Part 26

1. What _are_ the _machines saying_, a hundred of them in one long room? 2. _They must be talking_ to themselves, for I see no one else for them to talk to. 3. But yes, there _is_ a boy's red _head_ bending over one of them, and beyond _I see_ a pale face fringed with brown curly locks. 4. There _are_ only five _boys_ in all, on the floor, half-hidden by the clattering machines, for one bright lad can manage twenty-five of them. 5. Each _machine makes_ one cheap, stout sock in five minutes, without seam, complete from toe to ankle, cutting the thread at the end and beginning another of its own accord. 6. The _boys have_ nothing to do but to clean and burnish and oil the steel rods and replace the spools of yarn. 7. But how rapidly and nervously _they do_ it--the slower hands straining to accomplish as much as the fastest! 8. Working at high tension for ten hours a day in the close, greasy air and endless whirr---- 9. _Boys_ who ought to be out playing ball in the fields or taking a swim in the river this fine summer afternoon. 10. And in these good times, the _machines go_ all night, and other _shifts_ of boys _are kept_ from their beds to watch them. 11. The young _girls_ in the mending and finishing rooms downstairs _are_ not so strong as the boys. 12. _They have_ an unaccountable way of fainting and collapsing in the noise and smell, and then _they are_ of no use for the rest of the day. 13. The kind _stockholders have had_ to provide a room for collapsed girls and to employ a doctor, who finds it expedient not to understand this strange new disease. 14. Perhaps their _children will be_ more stalwart in the next generation. 15. Yet this _factory is_ one of the triumphs of our civilization. 16. With only twenty boys at a time at the machines in all the rooms, _it produces_ five thousand dozen pairs of socks in twenty-four hours for the toilers of the land. 17. _It would take_ an army of fifty thousand hand-knitters to do what these small boys perform.

"Br--r--r--r--r--r--r--r--r--."

18. What _are_ the _machines saying_? 19. _They are saying_, "We are hungry." 20. "_We have eaten_ up the men and women. (There is no longer a market for men and women, they come too high)-- 21. _We have eaten_ up the men and women, and now _we are devouring_ the boys and girls. 22. How good _they taste_ as we suck the blood from their rounded cheeks and forms, and cast them aside sallow and thin and careworn, and then call for more. 23. Br--r--r--r--r--r--r--r! how good _they taste_; but _they give_ us so few boys and girls to eat nowadays, although there are so many outside begging to come in--. 24. Only one _boy_ to twenty of us, and _we are_ nearly _famished_! 25. _We eat_ those they give us and _those_ outside _will starve_, and soon _we shall be left_ almost alone in the world with the stockholders. 26. Br--r--r--r--r--r--r--r! What shall we do then for our food?" the _machines chatter_ on. 27. "When we are piling up millions of socks a day for the toilers and then there are no toilers left to buy them and wear them. 28. Then perhaps we shall have to turn upon the kind stockholders and feast on them (how fat and tender and toothsome they will be!) until at last we alone remain, clattering and chattering in a desolate land," _growled the machines_. 29. While the _boys went_ on anxiously, hurriedly rubbing and polishing, and the _girls_ downstairs _went_ on collapsing. 30. "Br--r--r--r--r--r--r--r!" _growled_ the _machines_. 31. The _devil has_ somehow _got_ into the machines. 32. _They came_ like the good gnomes and fairies of old, to be our willing slaves and make our lives easy. 33. Now that, by their help, one man can do the work of a score, why _have we_ not plenty for all, with only enough work to keep us happy? 34. _Who could have foreseen_ all the ills of our factory workers and of those who are displaced and cast aside by factory work? 35. The good wood and iron _elves came_ to bless us all, but _some_ of us _have succeeded_ in bewitching them to our own ends and turning them against the rest of mankind. 36. _We must break_ the sinister charm and _win_ over the docile, tireless machines until they refuse to shut out a single human being from their benefits. 37. _We must cast_ the devil out of the machines.

--_Ernest Crosby_.

SPELLING

LESSON 24

Among the common suffixes in English are the suffixes _or_ and _er_. These suffixes mean _one who_ or _that which_. For example, _builder_, one who builds; _actor_, one who acts; _heater_, that which heats. But we are confused many times to know whether to add the suffix _or_ or _er_ to form these derivative words. There is no exact rule which can be given, but the following rule usually applies with but few exceptions:

To the shorter and commoner words in the language add the suffix _er_. For example, _writer_, _boxer_, _singer_, etc. To the longer and less common words, usually those derived from the Latin or the Greek, add the suffix _or_. For example, _legislator_, _conqueror_, etc.

There are a number of words in the English like _honor_, in which the last syllable used to be spelled _our_ instead of _or_. You will probably run across such words as these in your reading. This mode of spelling these words, however, is being rapidly dropped and the ending _or_ is being used instead of _our_. There are also a number of words in our language like _center_, which used to be spelled with _re_ instead of _er_. The _re_ ending is not used any more, although you may run across it occasionally in your reading. The proper ending for all such words as these is _er_. There are a few words, however, like _timbre_ (a musical term) and _acre_, which are still properly spelled with the _re_ ending.

The spelling lessons for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, contain words from which derivatives can be formed by adding _er_ or _or_. Look these words up in the dictionary and be sure that you have added the proper suffix. The list for Friday consists of words which you may find in your reading spelled with the _our_ ending. The list for Saturday contains words which you may find spelled with the _re_ ending instead of the _er_.

+Monday+

Create Produce Profess Debate Govern

+Tuesday+

Edit Consume Consign Legislate Design

+Wednesday+

Solicit Pay Success Observe Invent

+Thursday+

Vote Debt Organize Sail Strike

+Friday+

Labor Neighbor Rumor Valor Candor

+Saturday+

Theater Scepter Fiber Somber Meager

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 25

Dear Comrade:

In logic, we have two ways of reasoning, from the general to the particular and from the particular to the general. In other words, we may take a certain number of facts and reason to a conclusion; or we may go the other way about and start with our conclusion and reason back to the facts which produce the conclusion. Scientists use the former method. They gather together all the facts which they possibly can and from these facts they reach their conclusions.

This was what Karl Marx did for the social problems of his day. He analyzed these problems. He gathered together all of the facts which he could obtain concerning conditions of his day and from these facts he reached certain conclusions. He foretold the rise of capitalism and outlined present day conditions so perfectly that had he lived long ago among superstitious people, they would probably have called him a prophet.

This mastery of analysis, of marshaling our facts and from them reaching conclusions, is a wonderful power to possess, and this is exactly what we are doing in our English work. We are analyzing our sentences, finding the elements of which they are composed, and then building the sentence; and since neither the thought nor the sentence can be really studied except in connection with each other, this analysis of sentences gives us an understanding of the thought. The effort to analyze a difficult sentence leads to a fuller appreciation of the meaning of the sentence. This, in turn, cultivates accuracy in our own thought and in its expression.

So do not slight the analysis of the sentence or this work in sentence building. You will find it will help you to a quicker understanding of that which you are reading and it will also give you a logical habit of mind. You will be able to think more accurately and express yourself more clearly. After a little practice in analysis you will find that in your reading you will be able to grasp the author's meaning quickly. You will see at a glance, without thinking about it consciously, the subject and the predicate and the modifiers in the sentence. Then you will not confuse the meaning. You will not have to go back and reread the passage to find out just what the author was talking about; and when you come to write and speak yourself, you will have formed the habit of logical expression. In this way you will be able to put your thought in such a manner that your listener can make no mistake as to just what you mean.

Now, no habit comes without practice. You cannot do a thing unconsciously until you have done it consciously a great many times. So practice this analysis of sentences over and over. It really is an interesting game in itself, and the results which it will bring to you are tremendously worth while.

Nothing is too much trouble which will give us the power to think for ourselves and to put that thought into words.

Yours for Freedom,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

THE SUBJECT OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE

+416.+ We have found that the two parts of a simple sentence are the complete subject and the complete predicate. The noun is most often used as the subject of a sentence. It may have a number of modifiers, but when we strip away these modifiers we can usually find a noun which is the subject of the sentence. Occasionally the subject is a pronoun or a participle or adjective used as a noun but most frequently the subject is a noun. As for example:

A wild piercing _cry_ rang out. Hopeless, helpless _children_ work in the cotton mills. The golden _age_ of peace will come. Little child _lives_ are coined into money. Defenseless, helpless _children_ suffer most under capitalism. Every neglected _child_ smites my conscience in the name of humanity. The thrilling, far-sounding _battle-cry_ shall resound.

Note that in all of these sentences the word in italics is a noun, which is the simple subject of the sentence. All of the other words which comprise the complete subject are the modifiers of this noun, or modifiers of its modifiers.

But in our study of words, we have found that there are a number of other words which can be used in place of a noun and these may all be used as the subject of a sentence.

+417.+ +A pronoun may be used as the subject of a sentence+, for the pronoun is a word used in place of the noun; and a pronoun used as the subject of a sentence may have modifiers just as a noun. It may be modified by adjectives or adjective phrases, as for example:

_We_ are confident of success. _He_, worried and out of employment, committed suicide. _She_, heartsick and weary, waited for an answer. _She_, with her happy, watchful ways, blessed the household. _They_, victorious and triumphant, entered the city. How can _I_, without money or friends, succeed?

"Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, _I_ thank whatever Gods there be For my unconquerable soul."

In all of these sentences the pronoun is the simple subject of the sentence, and the pronoun with all of its modifiers is the complete subject of the sentence.

+418.+ +The participle may be used as a noun, the subject of the sentence.+ For example:

_Traveling_ is pleasant.

Here the present participle _traveling_ is used as a noun, subject of the sentence.

Participle phrases may also be used as nouns, as for example:

_Being prepared_ will not save us from war. His _having signed_ the note was the cause of the trouble.

In these sentences, _being prepared_ and _having signed_ are participle phrases used as nouns, the subjects of the verbs _will save_ and _was_. Note the use of the participle used as the subject in the following sentences:

_Painting_ is an art. _Making_ shoes is his work. _Being discovered_ seems to be the real crime. His _having joined_ his comrades was a brave act. Your _remaining_ here will be dangerous.

Note that when the participle is used as a noun, the possessive form of the pronoun is always used with it, as in the sentence above:

_Your_ remaining here will be dangerous.

Notice that in some of these sentences the participle has an object; as, making _shoes_, his having joined his _comrades_. The participle still retains some of its verb nature in that it may take an object. The entire phrases, _His having joined his comrades_, and, _Making shoes_, are the subjects of the sentences.

+419.+ +The infinitive may also be used as a noun, the subject of the sentence.+ Note in the following sentences the use of the infinitive as the subject of the sentence:

_To err_ is human; _to forgive_ is divine. _To be_ or not _to be_ is the question. _To toil_ all day is wearisome. _To aim_ is one thing; _to hit_ the mark is another. _To remain_ ignorant is to remain a slave.

+420.+ +An adjective can also be used as the subject.+ You remember in our study of adjectives we found that an adjective may be used as a noun, as for example:

The _strong_ enslave the weak.

Here the adjective _strong_ is used as a noun, subject of the sentence. Note in the following sentences, the use of the adjectives as subjects:

The _wise_ instruct the ignorant. The _dead_ were left upon the battlefields. The _rich_ look down upon the poor. The _mighty_ of the earth have forced this war upon us. The _poor_ are enslaved by their ignorance. The _wounded_ were carried to the hospitals.

PLACE OF THE SUBJECT IN A SENTENCE

The subject usually comes first in the sentence. If it has any modifiers, they alone precede the subject, as for example:

A wonderful, inspiring _lecture_ was given. The weary _army_ slept in the trenches.

But occasionally we find the subject after the verb.

+421.+ +By simple inversion.+

We will often find this use in poetry or in poetic prose, as for example:

Never have _I_ heard one word to the contrary.

In this sentence _I_ is the subject of the sentence, _have heard_ is the verb, and _never_ is an adverb modifying the verb phrase, _have heard_. But in order to place emphasis upon the word _never_, which is the emphatic word in the sentence, _never_ is placed first, and the verb phrase inverted so that the subject _I_ comes in between the two words which form the verb phrase. The sentence expressed in its usual order would be:

I have never heard one word to the contrary.

You will note that this statement does not carry the same emphasis upon the word _never_ as the inverted statement.

+422.+ +In interrogative sentences, the subject comes after the helping verb or after the interrogative used to introduce the sentence.+ As for example:

Have _you_ heard the news? When will _we_ hear from you? How have the _people_ been managing? What will the _children_ do then? Will the _students_ come later? Can the _work_ be accomplished quickly? Must our _youth_ end so quickly?

+423.+ +The real subject comes after the verb when we use the introductory word it.+ As for example:

It will not be safe _to go_.

_To go_ is really the subject of the sentence. _To go will not be safe._

_It_ is sometimes the real subject of a sentence, as in the sentence; _It is a wonderful story_.

Here _it_ is the subject of the sentence and _a wonderful story_ is the predicate complement. But in the sentence:

It is wonderful to hear him tell the story.

_To hear him tell the story_ is the real subject of the sentence. The first sentence, _It is a wonderful story_, could not be rewritten, but the second sentence could be rewritten, as follows:

To hear him tell the story is wonderful.

+424.+ +The introductory word there reverses the order of the sentence+, just as the introductory word _it_. The real subject is used later in the sentence. As for example:

There were a great many people present.

This could be rewritten, omitting the introductory word _there_. We could say:

A great many people were present.

The noun _people_ is the subject of the sentence.

Exercise 1

In the following sentences, underscore the complete subject with one line, and the simple subject with two lines, and decide whether the simple subject is a noun, pronoun, participle, infinitive or an adjective used as a noun:

1. A great man is universal and elemental. 2. To love justice was his creed. 3. A more inspiring and noble declaration of faith was never born of human heart. 4. The reading of good books should begin in childhood. 5. Dreaming of great things will not bring us to the goal. 6. The weary seek for rest. 7. To believe in yourself is the first essential. 8. He, speaking and writing constantly for the cause, has given his life to the movement. 9. To remain ignorant is to remain a slave. 10. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. 11. A great soul has simply nothing to do with consistency. 12. To be great is to be misunderstood. 13. Traveling is a fool's paradise. 14. It is not enough to be sincere. 15. We, seeking the truth, have found our own. 16. There are thousands of comrades with us.

THE COMPLETE PREDICATE

+425.+ Look first in the predicate for your verb. It will always be the principal part of your predicate. It may be a verb or a verb phrase, but the first thing in analyzing the complete predicate of the sentence is to find the verb. The verb or verb phrase without any of its modifiers constitutes the simple predicate. If the verb is a complete verb, its only modifiers will be adverbs or adverb phrases. For example:

A splendid statue of Lincoln stands yonder in the park.

In this sentence, _stands yonder in the park_ is the complete predicate. _Stands_ is a complete verb. It requires no object, but it is modified by the adverb _yonder_ and by the adverb phrase _in the park_.

INCOMPLETE VERBS

+426.+ If the verb in the predicate is an incomplete verb of action, then the object of the verb is also part of the predicate. The complete predicate containing an incomplete verb of action may contain five parts; a verb, a direct object, an indirect object, an adverb and an adverb phrase. As for example:

The tailor gladly made him a coat at that time.

In this sentence, the complete predicate is _gladly made him a coat at that time_. _Made_ is the verb. It is an incomplete verb of action, and _coat_ is its direct object. _Him_ is the indirect object. _Made_ is also modified by the adverb _gladly_, and the adverb phrase, _at that time_.

All of these are not always used, of course, in every predicate; but these are the elements which may occur in the predicate with an incomplete verb.

THE OBJECT OF THE VERB

+427.+ Words used as objects of a verb are practically the same as those which may be used for its subject.

+We may have a noun used as the object of the verb.+ For example:

Hail destroyed the _crops_. The banks rob the _farmers_. We must educate the _children_. Labor produces all _wealth_.

In these sentences, _crops_, _farmers_, _children_ and _wealth_ are nouns used as the object of the verb.

+A pronoun may also be used as the object of a verb.+ For example:

Will you not teach _me_? Send _them_ to her. They have invited _us_. The comrades will remember _him_.

In the above sentences, _me_, _them_, _us_ and _him_ are the objects of the verbs, _will teach_, _send_, _have invited_ and _will remember_.

Remember that in pronouns we have a different form for the object form, as, _me_, _her_, _him_, _us_ and _them_.

+428.+ +An infinitive may also be used as the object of a verb+, thus:

I like _to study_. He asked _to go_. I want _to learn_ all that I can.

In this last sentence, the infinitive, _to learn_, is the direct object of the verb _want_. The object of the infinitive, _to learn_, is _all that I can_. All of this taken together with the verb _want_, forms the complete predicate, _want to learn all that I can_.

+429.+ +The participle may also be used as the object of a verb+, thus:

We heard the _thundering_ of the cannon. We enjoyed the _dancing_. Do you hear the _singing_ of the birds?

In these sentences, the participles _thundering_, _dancing_, and _singing_ are the objects of the verbs _heard_, _enjoyed_ and _do hear_.

+430.+ +An adjective used as a noun may also be used as the object of a verb+, thus:

I saw the _rich_ and the _poor_ struggling together. The struggle for existence crushes the _weak_. Seek the _good_ and the _true_.

In these sentences the adjectives _rich_, _poor_, _weak_, _good_ and _true_, are used as nouns and are the objects of the verbs _saw_, _crushes_ and _seek_.

VERBS OF STATE OR CONDITION

We have found that with the incomplete verbs of state or condition, or copulative verbs, the predicate complement may be either a noun, as, _The man is a hero_; or an adjective, as, _The man is class-conscious_; or a phrase, as, _The man is in earnest_.

The predicate complement may also be:

+431.+ +A pronoun+; as,

Who is she? That was he. This is I.

In these sentences the subjects of the verbs are _she_, _that_ and _this_, and the pronouns _who_, _he_ and _I_ are used as predicate complements.

+432.+ +Infinitives may also be used as the predicate complement+, thus:

To remain ignorant is _to remain_ a slave.

_To remain ignorant_, is the subject of the copulative verb _is_, and the infinitive, _to remain_, with its complement, _a slave_, is the predicate complement.

+433.+ +A participle used as a noun may also be used as the predicate complement+, thus:

Society is the mingling of many elements.

_Mingling_, in this sentence is a participle of the verb _mingle_, but is used as a noun, the predicate complement of the verb _is_. _Society_ is the subject of the verb.

Where the present participle is used to form a verb phrase, the participle is part of the verb phrase, thus:

We are mingling in society.

Here, _are mingling_, is the present progressive verb phrase, and the participle _mingling_ is not used as a noun or adjective, but is part of the verb phrase _are mingling_.

If you will observe the different parts of speech carefully, you will not be easily confused as to whether the participle is a noun or a part of the verb phrase.

Exercise 2

In the following sentences the incomplete verbs, including infinitives and participles, are in italics. Mark the words, phrases or clauses which are used as objects or complements, to complete the meaning of these verbs.

There _is_ no such thing in America as an independent press, unless it _is_ in the country towns.

You _have_ and I _know_ it. There _is_ not one of you who _dares to write_ his honest opinions. If you did, you _know_ beforehand that it would never appear in print.

I _am paid_ $150.00 a week for _keeping_ my honest opinions out of the paper with which I am connected. Others of you _are paid_ similar salaries for similar things. Any one of you who _would be_ so foolish as _to write_ his honest opinions _would be_ out on the streets looking for another job.