Probably the most fortunate art in this respect is that of literature (in the widest sense of the word), and the most unfortunate the drama. The percentage of worthy books which remain unpublished is very low compared with that of plays or music, and even this percentage does not indicate the real difference, since through lack of opportunity, the number of artists who devote their energies to composition or play-writing is much smaller than it should be. The reason is obvious. A small circulation will pay the cost of publishing the average book--a much smaller circulation (were it not for advertising expenses) than many imagine; on the other hand, commercial conditions being what they are, considerable public support is necessary if the producer of a play, a film, or an orchestral concert is to secure any financial gain. The publisher, moreover, does not put all his eggs into one basket; the producer of plays, unless he is in an unusually strong financial position, must. The former can afford to take occasional risks; the latter cannot. Even in the case of books, however, the reader who seeks the same kind of reading as many millions of others is in a more favourable position than the man with individual, minority inclinations. The greater the volume of reproduction, the lower the cost per copy. Even were the business-man willing, he could not give the latter the full benefit of mechanical inventions. It would not be worth his while to do so. The complete utilization of mechanical methods involves the use of expensive plant, which is justified only when the output is large. It is, of course, a matter of degree, and many processes (e.g. machine-casing of books) can be applied as readily to the few as to the many. Other processes, on the contrary, never benefit the minority. In graphic art, for example, there are several colour-processes by which very cheap reproductions of pictures can be produced, but their use is, for necessary commercial reasons, confined to popular works. The pictures required by the few are never reproduced by these methods. V We may now summarize the problem, before passing to a discussion of ways and means to counteract the dangerous tendencies of to-day. Firstly--though creative artists and educationists must regard this as a hard saying--the most powerful force in the art-life of to-day is the purely mechanical factor. Secondly, this factor is to a great extent determining the nature and amount of art-production and reproduction. Thirdly, it is causing a decrease in the average quality of the total artistic life of the community. Fourthly, this degeneration must naturally continue unless it is counteracted by other influences. This statement is not an exaggerated one, and it does not ignore the good effects of the new order. Even though a certain amount of repetition is involved, it will be well to discuss in detail the causes of degeneration in popular tastes.