154  THE  problem  of  the  unemployed

a  large  extent  be  “  saved  ”  and  invested  or  banked,  so
as  to  increase  the  excess  of  producing-power  in  forms  of
capital,  and  to  maintain  and  aggravate  the  general  instability ­
  of  trade.  Schemes  for  increased  production,  even
while  they  seem  to  employ  more  labour  and  capital,  will
in  large  measure  defeat  their  end  unless  an  increased
proportion  of  the  enlarged  consuming-power  which  they
generate  passes  to  those  who  will  use  it  in  steady  demand
for  commodities.
§21.  Proposal  of  Secondary  or  Alternative  Trades.
It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  attempt  a
description  of  the  various  proposals  to  deal  with  temporary
unemployment  of  skilled  and  unskilled  workers  due  to
“seasonal”  or  “trade  fluctuations.”  A  brief  application
of  one  economic  test  to  the  more  general  palliatives  musl
suffice.
It  is  often  suggested  that  if  season  workers,  such  as
house  painters  and  other  members  of  the  building  trades,
were  possessed  of  a  second  or  alternative  trade  which  they
could  ply  during  the  winter,  their  economic  position  would
be  greatly  strengthened.  It  is  natural  that  those  who
look  at  the  single  trade  should  take  this  view.  Many  go
so  far  as  to  regard  it  as  a  chief  function  of  a  Technical
Education  System  to  furnish  workers  in  seasonal  or  other
capricious  or  fluctuating  trades  with  an  alternative  craft.
But  though  the  individual  is  greatly  benefited  by  increasing
his  versatility,  it  cannot  be  admitted  that  the  aggregate
of  employment  is  increased  directly  by  any  such  measures.
If  a  painter  provided  with  another  craft  sought  employment
during  the  winter  months,  what  craft  should  he  possess
and  where  would  he  find  employment  except  by  displacing