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Page:Van Loon--The Story of Mankind.djvu/480

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414
THE STORY OF MANKIND

But whereas we can all afford a pair of good legs and a good strong fist, a railroad train and a steam hammer and a cotton factory are very expensive pieces of machinery and they are not owned by a single man, but usually by a company of people who all contribute a certain sum and then divide the profits of their railroad or cotton mill according to the amount of money which they have invested.

MAN POWER AND MACHINE POWER

Therefore, when machines had been improved until they were really practicable and profitable, the builders of those