The nomenclature of profit-sharing is singularly rich in equivo-
cal terms. "Loyalty." Is the employee to be wholly loyal to
his employer and not first of all loyal to himself? How loyal
is an employer to his furnishers of raw material? He is loyal to
them only so long as they sell him what he wants at the lowest
market rate. "Efficiency." Never to be missed in any lecture
or discourse on profit-sharing, this term points to push, grind,



294 LABOR AND THE EMPLOYER

and hurry to the exhaustion of the employee, despite its admitted
legitimacy up to the point of average physical abilities. "Profits."
Is the withholding of 5 or 10 per cent from an employee's wages
during the year and returning it to him at an appointed annual
date a sharing of profits or a mere restitution of withheld earn-
ings? — American Federationist, May, igi6.
To attain the greatest possible development of civilization, it
is essential, among other things, that the people should never
delegate to others those activities and responsibilities which they
are capable of assuming for themselves. Democracy can function
best with the least interference by the state compatible with due
protection to the rights of all citizens.
There are many problems arising from production, transporta-
tion and distribution, which would be readily solved by applying
the methods of coSperation. Unnecessary middlemen who exact
a tax from the community without rendering any useful service
can be eliminated.
