—From “Who Will Do Our Dirty Work Now?” by James H. Collins, in the September 6, 1924, issue of The Saturday Evening Post
You can go into any little shop today and find a small power-driven machine that does the muscle work of four or five men. There are innumerable machines of that kind, with new ones constantly being invented. The farmer has similar machines, and so has the housewife.
Since heavy immigration stopped in 1914, our power facilities in factories alone have increased fully 15,000,000 horse power. Consider one mechanical horse power equal to the muscle work of two able-bodied men, and include all the power used outside the factories.
You’ll see that if we had to keep the country going with man engines, the labor of immigration, somewhere between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 immigrants would have to be brought in every year, and they would all have to be able-bodied men.
The thing can’t be done; this is not a pick-and-shovel country, but one that grows on mechanical power.”
This article is featured in the September/October 2024 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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