The mirror., 1919-11-20
% determine the most es-
sential manufacturing in
dustry in the world, we

F@IlHU Scutidl Misunderstanding III
t@ESa dustry in the world, we
tANf must necessarily ascer-
tain those things that are the most
essential to the welfare of man and
choose that industry that enables
man to procure these essentials to
the greatest extent. We find that
mans welfare depends primarily
on food, clothing. shelter and
those things that help him in-his
progress in the increase of his
power over nature, which has un-
doubtedly been the prime means
of the development of his intellect
and necessary condition of what
we term civilization.
A manufacturing industry that
will enable man to procure all of
these necessities to the greatet ex-
tent and that helps him in bis pro-
gress in increasing his power over
nature will then be more essential
than an industry that promotes
only one or two of the necessities.
If we glance backward into the
history of mans development we
find that in the time characterized
as the stone age, food, clothing,
shelter and weapons of defense
were hard to obtain and the stage
of civilization not very far advan-
ced. Food was meagerly pre-
pared, very little clothing was
used and shelter was mainly found
in caves and rude huts. The chief
weapons in procuring food were
clubs and rocks. Later on in the
bronze age little higher develop
ment of civilization was found.
Vessels were made for preparing
food, implements we're divised to
procure food more easily and
clothing made from skins of ami
mails became more abundant as
weapons were invented for the
hunt. A more advanced stage of
building shelter was apparent.
But the greatest development of
civilization came in the iron age.
While there is substantial proof
that iron was used in various ways
about 5000 years ago, the most
rapid development of the manu-
facture of iron has taken place in
the nineteenth and twentieth CEN
turies. How much of our modern
civilization is due to the introduc-
ton of iron manufacturing is hard
to determine; but it must be ap-
parent that without this industry
man would be reduced to stage
bordering on the semi civilized
state of former ages.
Let us see in what ways the
manufacture of iron affects mans
most essential necessity, food.
The manufacture of iron into farm
machinery enables man to till
great areas of land, harvest vast
fields of grain in a shorter time
than could possibly be done by
hand and this works greatly to his
advantage as the harvest season is
short. By being able to produce
grain in greater quantities than he
or his surrounding neighbors may
use, the surplus can be distributed
to other places where climatic con-
ditions are not as favorable for the
production of grain or to people
who wish to devote their entire
time to other industries. Then
too, this production of large guam
titles may be used as a protection
against famine. The iron indus
try is not only essentia, to the pro-
duction of food in quantities
needed by man but also in the pre-
pairing of it as we find the ma
chinery of our -four mills, packing
plants, creameries, sugar re6neries
and other industries devoted to the
manufacture or preparing of food,
are made of iron. When we COM
pare the breakfast of primitive
man with its raw meat fresh from