the work of the world. In this brief chapter we shall discuss the rapid growth of this work during the last one or two hundred years; and we shall see that the increase in the work to be done has made the need of wise coöperation among inhabitants of cities and States far more important than it used to be. All of the remainder of the book treats of organization for coöperation or working together, but this chapter is particularly meant to show how much more important it is for us to have good government now than it was when our ancestors first began coming to America.

42. The World's Work in Earlier Times. Not much over a hundred years ago each family lived independently and supplied most of its own needs. It drew water from a well in the yard or from a spring near by. It used no gas or electricity, but lighted the house with home-made candles. Vegetables came from the garden and fruit from the orchard. The women of the household made the cloth for the clothes of the family, and then made the clothes. They spun the yarn and knitted the socks and gloves. Few people traveled farther than a horse could carry a man and bring him back in one day. There was no telegraph or telephone, and it took a letter a week to go to a neighboring State. People lived far apart and did not coöperate on a large scale. If each pupil stayed at home and did his class work by himself without any of the help which a school gives, his effort to get an education would be something like this old-fashioned community life.

43. The Industrial Revolution. One of the things that caused this way of living to disappear was the growth of the factory system. Industry went through a change called the Industrial Revolution. The word revolution means to

turn around like a wheel. The work of the world took a turn. Instead of each family making its own clothes, great factories sprang up to produce clothing on a large scale. Instead of each little community having a mill to grind flour, great flour mills in a few parts of the country ground all the flour. Instead of each household tanning leather and making its own shoes, great tanneries and shoe factories grew up.

44. Scientific Agriculture. The progress of the Industrial Revolution was accompanied by the improvement of farming and stock raising. By the old methods it was about as much as the people could do to supply food for the country, although most of them worked at producing food. But with improved plows and harvesting machines, and with careful selection of seed and fertilizer, it was soon possible for a few people to raise enough food for all. This made it possible for many of the people who had lived on farms to move to the towns and work in the factories, producing many luxuries which the world had not had before, or which only a few people in the world had enjoyed. Pianos, books, newspapers, furniture, watches, convenient cooking utensils, means of travel, and many other things came to the world because the farmer managed his business so well that a few of the people could raise enough food for all, while others could go into the factories to provide more of other necessities and luxuries.

45. Rapid Transportation. Among the things that came with this great revolution was rapid transportation. The steam engine applied steam power to pulling cars over steel rails. This brought places close together, for places are far apart only when it takes a long time to get from one to the other. Such rapid transportation helped the growth

of the factory system and made foods cheap. The great wheat fields of the West can produce food much more cheaply than can the farms of the East. This means that more and more men could be released from the wheat fields to go into other work. It became possible for the whole country to use coal for fuel, and thus save the wood and the time it takes to handle it. It became possible for us to have fruits from all parts of the world at low prices. Rapid transportation has brought the whole world so close together that it is like one large family.

46. Printing and Communication. The day The World War ended the people all over the world read the news at about the same time. The telegraph, telephone, and wireless have overcome space; and we all live as if in one house. Since we hear the same news and think about the same things, we come to think the same thoughts and so can live under the same government. In ancient times people of different countries or even different villages hated those who lived a short distance away because they did not know them. Now the newspaper brings even to the poorest family interesting accounts of all peoples, so that we know more about Europe than our ancestors knew about the next State.

47. Density of Population. This revolution in agriculture and transportation has provided ample food; there are no more famines in our part of the world. Our lives have been made comfortable; disease has been reduced; and, since we know our neighbors better, fewer wars are likely. Because of all these things the population of the world is growing rapidly. Great cities with millions of people have arisen where mere villages were. But the whole country is also filling up, and lines between settlements are disap

pearing. Even the boundary lines between countries are becoming very dim.

48. World Coöperation. All the people of the world are working together. We have what is called division of labor. One man is a teacher who helps to educate the children of other people. The next one you meet is possibly a clergyman and the next a lawyer. All of us would starve if there were not also men who grow wheat and others who raise cattle or hogs. In the city, one man runs the telephone system, another the car line, another the theater, each giving something of what we all need. But the city would starve, and the farmer would fail for lack of machinery, if it were not for the railroad man who runs the trains through the night and the storm at terrifying speed in order to get the meat and wheat to the city and to return to the farm with the machinery and the clothes. How does the farmer know how much food to send to a city; and how does the manufacturer know how much machinery to make? Are these simple questions? They are answered by the business man. Many of us do not know what he does, but he is to business what the general is to the army. The general sits far back of the line with maps and telephones; and he plans the whole campaign, so that all bodies of troops move smoothly. The people of the world are a great army working together against hunger, thirst, cold, disease, and ignorance. All of us are doing our part, and all of us are receiving the necessities of life. Some receive more than this, but all of us have more than we should have but for this great system of helpfulness.

49. Government. Now what has government to do with it all? Government is to all of this coöperation what the organization of our athletic association is to the work of

our teams. The old-fashioned government had but little to do because people were not dependent on each other. Some people could be careless and lazy without causing others to suffer. Each family was dependent on itself alone. Now no one can be useless without causing suffering to others. If the milkman is careless or dishonest we are in danger of disease; if the railroad man is careless or dishonest we cannot travel safely. So with all the things we use and the comforts we have; we are dependent on others for them. Most of the others are willing to do their best; but there are always a few who wish to shirk. For these few it is necessary to have laws and officers. In order to have these laws and officers, we must organize a government and write constitutions and charters. This book is about the methods of doing these things through self-government. 50. Doing Our Part in Politics. We must make the world safe for democracy, but we can do our part in nothing if we are not trained to understand how we should do it. All of us want to play the game of life as well as we can. Let us therefore see what government does and how it does it so that we may know our own duty towards our part of the work of the world. Let us train ourselves in self-government. Only by doing so can we help to keep democracy from failing.

SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS

1. Make a list of the people who help to produce the bread you eat. Where is the wheat raised? Where is it ground?

Where cooked?

2. Where is your meat raised? Where slaughtered? Who sells it to you?

3. Where is the wool or cotton for your clothes raised? Where is the cloth manufactured? Where are the clothes made?