We used to introduce a bit of machinery in the mill,
every now and then, that threw out a dozen or a hundred people; but we
couldn't stop for that."
"And you never knew what became of them?"
"Sometimes. Generally not. We took it for granted that they would light on
their feet somehow."
"And the state--the whole people--the government--did nothing for them?"
"If it became a question of the poor-house, yes."
"Or the jail," the lawyer suggested.
"Speaking of the poor-house," said the professor, "did our exemplary rural
friends tell you how they sell out their paupers to the lowest bidder, and
get them boarded sometimes as low as a dollar and a quarter a week?"
"Yes, young Mr. Camp told me of that. He seemed to think it was terrible."
"Did he? Well, I'm glad to hear that of young Mr. Camp. From all that I've
been told before, he seems to reserve his conscience for the use of
capitalists. What does he propose to do about it?"
"He seems to think the state ought to find work for them."
"Oh, paternalism! Well, I guess the state won't."
"That was his opinion, too."
"It seems a hard fate," said the minister, "that the only provision the
law makes for people who are worn out by sickness or a life of work should
be something that assorts them with idiots and lunatics, and brings such
shame upon them that it is almost as terrible as death.
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