Crises will come, as in the life of all nations and societies; but these will be happily surmounted, and the régime will continue, the stronger for its trial. A crisis of some moment will follow upon the large displacements of labor soon to result from the shutting up of needless factories and the concentration of production in the larger workshops. Discontent will spread, and it will be fomented, to some extent, by agitation. But the agitation will be guarded in expression and action, and it will be relatively barren of result. For most ills there is somewhere a remedy, if only it can be discovered and made known. The disease of sedition is one whose every symptom and indication will be known by rote to our social pathologists of to-morrow, and the possible dangers of an epidemic will, in all cases, be provided against. In such a crisis as that following upon the displacement of labor a host of economists, preachers, and editors will be ready to show indisputably that the evolution taking place is for the best interests of all; that it follows a “natural and inevitable law”; that those who have been thrown out of work have only their own incompetency to blame; that all who really want work can get it, and that any interference with the prevailing régime will be sure to bring on a panic, which will only make matters worse. Hearing this, the multitude will hesitatingly acquiesce and thereupon subside; and though occasionally a radical journal or a radical agitator will counsel revolt, the mass will remain quiescent. Gradually, too, by one method or another, sometimes by the direct action of the nobility, the greater part of the displaced workers will find some means of getting bread, while those who cannot will be eliminated from the struggle and cease to be a potential factor for trouble. Crises of other kinds and from other causes will arise, only to be checkmated and overcome. What the barons will most dread will be the collective assertion of the villeins at the polls; but this, too, from experience, they will know to be something which, while dangerous, may yet be thwarted. By the putting forward of a hundred irrelevant issues they can hopelessly divide the voters at each election; or, that failing, there is always to be trusted as a last resort the cry of impending panic.
VI
Gradually the various processes in the social life merge, like the confluents of some mighty Amazon, into a definite and confined stream of tendency. A more perfect, a better coördinated unity develops in the baronial class, and the measure of its control is heightened and extended to a golden mean which insures supremacy with peace. The under-classes settle in their appointed grooves, and the professional intermediaries definitely and openly assume their dual function of advisers to the barons and of interpreters to the people of the baronial will and ways. Laws, customs, the arts,—all the institutions and social forces,—change with the industrial transformation, and attain a finer harmony with the actual facts of life. All except literature, be it said, for this has outdistanced its fellows in the great current and already reflects the conditions, the moods, and ideals of the society of to-morrow. Here, at least, the force of nature can no farther go, and no change is to be anticipated for the present. But the other institutions and social forces are gradually transformed, and when the full coalescence of all the factors is attained, our Benevolent Feudalism, without a shock, without so much variance as will enable any man to say, “It is here,” passes to its ascendency, and the millennium of peace and order begins.
Peace and stability it will maintain at all hazards; and the mass, remembering the chaos, the turmoil, the insecurity of the past, will bless its reign. Peace and stability will be its arguments of defence against all criticism, domestic or foreign. An observant visitor from some foreign State may pick a defect here and there; but the eloquent defender of the régime will answer: Look upon the tranquillity that everywhere prevails, and reflect upon the inquietude and anarchy of the past. The disturbances of labor have ceased, and sedition, though occasionally encountered, is easily thwarted and put down. The crudities and barbarities of other days have given way to ordered regularities. Efficiency—the faculty of getting things—is at last rewarded as it should be, for the efficient have inherited the earth and its fulness. The lowly, “whose happiness is greater and whose welfare is more thoroughly conserved when governed than when governing,” as a twentieth-century philosopher said of them, are settled and happy in the state which reason and experience teach is their God-appointed lot. They are comfortable, too; and if the patriarchal ideal of a vine and fig tree for each is not yet attained, at least each has his rented patch in the country or his rented cell in a city building. Bread and the circus are freely given to the deserving, and as for the undeserving, they are merely reaping the rightful rewards of their contumacy and pride. Order reigns, each has his justly appointed share, and the State rests in security, “lapt in universal law.”
INDEX
- A
- Abbott, Rev. Dr. Lyman, quoted, [150].
- Absolutism, of heads of combinations, [24];
- “enlightened,” [60].
- Abstinence, seigniorial, [44].
- Accidents, to railroad workers, [65], [100-101];
- to workmen generally, [94];
- laws regarding, [93-96].
- Adams, Professor Henry C., [49];
- quoted, [50].
- Addams, Jane, [79].
- Agriculture, [9], [19], [21], [47-57], [184].
- Alger, George W., quoted, [89], [110].
- Anacharsis the Scythian, quoted, [38].
- Anarchist-Communism, [4].
- “Anticipations,” [1], [3].
- Arbitration, legislation in behalf of, [97-98], [151].
- Aristotle, quoted, [136].
- Arnold, Matthew, quoted, [152].
- Ashby-Macfadyen, Irene, [79];
- quoted, [81].
- Automobiles, [37], [38], [39].
- B
- Bacon, Francis, quoted, [117].
- Baer, George F., quoted, [27], [81].
- Baldwin, Judge Simeon A., [127];
- quoted, [128].
- Barons, see Magnates.
- Benefactions, of the magnates, [9-10], [39], [45-46], [59-66], [80], [149], [151].
- Benevolence, of the magnates, [9], [39], [40], [45], [46], [60], [64], [160-161], [183], [191], [196].
- Blacklisting, [89], [185-186].
- Blue, Leonard A., quoted, [84-85].
- Brewer, Justice David J., quoted, [120], [131-132].
- Bryan, Hon. W. J., [5].
- “Business,” main cult of magnates, [28];
- cultural effect of, [28];
- honesty of, [30];
- sacred privileges of, [92], [98].
- C
- Capital, independent, persistence of, [19], [20];
- transformation of, [20].
- Carnegie, Andrew, quoted, [28], [29], [32].
- Census, bulletin on industrial combinations, [11];
- on agriculture, [51];
- on wages, [68-79];
- on printing and publishing, [141-143].
- Chapman, John Jay, [84].
- Child labor, [76-82];
- abuses of, [79-81].
- Clark, Professor John B., [3], [6];
- quoted, [136].
- Coke, Sir Edward, quoted, [112].
- Colorado Fuel and Iron Co., [60-61].
- Combinations, industrial, [11], [12];
- recent growth of, [13], [14];
- commercial, mining, and transportation, [14];
- unification of, [15];
- absolutism of heads of, [24].
- Commissions, state, [84-85].
- Competition, decline of, [5].
- Conspicuous consumption, [40-41].
- Contract-labor law, violations of, [35].
- Court agents, [186], [187-188].
- Courts, [86], [93], [96], [97], [99], [102-121].
- “Courts baron,” [98], [193].
- D
- Davies, Professor Henry, quoted, [7].
- Democracy, persistence of, [182-183].
- Discontent, [66], [125-129], [191], [194].
- Disraeli, Benjamin, quoted, [182].
- Dodd, S. C. T., quoted, [29], [34].
- Draper, William R., [49], [55].
- Drink consumption, [170-171].
- E
- Edwards, Professor George Clinton, quoted, [79].
- Emery, Judge Lucilius A., quoted, [108].
- Employers’ duties (legal), [90-91], [104].
- Employers’ liability, [26], [83], [87], [99-100], [103-112].
- Endowments, see Benefactions.
- Engels, Friedrich, [2].
- Entrepreneurs, [187], [190].
- F
- Farmers, see Agriculture.
- Fellow-servants, [108-109].
- Fessenden, Stephen D., quoted, [90], [91], [96], [108-109].
- Feudalism, [9], [10], [26], [66], [74], [88], [98], [181-199].
- Fisher, Brooke, [141].
- Flint, Charles R., [29];
- quoted, [30].
- Fowler, Thomas P., [31].
- Frick, H. C., [33].
- G
- Gambling, increase of, [170], [171-172].
- George, Henry, [5].
- Godkin, E. L., quoted, [126-127], [130].
- Gould, George, [33].
- H
- Hadley, Dr. Arthur Twining, quoted, [129], [131].
- Hall, Dr. Stanley, [7].
- Hanna, Hon. Marcus A., [29].
- Harriman, E. H., quoted, [35].
- Hewitt, Hon. Abram S., quoted, [32], [169].
- Hill, James J., [28].
- Hillis, Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight, [151].
- Honesty, in “business,” [30], [158].
- Huntington, Rev. Dr. W. R., [151].
- I
- Immigration, of farmers into Canada, [49-50].
- Income Tax, [162].
- Industrial Commission, [95].
- Industries, petty, numerical growth of, [18];
- limitation of, [22];
- subordination of, [23].
- Injunctions, against automobilists, [38];
- against workmen, [103], [118-121].
- Interstate Commerce Commission, quoted, [34], [87], [101].
- Ireland, Archbishop John, quoted, [139].
- J
- Jackson, Judge John J., [31];
- quoted, [118], [120].
- Jones, Hon. Samuel M., [164].
- Judiciary, [25], [83], [92], [99], [102-121].
- K
- Keller, Judge B. F., quoted, [118].
- Kelly, Edmond, [2].
- Kershaw, John B. C., quoted, [161].
- Kidd, Benjamin, [2], [3].
- Kropotkin, Peter, [2], [4], [5].
- L
- Labor, seigniorial praise of, [30];
- in factories, [66-82];
- of children, [76-82];
- attitude of lawmakers toward, [85-89];
- attitude of judges toward, [103] et seq.;
- under new feudalism, [184-186], [190], [191-192].
- Lacey, B. R., [80].
- Lawmakers, [25], [83-101].
- Legislation, “labor” and social, [85-89], [112], [130-133].
- Literature, present state of, [175-179].
- Lloyd, Henry D., [2], [3];
- quoted, [28].
- Low, Seth, [36];
- quoted, [37].
- M
- MacArthur, Rev. Dr. R. S., quoted, [152].
- McLennan, Judge Peter B., [105].
- Magnates, [8], [9], [16], [23], [24], [26];
- self-consciousness of the, [27];
- cult of “business” of the, [28];
- invasion of literature by the, [28-29];
- praise of labor by the, [30];
- attitude toward trade-unions of, [30];
- attitude toward government of the, [32-39];
- benefactions of the, [9-10], [39], [45-46], [59-66], [80], [149], [151];
- ostentation of the, [39-44], [183];
- “liberality” to employees of the, [59-66];
- control of legislation by the, [83-89], [99-101];
- influence upon judiciary of the, [121], [133], [135];
- praise of the, [137];
- influence upon the press of the, [143-148];
- influence upon the pulpit of the, [148-153];
- general influence upon society of the, [154-170];
- influence upon literature of the, [175-179];
- class consciousness of the, [180-181];
- increased power of the, [182-183], [185], [187], [191], [192-193], [196-198].
- Magruder, Justice B. D., quoted, [114-115].
- Mallock, W. H., quoted, [134].
- Manufactures, census of, [68-79].
- Marx, Karl, [2];
- quoted, [102].
- Matson, Clarence H., [49].
- Militia, under new feudalism, [193].
- Mitchell, John, [31].
- Model workshops and villages, [60-61].
- Morganization of industry, [25], [175].
- Mosso, Professor Angelo, quoted, [123].
- Munseyization of literature, [175].
- N
- Neo-Jeffersonians, [5], [6].
- Newspapers, [25], [139-148], [188].
- O
- O’Brien, Judge Denis, [116].
- Old-age pensions, [61-66], [191].
- Ostentation, of the magnates, [39-44], [183].
- P
- Pastors, of churches, [148-153], [188].
- Patton, Professor Francis L., quoted, [15].
- Peck, Professor Harry Thurston, quoted, [128-129], [134-135], [137].
- Pensions, old-age, [61-66], [191].
- Potter, Bishop Henry C., quoted, [16], [151].
- Production, small-shop, [17].
- R
- Railroads, combinations of, [14];
- resistance to law and justice by, [34], [111-112];
- commissions for control of, [35];
- accidents upon, [65], [100-101].
- Relief organizations, [61], [62], [93].
- Retailers, small, decline of, [22-23].
- Richmond, Benjamin A., “The New Feudalism,” [58].
- Rockefeller, John D., Jr., quoted, [29].
- Roosevelt, Theodore, quoted, [127].
- Ross, Edward A., [154];
- quoted, [156], [159].
- Russell, George W. E., quoted, [41].
- Russell, Hon. W. E., quoted, [85].
- S
- Sage, Russell, quoted, [29], [163], [165].
- Sanborn, Judge Walter H., [104].
- Savage, Rev. Dr. Minot J., [151].
- Schooling, J. Holt, [170].
- Seigniorial mind, renascence of, [27];
- instances of, [28], [29], [30], [32], [37], [39], [45], [180-181].
- Shareholders, increase of, [17], [18], [160-163];
- subordination of, [23], [24], [163].
- Shearman (Thomas G.) and Redfield (Amasa A.), quoted, [111].
- Single-Taxers, [5], [6], [7].
- Socialism, [5], [6], [7].
- Socialists, [2], [164], [167].
- Social Reform Club, pamphlet of, quoted, [118-120].
- Spencer, Herbert, [88].
- Steel combination, magnitude of, [13], [16], [31], [66].
- Stimson, F. J., [86], [112];
- quoted, [132].
- “Success,” [156-160].
- Suicide, increase of, [173-174].
- Sullivan, J. W., [79].
- Sumner, Professor William G., quoted, [122-123], [133], [135-136], [174].
- Swayne, Judge Charles, [117].
- T
- Talbot, Bishop Ethelbert, quoted, [151].
- Tenantry, [9], [19];
- increase of, [21], [50-55], [186].
- Thayer, Judge Amos M., [104].
- Tolstoi, Lyof N., [2], [3].
- Trusts, see Combinations.
- V
- Value of dollar, comparative, [73-74].
- Vandervelde, Emile, quoted, [22].
- Veblen, Thorstein, quoted, [40], [43].
- Villeinage, the new, [59], [184-185], [187].
- W
- Wadlin, Horace G., quoted, [87-88].
- Wage-earners, [58], [66-82];
- number in manufactures, [71];
- child, [76-82];
- women, [74-76].
- Wage-scale, adjustment of, [66];
- comparisons of, [66-79].
- Wage-system, continuance of, [185], [190].
- Wallace, Judge William J., quoted, [106].
- Warman, Cy, [49].
- Webb, Sidney, [3].
- Wells, H. G., [1], [3].
- Whittelsey, Dr. Sarah S., [95].
- Willoughby, William F., [94].
- Wright, Colonel Carroll D., [66-67].
- Wyckoff, Professor Walter A., [133];
- quoted, [168].