This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 Excerpt: ... and try to find an explanation. In this day of machinery we overlook the indirectness of our processes. Food and shelter (including clothing and habitations) are still the chief material wants of mankind. In more primitive industry, food was consumed upon the farms where it was raised or in the neighboring villages. ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 Excerpt: ... and try to find an explanation. In this day of machinery we overlook the indirectness of our processes. Food and shelter (including clothing and habitations) are still the chief material wants of mankind. In more primitive industry, food was consumed upon the farms where it was raised or in the neighboring villages. Clothing was manufactured where the fiber was produced. Dwellings were built from materials at hand. Labor was applied directly to the object in view. Every stroke counted, for it was aimed directly at the ultimate end. Tools and machinery used were simple and inexpensive, as well as lasting. Little was paid for superintendence. Transportation charges were not important. Nearly everybody labored productively. There were no middlemen, few profits. Rent and interest charges were small. Our moder n methods of production are absurdly indirect. Much food goes from the farm to the manufacturer before it comes back for consumption on the farm. In its progress it pays several profits besides rent, interest and transportation charges. Besides there is much waste and deterioration. In the matter of clothing and dwellings, the processes are still more indirect. We talk glibly about the number of persons one knitter can supply with hosiery under our moder n system. We lose sight of the machine makers, the money-lenders, the bankers, the miners, the railroad men who participate in that process. The knitter can do much with his machine after it is set in place and the power attached, but it requires endless processes to get to that point. We see the worker and his knitting machine. But we overlook the man digging the ore from the ground, the men transporting it to the reducing furnaces, the cars carrying it and the processes of their production, the rails up...
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Add this copy of Have We Passed the Zenith of Our Industrial Efficiency? to cart. $42.69, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Nabu Press.
