ABSTRACT
We think at once of the steam engine and the mechanization of work, but the machine had its forerunner in what we call "apparatus"— labor appliances which had to be utilized in the same way as the machine but which as a rule were driven by water power. The decisive factor, however, in the triumph of the mechanization and rationalization of work was the fate of cotton manufacture. The factory production of cotton stuff was originally limited by the fact that, while the loom had been improved and enlarged, the spindle remained on the medieval level, so that the necessary quantity of spun material was not available. In the textile industry the production of uniforms was fundamental, as these could by no means be the product of the army itself but was a means of discipline in the interest of unitary regimentation, and in order to keep the soldiers under control.
