been saying. Naturally they were not expressed in such primitive form, but the essence remained the same.
“Too many machines! Too much technique! The machines are responsible for the difficulties that confront the country.”
This was said by people who themselves produce all kinds of remarkable machines. Perhaps they were already foreseeing the moment when the machine will deprive of work not only workers but even themselves, the engineers.
Toward the end of the luncheon we were introduced to a thin and tall grey-haired gentleman on whose cheeks played a healthy tomato-coloured flush. He proved to be an old friend of Mr. Adams’s. Little fat Adams and his friend whacked each other’s shoulders for a long time, as if they wanted to beat the dust out of each other’s coats.
“Gentlemen,” the beaming Mr. Adams told us, “I present to you Mr. Ripley. You can get a lot of good out of this man if you want to understand the meaning of American electrical industry. But, but! You must ask Mr. Ripley to show you his electric house.”
We asked.
“Very well,” said Mr. Ripley. “I will show you my electric house.”
And Mr, Ripley asked us to follow him.
13. Mr. Ripley’s Electric House
MR. RIPLEY led us to the entrance of his little house and asked us to press the button of an electric bell.
Instead of the usual bell we heard melodic sounds as if issuing from a music-box’. The door opened by itself, and we found ourselves in the anteroom.
Mr. Ripley walked up to a box hanging on the wall, opened a small door with an accustomed gesture, and showed us an electric machine.
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