Knowledge that Transforms

taken up and the vast natural resources of the nation have been tapped. We are entering a period of diminishing returns; and a period in which increasing attention will be directed toward small economies that were not considered worthy of notice a generation ago. "The cream has been skimmed off the pan of our natural resources." Also, factory legislation, laws as to hours of labor, and the activity of labor organizations are tending to raise the level of wages and to increase the expenses of operating a business. As a consequence, employers are being stimulated to adopt more efficient methods.

More than two decades have passed since the enactment of the Sherman Anti-Trust law, and during that time many different phases of experience under it have succeeded one another. The act has not been amended, although changes in its working have been brought about by legislation on related subjects. The measure has been enforced only sporadically and today the question is still urgent: What shall be done with the law ? So unsatisfactory has it been, to all appearance; so general has been the demand for something to take its place; so extensively have "trusts" and combinations of capital developed in spite of its existence, that future students of American economic history must inevitably be surprised at the apparent inability of Congress to do anything that would remedy what appears to be an intolerable situation, either by repealing an act which seems to have attained no object, or by correcting admitted defects in it. Before anything can be done toward changing the present status under the Anti-Trust law, it will be necessary, therefore, to understand why Congress does not act regarding it and what are the obstacles, apparently insuperable, that have so effectually blocked progress.

The archaeology of Egypt and Assyria affords notable testi? mony of the initial activities of mankind in exacting a living from arid soils; but the mysterious lands of the East offer no greater lure to the student of early irrigation than do the broad plains and mountain-locked valleys of our own Southwest. Indeed, few pre? historic races have anywhere left plainer evidence of industrial conquest than have the ancient dwellers of the most forbidding desert lands of America. Modern industrial surgery is rapidly destroying visible proof of early irrigation; but there still remain some remnants of skilfully constructed irrigation works of no mean degree of magnitude, which in ages past made habitable the lands of the Gila, the Rio Grande, and the San Luis drainage areas in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. It is even possible that the engineering triumphs of recent years have little more than reclaimed the plains and mesas of some of these districts to their ancient state of cultivation.1

CLOSED SHOP I Demands on the part of the labor unions for the closed-shop form of organization have been one of the distinguishing characteristics of the labor movement in this country. Though the universality of the demand renders the question one of more than ordinary significance, discussions regarding the ethical and practical soundness of the principle have been so numerous and varied that there is little remaining to be said pro or con at the present ime. An explanation of the fundamental economic cause of the movement, however, is not so frequently attempted, and possibly there is still something that may be said bearing on this phase of the problem. Particularly is this true since considerable confusion seems to have arisen regarding the place and ends of the fight for the closed shop. The aim of the modern labor movement, taken as a whole, is obviously not the securing of any particular form of organization as such. Rather, it is simply the attainment of a power of control sufficient todemand recognition and to gain for the workman wages and conditions uch as are deemed necessary for his well-being. It is unquestionably true, however, that American unionism has persistently fought for the closed shop, and that that aim is constantly before the vast majority of trade unions today. It is so far true, in fact, that at times the object of gaining the closed shop has been forgotten, and it has been sought as a thing desirable in itself. The public, on the other hand, has almost universally condemned the movement. The reason for so doing is not always quite so clear. A very large number of people undoubtedly oppose it merely because it somehow goes against the spirit of that democracy of which we so loyally boast, to support anything which bears the taint of being "closed." Yet such a reason is scarcely one that will bear scrutiny, nor is it one which would, of itself, be very effective in the long run. The question therefore arises, on what

Journal Article Nordau's Interpretation of History Get access T. N. Carver T. N. Carver Harvard University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 26, Issue 3, May 1912, Pages 519–522, https://doi.org/10.2307/1883535 Published: 01 May 1912