aterial comforts and welfare of mankind, but
to make colossal fortunes under private control. While the progress of
man is marked by mastery of nature, it should also be marked by
co-operation with nature on a continued utility basis. Exploitation of
natural resources leads to conspicuous waste which may lead to want and
future deterioration.

The development of scientific agriculture largely through the influence
of the Agricultural Department at Washington and the numerous
agricultural colleges and experiment stations has done something to
preserve and increase the productivity of the soil. Scientific study
and practical experiment have given improved quality of seed, a better
grade of stock, and better quality of fruits and vegetables. They have
also given improved methods of cultivation and adaptability of crops to
the land, and thus have increased the yield per acre. The increased
use of selected fertilizers has worked to the same end. The use of a
large variety of labor-saving machines has conduced to increase the
amount of the product. But all of this improvement is small,
considering the amount that needs to be done. The population is
increasing rapidly from {496} the native stock and by immigration.
There is need for wise conservation in the use of land to prevent
economic waste and to provide for future generations. The greedy
consumers, with increasing desire for more and better things, urge,
indirectly to be sure, for larger production and greater variety of
finished products.

_The Economics of Labor_.--In complex society there are many divisions
or groups of laborers--laborers of body and laborers of mind. Every
one who is performing a legitimate service, which is sought for and
remunerative to the laborer and serviceable to the public, is a
laborer. At the base of all industry and social activity are the
industrial wage-earners, who by their toil work the mines, the
factories, the great steel and iron industries, the railroads, the
electric-power plants and other industries. Since the beginning of the
industrial revolution in the latter part of the eighteenth century,
labor has been working its way out of slavery into freedom.

As a result laborers have better wages, better conditions of life, more
of material comforts, and a higher degree of intelligence than ever
before. Yet there is much improvement needed. While the hours of
labor have been reduced in general to eight per day, the irr