The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 1 (May 1, 1928)
Changes
Changes.
Times have changed. With the change sheer necessity compels a change of methods. In the new industrial era the old guilds and handicrafts have largely disappeared. The mental life of the workers has been revolutionised by the advent and ceaseless advance of the machine. The new regime has its disadvantages compared with the old, but it also has its advantages which unquestionably more than balance the scales in favour of the new. Admitting that there are still factors associated with modern industry that are disagreeable from an employee point of view, it is nevertheless true that, in increasing measure, science and co-operation are eliminating the disagreeable factors.
The intricacy of modern machines is such that those who work them cannot, as is sometimes said, be regarded as merely human automatons. Only the man devoid of imagination can fail to recognise the necessity for high mental capacity in this era of machinery and specialisation.