Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 33.djvu/382

368 the time lost in carrying them out so cripples the workmen that they fail of being a remedy for low prices of labor.

If we take two families in rather poor circumstances, and apply the principle of short hours of labor to one and not to the other, we can get a tolerably clear idea of its operation. The families consist, say, of the fathers and mothers and six young children each, all the children being too young to be of great assistance. Mrs. A rises at five in the morning, prepares breakfast, after breakfast clears off the table, washes the dishes, gets dinner and tea, clears up, at some time sweeps the rooms, sews a little, knits a little, mends and darns a little, and thus uses up nearly every moment of time until ten or eleven o'clock at night. Her house is kept in order and her children appear at school and church neatly clad, hold up their heads with a self-respecting air, and are able to associate with pupils quite superior to them in pecuniary circumstances; but it is due to sixteen hours of diligence and well applied labor on the part of the mother. On the other hand, Mrs. B holds to the theory that eight hours of labor is enough, and puts it in practice. She omits the sweeping, and her house and furniture become untidy and unattractive. She omits the darning and mending, so that her children can not go to church, and go to school in rags, whereby they fall in standing and association, acquire the manners and morals of the neglected classes, and grow up cursing destiny and preparing to retaliate on society for having consigned them to a life of ignorance, want, and degradation. The contrast between the two families in the matters of comfort, morals, prospects, and happiness is striking. But contrasts of the kind are often seen; and it is generally recognized that the difference is owing to the unremitting fidelity and industry of the Mrs. A's as set off against the lax work of the Mrs. B's. Should Mrs. A shorten her hours of labor to eight, permanently, the family, instead of faring better, must inevitably fare worse; and what is true of one family is true of two, of twenty, of a hundred, and of all the community dependent on labor for support. This will remain true until the time comes when eight hours' labor will pay for the comforts now secured by twelve or fourteen hours' labor.

superficial knowledge be beneficial or deleterious may depend on what is meant by the term. If we mean by it incorrect knowledge, that certainly is worse than no knowledge at all; if simply a small amount of knowledge, the least is of advantage. A little knowledge on a great many subjects, as Mr. Balfour has said in his rectorial address at St. Andrew's, will conduce more to happiness and enjoyment, and will better render a man's mind wide and liberal in tone, and free from the prejudices of ignorance, than a great deal of knowledge on one subject alone. The best condition is to know as much as possible on one subject, and cultivate a little knowledge on many others.