PREFACE.

It has been claimed by many that there is nothing new to be said upon the tariff question; yet, in his investigation, the author found that there was no treatise in the English language giving a history of the tariff policies of Germany, France, Russia or any Continental country. No protectionist had investigated the history of Great Britain and given to the world an account of the development of her industries and tariff legislation from a protectionist point of view. The free trade policy pursued by the United Kingdom since 1846, as to its effect on the trade and industries of the country, remained practically unchallenged. It was also discovered that the history of the tariff question in the United States prior to 1860, in its relation to the establishment and progress of our industries, had not been written. Moreover, it was discovered that in no single work had the history of the trade, commerce and industrial life of the American colonists, or of the States under the Articles of Confederation, in their relation to our industrial growth, been treated.

The history of the industrial development of nations in modern times is an account of the never-ceasing struggle which has raged in the world of industry and commerce between the foreign traders and their allies on the one hand and the domestic producers and their friends on the other.

From the interests of these two great primary forces, the traders and the producers, sprang the two opposing tariff systems of political economy, "Free Trade" and "Protection." The traders cried out laissez faire, insisting that they be "let alone." "Free Trade" was their watchword. Who was to be let alone? The merchants and importers. The agents, buyers, transporters and sellers of the products of industry demanded that the whole business of the world be committed to them-to be "let alone" while they exerted every faculty, every nerve, with all their shrewdness and superior knowledge under the stimulus of the selfishness of human nature in the prospect of gain, for their own benefit.

The producers and manufacturers asked for protection or security against the destructive influence of the traders, in order that domestic industry might rear its head and thrive. This request has been granted by all prosperous and progressive nations, and the industrial arts, under the stimulating influence of protection, have made more progress in a single century than they did during the thousand years of free trade.

A satisfactory conclusion upon the merits of the opposing tariff systems cannot be reached by weighing in the balance their basic principles. One must

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adopt the inductive or historical method of inquiry, and test each system by the experience of nations. Those believing in free trade reach their conclusions by what is known as the deductive or metaphysical method, which is briefly defined as a "theory based upon assumptions." Relying on assumptions as the basis of their creed, they refuse to enter the domain of historical research to prove the soundness of their theories. This is so contrary to the method of study pursued by statesmen, scholars, and men of experience in the ordinary affairs of life, and of such little aid in discovering the real merits of the systems, that it was not employed by the author of the present work. The fundamental idea of the historical method is laid down by Roscher, the German philosopher, as follows:

"The aim is to represent what nations have thought, willed and discovered in the economic field; what they have striven after and attained, and why they have attained it."

This method was pursued by Henry C. Carey and his followers in America, by the German economists and the more recent English and American writers. This is the practical method pursued by statesmen, lawyers, physicians, business men and scientists in reaching conclusions upon all matters that lie within the domain of their work.

One effect of the teachings of this school has been to turn the minds of students of economic questions not only to the record of what has been said upon the subject, but also to a critical investigation of those transactions and occurrences from which all economic thought must spring. We have passed from a period of speculation to one of scientific investigation of facts.

While the scientific phases of the subject have been fully treated, and the speeches and writings of the ablest statesmen and economists by whom the various propositions are discussed have been presented, the writer has, by historical research, invaded the realm of facts, and as a result of such research has, as he believes, found the true source of the wealth, power and greatness of nations and the independence of the masses.

A nation is as great or as small as its industries. If anyone doubts it, let him compare the United States of America as it is to-day with the United States. of America of two or more generations ago. Then it was relatively weak and its industries were few in number and limited in variety. Now, they are almost innumerable and embrace the whole field of the industrial arts. Then the total capital invested in all the industries was small; now, some single concerns have a capital which exceeds the total investment in all manufactories two generations ago.

Or, suppose, instead of comparing a nation with itself at different periods, we compare one nation with another at the present day. In contrasting England with Arabia, or Germany with Uganda, what is it that stands out in the strongest relief and distinguishes them most clearly from each other? Is it not the strength and variety of their industries? And is not the gulf which one must cross to-day

in passing from the nation of the highest civilization and enlightenment to the nation of the lowest barbarism and deepest ignorance, also the gulf which separates them in regard to their industries?

Of course, other things being equal, size is the measure of power; and of two nations whose industries are equally numerous and strong, the one of the greater population and geographical extent is the one of greater power. A nation whose area and population are limited, but whose industries are practically infinite in number and of unflagging stability, could surely, if slowly, effect the conquest of one which had a hundred times its area and population, but whose industries were few and flaccid. Ancient Rome, although but a few miles in area and a mere handful in comparative population, conquered the then known world and held it in her grip of iron until her industries were undermined and destroyed by indiscriminate trade with the Orient, and her slaves, the captives from her fields of conquest, forced the Roman artisans out of their handicrafts. England, a mere speck on the map of the world, for a hundred years was the mistress of the world's commerce, and by all odds the most powerful nation of the globe; all because of her many and magnificent industries. It is worth while to note that, as she declines in power upon the sea and upon the land, her industries also are falling behind those of the United States and of Germany in their fertility and strength. She is going the way of ancient Rome, and from the same causes.

Let us not say that its industries constitute the absolute measure of a nation; unless, indeed, they may be taken to be the measure of national intelligence. For, after all, it is intelligence which builds industries and which fortifies a nation with wealth and resourcefulness, and whether or not a nation is to go upward depends upon the wisdom of its leaders in seizing and applying the mighty lever of multiplied and fortified industries. For at this age of the world, when a nation can no longer subsist and grow by piracy alone, it is the only lever which will lift it into a place of power and there maintain it. A nation must have at home a fountain of strength; and that fountain can be nothing else than its own jealously guarded, fostered and nourished industries.

The capacity of a people to care for themselves forms but one element in human progress. Opportunities to exercise that capacity must not only exist, but the people must be made secure in its vigorous employment. Great forces have at all times been operating to bring about the degradation and enslavement of the masses, and progress has been made from barbarism to civilization only as these degrading influences have been overcome by powerful protecting agencies.

The question at the beginning of the nineteenth century, with a certain school of theoretical writers, was, how to prevent increase in population, while at the beginning of this century, the question is how can man be best distributed over the earth; how can the natural resources and richness of the world be best developed and utilized; how can man most surely be provided with the means of employment, through which to purchase the necessaries and comforts of life? That the world is large enough, and its resources sufficient, if properly utilized, to

furnish an abundance for all, there cannot be the slightest question. This principle is fully recognized by the protectionist school of political economy which seeks to elevate the masses of humanity, to dignify labor, to create opportunities for employment at remunerative wages, and to provide for supplying the needs of life by the opening of mines, the building of factories, the cultivation of the soil, the diversifying of industries and by all of those means by which nature is made to give up her treasures in response to the industry of man.

The growth, support and strength of all phases of the civilization of a people, of an educational, religious, social and political nature, are shown to depend upon the elevation and well being of the masses.

Search the history of the habitable globe from antiquity to the present; search the nations of the earth, from darkest Africa to industrial Pennsylvania, and you will find that the foundation, the basis, the starting point, the unit of all civilization and development, is human employment. The beginning and the end of the mental and material progress of mankind is the wage paid to labor. In this belief the economic policy of protection had its origin, and to this end it has been maintained.

By what means, by what governmental policies, have the industries of nations been fostered and established? By what process has the material advancement of mankind been promoted? What great economic law has governed the world of trade, commerce and industry? The answer is rational and conclusive. Not in a single domain of human affairs has progress been made by letting "nature take its course," by leaving the problem to be worked out by the law of the "survival of the fittest," or "natural selection"; but it has been by that other law of human progress known as the law of conscious, intelligent human selection, the refusal to yield to the blind fate of nature. Man has attained the high eminence which he now occupies by preventing unconscious selection from shaping his destiny.

The most beautiful and fragrant flowers, the richest fruits, the most valuable and useful animals, the best varieties of wheat and grains, and all the improvements which we know in plants and animals, have come from artificial selection. Withdraw the care, protection and influence of man from any one of these, and subject it to the influence of the law of the "survival of the fittest," and it would either perish or return to its original and wild state. It matters not whether we call the efforts of man so exerted, "natural" or "artificial." It is found that the evolution of man-his education, development and improvementhas arisen from the protecting, controlling, governing power of man himself. It has been through the ordinances of man that societies have been formed, governments established, peace preserved, persons and property protected, and the brutal propensities of man softened or eradicated.

History teaches that no great nation has neglected the development of its resources and the cultivation, to the highest degree possible, of its own natural products and the fullest employment of its labor, without suffering a severe

penalty. The people of no nation in the history of the world have ever prospered under a policy which sacrificed home industries and built up and developed the resources and gave employment to the labor of foreign states.

The great economic forces which cause the migration of capital and industries from one country to another may be effectively counteracted by influences set in motion by wise governmental policies. The industrial and commercial experience of mankind, an experience which at this writing has been full enough to permit the formulation of a law in the premises, establishes the fact that there is a law of economic gravitation which works in the world of industry and finance as unvaryingly as the law of physical gravitation works in the world of matter. In the material world if people desire to remain at a certain point upon the earth, they surround themselves with adequate protective barriers against the blind forces of nature; so, also, in the world of industry and finance artificial means are necessary in order that a nation may maintain its industrial and financial poise. This would seem to be a complete answer to the free traders who discourse upon the meanness and narrowness of artificial barriers of trade. These barriers are in fact the life preservers of nations. National integrity and persistency depend upon them. Let them be removed; let a nation's policy be no longer one of drive, but one of drift, and the result must be the same as in the case of the individual who, disregarding the knowledge which he has of natural forces, allows himself to be exposed to all kinds of weather without proper protection and to the inroads of hunger and disease upon his physical system.

The operation of this law is fully demonstrated by the history of the rise and growth of industries in America and in Continental countries, and by the decline of industries in the United Kingdom. This great economic law has been a tremendous force operating to direct the establishment of industries in various countries since the beginning of the industrial rise and development of nations. The industrial arts of the ancients reached their highest stage in Asia Minor and Persia. They were transferred to and spread over Europe, aided by the definite action of local governments. As the cities throughout Western Europe grew and expanded, each city adopted its own system of customs duties, protecting its artisans and the industries within its corporate limits. This policy finally expanded into a system of national protection, known for centuries as the mercantile system, and it was so vigorously prosecuted and carried to such an extreme that trade among nations was in some instances totally extinguished. The industries of France had their beginning under the protective policy established by Colbert. In the fourteenth century Edward III. induced the Flemish weavers to establish woosen industries in England. They were given tariff protection, and gradually, by this method, other industries were transplanted from the Continent to British soil. Lord Bacon, one of the greatest of philosophers, recognized the force of this great law, and extended the system, during the reign. of Queen Elizabeth, to all sorts of industries. Then was laid the foundation for the supremacy of Great Britain in manufacturing, trade and commerce, and by