flourish. At times some of the national machinery has been
prostituted to private gain, and there is always danger that the
individual will try to prosper at the expense of society, but the
people more than ever before are conscious that it is the function of
the nation to promote the _general_ welfare, and private interests,
however powerful, must give heed to this.

322. =Manufacturing in Corporations and Associations.=--Back of all
organization and legislation lies a real national unity, through
which the nation exercises indirectly an economic function. In spite
of a popular jealousy of big business in the last decade, there is a
pride in the ability of American business men to create a profitable
world commerce, and middle-class people in well-to-do circumstances
subscribe to the purchase of stocks and bonds in trusted corporations.
Without this general interest and participation such a rapid extension
of industrial enterprise could not have taken place. Without the lines
of communication that radiate from great commercial and financial
centres, without the banking connections that make it possible for the
fiscal centres to support any particular institution that is in
temporary distress, without the consciousness of national solidarity
in the great departments of business life, economic achievement in
America would have come on halting feet. This unity is fostered but
not created by government, and no hostile government can destroy it
altogether.

To further economic interests throughout the nation all sorts of
associations exist and hold conventions, from American poultry
fanciers to national banking societies. Occasionally these
associations pool their interests and advertise their concerns through
a national exposition. In this way they find it possible to make an
impression upon thousands of people whom they are educating indirectly
through the printing-press. It would be an interesting study and one
that would throw light on the complexity and ubiquity of national
relations, if it could be ascertained locally how many individuals are
connected with such national organizations, and what particular
associations are most popular. If this examination were extended from
purely economic organizations to associations of every kind, we should
be able to gauge more accurately the strength of national influence
upon social life.

323. =Health Interests.=--If this national unity exists in the
economic field it is na