THE GOLDEN RULEago. He is better clothed, has a greater variety and abundance
of food, lives in a more comfortable dwelling, and has many
more conveniences for the conduct of domestic affairs and
the prosecution of labor than money could purchase but a
few years ago.
An emperor could not travel with the ease, the comfort,
and the swiftness that the common laborer can today. He
may think that he stands alone, with no one to help. But,
in truth, he has an immense retinue of servants constantly
waiting upon him, ready and anxious to do his bidding. It
requires a vast army of men and an immense outlay of capital
to provide a common dinner, such as every man and woman,
with few exceptions, has enjoyed today.
Think of the vast combination of means and men and
forces necessary to provide even a frugal meal. The Chinese
man raises your tea, the Brazilian your coffee, the East Indian
your spices, the Cuban your sugar, the farmer upon the west-
ern prairies your bread and possibly your beef, the gardener
your vegetables, the dairyman your butter and milk; the miner
has dug from the hills the coal with which your food was
cooked and your house was warmed, the cabinetmaker has
provided you with chairs and tables, the cutler with knives
and forks, the potter with dishes, the Irishman has made your
tablecloth, the butcher has dressed your meat, the miller your
flour.
But these various articles of food, and the means of pre-
paring and serving them, were produced at immense distances
from you and from one another. Oceans had to be traversed,
hills leveled, valleys filled, and mountains tunneled, ships must
be built, railways constructed, and a vast army of men instruc-
ted and employed in every mechanical art before the materials
for your dinner could be prepared and served. There must also
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