Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 45.djvu/327

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THE MEANING OF CORPORATIONS AND TRUSTS.
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ganization. The name of the organization lie serves may have endured for long before his term of service and for long after, as the name of the nation endures throughout many changes in the head of its government. If a prime minister finds more than pecuniary reward in having risen to the most important place of service to his nation, so should a captain of industry find more than pecuniary reward in having risen to the place of most important service to a great industry that ministers to the welfare of a multitude of people. If a sailor in the navy takes pride in contributing his mite under his nation's flag, so should the industrial private find satisfaction in the thought that his efforts are of use.

Besides the pleasure that he should find in his work, there is the happiness man should find in his home, in wholesome recreation, and the development of his mental and moral nature. That which is essential in the enjoyment of home does not depend upon the place in the industrial world occupied by the head of the family, for that there may be contentment in the cottage and misery in the palace is proverbial. Now that wise managers are discovering that the best work is obtained from men whose life in its entirety is most wholesome, it may be expected that in time the executive heads of great organizations will endeavor to allow their fellow-workmen every reasonable facility for domestic enjoyment, healthful recreation, and self-culture. And all the advantages gained by industrial combinations lead to this end. As products are cheapened their use becomes extended, so that in time it may be expected that the humblest may possess themselves of the clothing, food, and conveniences of habitation that minister in greatest degree to bodily health. As men working in concert with improved appliances and under improved methods produce a greater and greater output in less time and with less nervous and muscular exhaustion, it may be expected that before many generations have passed the labor necessary to supply the material needs of the human race may be encompassed within limits of time and exertion that will allow to all sufficient leisure and sufficient spirit for the cultivation of all that gives to life its perfect flower. The great industrial organizations perform for all the people what the men and women in the days of our grandfathers did for themselves and their families. They extend the mutual helpfulness of all the members of the nation, binding community to community, "obtaining an advantage while conferring a boon"; and the increasing exchange of products between nation and nation gives reason for belief that in generations to come, as the individuals of different nations know and appreciate one another more truly, there may be an extension of industrial organization that will have the whole world for its scope, ministering to all mankind.