Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 45.djvu/306

290 temperature of the body, secured by the use of houses and clothing, and the evenness of the vital processes consequent upon regular nutrition, depends that appreciation of the impressions which come through the senses that leads to the clear and vigorous working of the mind. But in those early days tools and appliances were so rude and methods so crude that there was little time for any one to spend except at the work which directly concerned his bodily welfare. The duration of such tasks for men and women was usually from daylight until dark. The self-sufficiency of each household was forced by the conditions of life in a sparsely settled region.

As the number of inhabitants in a certain area increased, and communication between them became less difficult, it was found that the production of certain articles, which involved particular skill, particular training, or particular facilities, could, with profit to an entire community, be left to the individuals possessing the requisite skill, training, or facilities. For example, a man making shoes for a considerable number of people acquired skill enabling him to make better shoes than the man who devoted but limited time to the making of a limited number for his own family, and the greater the time devoted to and the greater the revenue derived from the prosecution of a single industry the more readily could he afford, from time to time, to possess himself of appliances rendering more and better work possible with less effort, and the better could he afford to give more time to seeking the material best adapted for his product, which, as the quantities he used increased, he could secure, other things equal, at decreasing cost. And so with other functions contributing to material welfare.

When the demands upon an artisan became so great that he could not meet them entirely by his own personal exertion he employed a man to assist him. This is the first combination—the simplest industrial organization. Its characteristics should be carefully noted. The efforts of both men being directed by the employer, there is centralized control, and the joint efforts of the two men supplying a greater demand than was possible for the one, the field of their operations extends. And the two men, by systematically combining their efforts, other things being equal, accomplish more than could the two men working separately; wherefore, there is economy of production.

The numbers of individuals engaged in work for which there was greatest demand increased most rapidly—every village possessing its cobblers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and weavers—and with the further increase of population and the extension of the area over which their products or services could be distributed, the number of separate vocations increased. Because of the greater number of people wanting houses it became profitable for