Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/494

LEFT TOOSE 432 TOOLS Ain> MACHINERY ing the American war, and his trial re- sulted in a year's imprisonment and a fine of $1,000. He was a short time member of Parliament for Old Sarum. He wrote several political pamphlets and an ingenious linguistic work entitled "Epea Pteroenta, or the Diversions of Purley." He died in Wimbledon, Eng- land, March 18, 1812. TOOLE, JOHN LAITRENCE, an Eng- lish comedian ; born in London, March 12, 1832, His father was well known in the city as civic toastmaster. While a clerk in a wine merchant's office, he devoted his leisure to private theatricals with a suc- cess which induced him to take to the etage as a profession. Toole made his first public appearance at the Haymarket Theater on July 22, 1852, on the occasion of a benefit to Mr. Webster. After a thorough training in the provinces he was engaged at St. James' Theater in 1854. Thence he passed to the Lyceum, and an engagement of several years as leading comedian at the New Adelphi followed. He made a professional tour in the United States in 1875, and in Australia in 1891, and with these excep- tions he appeared regularly in every season in London for many years, latterly in a theater under his own management. His strength lay in broad and even far- cical humor. Many farces, such as the "Area Belle," "Ici On Parle Frangais," "The Spitalfields Weaver," "The Pretty Horsebreaker," and "The Steeplechase," owe their popularity almost entirely to his versatility; and among his most prominent and successful impersonations are Paul Pry, Caleb Plummer in "The Cricket on the Hearth," Joe Bright in "Through Fire and Water," Uncle Dick in "Uncle Dick's Darling," and Chawles in "A Fool and His Money." He died July 30, 1906. T003LS AND MACHINERY. The history of tools goes back to the very beginning of human life. First, of course, tools were used exclusively for agricultural purposes, and for a long period were of the most primitive nature. As human activities became more com- plex, the use of tools spread rapidly. Their development, however, for a long time, was very slow. This did not change until steam, electricity, and water power became available for gen- eral use. Not until then were many tools developed into machinery. The most remarkable and diversified improvements in tools and machinery took place beginning with the latter half of the nineteenth century. Gradually in many industries, and somewhat later, in agriculture, a change took place from hand work to machine work, not, of course, resulting in the total exclusion of the former by the latter. Almost with the beginning of the more general use of machines, an extended controversy arose regarding its effect on industry. There is no doubt that the substitution of machinery for hand tools and of machine work for hand work has far-reaching and deep effects on employment, the individual laborer, out- put, and quality. Just what the ulti- mate effects are is still a matter of controversy. Undoubtedly, whenever hand work is changed to machine work in a given field of endeavor, there occurs at first a serious displacement of existing employment conditions. As a rule the use of machinery involves the employ- ment of fewer persons, and in many instances it also does away with the need for highly skilled labor. On the other hand, as machinery becomes gradually adopted in a given field, the result fre- quently, if not always, is a widening of this field, and, therefore, eventually need for larger numbers of workmen. Then, too, as machinery is gradually developed and becomes more complicated, there again arises a need for more skilled labor. In the same manner, the individual workman is affected. The use of ma- chinery undoubtedly tends, in many in- stances, towards mere routine labor. One and the same process frequently is repeated over and over again. Natur- ally, this requires a lower grade of men- tality in the laborer than was needed when a large number of diversified processes had to be performed by one and the same individual. On the other hand, the laborer frequently is enabled by the use of machinery to increase his earnings. It may, therefore, be said that while the use of machinery is at times apt to have a disadvantageous influence on the laborers' mentality, it is just as apt to greatly improve his material com- forts. There is no doubt that the use of ma- chinery instead of hand work has resulted in vastly increased output. Indeed, in many instances, the invention of a given piece of machinery was more or less forced by the absolute necessity to increase output, either in order to meet increased demand, or else in order to reduce costs. It is claimed by many that the quality of machine products is much lower than that of similar products produced by hand work. While this is without doubt true in many instances, it is, to a certain extent, offset by the greater uniformity. Then, too, it must be remembered that