuss Influence of World
Conflict on Future
of Civilization

personal responsibility with regard to
the affairs of government.
| There must be as much M tho
spirit OF forecasting in government as
In intelligenty conducted business. A
great corporation which was as blind
TO the intentions, even to the per-
formances of its important business
rivals, as Great Britain ana all the
rest OF the European Allies were to
the plainly evidenced Intentions and
plain performances of the German
Government In the way of prepara-
lions Tor war would go into financial
bankruptcy at express train speed.
After all. imagination may be re-
garded as prime necessity in gov
eminent as it is in literature, oil pro-
| auction, invention-everything That
which we designate imagination is
really one of the rarest qualities of the
brain. 1t Is not as common as people
generally suppose. in fact it is not
as highly developed in the higher lead
ers of nations as in the great indus
trialists and men of business in Amer
lea. II was plain to many of the lat
ter and to some of the popular leaders
with imagination what would be the
result to America should Germany
crush France and gain the Channel
ports. Had action been taken. or even
had plans for action been made upon
the opening OF the war, we know that
1t would have shortened the war and
saved countless lives.
Must Avoid Bureaucracy.
From now on the world will de-
mand better government. and espe-
cially government more acute mentally.
Democracy is spreading and the great
est danger lying in democracy is it's
tendency toward the establishment o.
huge, inefficient bureaucracy.
That is what we all must struggle
to avoid.
II cannot see that governments are
improving their capacity to manage
the affairs of the people. They are not
advancing like industry.
Industry, II freed from the irri-
tating meddling of stupid bureaucracy,
will advance with great strides. In
the last six years we have made more
advances in production by automatic
machinery than in the previous
twenty years. Imaginative men in all
| parts OF the world are working with
ceaseless energy TO bring what now
are called luxuries within the reach OF
the man with the hoe-who soon won't
have to use a hoe. II this is not in
terfered with. the present standard of
wages can be kept up. in fact. can be
advanced. Automatic machinery means
high wages. No machinery. as in
China, means low wages. Automatic
machinery does not throw men out OF
work as it appears TO at first sight.
Man has a stomach which holds
about l.400 cubic centimeters of food
in bulk. All he possibly can do is to
fill it three or four times each day.
Therefore the demand for food is al
ways limited to this capacity, but for
everything else than food the demand
is unlimited. Man will buy everything
he has money to buy.
Automatic machinery cheapens
things 50 that many can buy. II the
machinery now is made still more in
tricate and produces with greater
speed. and still further cheapens. there
will be an enormous increase in buy
ers, and so on.
Henry Ford made and sold before
the war $4,000 cars a month and
sold them for $3.50 each. employing
$4,000 men. If more automatic ma
| chinery were to be introduced in
Ford's shop and all the shops from