Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-23
CONTINUED from FIRST Page,

ton of wealth in the hands OF Few;
contrasting the scandal Of insolent lux
try with the distress of the poor, they
would have the conditions of life made
equitable by law. The eliminat ion-or,
at least, the softening-of all inequali-
ties is. to them, the first consideration
in civilizations progress. This great step
being once accomplished. universal hap
piness will follow quite naturally.
have sirnpltded the matter to an
extreme degree so as clearly to demon
strate the trends Of thought. AS mat
ter Of fact. realists and Utopians APP
proach each other more closely than
the@brief survey have just. given might
lead one to suppose. There Is hardly
realist who ignores the advantage Of
an equitable distribution of wealth.
There is hardly Utopian who does not
recognize the benefits to be derived
from development of production. Every
one-all men of enlightenment-will
indorse; I am sure, the vigorous words
Of Jaures, appealing for the advent OF
societies working together In harmony
in the place of the existing antagonistic
societies The one and the other dif1er
only in the means employed.
Weak Spot Is Located.
But here is the weak spot. Utopions
like realists. fall into common error.
Whatever they may say, their chief pre-
occupation is material well-being.
The progress of civilization is to most
Of them question Of the alinentary
canal
Now I hear the loud protests of my
imaginary interlocutors. They only see,
they say, a greater affluence in life in
order to spread culture to dignity their
fellow men, to bring them closer to-
gether
Do they really think that the path
they follow will bring them to the end
that they have in view? Do they not
perceive that there is a danger In di-
recting the mind solely toward an anne
Iteration OF existence? How, later on,
win they dispel from the mass psy-
chology that fixed preoccupation which
they have instilled into 1t to the ex-
clusion of all else?
will justify my fears by glance
about us, and invite my readers to do
the same.
Sees u. S. Adopting Realism.
A great country, the United States of
America, adopts realism. Eager for
immediate results, she makes up for
slow scientific progress by organization.
ORGANIZATION of industry! Organization
of labor! She nationalizes-I include
In the word the whole gamut Of techni-
cal improvements; What does II an
DISPUTE level of material civilization
higher than ours This Is certainly
not a negligible achievement. am so
little disposed to underrate 1t that re-
peatedly have expressed the wish that
the old continent would borrow largely
from the methods Matched on the other
side of the Atlantic.
But wrote borrow that Is TO say,
eelect-not copy.
would not in fact, view without APP
prehension my great fatherland, Europe,
adopting methods which may be suit
able Il put note of interrogation) for
new or semi-new countries, but which
could not be introduced such as they
are In older nations without prejudice
both to them and to the civilization
which they have evolved. A servfle
transposition of Taylorisnn, for example.
would. I fear, be detrimental to our
working class, resulting in the mass
manufacture not only Of products, but
also Of men.
Position Is Outlined.
Let me make myself clear.
Intelligent application OF craftsman
ship raises the workman. Indefinite
repetition of the same gesture in the
minimum of time degrades him. It
makes him an automat0n to the detrt-
ment of the community and that OF
himself.
10 the detriment Of the community?
without being guilty OF any exaggera-
ton I am justified In asserting that
prepared by workmen in the anonyni-
ity of their daily task. The ingenuity
evolved in the brains of the weaver
suggested the idea Of the first me-
cfanical loom. Monge, the great French
geometrician. declared that ne nad
found the elements of applied geometry
In the figures and dispositions OF stones
We may boldly assert that many pro-
gressive technical ideas have originated
from the skilled application Of work.
men to their task. This precious con-
tribution to the general welfare would
no longer proceed from the wage
earners the day when they were re-
duced to play the part Of animals.
Mechanical Man Is Result.
But-they would not have to work
90 long! Their wages would be inf
nitely greater! Every one Of them
would have a motor car, would enjoy, at
leisure. the charms Of the cinema, etc.
Granted! This trivial amuse-
nnent-I had almost said vulgar-does 1t
elevate the soul? The workinen leav-
ing the factory worn out by six, seven,
Elk1lb VI uOdAkAAh8 nPPAANoeAOAA
machine or lever and deprived OF all
intellectual food will be, or will become,
by the very force of circumstances me-
ckanical men.
what would be the consequences? 1t
Is always somewhat risky to attempt to
lift the veil on the future. I am going,
however, to commit myself to forecast.
foresee that the workmen will for
time be content to eat hay out OF D
gilded manger. They will let themselves
drift down the slippery slope Of torpid
ity. They will drag with them the man
ayers who-having now only to control
a submissive, characterless mob that Is
incapable of resistance and protest
will be engulfed in the general sloth and
and torpidity will arise a CIV
ilization pulled with q string. If may
be allowed to employ an image, rural
landscapes will be ieveled and give way
to an immense kitchen garden; and I
should not care-any more than does a
certain English politician-to live In an
Enclosure of pumpkins and turnips; far
away from the ravines where there is
danger of falling no doubt. far from the
thicksts where there is risk Of 1acerat-
Ing ones hands. but where one enjoys
the delight of the unexpected and OF
struggling against obstacles.
influence of Environment.
reassure myself, and I reassure the
British statesman, by adding that the
impressions we should experience were
re confined in an Enclosure Of pumpkins
would some day be felt by others It Is
not In the nature Of man to be content
for long with a life destitute Of action.
Those leading such life or condemned
TO do so will inevitably revolt. And here
1t is that my fears take definite shape.
Men manufactured in series, whose