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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent &tre fiimis A des taux de r6duction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich<§, il est filrn^ d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bat, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants iliustrunt la methods. i t 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 «r C ^^^ Chances of Success: EPISODES AND OBSERVATIONS IN THE LIFE OF A BUSY MAN. BY ERASTUS WIMAN. 'Tis not in mortals to command success. We'll do better, Scmpronius, we'll deserve li.-AMison. TORONTO : ^- R. JAMES, 77 \icTORiA Street. Nkw ^■o;{K : The American News Co. I 36^Zocf Entered occordinR to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thou- sand eiKht hundred and ninety-three, hy I'redkkick Kkksor James, Toronto, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture, at Ottawa. ^O^^ .1^ cr. PRrNTED BY WILLIAM BRIGGS, 29-33 RICHMOND STREET WEST TORONTO, PREFACE TO THE CANADIAN EDITION. It will be readily apprehended by the Canadian reader that the utter- ances herein contained are mainly addressed to an audience in the United States. But in writing the book the continent as a whole has been in contemplation, not only because the Chances of Success for both people are bound up one with another, but because the mind of the writer is necessarily saturated with the conception of a mutuality of interest between them. To the wrifer a picture presents itseli to the mind's eye. It is a gift by Providence, for the benefit of mankind, so vast, so varied, so abounding in every good and perfect thing for the life that is, that it takes its rank second only to the loving provision for the life that is to come. This gift is bequeathed to two divisions of the human family, between whom there is no difference in origin, in language, in law, in religion, literature, or in the influences that move them. To these two divisions this gift in magnitude is about equally di- vided. Both are equally free, both have their possessions under their own control, in a system of practical self-government that is the envy of the world, and under either of which perfect happiness is possible. To the one abounding success is given in extent of population, de- velopment, wealth and internal commerce, with a high standard of living, and in all that makes it practically one of the greatest of civil- ized nations. To the other a lessened proportionate number, and a slower growth in wealth. Notwithstanding, the latter are a contented people, practically independent, and peifectly com])etent to take care of themselves, with a freedom from miscellaneous immigration that has saved them from a lowering of their moral nature; and, being descended from the best stock, their development in traits that are vigorous and self reliant is remarkable. At home they make the most of what has been given to them. Abroad, in large numbers they fill the best places with the most conspicuous success. To the world at large, the Canadian people exhibit an aggregation possessing all the virtues of contentment, of the most devoted loyalty, of self sacrifice therein, and in manhood the most perfect develop- ment. With the highest standards in education and in professional life, with a financial record unblemished, with industry, energy and integrity of purpose apparv'^nt on every hand, it would seem that so far as the people themselves are concerned, nothing is needed for the substratum of a great nation. With a growth in national spirit, and a steady resistence of temptation to part with national existence for material advantage, the Canadian people present to those who appreci- ate their position, virtues, achievements and sacrifices, which make them a people unique in themselves. These two great sections of the human family together possess this continent, one sixty five millions in number, the other five millions. No two divisions of the human family living side by side ever had so much in common. Both have wants that each alone can supply, wants that are imperative, that cannot safely longer be unfilled, that neither prejudice, policy, nor lack of foresight should stand in the way filling. With a view of interesting the people of this larger division the book has been written. Hence there will be parts that is not applicable to the smaller division; but, taken as a whole, it will perhaps reveal to the thoUj,luful Canadian a good deal that otherwise he might not realize, and give him a conception of the conditions prevailing-in the neighbo- ring republic, which will very largely influence the relations hereafter to exist between the two countries. The commercial depression that exists in the United States, its causes, and the changes that may follow, are all important for Cana- dian consideration, especially in view of the fact that one-fifth of the Canadian people are resident in that country and are directly concern- ed, while the influence of these conditions can hardly fail to reflect it- self on the rest of the continent. These considerations may make it interesting tr follow the writer in I are the ley on ty, .p. lal id ar le id or :i- :e lit what he has tried to set Torth. Here, at any rate, is the result of ^ good deal of observation, from a point of view unequalled in the neighboring country, for the benefit of Canadian readers. It is from one of themselves, who, retaining his nationality md his love for his native land, and animated by the sincerest desire to serve its best in terests, has at the same time, done what he could to advance the in" terestsofthe people with whom his lot has been cast. Grateful or he opportunity offered to himself, and the million who like him reside in this country, the great hope of his life has been and is that somehow or in some way between these two nations, a mutuality of interes w^H be created for the lasting good of both, and for the advantagloTmrn- PRKFACK TO TIIK UXITHI) STATES EDITION. The period ,s unique. TI.e closing decade of a century in which the Chances of Success have been so great, that more has been accomplished for mankind than in all previous time A year of commemoration in which the world is invited to observe by a splendid Exposition, at a centre remarkable in itself in itJ sudden greatness, what has been accomplished in the past and what :s possible in the future. The acme attained in industrial effort, so far as the extent of product is concerned. The widest fertile stretches on the earth's surface subdued by the most intelligent industry, aided by inventive skill. The climax reached in the perfection of means of communication, and the movement o products. With education well nigh universal and the intellectual development of the people rapidly progress' ■ng-with no foreign debt, no standing army ; no outside foes and no internal dissensions.-with wealth acquired surpassing all other nations,-with ability to maintain the highest standard of iving for the greatest number,-with an abundant currency m the soundness of which there is no doubt, and with financial institutions that command confidence,-with an internal com raerce so vast as to exceed eomparison,-with internal indebt- edness moderate and with credit liberal to a degree, yet not wX H° 1 ""'V ""'"'^ ^^P^"^'°" - speculftive danger With all this ,n the presence of all these conditions and dr-' cumstances of the greatest po.,sible advantage and achiev, ment-m this hour of pride and possession, a whirlwind o disaster sweeps over the country. Money dislppears, industry in is paralyzed, credit shrivels, and loss and anxiety intervene. So vast was the sweep of the financial storm that it at one time looked as if, in a country of the greatest abundance, and on exhibition before the world, a ^j^reat portion of its artisans and laborers would be, in the coming winter, objects of charity. The recovery, after promising to be as rapid as the disaster, is so tardy as to make many realize there are organic troubles beyond those which on the surface appear. The experience, therefore, is full of the deepest meaning, and the occasion calls for an inquiry into economic conditions with an earnestness never before attempted by this people. Concurrent with this period, so unique in its glory and its humiliation, a determination is reached in fulfilment of the mightiest mandate that ever issued from a people, to reverse the fiscal policy hitherto controlling this country, and to set out on a new and expt rimental plan. The policy hitherto pre- vailing having accomplished results so stupendous and so bene- ficial to internal development, has, it is alleged, run its course. How far the recent experience of loss and disaster illustrates the principle, " that the greater the good, the nearer the evil," it is not necessary here to discuss ; nor to admit or deny that the recent panic is the result of over-production, excessive competition from excessive stimulation ; or whether caused by the prospect of impending change. It is enough to know that the determination Is reached to effect a reversal of the policy hitherto prevailing. A decision more momentous in its conse- quences upon the future Chances of Success, it would be most difficult to conceive. Therefore, at a period so striking and peculiar, a desire to discuss these intensely interesting economic topics will be both natural and profitable. How far at this supreme moment it is obtrusiveness in a plain business man to offer the results of his observations, as the author attempts to do in this book, the reader will determine. One of a million, straying across the border into this glorious nation, and receiving with his fellow- countrymen an unstinted welcome, has presumed to express his views. If in these views, among much chaff and refuse, a gem I of economic trnth is found, or the pursuit of economic inquiry- is provoked, the book may not be in vain No claim is made t,. a knowledK'e of Political Economy as set .orth m the text- books ; much less to litcrarv finish, or even proper arran^.ement of the contents What has been borne in upon the mnul of the writer, in a niche where the currents and edd.es of commerce cbbeil and (lowed, is here set forth, with an earnest desire to faithftdly reflect the impression made upon his mind, without preference, and without prejudice for parties or pohe,es^ Much, too. is printed of a character forcVn to the topics of the time, and not a little of a personal nature ; but as he experience of the writer has been somewhat varied, and as the Chances of Success are often measured by what other men accomplish or fad to achieve, these passages are inserted to interest and perhaps instruct others who have to work upward from below. ^ Staten I.slanu. N, V. October, 1893. !! THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS. The Greatest of Opportunities. " m live in a nezv and exceptional Age. A merica is another name for opportunity. Its whole history appears like a last effort of the Divine Providence on behalf of the human racer In the whole range of literature there is nothing more vivid or more comprehensive than these words of Emerson affecting, as they do, so large a portion of manidnd. To have a continent so great as that discovered by Columbus desio-. nated as "the last, best gift " of the Giver of all Good, was\ splendid thought. To have the age, in which so much has been done, brought to the intellectual conception of man- kind as -new and exceptional," was aline literary effort But, above all these things, to have it once and forever reaU ized not only by the people here themselves, but by the world, that "America was another name for Opportunity "' imparted a comprehensive sweep and scope to the idea of how mankind might be benefited by this gift, in this age. It was a message specially designed, not only to stimulate the reT ^K continent itself, but. to notify and guide the rest o the world to an appreciation of the Chances of Sue cess that awaited them here. [II] 12 The Greatest of Opportunities. However inn«;iiificent were these Chances which the early occnijaiicy of this continent offered, there has here been cieveh)petl a nation worthy of tliis Greatest of Oppor- tunities. !t was, indeed, a Providence that turned the prow of the Cohimbus caravel to South America, diverting the Latin race in that direction, and leaving North America for discovery and occupancy by the wSaxon, the Celt, the Teuton and the more vigorous children of the North. There fol- lowed in thJs direction, an admixture of elements in popu- lation the best the world afforded. Guided, first by the sturdy principles of the Pilgrim Fathers, — developed in patriotism by the Revolution,- — fused by the powerful influ- ence of Self-Governmcnt, — and moulded together b}' assim- ilative forces that were irresistible, a nation has been created that is perfectly equipped to fulfill the highest mis- sion ever intrusted to a people. This mission has been the subjugation and development of the most complete gift of Providence to mankind. But more remains to be done than by commerce to con- quer half a continent. The destiny of such a people, with such an equipment, is not confined to trading within them- selves. Having now occupied the land, and created an internal commerce of magnitude nnparalled, they may, with good Chances of Success, turn outward their gaze. The world is before them, waiting the improvement of the Oppor- tunity for which America is another name. To the North, a vast region, greater than that already subjugated, awaits development in a conquest by commerce, glorious only in comparison with that already achieved in the lesser half of the continent. In the Southern Hemisphere, numerous nationalities, and in the East teeming populations, await the coming of the new trader from the West, in ships of his own, with products of his infinite skill, and supplies from his boundless resources. Thus only will the Greatest of Opportunities be fulfilled. The Basis of Things. The Chance of Success of tlic entire mercantile com- munity, of the manufacturing interest, of the bankers, and of all those interested in trade, equally with the future of the youth of the country, rest more upon the condition of tlie Farmer than upon all other circumstances combined This IS a very broad statement, and, unless -rounded upon some absolute mformation, mi-ht be seriously questioned. if this country was doiiv^ business with the rest of tiie world in manufactures, in lending „H)„cy abroad, in mari- time commerce, or was sendin- out anythincr that the far mer did not produce, there mi-ht be some belief that pros perity depended on something else than the condition of the farmer. But the fact that the commerce of the country is almost entirely internal, and that what is sent out of the country is that which the farmers alone produce, and that the proceeds therefrom are required to pay for tea, coffee, sugar and other necessities imported from abroad, the conclusion IS irresistible, that upon the prosperity of the farmer and upon him alone, depends the future Chance of Success From him only is deriyed the supply of food and fibre essential to existence, and on him depends the power of absorption of what all the other classes produce. So tint a moment's reflection will show, that of all other tinners \t is important to understand the condition of the farmer for by that condition must be measured the prosperity 'and chances of the future. Aside from these considerations, however, the propor- tion which the farmer and his belongings form of the total population of the country, has a great deal to do with the question. Thus, the census shows that not less than 45 per cent, of all the males folio ^ving regular avocations are en, ['3] 14 The Coidifion of the Fanner. i!' 11 gaged in agriculture. In the census of 1880, that propor- tion of the p()[)ulati<)n was 49 per cent., wliilc in 1870, it was 52 per cent. Acid to tiiis the large percentage of individ- uals in country places, dependent upon this important inter- est, and it will be seen how much more than one-half of the entire population live directly from and by the farmer. If one recalls the elements which constitute country towns and villages, and the enormous number directly dependent uj)on the condition of the farmer, it will be seen that not only are the 30 million people who inhabit farms in the United States the greatest constituent element in the make-up of the country, but that many other classes, which surround them, are equally dependent upon them, and really should be included with them in any estimate of con- dition. As the farmer prospers, so docs the country. As the farmer ceases to prosper, so does t!ie countr}- cease to pros- per. This conclusion should find a lodgment in the mind of every individual whose thoughts are turned in the direction of an economic consideration of the future. With this in mind, it is important to examine closely what is the present condition of the farmer. It is now more important than ever that this condition should be apprehended, because, hereafter^ expenditure, other than that of the fr. ...er in the country at large, is likely to be very limited. Heretofore, the construction of Rail- ways through the country, the improvements by local municipalities, the expenditures by the government, and numerous other outlays, gave a sort of factitious prosperity which cannot he duplicated to anything like the same extent in the future. While there always will be improvements going on, there cannot be in the next thirty years anything like the same relative outpouring of money as was required in the thirty years imn.ediately succeeding the War. Thus, for instance, the number of Railroads out of New York or Boston cannot be added to much, nor from Buffalo, TJie Condition of the Farnier. 15 >n nor from Detroit, nor from Chicago, nor from St. Louis, and not likely from Omaha or Kansas City. From St. Paul and Minneapolis, Railroad construction will go on, but never to the same extent, and, except from very limited Southern areas, are returns sufficiently promising to tempt possessors of money to part with available funds. Thus the condition of the farmer must be understood in all its phases if there is to be a true conception formed as to what the future has in store for those who depend upon trade and con'.merce for a living. With all this in view, it is important to compare the rela- tive condition of the farmer and his purchasing and debt- paying power, as it exists to-da}-, with what it was twenty years ago. By the use of machinery the cost of production has, it is believed, been lessened about 5 per cent, since 1875, and possibly his other expenditures, through the decline in value of tb.ings which he buys, have diminished another 5 per cent., so that there is 10 f>er cent, on one side in favor of the farmer. But against this com parativel}- slight decline comes the momentous fact that since 1875, prices of the staple products of the farm have declined no less than 82 per cent. ! This is true especially as regards the five great staples, Corn, Wheat, Oats, Hay and Cotton. In the pro- duction of these five prime elements of life there is employed no less an area than 195 million acres, out of the 206 million acres devoted to crops. A decline of 82 per cent, affecting the population of such an area in its purchasing and debt- paying power, is a consideration worth thinking seriously about. Perhaps it will illustrate the steadiness of the decline in these powers of paynent to take in at a glance a table showing by periods of four years for the last twenty years an estimate of the value of the average yield of an acre under each of the above named staples. The country at large is indebted to Mr. C. Wood Davis, of Peotone, Kan- sas, for this most striking compilation; li 1 6 The Far77ter^s Poivcr to Pay. «^ «^ st"^ «''2 «"5 st2 .>:0 ,^ir% ^^O .^rtr, ^SQ . ^ '^SV ^^•r >>S^ ^-^^ ^^f Vgjn 5:>,vO 5!^t^ J5<^t^ 5:io«> S!<->0O ^ ., "S .qN« "sN-h « «N« yj"* <5 '5! C « « (S Corn $12 84 $11 30 $962 $10 25 $8 81 $8 35 Wheat 13 16 1 1 90 12 00 10 20 9 07 6 00 Oats 10 92 981 8 58 917 7 50 5 75 Hay 13 28 14 38 -I 57 1 1 15 10 19 10 00 Cotton 28 01 28 55 17 65 15 63 13 84 10 65 Totals.. $78 21 $75 94 $59 42 $5640 $^9 44 $407^ Average an acre Si 5 64 $15 19 $11 88 $11 28 $9 89 $8 15 If it is admitted, as claimed by some, that tlie revenue from tlie cultivation of each acre under staple products in this county has not, since 1885, been in excess of th.e cost of production, then it will be readily seen that the workers amonther thiiifrs produced on the farms of the United States, and which have suffered in many cases quite as great a decline in value as have the great staples to which the above showing is confined. The power of the farmer to purchase and pay is less this year, as compared with 1866- 1870, by 1500 million dollars, an amount half as great as the National Debt ever reached. Of course, the cheapness of food is urged as an advantage for the wage-earner, but if this cheapness deprives the 30 millions, who produce food and fibre, of the power to pur- chase the results of the wage-worker's labor, it will be seen that the deprivation will have widespread and serious con- sequences. Even if the price of wiieat to-day were doubled, it would not add eight clays' labor to the cost of the years' supply of bread to the average family. But if wheat should reach at the point of production a dollar a bushel, and other farm products attain a proportionate price, the earners of wages throughout the land would be more assured of the \ ability to buy bread than they are at the present exceedingly low price. The truth is, that the condition of the whole body politic is dependent upon the condition of the farmer, and upon his ability to buy and pay more than he possesses the power to do at present depends the chances of the whole community. As to the future of the farmer, consid- eration is given to that elsewhere. Meantime, the facts in the foregoing statement are the most essential elements for the consideration of all who look deep down into the con- ditions that make for prosperity. 1 I I The Farmer on Top. It was a pleasant thought of the able conductor of the stately North American Review, General Lloyd Brice, to ask some of his chief contributors to meet a few of his distin- guished friends, at dinner at liis own house, for an inter- change of thought. The guests included President Cleve- land, Ex-Minister E. J. F'iielps, Bishop Potter, of New York, Seth Low, of Columbia College, R.VV. Gilder, of the Century, Abram S.Hewitt, and several others of equal prominence in the world of action and of thought. The writer had the honor of a scat beside the President and Mr. Phelps, and. in the course of conversation, the question of tlie condition of the farmer came up. Being something of a "crank" on the topic, the writer gave expression to some views as to the results of the steady decline in the price of produce, of the exhaustion of soils, the absorption of cultivatable terri- tory, and the rapid growth of population, equalling ii per cent, in the last ten years, as against an increase of produc- tive area of only 3 per cent., and various other ideas, which seemed greatly to interest both gentlemen. General Brice, the host, seemed pleased that one of his contributors was so deeply interesting his guests, and by questions and attention rather encouraged conversation in this direction. Having exhausted himself of information, and fearing that too much time had been absorbed in the discussion of this subject, this branch of conversation ended with an expression of the view that, in the long run, the " Farmer would be on Top." Whereupon Mr. Cleveland turned to the writer, and said that the idea would make the basis for a good article for the Review^ an appropriate title for which would be ** The Farmer on Top." General Brice approved the suggestion, and the writer was therefore favored with the assignment. [18J The Farmer on Top. ^9 the ) ask istin- nter- ;icve- ^ork, itiiry, nee in d the , and. dition ik" on as to ice, of terri- jii per odiic- hich rice, as so ntion aving much t, this view op. said r the 'The tion, ent. This incident of five years ago is related because of (he singuhir appropriateness of tlie necessity in tiic j)resent con- dition of the country for tlie " farmer being on top." Up to this time, since tlie war, tiie farmer lias borne the brunt of taxation. The industrial success which has been so largely stimulated, has been at his expense, and the 30 mil- lions occupied in agriculture have been taxed for the bene- fit of the other 30 millions not so employed. The greatest agricultural movemetit \\\ history in the occupancy of new States and Territories, has been accompanied by two condi- tions. The first of these, of course, being ihe excessive competition which the rivalry of one State with another in the same line of products has created. The result was then excessive production in proportion to the consumptive power of the world. The rapidity of the movement up to 1885 was greater by a larger proportion than was the possi- bility of increase in the demand. Hence, prices have been steadily declining, first, from over-production; then, from vast accumulations in the world at various points. Side by \ side with this condition came the excessive cost of living: and the heavy burden of taxation. Elsewhere this is illus- trated by the extraordinary cost of steel rails, the interest upon which for all time the farmer must pay. This instance shows the conditions that pievailed in all other departments where taxation was enforced. It has enhanced the cost of production and rendered the American farmer unable to compete with prices abroad at a profit. Hence, under existing conditions, he is working for wages barely equal- ling those of the common laborer. His purchasing power and his debt-paying abilit}^ have, therefore, been greatly lim- ited. This accounts for the phenomenon recently seen, where, with so many mills shut down, and production every- where largely reduced, the stocks of manufacturers have yet been more than sufficient for the demand, because the rank and file of agriculturists are doing without that which they can't buy or pay for. 20 The Farmer on Top. \ The question, tliercfore, as to the imiiicfliate future of the farmer, is one of the most vital importance, as the Chances of Success largely rest upon the future of the agricultural class. Therefore, to be able to believe that that future is likely to be greatly bettered, is to give com- fort and encouragement to every business man and every youth in the ccnintry. With this in view, the first important consideration to recall is that population increases with unerring certainty, and is likely hereafter togrow in greater proportion than the power of production. The fact that the arable soils of the United States are now almost com- pletely occupied, and that no new States or Territories of agricultural importance are now possible; that the arable soils in the older States are being exhausted more rapidly than they can be restored : that the tendency of consump- tion is to increase, while production is piactically at a standstill, cannot help but in a very short time to so restore the equilibrium that the farmer will be amply repaid for his labor. It is true that in certain departments, such as Cotton and Wheat, excessive production in a succession of good years, as compared with absorption, ma}' lessen the earning power of those who produce those staples ; but it will be found that other articles of food and fibre advance in price as these decline. Thus, while Wheat has been at its lowest for the farmer, Bacon and Pork products have been higher than ever before, so that there is a compensa- tion in some respects for low prices in one class of products by high prices in another class. The great regulator of prices hitherto has been the foreign demand. This, of course, has in its turn been influ- enced by foreign supply. The expectation of large ship- ments from Russia, India and Australia, has always had its effect, but close inquiry abroad shows that the extent of production has been about attained, and that hereafter the surplus to be shipped to consuming countrie-j will not increase in any proportion to the growth of demand. A TJw Farnitr on I op. 21 the i n flu- sh ip- id its nt of r the not close investigation of th.c increase in tlie area of production tlie world over shows, tiiat in ten years, the expansion has not exceeded 3 per cent., while the population ol the world has increased 10 percent. The disparity L-ctwecn these two ratios, with the conviction that area cannot iirow, while poi )U lat ion me VI tabl uicreases, iiu licat es. til. it in the near future, the American faiiner, with the ailvantai;es he pos- sesses, will be master of the situati(jn on the (juestion of sup- plying the peo[)le willi food. Perhaps the most striking illustration of the rapitlity of growth in population, and the slow possibility of giowth in production hereafter, is found in the prediction of intelli- gent men who are students <;( this subject, that within hf- teen years the Unitfjd States will cease to export bread- stuffs ! In other words, if the [)opulation of the cities grows at the same rate in the next liltecn years as in the last fif- teen, and the area (^f production does not increase at any greater rate, ihe demand in the United States alone will have caught up with the supply I It seeins a rather start- ling conclusion that we are so near to a time when the United States will cease to feed the world, as hitherto she has so largely done. The mere fact that such a possibility is contemplated, is full of the deepest significance and prom- ise for the farmer of the future. Dealing in an article which is as essential to human life as is the light of the sun, or the air we breathe, there is no getting awav from our dependence upon the farmer. Tlie 45th parallel in the north, the rain-belt on the West, running along t!ie line of Nebraska and Kansas, and the peculiarities of soil to the South, delimit the power of extending production. Then the great growth of the people from natural causes, and the constant addition by immigration, make it certain that before very long consumption must overtake production, and then the Farmer will be on Top ! The Fullness of Time. No business man who takes a survey of the commercial world at tliis moment can fail to realize tiiat a change has occurred in his time which greatly alters the Chances of Suc- cess in life. Ecjually, no young man can afford to ignore the new and unexpected aspects which he will enc<.>unter in his effort to make a j)Iace for himself in the world. An apprehension of the completeness of these altered circum- stances is a most important preparation for a successful career. Hence, it is well to realize all that is con- tained in the observations of the great men who make a study of economic questions. There are few men in this country who so comj)letely apprehend these subjects as the author of ** Recent Economic Changes," Mr. David A. Wells. Therefore the following word photograph, which in ten lines contains more matter for thought than many a volume, should be taken into the comprehension of every man who thinks upon this subject. These lines are : " It would seem, indeed, as if the whole world during all the years since the inception of civilization, has been W(jrk- ing upon the line of equipment for industrial effort— invent- ing and perfecting tools and machinery, building workshops and factories, and devising instrumentalities for easy inter- communication for persons and thoughts, and the cheap exchange of products and services; that, this equipment liavirg at last been made ready, the work of using it has for the first time, in our day and generation, fairly begun ; and also that every community, under prior or existing condi- tions of use and consumption, is becoming saturated, as it were, with its results." [22j A General Survey. The terrible shakin<; up in finance, nianufacture, nicr- cliandizc and labor, which the suniiner oi 1893 has witnessed, makes it clear that the conditions whicli sniround the future of the young men of the country are fai less fixed, and far less favorable than they appeared to be a year or two ago. That there is "something rotten in the State of Den- mark," so far as trade and commerce are concerned, begins to be feared, and it is evident that the chances for money- getting are very difTerent from what they were when the fathers of tiie boys now living commenced life. If one could be elevated on a pinnacle and take such a survey of the piesent conditions as wt)uld enable him to grasp the whole subject, and so describe it as to clearly set forth the influences and forces that prevail, it would be found that the equilibrium, that is as essential to success in / business machinery as it is in mechanics, is somehow dis- turbed. That there is too much of everything is one of the features of the period. It must be so, or there would not be such a universal stoppage of production as all over the country has occurred. The demand for articles of necessity t)ught to be as great as ever, because the people have not died nor disappeared. Yet, in the face of the necessities of each hour, there was an almost universal suspension of the supply of many of these necessities, and, even now, the out- put is greatl}^ restricted. What does it all mean? It is true that, with a revival of the demand, with such low stocks of everything, which in improved times will need replenishing, there ought to be great activity — yet, the shock is so great, the earnings of such vast numbers of people and of interests are so much diminished, and the disorganization so complete, that it is likely to take a long while to restore things to their original shape. [?3] 24 A Gcjieral Survey. l! At the last analysis, who is it that suffers most from any disease in the body politic ? It is the farmer and ihe laborer, the man that is nearest to the source of supply. The free imj)ortation of vast numbers of foreigners, who can and do live on less than one half of what would suffice for an American's wants ; the tremendous forces set in motion by machinery, steam, and electricity ; the heavy rate of taxa- tion, local and general, making living very costly, have all contributed to produce unusual results in the condition of the laboring class. The growth of cities, in which three-fourths of the popu- lati ii are laboring people, has in the last ten years been at the rate of sixty per cent., which is an enormous ratio of increase, greater than the world elsewhere has ever seen. It is an unnatural growth that brings people together in such vast aggregations so rapidly, who are nothing but middlemen, or producers of articles other than food, fibre or material. The production of city-made goods has been in far greater proportion than the production of food and material, because in the same period, while the cities have grown 60 per cent., the farmers have only increased fifteen per cent. Of course, the creation of a home market for the farmer would seem to be the most advantageous thing for that class, and the high cost of living ought to result greatly to his profit. It would truly be so if there was any outlet for manufacturers other than the farmer. The growth of cities in foreign countries, though not so rapid as in Amer- ica, has still been very great ; but the difference in their case is that the world is their market, while in America the high rate of taxation makes products cost so much that we cannot compete, thus limiting the demand for goods to this country alone. The great manufacturing cities of Great Britain, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield and Glasgow, would cease to exist almost if they had Great Britain alone for a market ; but being able to supply China, I All Ave)uics Filled. 25 India, Africa, and Australia, and, indeed, America, — not- withstanding the high tariff, — tliey have a steady income from outside sources, denied to our centres of industry. The people of the United States, then, live upon one another. True, they send out a thousand million dollars a year of exports in bread-stuffs, provisions, oil and cotton, but they need from abroad tea, coffee, sugar and other articles to an equivalent amount, so that the balance is about equal. They appear, therefore, to have no advantage in this direction from their magnificent position, wide area, productive soil and mineral wealth. Broadly stated, the conditions now prevailing are the results of a fiscal policy, benelicent while necessity existed for it, and enormously stimulative of the great forces of pro- duction which this country possesses. But how far the young man, who is coming up to look for employment, finds these conditions favorable to him, is another question. Every avenue of effort is crowded ; every competitive undertak- inir is threatened witli loss and disaster. The limitation as to area of the country has been reached. Hence a limita- tion as to the demand for products, and as to the hopes which the future affords in improved Chances of Success, seems to have been arrived at. It illustrates the narrowness of the market that within a nation of forty- four nations, trading wilh each other in wiiat is required in almost every department of human activity, it has been necessary to create a system of Combination such as will limit production, maintain prices, and entirely eliminate competition. It is a strange, unusual, and unfortunate con- dition that the young man of the hour encounters. How best to meet these difficulties, and how to shape one's policy so as to get an honest living in circumstances so new and untried, and when so many are seeking employment, while the tendency is to vastly lessen the number employed, is the problem of the period. When the men who are now old in business commenced 26 (Hi A Goieral Survey. their career, they were told competition was the life of trade. Owing to the chan^^e which has taken place in the conditions ot the conntry, competition became in time the death of profit. So great has been the stimnlus to produc- tion, and so rapid has been the increase in the number of those engaged in busiiicss, that C()mpetition became to such a degree unbridled, that the possibility of profit seemed to disappear. A complete change became, therefore, neces- sary if money was to be made, resulting in the growth of a new and untried experiment, changing the whole condition of business methods. This change has taken on the form of Consolidation, of Combination, and what areknown in com- mon parlance as " Trusts " and " Moni)polies." At first, this change met with violent opposition, and all the powers of the legislature, both State and National, were evoked ; all the condemnation possible in the press and in the pulpit was fulminated against the movement. But, like other econ- omic forces, it was simply irresistible, and, to-day, the very face of nature is changed, so far as trade and commerce are concerned, because of this new principle in economics. Perhaps no better illustration could be afforded of the wide scope of trusts than is found in the case of the young man who desires to enter into the Grocery Business, for example. If he needs a safe, as a part of the furniture of his office, he must buy it of the Safe Trust. If he wants envelopes, in which to mail circulars, he must buy of the Envelope Trust. If he stocks up with sugar, he must buy it of the Sugar Trust. Salt he must look for from tlie Salt Combination, now assuming shape. Certainly, in the mat- ter of illuminating or lubricating oil he cannot avoid pay- ing tribute to the Standard Oil Company. If he deals in Crackers, he must arrange with the Cracker Combination. If he deals in Hour, he is likely to be compelled to buy it from the Minneapolisgroup of mills owned by English capi- talists, and pay tribute to Great Britain, the wheat from which the flour is made being supplied from elevators also j The Nezv Force of Combination. 27 owned by foreigners. If he lives in New York he will buy his fioiir from the Hecker-Joncs-and-Jcwell crowd or not at all; oatmeal must be furnished by the Oatmeal Combine. Whiskey he can only get from the Whiskey Trust. Bottles from the Glass Trust, and even the little cork in the neck iA the bottle, must be sought for from tlie Pittsburgii Cork Aggregation. The Cotton-seed Oil Combination will sell him an imitation of lard and of olive oil, and in tobacco, cigars and cigarettes, he will hardly escape paying tribute to the American Tobacco Company, in almost everything which the country itself produces, or which is handled after importation, he will find it impossible to deal unless with combinations. When, exhausted by his efforts to be independent, and to buy at one price and sell at another without dictation, lie lays himself down to die, his last moments will not be enlivened by the thought that he must be buried in a coffin furnished by the Casket Trust, Thus, in life and in death, the new principle of combination, as contra-distinguished from that of competition, envelopes him. The fact that in one business alone, combinations so numerous are met with, indicates how widely over the whole range of human effort has the principle been expanded. Just how far it is going to affect the future of the boys and girls desirous of making an independent effort to get an honest living, the future alone will disclose. This fact, however, is certain, that this new environment is more or less like a band or clamp upon their freedom of action, and their freedom of choice. True, as clerks, as porters, as traveling salesmen, as emplo3^ees, there is the same chance as ever in the distribution of the necessities of life, even in combinations. But the great merit and profit of these con- solidations is that a far less number of people may be em- ployed, and that the heavy expense formerly incurred for clerk-hire and salesmen in a multiplicity of establishments, can now be much reduced when these are combined. So 28 t[ A G enteral Survey.-^ that, not only is production limited and competition elimin- ated and the price fixed, but the cost of dt)inle will continue to l)c the greatest trading nation on the face of the earth. To be actively employed in this great commerce opens up Chances of Success that in no other land affords a parallel. Ilence notwithstanding ciianged conditions, — set forth elsewhere, — in this field there is a wide opportunity. The sons of well-to- do men must be the successors of those who precede them. The fulfillment of the ever^-clay needs of this vast aggrega- tion of humanity, whose wants are so varied, so imperious, and, indeed, so extravagant, will occupy the rank and file a large portion of the coming generation. There is no doubt that theCliances of Success in America to-day are immeasur- ably better than those afforded by any other countr}-. In- dustry, frugality, and an intelligent apprehension of the advantages within reach, ought to stimulate the best that is in the army of young men who are now stepping upon the stage of life. Yet even in the vast internal commerce that ebbs and fiows over the surface of the lesser half of this continent, the avenues of effort are largely crowded. A great host of young men are looking anxiously to the future. Many of them seek to carve out a career of their own, and instead of beinjr employees all their days, and subject to the beck and call of a master, likely in the shape of a combination or a far-away official, it is natural they should seek a life moulded by themselves. With this in view, why is it not well to turn the thoughts of the young men to the desirabilit}^ of reversing [31] 32 The Chance as a Farmer. \ the order of things and instead of seeking tlie citv with its congestion, secic the country with its Ireedoni? Hence, consider the advisability of becoming a fanner ! The only really independent nicmber of the community is the farn.er. lie is secure of food at any rate ; nature is so generous that a very litth? effort will get him enough to eat and drink. The growth of the cities and the creation of local UKirkets makes certain the absorption of what the earth j^roduces. Hence, the boys and girls who have hitherto looked forward to the city for a living, should now turn towards the country as their hope and opportunity. True, the life of the farmer hitherto has been supposed to be one of great labor, of comparative poverty and narrow- ness of enjoyment, with small result possible. But, it nee(i not be so ; for the intelligent farmer, with a competent knowledge of chemistrv, with the employment of the most recent inventions, with the variet}' of products which can be cultivated in cereals, fruit, vegetables and animals, ought to find his calling a profitable one. The cultivation of the soil, with the aid of new machiner}- — in which the develop- ment has been so remarkable, — the use of electricity in vari- ous forms, and the application to the work of as much skill and intelligence as are exhibited in other walks of life, would open up fields for the employment of the young people of the country quite as tempting, and much more profitable than are likely hereafter to be found in other departments. The exhaustion of opportunity in commerce, in manu- factures, in transportation, in the professions, and, indeed in almost every avenue of effort, does not apply to the farmer. If, by the establishment of agricultural professor- ships in the great universities, the encouragement by the State of model farms, the introduction of architectural attractiveness in farm houses, and the application of busi- ness principles to farm life, this department of employment can be made more pleasant and more profitable, a greater The YoiDi^ Mans Chance. 11 step will be made towards the safety and prosperity of the Republic than could be taken in any other direction. Under the circumstances, therefore, of the unusual con- dition into which the business of the country has drifted ; in view, also, of the stupendous losses which suddenly liave been suffered by almost every interest, and in the presence of conditions of danger to the hnancial and business world, there ought to be a sentiment of gratitude felt that for the employment of the vast number of those who are now step- ping on the stage, there is this great avenue open, it is true that most of the farmerj. are needing capital, and that they have not increased either in number or in prosperit}'^ in the past few years as they should ; but the fact remains that in a country so vast as this, with a soil naturally so rich, with a climate so varied, a rainfall so universal, and fertiliz- ing forces so available, there are tens of thousands of acres in every State which, by close cultivation, resembling that employed in European countries, could be made to yield an abundant revenue. This is especiall}' the case in the pres- ence of markets so considerable as the numerous cities and towns, scattered all over the country, furnish. The ability to evolve from the earth by one's own efforts three-fourths of the articles needed for the sustentation of life, and the chance there is for realizing sufficient from the surplus to supply all other requirements, resides alone in the land. Hence, it should be the ark of safety for a large propor- tion of the rising generation, who seek in vain to live upon each other, as the}' have hitherto been doing. The middlemen, the drones upon the industry of others, the surplusage of factory hands not needed, non-producers of food, and the large increase which constantly comes up over and above those that are needed to supply wants that are now limited to the consumptive demands of the country itself, can find an outlet for living only on the land. Hence, attention and thought may well be given to improved culti- 34 Colleges and Comntej'cc. vation, to a better knowledge of its possibilities, and to ren- dering the occupation more attractive. The abandoned farms of New England will doubtless be taken up by the French Canadians, who are now swarming out from the manufacturing centres, in which they have hitherto been employed. With their economy, industry, and fccundit}', they will soon restore the productive forces of those regions, and will illustrate what can be done by the poorest and least considered in point of intelligence of the populace. The lesson they will teach may well be taken to heart in the Middle, Western and Southern States. So that, surrounding every town and city there may be offered Chances of Success on the land for the employment of the youth of the coming generations. i I f I It is to be deplored that among so large a portion of the American people there should exist the slightest doubt as to the relation which Jie college should occupy to the business interests of the country. It would seem that no higher pur- pose could be served than to bring these two interests of commerce and the highest education into the closest rela- tion in a land so blessed with abundance, with a heritage to mankind so priceless as a free government, and confronted with the working out of a problem so vast and already so beneficent to mankind. Who can estimate the good achieved by the far-seeing men, who have endowed institutions such as Lehigh, Cornell, and Sanford Universities, as the Shef- field School at Yale, as the Cooper, the Drexel, the Pratt, the Armour, and Stevens Institutes, and the various other great seats of learning in this free land. No nobler purpose can be conceived than that wdiich helps to cultivate the mind for the practical side of life. Its development fits for every duty, ennobles every pursuit, and enriches every generation to a greater degree than all the achievements of ignorance, however much combined with wealth. ren- s be iiing liave stry, )rces \e by ce of taken . So •(creel 3f the of the : as to siness r pur- sts of rcla- ige to [on ted idy so lieved such Shef. IPratt, other irpose mind [every ■ation ance, The Pursuits of Man. The narrowness of the scope for tlic einplovinent of the average man of intelligence is perhaps bett(,'r illustratetl along the streets of New York than anywhere else in Amer- ica. Especially is this so along the streets through which the Elevated Railroads run. From the cars of this railroad, as they fly through the air, an observation of the street below shows simply a succession of establishments in which are stored for distribution articles for the sustentatit)n ot life. To sell something to Eat, Drink, or Wear seems the purpose of the most costly effort, the most elaborate prepa- ration, and the entire dependence of the great number here congregated. One block after another has its regular number of Groceries, Dry Goods, and Butcher shops. Hardware, Diess-making, Clothing, Restaurants, etc. There is hardly any change for miles and miles in this order of things, varied as it sometimes is with an occasional Photographer, Dentist, Printer, or Barber, with, of course, the omnipresent Saloon. The little round of avocations thus presented, square after square, throughout the city, is but an illustration of the occupation of the great mass of retailers in every city and every town. It impresses again the conclusion that, after all, three-fourths of the people live mainly by supply- ing each other's material wants. The Chances of Success, therefore, in getting a living, rest largely upon this kind of employment, for whether it is in thv. smallest or largest way, nine-tenths the effort of life seems to be to get something at one price and sell at another. There does not seem to be anything very complex or occult in performing that duty ; yet where the number is too gicat to perform it, in proportion to the number who require its performance ; where expenses cost of living, [35] 36 The Pursuits of Man. depreciation of stock, interest, and other charges arc exces- sive, there is little hope of profit. It is easy cnougli for sonic people to obtain inlorniation about things tliat are most mysterious: forgotten lore is interpreicci, inscriptions on ancient monuments made plain, and the intellect of man sharpened and made most effective in the discoveries of science ; but in the cvery-day walk of life, /. e., buying at one price and selling at another, there seems to be more difficulty than at first sight appears. The currents and eddies in the stream down which most men arc floating, are indeed exceedingly numerous, and while opportunities for making money seem plenty enough, — when they consist but of buying and selling, — the rank and file do not apparently make the most of their chances. The retail dealer, throughout the country, has a struggle for existence, and if combination were possible in his case, as in the handling by wholesale of tliC great staples and manufactures of the land, an opportunity to save the waste of competition might be found for that class. No one wants to argue in favor of a consolidation of the retail trade in sugar, for instance, in imitation of the C(>nso!idation in the manufacture of that article, yet such a combination —even among retailers of sugar — is not impossible, and it will materially reduce the chances for employment every- where. In other goods, also, there is, in the shape matters have recently taken, practically a tendency towards the consoli- dation of retail interests. This finds exemplification in the great Departmental Stores which, in every city, have been the growth of these latter days. The great store caravan- sery of each city of importance is broadly known to include almost every article with which to supply human wants. The store of John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, is a good example of the kind, and that of R. H. Macy & Co., of New York, is another. To administer an establishment of this nature, requires a genius and a corps of assistants equal to The Pursuits of Man. 0/ that of many a government ; and it is significant of what business capacity and system can ch), that, notwithstantling the enormous demands whicli sucli an establishment oitlin- ariiy would make upon its head, the business at Philadelphia went along most j^rosperously and successfully, while Mr. Wanamaker devoted four years assidut)usly to the arduous duties of the Postmaster-Generalship of the United States. The three prominent Hebrews who own the great Mac\' establishment, — Nathan, Oscar, and Isidor Stiauss — while administering the business with the rarest skill, give a great deal of attention to public affairs. Oscar vStrauss, late Minister to Turkey, is always in pursuit of literaiy matters and prominent in philanthropic works of the most practical kind ; while his brother is a Park Commissioner and promin- ent in various other ways. Yet they have built up a great business, which, under the conditions that formerly pre- vailed, would be divided among two or three hundred stores of small size scatterd over the city. In nearly every city a similar establishment has sprung up, and they are indicative of the change in the Chances of Success of existing merchants and of the youth just coming into business. These establishments are, in a sense, mon- opolies, consolidations and combinations in the retail trade, just as the big trusts are in the wholesale and manufacturing departments of business. It is clear that, by this means, the business can be better done, at lessened expense, at reduced profits, at a lower cost to consumer, and with general advan- tage to the community served by them. The}' arc a sign of the times, and a sign, too, that affects the Chances of Success in a way materially different from that which prevailed when the generation now in being stepped upon the stage of life. 1 1 II i w The Most Dangerous of Tendencies. " To depart from legitimate business is to lose money." This homely exj)rcssion, from Hunfs Merchants Magasiyte^ is a text from which a volume might be written. Its illus- trations can be more vivid and more numerous than those drawn from almost any other axiom in the whole range of business experience. Tiie business capacit}'^ of men is rarely adequate for even a single pursuit. It is only one in ten thousand who is competent to undertake more than one. The tendency to grasp at shadows and to drop the substance, is, in business, the most fatal practice possible. The wrecks and ruins, now scattered over the country as the result of the recent whirl- wind of disaster that has swept over us, are like the leaves and branches of the trees in a forest after a great storm. It is the branch and leaf that has the least support that yield the first. Thus the men who travel out of their legitimate business, incur liabilities which it would never need nor justify, are the first to succumb. Those who are thus "spread out" are, of course, the most exposed. The lessons of the year 1893, in this regard, are full of the deepest significance. The losses and disasters will not have been in vain, if it can be conveyed to the men of the coming generation how foolish and how dangerous it Is to undertake too much. No matter how promising an enter- prize may be, if it is not in the line of one's legitimate inter- ests, and if it does not support, strengthen and sustain them, it should not be yielded to, if it demands either time or money. Concentration of effort in these times of competition is the most essential element of success. To scatter broadcast one's energies in the nervous strain which is upon the busi- [38J Departing from Legitimate BiisiKess. 39 ness man of to-day, to commit one's self to undertakings which tax capital and, especially, to rely upon accommoda- tion, whicli at any moment may be withdrawn, are follies of the worst kind. The Rothschilds have a motto whiclv seems cold blooded, but it is based on long experience. It is, *' Do not trust a man who owes much." The liabilities that arise from a departure from legitimate business most frequently bring men into this category. The narrow ledge of profit which an ordinary avocation affords, is insufficient to compensate for the risk run in an outside undertaking calling for the withdrawal of capital from legitimate ventures, or relying upon a credit that should be conserved rather than expanded. Three-fourths of the failures and misfortunes that, in this memorable year, have overtaken the business men of this most prosperous and successful community, result from departure from legitimate channels of trade and commerce, for which the individuals have been specially educated, and in which they could be safely trusted to succeed. One great misfortune which a man encounters, who has more than one branch of business to look after, is that he must depend upon others for direction and knowledge. It is not given to the human mind to take in very much in the shape of an acquaintance Wich details, except in one depart- ment. If another be added, and still another, the mind refuses to absorb the necessary knowledge, and the result is that imperfect information, bad advice, and perhaps inter- ested coimsel, cause errors of judgment and want of profit. It is an old English saying that" It is impossible to make the wind blow from all quarters at once." So, it would look equally itupossible that moie than one department of business can be safely handled by an ordinary business man at one time.* Therefore, it is true now as it has never been before, that ** to depart frOm legitimate business is to lose money." An Economic Paradox. A "lobby," at Ottawa, the seat of the Parliament of Canada, was created one session for the purpose of pushing forward some telegraph legislation difficult to put through from various circumstances. Nearly all measures passing the Parliament of Canada must have the stamp of govern- ment approval. Amendments to laws, or legislation affect- ing corporations, or private matters, otherwise have a slim chance. In order to get through the legislation in question it was deemed essential to call together a very strong order of influence, and as the shareiioldersof the various telegraph companies interested in consolidating their interest were scattered from one end of the country to the other, an attempt was made to summon representative men from all quarters, and never before, or since, has there been such a lobby. Laval University, a great Roman Catholic educa- tional institute at Quebec, held a thousand siiares in one Of the companies, and, at the request of the writer, an exceed- ingly able priest, in flowing robes, was sent to marshal the votes of the French Roman Catholic members of Parli:*- ment in the proper direction. A great shipping merchan*, knighted by the Queen, and also an official, was induced to come to Ottawa and put in an oar. A college principal, most eminent in his profession, and influential among edu- cated men, came also; while bank presidents, railway officials, and newspaper editors were numerous. A group of about sixty people, all prominent in their several walks of life, made up the *' lobby," and, under the direction of the writer of these lines, brought a pressure to bear, to which even the government had to yield. At midnight, one night, after a very severe day's work, a summons came to the room of the writer to attend a party, [40J I yln Rconomic Paradox. 4t then in progress, at wliich the Prime Minister would be present, in order to answer some questions. Huddling on a dress coat, which luckily was obtainable, the house where the coa entertainment was held was soon leac hed, aiH 1 for :in hour, say from 12.30 to 1.30 A. M., the great Sir John Mac- donald listened to what his petitioner had to say. The " Grand Old Man," as he was affectionatel}- called, had already partaken freely enough of the good things provided by his generous host, but he was, nevertheless, sufficiently bright to pick up a sentence of the writer's, which seemed like an economic paradox. At that time the great desire of all legislators was to prevent consolidation, and anything that looked like "com- bination" or " monopoly," was a thing to be avoided at all risks. The idea of favoring legislation in this direction, where two great Telegraph Companies, with of^cesin every town in the land, were to be merged into one, and competi- tion absolutely stifled, was a mighty difificult thing for even Sir John to swallow. But dimmed as were his faculties by a little too much champagne, he was quick to catch at what seemed to be a paradox, wliich the writer put to him in these words: "The prevention of consolidation is the abolition of competition." Repeating to himself once '^'r twice, " The prevention of competition is the abolition of consolidation ;" and again, " The abolition of prevention is the consolidation of competi- tion ;" and still again, " The consolidation of prevention is the competition of abolition," for half an hour an argument in favor of this proposition amused and confused the old gentleman, who interrupted every few minutes with more play on the words. The point made was, of course, that if it were impossible for competing undertakings, which could not possibly pay, to combine, an'' thus save from wreck some vestige of the investment, there would be no competition. It was main- tained that competitive telegraphy could not pay any more j: 42 An Economic Paradox, than two post-offices in each town could be sustained, that from time immemorial combinations of Telegraph Companies were essential to the safety of that means of communication, and that to prohibit their combination was to prevent their creation. It seemed almost ridiculous to call this an argu- ment, but the clearness of the perception of the great statesman was such, and the circumstances of the case were so peculiar, that just as he was putting on his overcoat, he turned to the writer and said : " I think we will have to grant that ' Combination of competition and that abolition of prevention.' Send your lobby home and your bill shall pass." And pass it did, much to the relief of all concerned. It is interesting in this connection to notice the univer- sality of the condemnation which the principle of combin- ation " has weathered. There was hardly an organization from the smallest municipality up to the Senate of the United States, but in some way legislated against this ten- dency. The Press was singularly unanimous in its scathing denunciations of the principle and the practice. Even the Pulpit had an anathema for the men who sought to obliter- ate C(jmpetition from the face of the earth. Yet, the econo- mic forces of the time in this direction were irresistible, and are so still. It seemed incredible that, for instance, all the oil in this country, underlying the surface of the earth, and needing only to be pumped to the point of distribution, and there to be refined for the good of mankind — not only of this continent, but of the world at large — should be absolutely owned and controlled by halt-a-dozen men. It seemed as thougii there must be something wrong when a product of universal use and wide distribution, should be selfishly grasped and filtered through a certain channel, where trib- ute could be levied upon it by a few. It has been said that the income of John D. Rockefeller is twenty million dollars a year. This is probably a great exaggeration ; but even if it were a quarter of that amount, A Source of Supply. 43 it shows the growth and success of the principle of combina- tion and consolidation. It made little difference what the legislatures, press, or pulpit did in the direction of tiie "prevention of consolidation," because, by the force of things uncontrollable, it naturally came about as the " pre- vention of competition." Perhaps the most essential element for success in the )[ foi trad( id til >li creation _ that impends in the United States, is the contribution which may come from Canada, the nearest country, the Greater Half of the Continent. Of all things, the most essential to success for manufacturing, is a supply of raw material, at a minimum of cost from a minimum of dis- tance. Equally an element for success, in manufacturing for foreign countries, is an unlimited food supply. These two elements can be found in greater abun lance in the British possessions on the continent of North America tiian elsewhere in the world. As an available asset of supply to the United States, Canada to-day possesses a value far exceeding that which it ever before possessed. If an out- side commerce is to be created, if a great future is in store for the United States as a manufacturing nation, as a mari- time power, or as a great financial centre, the supplies which come from Canada are the one essential for success. As Goldwin Smith has said, " The continent is an economic whole." The border line of unparalleled length that runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific is a line of demarcation, practically imperceptible. The two countries should be commercially one. There are no mountains to divide them, no wide seas to separate them ; the lakes and the rivers, instead of barriers, should be bonds to unite them. Spring- ing from the same lineage, speaking the same language, moved by the same literature, and governed by the same laws, this region is an essential element to the United States, as indeed is the United States an essential element to it. I < I ,1 - i i .1 I Has the National Debt ever been Paid ? A sensation was, one night, created at tlie Congregational Union, in New York, where economic subjects are some- times discussed, by a question which the writer asked. " Has tlie National Debt of the United States really ever been paid ? has it not, so far as it has been reduced, been simply shifted?" It is true, as was stated, that the bonds issued by the government have been largely liquidated and destroyed ; tiiat, so far as the government itself is con- cerned, as representing the people, it does not now owe one- third as much as it did in 1865. It may tiierefore be argued that two-thirds of the great debt incurred in the strife had been practically liquidated. 8ut, is it really so ? Has it not been simplv shifted from the shoulders of the government to the shoulders of the farmers and planters of the country? For instance, if it is the fact that the farmers are still paying interest upon an amount of money equal to that which the government raised to pay its bonds, has the debt ever really been actually paid? Tlie farmers are specially named as a class, because, at the last analysis, they are the basis of the social and economic fabric, on the one hand ; while, on the other, it is only for their products sent abroad that money is received in return from the outside. The government got the money with which to pa}"- their obligations by taxation. The imported goods that entered the country bore the brunt of this impost. The consumer, in the end, has to pay these duties, and he can only make what he thus pays out of the farmer, the planter, the fisher- man, the miner and the lumberman. These producers of natu- ral products furnish, in the long run, all the material out of which money can be made. Everybody else is either a middle-man or a worker upon this material. True, the law- [44J The Burden of Steel Rails. 45 yer writes an opinion; llic doctor makes a prescription; the manufacturer brings forth a product, but, at the end of things, the farmer and his colleagues are the majority of the consumers and the only producers whose output sup- plies material and food that \ ields the cash. Now, the imposts which enabled the government to pay its debts, were not only in a roundabout way borne by the farmer and ids friends, but in a very specific way have the great body of producers of natural products been made to bear the burden. Not only directly, but reflection will sh(Av that there has been added to that a sum so enormous as to in a measure account for the almost universal condition of comparative poverty and serfdom which the producing class in this country seem to suffer from, and which may account in no small degree for the unsettled condition and want of e ^uilibrium in the financial affairs of the country. It will be well to trace just how far the farmer and his friends are still bearing the burden of the National Debt, and not only paying for the War, but for a tremendous addition to the cost of it, in the shape of " royalty," which they have paid to another cliass of the community. No better illustration of the cost of the National Debt to the producing community is found, than in the matter of Steel Rails. Steel Rails will illustrate not only the shape which things have taken in themselves, as against the produc- ing communit}', but, further, shows how in almost every other department of manufacturing that community have paid the National Debt, perhaps, over and over again, one class getting the benefit at the expense of the other. Since the war, a duty of $17.60 has been exacted on every ton of steel rails imported. This continued until the enactment of the McKinley Bill, when the tariff on rails was reduced to $14.00. But, for purposes of illustration, the former duty may be taken as the basis. Now, seventeen dollars and sixty cents is a great deal of money in comparison with a ton of steel. The size of a ton n 46 Has the National Debt cvcr^ been Paid/ \%- of steel as compared with a ton of coal is very small. As a ton of coal is emptied into the cellar of a consumer, he is a good deal troubled if it is 50 cents or a dollar a ton more than he paid the year previous. He would be a great deal more troubled, however, if for every ton of coal he were made to pay $17.60 besides the price of the coal. Yet, that is the amount that has been paid by the public at large for every ton of rails that has been laid down sinci the war in this broad country. The mileage increase of Railroads since 1865 foots up to 130,000 miles, a fabulous amount of construction, when it is considered that on every ton of rails used on this immense stretch $17.60 has been exacted. This would add to the cost of the construction of Railroads since 1865 (according to the average weight of rails per mile), about $1,800 a mile. So that, as a matter of fact, there has been expended upon the Railroads of the country, since 1865, for duty or " royalty." to a class, a sum of about 235 million dollars! The railroads paid this amount, so that there has been added to the legitimate cost of the rails 235 millions. Bonds bearing rarely less than five per cent., and mostly six per cent, interest, have been issued to represent ti is additional expenditure of 235 millions, and " as long as grass grows and water runs " the interest must be paid on these bonds. The rate for carrying freight must have been increased, in order to pay this interest of 12 to 15 million dollars a year. Now, freight rates, at the last resort, are paid by the producer, not only on what he sends to market, but also upon the merchandize he receives in return. So that what is yielded from the farm, the forest, the mine, and the sea, bears at last the whole charge for living ; it is on these, and these alone, that the eventual exaction is made. If, therefore, the 235 million dollars, which has been unneces- sarily exacted through the steel rail industry of this country, is added to the cost of construction, and still exists as a debt, and the farmer and his friends have still to pay the interest upon it, it is submitted that the debt of the govern- TJie Favored Few. 47 ment, to the extent of 235 millions, has practically never been paid, but is simply shifted to the shoulders of the farmer and the other producers. But, as a matter of fact, the government got precious little of the 235 million dollars. It \\y\y br? doubted if it got one-tenth of that sum, for, although the exaction was made with a view of collecting the dut}' and paying the debt, it really was the most complete preventive of revenue that could be devised. When duty so high was levied, of course, it acted as a prohibition to importation and the field was left open to' the local manufacturer. The latter, at a point where iron, coal, coke and limestone could be most easily assembled, and by the use of an Englir.h invention, upon^ which there was no duty, made these steel rails at about half the cost at which the}' were sold to the Railroad Com- panies. They distributed very kindly and generously to the laboring classes, and spent for raw material half the amount realized, but the other half, viz. : the royalty of $17.60 per ton, went into the pockets of the patriotic manu- facturers. The government never got any of this money, and it was never intended that they should, though the excuse for its exaction was that the National Debt had to be paid. It is submitted, that though the farmer and his friends have to pay interest on this enormous sum, it has gone into the hands of one class of the community, at the expense of the other, and the government are in no way benefited. The people that sustain the goverment, on the other hand, the hard working, perspiring producers, who are at the basis of things, are for ever borne down with an exaction which was unnecessary, unjustifiable, and, as it is now seen, disastrous to their well-being. Of course, if it was the intention that one class of the community should be made rich at the expense of another, which should be kept poor; if the party in power really set out to create an aristocrary, on the one hand, and a con- dition of serfdom through the payment of interest, on the I t i ■I !:t i i' !■ 4S //as the Natio)ial Debt ever been Paid / olhcr, no better phm could liavc been adopted than that which called for the imposition of duties alto<^ether unnecessary for the payment of the indebtedness of the government. Whatever may have been the results in the encouragement of manufactures ; however vast may be the over-{)roduction stimulated by such favoritism ; how- ever disastrous may be tiie result now being felt, this is certain, that, so far as the farmers and their friends are con- cerned, there has been put about their necks a burden, not only in the matter of transportation, but in every other department of industry outside the farm, the forest, the luine, and the sea, which will, for many years be most irk- some and difficult to carry, for the item of rails is but one of a thousand others, which have been and are still being consumed at a cost not seldom twice as great as is necessary for (heir production. The result has been that one class of the community has been enriched beyond comparison with others, while the producer has been, is, and will be weighted down with burdens of unnecessary taxation, unjust discrimi- nation, and " royalty " exacted for the creation of a class, which is royal " in purple and fine linen." It is true, that, as against this reasoning there will be urged the argument that, because of this favoritism of one class at the expense of another, production was so stimu- lated and competition so encouraged, that the price of steel rails and other things are really lower than they would have been had these royalties not been exacted. There may be some force in this argument, but it does not relieve the situation of the producer, nor help him to pay the interest upon the great exaction which he has to bear ; nor does it lessen the disparity which exists between his class and the favored few who will for ever live upon his labor. An equally strong position against this argument, however, is in this fact, that, notwithstanding the low prices which it is claimed protection has induced for steel rails and other things, there is in the face of that apparent reduction no Has the National Debt ever been Paid ? 49 possibility of tiicsc articles cntcriiis^ the markets of the world on a b'isis at all likely to be successful with other competitors. Steel rails to-day cau be had in England at about $14.00 per ton. It is impossible in this country to j)roduce them at anythin independent of these three conditions. The bulk of the money made in this world, is that acquired by trading on the wants of each other. Buying at one price and selling at another is the ordinary mode of making money. Even in the case of the employee who gets a wage somewhat in advance of the cost of his living, the resulting surplus is his profit, and consti- tutes his power lo accumulate money. There is one department of activity, howeirr, in which a perfect independence of these three conditions is possible, and in which there would appear to be a very remarkable chance for development in this country. This department of activity is that of Gold mining. It is true there have been $i,ooo spent in unprofitable gold mining for ever}' $500 rea- lized, and that, up to this time, the want of surce-^sin specu- [64] The Was/r of iiold. 65 ;h |e, lie lit lativc ventures in this industry imparts a taint to it that makes even a recomincndation of its consideration a doubt- ful policy. Nevertheless, it is a fact wiiich nobody can ignore, that this continent is a treasure-house in the matter of gold, quite equal in value to the vast wealth got over, and that you were born to him. It was the first gold piece I had ever seen, and the largest sum of money which, up to that time, I had ever had. It may be said to have formed the basis of the lortune which was afterwards acquired." ( ! To an observer in America, without political prejudice or preference, the economic revolution that here impends is full of the profoundest significance. Revolutions are like special providences. They come when most needed, and when needed, their consequences come to stay. Indeed, judged by these consequences, they may be deemed special providences. Not always in the voice of the people can be interpreted the voice of God. Yet who will deny a provi- dence in such events as the establishment of the Magna Cliarta, and a free parliament, in response to popular demand ? Wiio will deny the results of the Reformation, the English and French Revolutions, of the Declaration of Independ' nee, of the Repeal of the Corn Laws, and the Abolition of Slavery, all called forth by the popular voice? Equally, who will deny a providence in the stupendous internal development that has followed the expression of public demand in the Protective Policy enforced in the United States since the war? All these mile-stones in the history of the world are the direct result of popular desire. It is impossible to deny that beside them, and on a par with them, comes the last expression of the will of the American people ? If, in the contests gone by, the verdict of the people was right — if it was wise, if it was helpful to humanity, surely now can the same be said of this latest demonstration of an intelligent public desire. m m t Three Conditions of Success. A survey of the elements that have been most helpful to the progress and growth of the United States, will disclose as mainly instrumental three conditions. The first of these elements of progress has been the ever- widening areas possible for trade and commerce, for occu- pancy and productiveness. Thus, new States added period- ically to the number already enrolled, created new markets, on the one hand, and new sources of supply, on the other. As fast as the country opened, just so fast could tlie output be augmented of everything that was needed. The means of transportation, requiring a large expenditure, had to be provided. The building of houses, the making of roads, and all the manifold duties of settlement required large expenditures, and as the country grew in area its commerce increased. So long as these areas were being added, in just such a ratio was the increase possible of everything, and to just such an extent was profit available. The second great force, next to the opening, ever-widen- ing areas, that has contributed to the growth of the United States, has been the constant stream of immigration, which has poured in upon this country from almost all quarters of the globe. If estimated at the absolute money value of these immigrants, placing that at the low figure of $800 a head, aside from the actual cash that they have brought in with them, it will show an aggregation of contributed wealth far in excess of any amount that has ever been attracted into any country from the outside. To this, of course, must be added the benefits arising from the labor and construciton which these people have made possible, and their great usefulness in the lower strata of productive forces. [70J Three Conditions of Success. 71 ;n- le, So long as there was plenty of land open for occupancy, so long as there were numerous railroads and public works to go forward, and full employment in the country at large could be had, just so long was this immigration a helpful and welcome contribution. But, as farms were taken up, extended areas occupied, and concentration in the cities took place, the tide ot immigration begun to be irksome and rather hurtful than helpful, so that a change impends in this respect as it does also in respect of the first great ele- ment of prosperity. The third and last of the three elements that have most contributed to the wealth and progress of the United States, has been the rapidity in the development of natural resources. No previous achievement has equ-'^lled the magnitude of the riches which this people have brought forth, wrested from nature itself. Thus, in the metals of gold, silver, iron, copper and coal, in oil from under the earth, and in the wealth of the forest on the surface, in great areas brought into cultivation and made to produce such abundant harvests of cotton, grain, tobacco, etc., in provisions, in dairy products, and the manifold outcome of the fruitful soil, the industry of the people has simply had results without parallel. The riches which have been created by this development of natural resources, and which the human race have participated in, it is impossible to estimate. With the elements of ever-widening areas, and the enormous immigration, they cap the climax of the success to which the people have attained. But great as the success has been in these three stupen- dous operations, a limit is at length apparent to their extent and influence. Thus, so far as ever-widening areas are con- cerned, there are no new States and Territories to be occupied of a value at all to be compared to those already occupied. The rush for land — as exemplified in the scenes of turbulence and excitement at the opening of the various Reservations — shows that a " land hunger " has set in already ■ r 11 Ever-widening Areas Cease. which it is most difficult to appease. It is as impossible now to place a farmer iii Minnesota, without displacing another farmer, as it would be in Pennsylvania, without cutting a farm in two. The fact that nearly forty per cent, of the United States is arid, and that the rain belt, except along the narrow Pacific slope, extends no further west than a line drawn North and South along the Western borders of Kansas and Nebraska, shows a limitation of fertility greater than was at one time anticipated for the United States. Hence, the influence of ever-widening areas has suddenly ceased. Immigration has been turned eastward from the Rocky Mountains, and seeks to occupy the Reservations and other lands open for settlement. What irrigation may do is yet to be known. The supply of water available for it is uncertain, and the expenditure involved an unknown factor, instead of the certain success which in previous agricultural efforts was sure t(3 follow. This limitation of areas, reducing the ratio of progress hitherto possible in the absorption of merchandise and manufactures, accounts in no small degree for the exces- sive over-production now found to exist, and which has produced the prolonged panic through which we have been passing. This is shown by the tremendous contraction without risk of depriving consumers of what they need. It does more than this, however, for it shows how danger- ous is a continuance of the existing volume of manufactures especially in view of limitations in absorptive power. Then, the second great element which has helped for- ward the progress of the corntry is seriously affected by the limitations reached in the first named force, viz. : the ever-widening area, now so seriously restricted. It is im- possible to believe that for a succession of years from half a million to a million of immigrants have arrived in this country annually, three-fourths of whom have congregated in the cities, without most seriously affecting the condition of labor, and intensifying the adverse state of things, which, \ Three Conditions of Success. n in the cities, begins to sliow itself. Unless there is employ- ment afforded in the shape of closer cultivation of farms already existing round about the cities, or employment pro- vided in various ways on public works, or lIic extension of existing transportat'on facilities, it is difficult to see how these hordes of foreigners are to be employed advantage- ously. So that the second great element in our progress, hitherto helpful, may soon become a dangerous and injuri- ous influence detrimental to the country at large. As to the limitation reached by the third great force, viz.: the development of natural resources, it would seem as though the present generation had pretty well pre-empted all that it was possible to do in this direction, and that, if there is to be a relative expansion hereafter by those now coming on the stage of life in such vast numbers, there must be dis- covered other fields of effort, other occupations, and other sources of supply. Thus, for instance, it would be impos- sible for anyone else to deal in petroleum except the existing interest, now so securely entrenched in the oil fields. The same may be said of very many other fields of effort, as in iron, coal, timber limits, copper, salt fields and numerous other natural resources. It is true that the coming gener- ation, so f.ar as it is related to those in possession of these vast interests and consolidations, will be enriched by their steady development, which will doubtless go on enriching the owners and the world in general. But that the new broods of men and women now coming forward will have any chance or any prospect of participating in the great opportunities vhich the past has afforded in respect to nat- ural resources, seems very doubtful. As " hewers of wood and drawers of water," the coming generation, outside the limits of the present possessors of these properties, may have employment, but the Chances of Success are immeas- urably less than they were for those who preceded them. With the three elements thus described, viz.: occupancy of ever-widening areas, immigration, and the development of 74 Three Conditions of Success. natural resources, and with limitations already in sight for each of them, it would seem that a new and enlarged field of effort for this great people ought to be in sight. If half \\\Q continent has hitherto afforded such a magnifi- cent theatre of effort for the achievement of success so great, it was a natural thought among some who watched the career of this people to realise that the other, and Greater Half of the continent, was a field of equal importance, and that in the great region to the North, the Chances of Success could be provided just as complete and just as ample as those already afforded and availed of by this great people. Elsewhere is shown how soon and how readily this might be attempted. Thoroughly equipped as is the United States for com- mercial achievements, what is her possible future in rela- tion to the outside world ? Armed with a development in machincr}^ in steam and in electricity unequalled elsewhere, controlled by a people' of intelligent industry and enter- prise, with an inventive faculty unequalled in the world, and with food supplies and natural resources the best ever possessed, what is the future of the career of this country among the nations of the earth? If England is great from her manufacturing forces, if she earns enormously because of her maritime magnitude, if she levies tribute from every nation under the sun because of her monetarv accumula- tions, what will not be the career of this countr}^ with ten- fold advantages over the mother of nations? The misfor- tune seems to be that the world is not large enough to absorb the possible output of her factories and shops if once freed from the incubus of unnecessary taxation and restriction. But the foreign demand for wh';t this country can produce may reach proportions even in excess of the vast internal commerce that has been created, and in that foreign trade the Chances of Success reside to an extent greater than in any further possible development within the country itself. \ Looking Outward for Success. To the average business man in the United States, as well as to the youtli about to seek his fortune, the Chances of Success are generally confined to the limits of the country itself. Accustomed to regard progress within the United States as sufficient to employ all energies, and hav- ing in mind the success of those who have preceded them, there is a vague, indolent idea that opportunities still exist through which further and equal success can be achieved, A nation of forty-four nations, trading with each other in the product of every clime, with resources so varie.i and abundant, ought, it is generally believed, to be sufficie:it for the employment of such business ability and energy ns the country itself produces. But, as will be seen in other ; ages, there is an exhaustion of opportunity within the country itself, that may make it difficult for the same measure of success to be attained hereafter as in the past. Under circumstances, therefore, so circumscribed, the next natural thing to do will be, instead of looking inward for a Chance of Success, to look to the outer world for this opportunity. Hitherto, the people of the United States have traded among themselves almost exclusively, and, to a certain extent, have lived one upon another, with conditions attached which have given one class a very great advantage over another class, so that there is a glaring inequality in the distribution of wealth, and such a disturbance of the equilibrium, that it is exceedingly difficult to discover where, in future, the energies of the increased popul-'^ion can be profitably employed. Turning to the outer world, however, it will be seen that the genius of the American people ought to place the nation in the van of competing producers, if their success in the [75] 76 Looking Outward for Success, development of an unprecedented internal commerce can be taken as an indication of the quality of their ability and enterprise. These elements should find Hiost ample ro(jm for play in the creation of a foreign commence of equal or grenter pro|)ortions. Why the American youth should n(jt have his Chances of Success immeasurably enlarged by the opj)()rtunity to trade with the rest of the world, it is impos- sible to say. If by a change in tliC mode of taxation, a reduction in the expenditures of the government, a lessened need of high prices, the cost of articles for export could be reduced, it would seem that a field would then be opened for energy and effort, hitherto practically closed to the American youth. it is true that the policy of the government in the encouragement of home manufactures, the profit derived from the development of the resources of the country, and the intensity of the occupation > the people in making the most of what has been given them, have made it unneces- sary up to this time to cultivat'j a foreign commerce. But having reached a point where production has passed possi- ble absorption, where the limitations of area make it diffi- cult to estimate further increase in the volume of business, and where the Chances arc so few for the coming generation, it seems proper and necessary that a different policy should hereafter prevail. The same ability, the same enterprise and inventive skill, which have made possible a trade of such enormous proportions between commonwealths so wide apart within the United States, can accomplish just as much with countries foreign to it, and realize even larger returns for the benefit of both parties. What Great Biitain has done in respect to foreign com- merce it is not impossible the United States can do with even greater advantage. British sails whiten every sea, and the earnings of Great Britain's maritime investments are probably as great as the profits of our entire agri- cultural exports. The business which British ships do in E(]itippcd for Success Abroad, 77 handling American passeng-crs and American ficit^lit, at times, equals the total profit on the produce liandled by the grower, the carrier, and the merchant. Hut it is not alone in maritime commerce that Great Britain realizes a piotit from the outer world. Her distribution of manuLicturi'd good' is well-nigh universal. In Australia, as in Africa, in Asia as well as in America, customers of Britisii merchants handle British goods with a proht that enriches the nici- chants and employs the artisans. A mere speck upon t hi' ocean, this great power has, by her foreign trade, dominated the commerce of the world, and levies tribute from every nation under the sun. If Great Britain can accomplish so much, and other nations, like Germany, France, Belgiuiu and Ilolhuui, fol- low in her wake, what is to prevent the United States from occupying relatively as good a position before the world ? All these countries named are distant from sources of food supply. The United States has in this respect an advan- tage that no other manufacturing country possesses. Great manufacturing cities, like Philadel[)hia, Milwaukee, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are located near all tlieir supplies, and have the advantage of being able to assemble within a very narrow area raw material such as these foreign coun- tries must import from great distances. Thus, in timber, coal and iron, copper, nickel, and nearly all other metals, they have at every point a coign of vantage which foreign cities do not possess. In New England, there is some dis- tance intervening between labor, on the one hand, and the sources of supply of food and raw material, on the other; but an obliteration of the barrier between the Canadian Provinces and the States, would obviate this great difficulty and give New England a position as a manufacturing centre possessing great advantages over any foreign competitor. There is, therefore, a prospect that just as soon as taxa- tion is re-adjusted, and the burdens resting upon the people by govermental influence removed, there will be such a I 78 Looking Outward Joy Success. reduction of price possible for the manufactures of this country as will enable it to enter the markets of the world with an equal Chance of Success. With that in view, it would seem to be the duty of every business man, as, indeed, of every youth who contemplates business, to inform them- selves more fully as to the wants of foreign nations, and study how perfectly these wants can be supplied from this country. A step in this direction was taken in the Reciproc- ity Treaties negotiated by Mr. Blaine. The results have not yet been as broad and beneficial as it was hoped they would be, but even this encourgement by a party pledge'i to protection and the creation only of internal trade, was an admission that the outside world afforded a field in which the American people might find their opportunity. The publication by the State Department of information in relation to the wants of countries with whom treaties were made, helped not a few to a realization of the magnitude of the trade that was possible, but, like all State publications, their circulation was very limited, and the information which is even now obtainable, is exceedingly small. It may be safe to say that ignorance prevails to a greater extent in this country than in any other as to the require- ments of foreign nations, and the opportunities that offer for the interchange of products and the possibilities of profit to this country remain undeveloped. Travel, study, intercom- munication, and a larger apprehension of the mission of the United States in the world, so far as trade and commerce are concerned, are among the necessities of the hour, if the business future of the country is to be as glorious as the past. A new destiny awaits this people if they will but turn their gaze outwards and see what their true mission is; if they will but use their intelligence and natural resources and advantages in the creation of a foreign commerce, in which there will be much profit. The Chances of Success are therefore more likely from looking outward than from looking inward. The Influence of the "Sun." There is no newspaper in the United States more nni- versally read by newspaper men than the New York Sini. It is a tribute to tlie hi<;h order of ability which Mr. Charles A. Dana possesses, and with wiiich he has surrounded him- self, that no matter how much people tiiay differ with his paper, every ncws{)aper man reads it. If, therefore, it is im[)ortant that the press of the country should be imbued with any distinctive idea, or saturated with a cer- tain kind of information, it is only necessary that the Sftft should be first convinced of its value and interest, to have it thorough!}' digested in the minds of those who make the opinion of the country. This thought is evoked by a circumstance, which, when it occurred, was of a trifling nature, but which has had C(jn- sequences of a very wide- spread character. The occasion was a dinner party at the house of Mr. M. W. Ilaseltine, the accoti^plished literary critic of the Sn/i, whose reviews, Gold\vin Smith, the master of English, declares to be the best in the ti^KuIsh language. Present at this dinner were Mr. Cl.i'. )e:; ^^. 3ana and Mrs. Dana, Mrs. Jc.'fferson Davis anu jNTs' D;;v , and several other distinguished individ- uals. Th:.. vv.iter had the honor of taking in Mrs. Dana and sitting at her side, near, also, to Mrs. Davis. ■ The conversation, of all strange things, turned on the future :ood supply, the exhaustion of arable land, land hunger, and kindred topics. It seemed somewhat singular that a subject so foreign to the usual pursuits of ladies should interest them ; but, somehow, the subject seemed to absorb their attfiuion greatly, and as the writer proceeded to air his notion tnat a great revolution in the next genera- tion impended o- this question, he happened to mention li li i J [79] 8o Two Appreciative Ladies. that recently there had been sent him some valuable con- tributions, which, if they could reach the public, would startle the world. Thus the possible cessation of the export of breadstuffs, the occupancy of all the arable land, the great disparity between consumption by increase of popula- tion, and the relative increase of area and productive power, indicated, before many years a complete and perfect ciiange would occur in the food question and all other economic considerations following therefrom. It was maintained that the Chances of Success of the coming generation would be immensely influenced by these considerations. The ladies were good enough to say as they rose that they had been greatly amused and interested in being " drenched " with the talk of the writer on this far away and uninviting subject. As Mrs. Dana retired, she leaned over the shoul- ders of her distinguished husband, and said : " You should talk with Mr. VViman on a subject which he has greatly interested us in. I believe he has some very valuable information which you would like to have." It was a singular incident that a lad}' should suggest to a great editor the investigation of a subject of such vast im- portance as the future food supply of the world, at a dinner where the topics discussed were supposed to be of the lightest and most ephemeral character. Nevertheless, Mr. Dana followed the cue which his intelligent wife gave him, and, seating himself beside the writer, asked about the ques- tion which seemed so much to interest the ladies. The writer then unfolded the fact that a farmer, by the name of C. Wood Davis, of Goddard, K uisas, had prepared a series of articles on the question of the future fov^d supply, the exhaustion of arable soils, land hunger, etc., which he (Mr. Wiman) had in his desk, and which he would be very glad to dispose of. The strong point urged b}: Mr. Davis, it was explained lo Mr. Dana, was that the rapid occupancy of the wheat anc' corn belt would soon see it all taken up, and that the whole \ Economics at Dinner. 8i |i \ economic condition of the country was likely to be seriously affected thereby. Strange as it may appear, the writer had it in his power to relieve Mr. Dana's mind of any possibil- ity of starvation of the American people, by stating- to him that he had also in his desk an article, from a totally differ- ent source, setting forth the extent and fertility of tlie great- est wheat field the world possesses, namely, the almost boundless areas of the Canadian Northwest. Simultane- ously with the cultivation of the acquaintance of Mr. Davis and his theories of exhaustion and land hunger, communica- tion had been opened with Mr. James Taylor, of Winnipeg, tiie American consul, whose knowledge of the great North- west, both of the United States and Canada, is most com- plete. Mr. Taylor, in a long life of quiet usefulness, has rendered great service to his Government, also to the peo- ple of Canada, by his varied extent of knowledge and per- fect apprehension of the greatness of the region in which he resided. He had been prevailed upon to prepare a paper to show that, as against absorption of land in the United States, there was an unlimited supply in Canada, and as si'ich a conception by the American people might help a commer- cial union between the two peoples, it seemed important Mr. Dana should be duly impressed with both conditions. At the invitation of the editor of the Sun, these articles were sent to his office, and, after being examined, what was the surprise of the writer to find in the following Sun- day's Sun, no less than five of the editorial columns of that great paper occupied with the first of the articles, double leaded, in large type, and filled with compilations of the utmost value from a statistical point of view, and with con- clusions that seemed irresistible. It is true that many of these conclusions, especially as to expected higher prices for grain, to the deficiency in the crops, to lessened exports, and other points, have not been fulfilled; but, taken as a whole, it is doubtful if any series of articles ever possessed such universal interest and so perfectly impressed a coni^ i'l I : 82 77ie Bent of hiformation. inunity of readers, especially in nevvspaperdom, as did these. Subsequently Mr. Taylor's great paper appeared and after- wards was synopsized in Harper s Weekly, and those who apprehended its great significance, were provided with most valuable information. Since then the Sun has been periodically enriched from Kansas with most important contributions, always adopted editorially and always occupying several columns in the most prominent position. In addition, kindred topics of the profoundest interest, such as the supply of grain from India, of cotton from the same country, of the much improved prospect of the cotton planter of this country, and, espec- ially, of the total exhaustion of the public domain in the United States, have all found elucidation. It is somewhat strange that all this should have resulted from an earnest half-hour's talk with two intelligent ladies, one the wife of the late President of the Southern Confed- eracy, the other the wife of the Assistant Secretary of War during the rebellion, both being entertained in a period of peace, and informed b}'' a stranger from the Great North Land on a subject of interest sufficiently profound to occupy the widest space in the greatest of journals and thus impress at first the newspaper mind of the country. How far beyond the newspaper mind the information furnished by Mr. Davis, through Mr. Dana, has pervaded, may be judged by the following news item appearing a day or two after one of the most recent articles of the great series that found their suggestion at the pleasant dinner party referred to. *' Washington, Sept. 13. 1893. — The editorial article in last Sunday's edition of The Sun, entitled ' The Farmers and the Crisis,* has attracted a great deal of attention here. All the newsdealers had their supply of Suns exhausted with unusual rapidity, and extra copies are still called for. Among the pur- chasers were prominent Senators, members of the House, and important men in the Administration. I What is the Likelihood of Starvation ? 4 • Browsing among the magazines one Sunday a few years ago, my attention was drawn to an article in T/ie Forum, entitled " The Exhaustion Df Arable Soils," by C. Wood Davis, of Peotone, Kansas. The title was not very attractive, but the subject, on a moment's reflection, seemed to be a most important one. The reading of the article justified this view of the topic : If it is a fact that soils exhaust with great rapidity, and that there is no sys- tematic and effective means of restoration, the future supply of food would seem to b^^ more or less threatened. This reflection found an illustration i!i the numerous abandoned farms of New England, and the steady West- ward trend of tlie cultivation of wheat, so that now two- thirds of tlie suppl}' is derived from the most distant States, gave point to this thought. So interesting was the article of Mr. Uavis, that a letter was written to liim, thanking him for the information and urging liim to pursue the study of the question of the food supply of the future, which he seemed to have more than the ordinary ability to discuss and elucidate. A reply was received stating that he was a farmer in Kansas, that he had given a great deal of attention to the subject, and had compiled a Compendium, which, if the crops were good enough in the summer, he would have money to print, and he would send a copy. The basis was here made for a relation with a source of informa- tion of the greatest possible interest, and a connection with a man whose study, knowledge and grasp of the question of the future food supply of the world is unapproached. A memorandum in a diary was made to write Mr. Davis again when the crops were harvested, and a letter was written in September to know of the Compendium was likely to come [83] Population nnd Productiou, li [li out ; but, finding- tliat the crops had failed, a check foi- the amount of its cost was transmitted. The result was that from the office of the Wichita Eagle was transmitted shortly after a tabulated statement, which t(> those who apprehended its full meaning, \yus q1 the deepest significance. Perhaps the most important point brought out in it was the simple statement that while, in the ten years preceding, the ])opulation of the world had increased at the rate of ii per cent., the area of food production had only increased at the rate of 3 per cent. At the first glance it would seem that if these figures held their relative proportions in the next two or three decades, the United States, and especally Canada, would occupy a very important position in furnish- ing the food supply of the world. It was generally sup- posed that the United States had an unlimited area and a practically unrestricted capacity to produce food. Mr. Davis, however, reveals a very different state of affairs, and makes the prediction that within fifteen years, so great will be the increase in population, and so restricted the area of production, that exports of bread-stuffs will entirely cease ! This is a most startling conclusion, for it will affect the future prospects of every boy and girl in the land, and involve changes in the economic condition so vast as to be almost revolutionary. If we cannot export manufactures, and cease to export food products, while paying 3 or 4 million dollars a week in interest for foreign capital invested here, the evil condi- tions which now prevail in tbe money markfrt and in the de- pressed industries, may become permar»^nt where now they are temporary. This countr}'- perhaps can stand thirs, as with unrestricted trade between forty-four States, or nations, in products of every climate of every variety, there is a vast internal commerce ; but it is an open question whether pros- perity can long exist in any country without c^'itact wilh the world outside. Should it be a fact that wiieat, .orn, pM>' i I Whai is the Likelihood of Starvation 9 85 visions and olhcr food products slia'' cease to be exported, our debt-paying power would be greatly lessened. At the tirst blush it coems almost grotesque to hint at a failure of food supplie; in a country so large as this, when we recall that France, ',vith one-fifteenth of our area, and with 40 million people to feed, grows so much grain that she exports both wheat and flour, although so much of her area is taken up with vineyards, olive groves, etc. ; while even Great Britain, where many Americans suppose there is no farming at all, produces on her ver}^ limited culti- vated area a wheat crop one-seventh as large as ours, though the United Kingdom with Ireland, is about one twenty-fourth the size of the United States. But neverthe- less Mr. Davis' views are borne out by facts and figures which seem simply incontrovertible. '* But," says a critic, " why should we have any debts abroad, and, if the farmer gets as good a price for his product at home as at Liverpool, why should he want to export it ?" It might be replied that if we could do without bringing anything into the country it would be unnecessary to send any tiling out. But so long as we buy tea, sugar, coffee, wine, etc., so that our imports foot up a thousand million dollars a year, we must have something to export. Cotton, of course, will meet the payment to some extent, but if food products are not exported, we will have to remit money to pay for our tea, coffee, etc. The whole subject of food supply is full of the deepest significance to every young man in the country and, though it is somewhat dry and far away, it is so full of personal interest that it should be constantly con- |i ( (•■ The Land's End. The old song, "Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm !" is, alas! no longer true. Tlie fact that the national domain so far as tillable land is concerned, is practically exhausted, is a profoundly significant event as affecting the Chances of Success. Tl^'' general impression that the area of the country was practically illimitable, and that, in proportion to its area, it was cultivatabic, is only recently in process of correction. The realization of the fact that 40 per cent, of the countr}' is arid, and that the remaining 60 per cent, is largely occupied, limits the prospect for the future to a degree hardly realized by the people at large. The fact that out of a population of 65 millions the pro- portion inhabiting farms amounts to 30 millions, indicates the tremendous preponderance of the agricultural interest which it is necessary sliould exist in order to maintain pros- perity. If this interest for want of tillable soil cannot here- after increase in proportion to the growth from natural causes and immigration in other departments, it is a most moment- ous consideration. Without a corresponding growth in agricultural population, the ratio of increase cannot be main- tained in manufactures, in transportation, in merchandise and in everything else in which cities and towns are employed. It will be seen, therefore, that in contemplating the Chances of Success in the future as compared with the past, there is no one thing that is more impressive as the conclusion that this vast country, so far as cultivatable soil is concerned for the common people, has reached " Land's End!" Under circui^'^lances so important as these, the vast [86] i « I ili i li Where ivill the Future Fainur Go ? 87 . object lesson which was recently set before the notion by the struggle to obtain land, in the opening of the Cherokee Outlet, is of the deepest significance. No event of modern times has been more interesting or more pathetic than the struggle of tliDusands and thousands in this far Western country to secure a foothold on farms of their own. The vivid scnes which were enacted, in order to appease the " land hunger," which thirty years ago, nay ten years ago, would have seemed impossible, should convey to the youth of the country, as indeed to the business men, an impression of an influential and lasting character. The fact that a very large proportion of the eager com- petitors for farms came from the West, and that immigra- tion has practically set in eastward from the Rocky Moun- tains, is not more significant than the further fact that the departures from New York for foreign parts during the autumn months have been greater than arrivals, showing a shifting condition of population hitherto unknown in the United States, But the fact that the beginning of the end has come to the greatest agricultural movement in the history of man- kind, is worthy of more than passing notice, and those who are looking deep into the elements that make for success hereafter, should not ignore so tremendous a fact. The rapidity of occupancy in the last thirty years since the war of the cultivatable land in the United States can never again be repeated anywhere else. That that rapidity has helped forward the prosperity of the country, absorbing the output of the manufacturers, and keeping up the ratio of incease, — which has been the feature of every department of life, — it is easy to surmise. How far the absence of that growth in increase of occupancy will in the future lessen that ratio of increase, and limit the opportunities of those now seeking a living, is not so easily settled. For instance, in 1865, the cultivated acres in the six great distinctive groups of States, were only eighty-one million )il} r' !! i ; ! 1 88 TJic Land's Jind. acres, while in 1893 they were 206 millions, an increase of 154 per cent, in less tlinn thirty years, is a fact of great importance, and it is a fact of still greater moment that it cannot be repeated in the next thirty years. Thns, in the Missouri Valley States (comprising Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota and the Dakotas) in 1865, there were only 6,300,000 acres under cultivation ; to-day, there are sixty-seven million acres under control. An increase in this most fertile section of 971 per cent, in thirty years has done much for the nation, as from the region in question two- thirds of our food supply is now drawn. Agricultural development on this scale cannot again occur in the United States, and the fact that hereafter, within the Union, no further expansion is likely, so alters the economic conditions surrounding any increase of trade or increased absorption of manufactures, that every man who thinks of these things is brought face to face with a problem that can only be solved bv time. This country is equipped for expansion, and its tendency is toward increase from the experience it has hitherto had. Now, it has got to change its |)oIicy, restrict its operations to the limits already attained, or it n.ust have more terri- tory in which to expand, or materially change its modes of procedure. If the ratio of increase in the first three decades of the century now coming (and within the best years of all the young men of the land) does not equal that of the last three decades, over-production, congestion and disaster impend. Either there must be a lessened output or a larger market. Hence, that is the true policy which looks out- wards for markets, and endeavors to discover outside of the country, a field of opportunity for the employment of the forces which the expansion of thirty years has set in motion. One in a Millio*^, ii Long in advance of the Cash Registers, — which now occupy a place in almost every retail establishment, — an employee of the firm with which 1 was connected invented a Cash Recording Machine. Its purpose was to register all cash receipts and stand, as it were, between the buyer and the seller for the yjrotection of the proprietor. The foreign patents, it was presumed, would be very valuable, and, as the Paris Exposition of 1878 was about opening, it was determined to send a model for exhibition, so that n com- pany might be formed to exploit the device in France. The only objection to sending this model to the Exposition was that the head of the firm was visiting Paris, and if he discovered that his partners and emjtloyees were engaged in the invention and promotion of a machine, his confidence in their devotion to his business might be shaken. But a friend in Paris, to whom the model was sent, said that as the chief did not speak French, he would place himself unreservedly in the liands of his Paris friend, who would see that no danger need be anticipated, as the location of the device in the Exposition was reiuote and the chief would be steered away from it. Accordingly the machine was sent over and duly installed and exhibited, exciting a good deal of attention, and getting a gold medal. But the head of the house did not see it, nor did he have any inkling that any of his partners or em- ployees were represented in any way at the Exposition. It came to be revealed to him, however, in a way that surprised us all. It was this. There was a lottery attached to the Exposition, the chances in which were sold at one franc each, and numbering in all the enormous figure of one million chances; a number sufficiently large it wcnild seem 90 II 020 Ih'itaiji Trades, to let this machine escape notice. As the Casli Register cost less than §50 and had received a medal, it was among the prizes to be won. Strange as it may appear, the single franc chance which tiie chief purchased, out of the million, turned up to be the winner of the Cash Recording Machine! It revealed to the astonished gaze of the gentleman the innocent conspiracy of his employees to carry on an enter- prise of which he might disapprove. It was a marvelous coincidence, ar. 1 an illustration of the truth of the adage : " Be sure your sin will find you out." I i I (I M Judjed by wliat the United States can do, within the forty-four nations that make up the Union, the Chances of Success which it may offer in the creation of a foreign trade seems now almost immeasurable. The British Islands, which arc but a speck upon the map of the world, have by their outside policy created a commerce the great- est the world has ever seen. The English-speaking people of the old world have not one tithe of the advantages of the English-speaking people of the new world. Yet this group of 35,000,000 of people in Great Britain levy tribute from every nation under the sun, and by their commercial supremacy on the sea, and in Europe, are the advance- guard of civilization in all the world, and the great monetary force that regulates the financial transactions of the universe. If Great Britain, in her remoteness from food supplies, with her inability to produce anything like an equal pro- portion of the raw material which she consumes, and at dis- tances from the greatest centres of consumption, has made tins record for herself in the commercial world, what may not her offspring do on this side of the sea? Between Seller and Buyer. In this connection, involving in a ertain degree the early history of Cash Recording Macliines, it may not be out of phice to remark upon the ability which enables a man or a group of men to levy tribute upon almost every petty sale that takes place in the country. Recent mechanical and business appliances have resulted in companies or individ- uals occupying a place between buyer and seller in all the retail transactions that take place. Thus the Cash Register, made at Dayton, Ohio, the Lamson device of Boston, and others, in imitation of these, are found in almost every saloon and cigar store where the multiple of five cents occurs in every purchase. It is astonishing to what an extent this device has grown in public appreciation, how long it was in coming, and how admirable it is as a check upon employees, and as a satisfaction to employers. But there is still ano- ther device with which the writer has had to do, and which to a still larger extent levies tribute upon transactions, and occupies a place, as it were, at the counter of every store in the country, between the buyer and the seller. Reference is made to the little pad or check book, which is now almost universally used, upon which to record the transaction, to notify the " bundlcr," and to check the cashier and, generally, to note the sale. Three-fourths of the little pads in use are made at one place — Ningara Falls, by the Carter Co. This company possesses the patent for the binding of the pads and for the provision at the top to insert a carbon leaf, which, in a sense, controls the trade. By the aid of special machinery, costing over a quarter of a million, invented for the purpose, and great business capncity the Carter Co. now supply these check books to an extent that involves millions of transactions each year, on every [91] ,1 .,^, i aa^R W] ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^ I- 1^ 1^ 12.2 ^ y£ 1112.0 11.25 i 1.4 1^ 1.6 m ^ A "^ Photographic •on Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4S03 ;^^\ iV ^v k •s? :\ \ ;\ » 9> 1^^ ip *- <^\^ "^y^^ ^ %* #^> 6^ 92 Bctivccn Seller and Buyer. It one of which some trifle of profit goes to that concern. The idea , this check book originated in Toronto, the native city of the writer, and, after expanding itself through Canada, it was suggested that the device should be introduced into the United States, and the wi iter was consulted as to the location and mode of procedure. Under his advice Niagara Falls was selected as a good point, ample power being obtainable, with first-rate distributing facilities, and near- ness to supplies of paper. Commencing in a very small way the company has gradually grown until, it is said, its profits now reach $250,000 per annum ! The strength of the patents have been seriously attacked, but, up to this time, they have survived. When serious competiton is threatened a shrewd purchase of the competitor is effected, and thus far the field is securely held. The lesson to be learned from this success is, that how- ever slight may be the return in the individual transaction, the ability to get into the swim and participate, no matter how remotely, in what is going on in the world, is one of the best ways to mrke money. Who could have imagined that in the office of Grip, — a humorous paper published in Toronto, — there should originate a business which was to penetrate every store throughout this broad land, and levy tribute on every transaction of this, \.\\z greatest trading nation under the sun ! It would seem that men migl.t be benefited by the experience of others, and that the path that led to success on the one hand, or the road that ended in failure on the other, should be plainly marked. Yet, beyond the narrow range of personal contact with men, or newspaper comment, there is little that is available to teach the way. Much that is printed day by day is misleading, often partial and rarely helpful to those who need guidance. The Average Condition of Mankind. Not a few [>coplc whose minds run towards economic considerations were set tliinkinj; by a sinj^Ie sentence in General Booth's ' Darkest Eiii^land," to this effect : " That the avcrnjrc cab horse in London was better cared for tlian the averajj^e man; tliat three meais a (hiy were given to the horse, shelter and warmth provided and his life generally more assured and comfortable than the life of the man, a mere unit in the dense mass of people in London, who are always on the verge of want." It does seem singular that in the center of civilization, wSiere such immense wealth gravitates, and to wliich the world sends its surplus of products, that the condition of the mass of humanity should be less desirable than that of the beasts of the field. Of course, it is an exaggerated view, and yet it has enough truth in it to make us question th.e con- ditions that create it. In a country so small as England, with cities so largely out of proportion to the sustaining power of the land, with the results of long-continued and mistaken social customs in ti.v. existence of preferred classes, in the entail of land and its possession in large blocks by certain families, there is much to account for some of the ills which average humanity suffers in a country in which riches are so diffused. The constant increase of population from natural causes the centralization at London of all the energies of a (i-reat empire, and the contributions from all countries, would naturally enough beget a congestion which even a vast foreign trade, and successful maritime ventures, with an incessant flow of money in the shape of interest, do not relieve, because the results do not get distributed. The difficulty of getting employment, the lack of the stimulant i93j hi 94 The Avcraoi Couditioii of MtxukiJid, of the liope of property, ami tlic ignor.'ince a:ul vice engen- dered by [)()verty and (overcrowding, combine to render the mass of humanity liopeless of improvement in tlie midst of a higii civilization. It cannot but make one think that there is something radically wrong in tiie economy of things, that permits so vast a crime against iuimanity, as the existence of tiie belief that the condition of the average man is no better than that of a cab iiorse. Turning, however, to America, wiiich has been described as " the hist, best gift of Providence to mankind," and we find that very few of the disabilities under whicii humanity labors in Europe exist here. There is amplitude of space, richness of soil, variety of climate, most successful means of communication and every element pointing to prosperity and happiness. Vet it is a fact that, somehow or other, the great mass of tliose who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, are having a very hard time of it. Their aver- age condition is not nearly so far above the average condi- tion in England as the circumstances of the two countries would seem to demand. Take, for instance, the large aggregate population of the largest American cities as the result of an increase in the last ten years at the enormous rate of sixty per cent, and closely analyze the state of even the mechanical contingent, much less the labor class. It will be found that about one- half of them have the very narrowest ledge on which to rest for the suppl}' of mere daily wants. It is true that in some of the smaller cities in the past many of them have accumulated, and, by means of Savings Banks and notably Building Loan Societies, have secured accumulations and homes of their own. It is true that deposits in the Savings Banks are everywhere large and growing, and it is equally true that where there has been industry, thrift and favoring conditions, the rank and hie of the wage-earning class in The Average Coiditioi of Maiilatid. 95 t . America occupy a liiij^li place compared with the same class elsewhere, end it oiii;"ht to be so universally. But thinj^s are chaui^iiii^. and there is a possibility that a large proportion will lessen their accumulations and that a stil! greater number will have the hardest kind of scratching to get a living at all, brings up at once the question whether the economy that prevails in our affairs here is altogether the true one or not. Getting out of the cities into the mines, it is found that the condition of the average miner is only slightly better than the worst conditions that prevail in England or even in Russia. A bare existence for the miner, with a life of the greatest difficulty and hardship, is the rule throughout Penn- sylvania, Ohio and other States. The struggle for existence by the rank and file of the great group of humanity that delves in the mines is the keenest battle of life that is seen on this continent. There is something wrong in the face of high j)rotection to mining interests on the one hand, the freedom of admission of the lowest class of laborers from abroad on the other, the abundance of the supply of material, and the enormous demand for the product, side by side with this state of affairs. What is wrong, and how is it that things cannot be bet- ter adjusted, and the benefits of God's providence more evenly scattered? Of course, it's heresy to talk about Socialism, but the tendency to wish for a universal distribu- tion of property is much more prevalent in despotic coun- tries than here, where it is to be presumed that the greater opportunities, and the abundance of the means of living would discourage that sentiment. But it is difficult to ignore the thoughts that obtrude themselves when one realizes the wealth of certain classes, who do nothing, and the utter and hopeless poverty of the class upon whom the social fabric rests. None of these reflections as to the condition of the classes forming the foundation of the fabric of the internal com- 96 The Average Comiition of Mankind. inerce of the country arc jiistificd here, except in so far as they affect the |)urchasin^ power and tlie debt-paying power of the people. Merchants wlio arc selling goods to men in poor circumstances on credit, manufacturers who are selling these merchants, bankers who are sustaining these manufacturers, and statesmen who are legislating for all, must begin to realize that conditions here do not make for success in life, where there is such a wide disparity between the poverty of the one class and the wealth of the other. Next to the wage-earners in the cities and the miners in the mines, the condition of the farmer and planter is a con- sideration of great moment. Statistics in regard to them reveal a volume of indebtedness of such proportions as to startle those who realize what the constant payment of interest means. The rapid expansion of agricultural effort in the last twenty years, the hare! times "which the farmer seems to have encountered, arising from various causes, of depressed prices for his products, high cost of living, the heavy rate of taxation, and the steady payment of interest, seem to have left him in a condition almost of serfdom to the circumstances surrounding him. It is true that in the older States the position of the farmer is not a bad one, though the exhaustion of arable soils in the Middle States, especially for bread producing purposes, the slow change from one kind of cultivation to another that would seem more profitable, together with the temptations to inordinate expenditures for implements, pianos, carriages, etc., have impoverished him as a rule. He has a better chance, how- ever, to recover himself than any other class. But his present state of semi-poverty, in the face of possible abundance, and the fact that he owns his land, is a commentary upon the economic policy that now prevails which is not encour- iging. As to the youih who is casting about for a place in the industrial world, who is eager to discover the signs of the times for his guidance, he will do well to consider, more The .Irerai^i- Condition of Mankind. 97 than he has done in the past, the great question of the con- dition of those low down in the social scale in a country where tiie suffrage is universal, where politics takes its tone direct from the lower, rather than the higiicr strata of society, and from which nearly all the power of propulsion in progress and prosperity emanates. It must not be ignored that a very vital change has taken place in condi- tions surrounding this class, as compared with those that prevailed when their fathers set out upon the same journey. Elsewhere an attempt is made to set forth tiie causes of this state of affairs among the people who work for a living. It is sufficient here, however, to direct the attention of the men who do the thinking to that condition which exists to-day, and which must for some time continue to exist. Ss iJ 1! |;i !l m The exact sciences seem susceptible of almost perfect acquirement. To be eminent in Astronomy, in Geology, in Mathematics, in Chemistry or even in Electricity, it is neces- sary only to apply intelligent industry to acquire the fullest knowledge. But in business those that know the most are sometimes the least successful. In the past it has often appeared that the most ignorant, narrowest and least cultivated mind has been that of the richest man in the com- munity. It will not be so in the future, because the princi- ples which have hitherto made men rich by the acquirement of property at low rates and its rapid advance through cir- cumstances to which they did not contribute, may change the conditions under which money was made by the father of the boys now enjoying it, and a new set of circumstances will have to be encountered in order to make fortunes. >!J •i: How Jay Gould made Ten Millions. Never in the histor}' of finance was there a more vigor- ous warfare, or a more successful move for millions, than was made by Jay Gould, seconded by his singularly able lieutenant, General Eckert, in tiic creation of the American Union Telegraph system, and its subsequent combination with the Western Union Telegraph Co. The Vanderbilts were in control of the latter, buttressed with ample means, with railroad connections that would seem to render them impregnable, so far as lines of communication were con- cerned. But Mr. Gould formed his new company with a capital of ten millions and five millions of bonds, and made such rapid strides in a few months as to strike terror into the camp of the Western Union. A contract was made with the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., involving a new prin- ciple, by which $100,000 a year was paid for the privilege of stringing wires along their lines, and the usual advan- tages included in an alliance between telegraph and railway companies. An arrangement was made with the Union Pacific lines, controlled by Mr. Gould, and other outlying systems, on behalf of the American Union Co., which, together with the acquirement of the Dominion Telegraph Co. of Canada, con- taining some 26,000 miles of wire, made it appear that in an incredibly short space of time a tremendous mileage of wire had been acquired and a most threatening competition assured. A vigorous pounding of Western Union stocks set in, the company was deprived by its rival of some of its best employees, and a considerable decline of its business resulted. This condition of competition and warfare throughout the country in telegraphic circles soon had its effect on the Western Union board. Holo Jixy Gould imuic 'l\'ii Millious. 99 With that oiisuiiiniatc ability of wliicli Gouhl was a master, very soon a movement was inaugurated for the con- solichition of tlie two <;rcat conflictin*]^ interests. It was made to appear tliat the American Union system would practically cover the country and one by one get hold of tiic railroads, and that for peace and profit it was absolutely necessary Western Union should enlarge its capital by a sufificient sum to " take in " the new company. This was accordingly done, and no less a sum than filteen million dollars in Western Union stock was paid to Mr. (iould [ind has associates for a property that j)robal)ly did not cost in . absolute outlay five million. Indeed, it was difficult to dis- cover where hvc million dollars had been expended. All the money, of course, had been advanced by Ciould, who naturally took all the stock, thus becoming ])ossesscd of a profit of ten million dollars, which, with the aid of General Eckert and a few associates, had been made within eighteen UKJiiths ! What was still more im[)ortant, large purchases by Gould and his friends of stock in Western Union yielded him an immense profit and wdu'ch, together with the fifteen millions, gave him practical control. Thus, this vast property, permeating every part of the United States and Canada, and affording a facility for in- stantaneous communication of the utmost value to the people at large, and absolutely essential to their progress, fell into the capacious hand of the great " Wizard of Wall Street." The Vanderbilt party at once retired from the administration, and have never since been heard of in tele- graph properties. To control such a pro})erty as the Western Union Tele- graph Co., is to wie.d a greater patronage than that pos- sessed by the President of the United States. To shape its destiny and grow with its growth is to play a part in the progress of the country permitted to no other position. It is but justice to Mr. Gould to say that, notwithstanding the enormous amount he made by this transaction, and the sud- ! !'■ icx) lloiv Jay Ctonld )}iadc fen Millions. {if (Icnncss with which lie came into possession of so ^reat a power, he met the respoiisibih'tiescjf the position in a manner worthy of it. He apprehended more tiian ahnost any other man the j^rcatness and usefulness of the proi)erty, and he never faltered in his desire to make it worthy of the j)atr()n- agcand confidence of the American people, lie was liberal and progressive in his administration, and the best side of his character was seen in his selection of a Board of Directors, comprising as it does the greatest aggregation of ability and wealth ever got together in this country. So enamored did Mr. Gould become of tlie possession that not only did he never sell any of the fifteen millions of stock which he acquired by the American Union deal, or the other purchases he made, making his holdings al that time some twenty-one millions, but he added constantly to his store, so that, at his death, a sum approaching thirty mil- lion dollars of Western Union stock was supposed to be either in his possession or under his control. So great a block of wealth invested in an instrumentality of commerce, so interlaced with the progress of this great country, so intrenched in the contracts of some two hundred railroad companies, so buttressed in the franchises of cities and towns and serving a pi:.Y<>se so essential in the social, financial and commercial departments of life, is i possession which any prince or potentate might well envy. The selection of General Eckert, therefore, to succeed the lamented Dr. Green, in the presidency of Western Union, -was but a merited tribute to the great ability he had displayed in the telegraphic combination, out of which Mr. Gould made so large a sum, and after which such great progress in the value of the property and its usefulness to the pv'.blic was achieved. Few men in the co'.ntry deserve better of the whole business community than General Eckert. His modesty, his rigid discipline, his breadth of view, and above all, his perfect knowledge of all the details of the tel- egraph system which covers the continent, indicates a fit- Hoiv Jay Gould made Ten Millions. loi ness for a position of such cniiiiciit usefulness, rnrely founil among the children of men. His trainin^r, iiis peculiar abil- ity and his entire personality would seem to he specially designed for the place he so well fills. The Gould interests being so great in amount and im- portance, much curiosity was felt as to the position which Mr. George Gould, as head of the family, would assume on the death of his father. His great holdings in Manhattan Elevated stock, in the Missouri Pacihc Railroad and other l)r()perties made him a distinguished figure in relation to them. It was in Western Union, however, with its expan- siveness of interest, its army of employees, and its compli- cated responsibilities, that any change of policy, or eccen- tricity of action were to be dreaded. It is greatly to the credit of the heir to so many millions and so much power, that by amiability of demeanor, modesty and steadiness of purpose, he has given assurance that the great fortune which his father built up will not only be conserved and increased, but that its usefulness to the country at large will be main- tained. The combination of the telegraph systems of the United States seemed easy enough, because all interests pointed in that direction, and large sums were to be made by carrying- it out. In Canada, however, the war seemed likely to con- tinue between the conflicting companies, one of which, the Dominion Co. had come into the possession of the Western Union in virtue of Gould's consolidation. The Montreal Telegraph Co., wdiich had been for many years the Canadian connection of the Western Union Co., was practically out in the cold, having no American relation. Its capital and property, which had cost about two million, was exposed to great loss. Stupidly enough, the two companies had been compet- ith each other for some time, and a rate as low as mg twenty cents per ten words for one thousand miles had i at ! i ii m been established. Neither concern had made a dollar of ii. 1 02 Thno Jay Gould made Ten Millions. money and, indeed, hot lj were rnnnini^ badly beliind. It was only a (incstion of lime when bankruptcy would be readied. It was left to be the good fortune of the writer of these lines to be I he means of savinj^;^ both conceins from this fate, and briui^inij^ about a consolidation of the two companies, and which had results of a far reaching char- acter. The charter for a company, which had been granted by the Dominion Parliament for the extension of telegraphs in the Northwest, under the style of the great North Western Telegraph Comj)any i)f Canada, was made available, and in the purchase of the control of its stock at Winnipeg a narrow escape was made. Two parties were after this charter, and some good Montreal friends made a bid for it by mail, sending the money by draft, and thought they had secured it. But a bid by telegraj)!! and the telegraphic transfer of soiuc $50,000 in about twenty minutes, beat the slow-going mail, so that long before the letter arrived the stock was in the possession of the representative of the writer and its control for ever after secured. The next move was to get control of the Dominion Co. lease from the Western Union, which was accomplished, and then to make an offer to the Montreal Telegraph Co. of an eight per cent, dividend on its capital of two millions, with no less a proposition than the guarantee of the West- ern Union Co., which seemed a splendid piece of luck for the Canadian shareholders. It was truly a piece of good for- tune to be lifted at once out of a competitive struggle, in which money was being lost every day in the year, and to be placed at once on the firm foundation of an eight per cent, dividend, guaranteed by a concern so solid as the Western Union. This stopped all competition in rates, which had got down very low, and closed about 2500 com- peting offices. The difficulty of dealing with about a thousand hard-headed Scotch shareholders was very great, but victory was achieved after a struggle extending over IIoiv Jay Gould made Tcti Millions. 103 about six months, aiul involvinj^ many a struggle at yiicbcc, Ottawa, aiul Montreal. The result of all this consolidation has been that fur thirteen years the Montreal Telegraph Co. shareholders have received regularly dividends of eight per cent,, or an amount ecjuivalent to their entire capitalization, which, but for this amalgamation, would have been wiped out. The Dominion Telegraph Co. shareholders have received a dividend larger than they otherwise could have done. The service has been made efficient, and the Western Union Co. have been assured of a good and growing connection, especially in the Northwest, so that the result has been eminently satisfactory and highly profitable to all concerned. I lit ».j Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of the pleasures : costs nothing and conveys much. It pleases him who gives and him who receives, and thus, like mercy, is twice blessed. Each individual is his own pilot. Whether he steers his bark on the rocks of disaster, or in the end, safely rides in a haven of competence and happiness, depends upon himself alone. There is no chart to guide him in business like to that which a mariner is furnished of the untracked sea. Except a few sentences, in the shape of great principles, and the exercise of ordinal v commonsense, the way to com- petence, or even si ficiency, isasoften shaped bythecurrent of circumst lUces, * , found ny chance, as it is by deliberate choice or direction. The average man drifts with the tide, with a power always, however to shape his own course if he knew which way wa^ best. iii", H, 1fl Lord Lansdowne and the Millionairess Daughter. Il was at the State Ball, duting the Ice Carnival week in Montreal, that an incident occurred which won the grati- tude of a twenty-times millionaire, that even the capture of a telegraph system did not equal. Two families from the United States were in attendance at the Carnival, rivals in Railroad, Telegraph and other interests. The bitterness between them could only be compared to that which existed of old between the " Montagues and Capulets." It required a good deal oi finesse, having both as guests, to so manipu- late things that no preference should be shown, and no neglect be made apparent on either side. More fully informed as to the social requirements, the elder of the ladies concerned paid her respects to the representative of royalty, Lady Lansdowne, the wife of the Governor- General, at a levee held for that purpose. Hence she was in the charmed circle from which could be selected candi- dates for the " State quadrille " at the opening of the ball. Just then the request made by the husband of the younger lady — who had not been so thoughtful of the requirements of etiquette — for a presentation to Lady Lansdowne, with the expectation that she, too, might be in the quadrille of honor. The writer of these lines, thinking it entirely right, made the suggestion of an introduction to the Aide-de- camp in waiting upon Her Excellency. He, however, responded that it was impossible to present anybody in a public ball-room to the representative of royalty. If such presentations were permitted, the function would change its character, and, any one, no matter how much off-color, on the purchase of a ten dollar ticket might have that privilege. The request for an introduction to the represen- tative of Her Majesty was therefore refused. [104! Lord Lajisdowne and the Millionaire s DaugJiter. 105 For the moment it looked as if the social standing of the younger lady would be marred, especially if the New York papers should get hold of the circumstance of the refusal, and make much of the fact that the other family had been specially recognized by the vice-regal party and reigning social circle. The writer of these lines would be seriously blamed for the neglect should this occur. Troubled in his mind, he cast about, and getting a kindly glance from Lord Lansdownc, with whom he had a pleasajit relation, he frankly told his Lordship the difficulty of his position, that the wile of the richest and likely to be the most influential young man in America was desirous of an introduction to Lady Lansdowne in order that she might dance in the quadrille of honor; that her great rival in social and business pursuits had been accorded that honor; and it would be a very unpleasant result of this visit to Montreal unless the wife of the \'oung millionaire was recognized as she deserved to be on that occasion. It seemed to be, the writer said, against the rule that Her Exxellency should be approached in this way, but his Lordship perhaps had it in his power to solve the prob- lem. The response was immediate and extremely courteous. It was : " Introduce me to the lady, and I will vouch for her on your recommendation." I had the gratification of pre- seiuing her to His Excellency, who, offering his arm, con- ducted her to the dais where Lady Lansdowne was seated, and presented her in a few words, thus bringing her within the circle of social recognition. But he did more than this, he himself became her partner in the quadrille of honor. The lady was magnificently dressed and, metaphorically, as she treaded the mazy dance, her brows swept the stars, as well they might, as a most beautiful woman and excellent wife. On the return to New York, when the story was told how the daughter-in-law had been honored, the millionaire had a warmth of grasp in his hand for the writer, that never before or after seemed to linger there. ) i. An Economic Primer. Yes, truly, you are rii^ht ; it is only thirty years since the War. Well, do you consider that a short period in which to accomplish so much ? Thirty years is a very small space in the life of a nation, and it is the shortest time ever occupied in this world in the creation of so much wealtii as this nation now possesses as the practical result of thirty years. That wealth, un- fortunately, must be measured by the incomes of the rich people, rather than by an increase in the incomes of the average man or woman. Has not the increase, then, in incomes been universal ? By no manner of means ; the increase in the incomes of farmers, laborers, and mechanics has been in small propor- tion to the increase in the incomes of the manufacturers, the bankers, the railroad owners, and the middlemen gen- erally. You mean, then, that those who are at the basis of things have not prospered in the same proportion as those who are further up the scale toward the top ? Yes, it is a clear case of rush of blood to the head. The body, whether physical or politic, cannot be called truly healthy as long as that condition prevails. How do incomes in this country, in the commercial and manufacturing class, compare with those abroad? There is a greater number of large incomes in the great cities of America than in any other country. The average payment per day of the men who occupy independent houses in New York, is higher than the average of an equal number anvwhere on the earth's surface. How do you arrive at this conclusion ? [io6] Average huoDies of Rich and Poor. lo: Because the cost of property, the expense of living, the extravagance of tlie women, and tlie maintenance of social position generally, imply a far greater receipt of money weekly than is found in countries outside of the United States. In Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, St. Paul, Minneapolis, even in Kansas City, and cer- tainly in San Francisco, and, likely enough, in New Orleans, this ratio of income prevails. What is the relative income of the men in New York who labor for a living, compared with that which prevails abroad for the same class ? It is true that the income of the average worker in America is much greater than that of the average worker in Europe, but certainly not greater than the relative cost of living would call for. Strange, that \\\ a country of such abundance, the cost of living should be so high, and (hat the comparative superiority of wages should avail so little. You complain of the inequality of income, however, within the country itself. Yes, the profits in the aggregate arising out of business in this country are enormous, but the difficulty is in the ine- quality of distribution of the income, on the one hand, and the accumulation of wealth, on the other. How do you account for this? The incomes of the very rich arise out of combinations of industrial interests, by consolidation of transportation facil- ities, such as railroads, telegraphs, and street railways, the bunching together of flour, meat, starch, sugar, oil, whiskey, cordage and other interests, yielding a revenue to a few, far in excess of what in former years could be realized in any one of the several groups. You complain, then, of the excessive incomes of the few, and the meagre increase, if not diminution, of the incomes of the ma!iy ? Yes ; the inequality in the distribution of income is an evil feature of the hour. 11 i ii^. io8 An Economic Prwicr. Has tliis been more apparent since than before the war, and does not the progress of the country justify an increase so vast in the incomes of so many ? The growth of the country since the war has been great, but not sufificiently so to justify tlie exaggerated incomes of so many parasites, except at the expense of the great mass of the people. Tlien the progress of tlie country should not be judged by the exaggerated incomes of the Goulds, Astors, Vander- bilts, and tiie great landed proprietors of the cities? No ; the country has grown within itself, and by its own development enriched itself, but from the outer world very little wealth has been received. For the results of this growth in the shape of money there has been a scramble. Those who have got most of it are the rich, and they are likely to continue to get it. The great mass of the work- ing people have not become relatively much better off. Do you mean that, as a rule, since the war, the laboring and employed class are no better off? Hardly that. They are better off as a rule. Laborers, farmers, and employees do show some signs of progress, but estimating the increased cost of li\ ing, and viewing the increased compensation, it will be found that, compared with the growth of the rich, whovsc incomes have become enormous, the rank and file of the plain people have not prospered in the thirty years in anytliing like a ratio pro- portionate to the growth of the country. Can you briefly explain why this is? One reason is, the attempt to get rich by taxation. Those who are taxed cannot manage it, and those for whom the taxation was levied have succeeded in getting far more than their share. Then, to the policy of universal taxation for the benefit of a few, you attribute the inequality of the distribution of wealth and income ? Yes, that is about it. Exports Likely to Di))iiiiish. 109 But there are surely other causes? Yes ; tl\e wide expansion into new territory of the first fifteen years after the war caused much competition iimon*^ the farmers, while unlimited immigration has caused unlimited competition among the laboring class, which, of course, has tended to keep wag6s down. Equal to an army has been disbanded every year in the United States in the shape of a horde of immigrants, which has resulted in an industrial disturbance like that which would take place in Germany, for instance, if the German Army were dis- banded suddenly and cast on the labor market of that country. Is the remedy for this state of things in sight? Is there any chance of a more equal distribution of wealth and income ? Yes; a changed ^iscal policy, by which the world could be made tributary to the wealth of this country, yielding greater returns than could be hoped for from any policy which compels us to live upon ourselves alone. Do we not now levy a tribute from the world at large for what we export in the shape of bread stuffs, provisions, oil, cotton, tobacco, etc.? Yes ; we do send out to the value of one thousand million dollars a year, but that only suffices to pay for the tea, sugar, cofTee, wines, and luxuries which we import. One about balances the other. Are not exports likely to increase? No: on the contrary, they are likely to diminish, because the consumption of products increases at a tremendous rate, while the area of production has now about reached its limit. What, then, can we do to bring in money from the out- side ? By a reduction in the rate of taxation we can reduce the cost of the production of manufactures, and seek the markets of the world for what our mechanics and laborers produce, 1 1*:^ . T: H^i. mirmmatmmm I I ! I lO Chanocd Circumstances. instead of living upon ourselves alone. Thus, we will levy contributions from the world at large, which, scattered among our wage-earners, would beget a distribution more fair of the results of labor and effort. " At the season when you are young in years, the whole mind is, as it were, fluid, and is capable of forming itself into any shape that the owner of tlie mind pleases to allow it, or constrain it, to form itself into." — Carlyle, An honest attempt to impart the impressions and the results of the obs(Mvation in an active business career, and to disclose as far as may be possible the principles which achieve success, and the follies which result in failure, ought to be of some service. Yet the science of business is a most difficult stud3^ There seem to be few canons, the observa- tion of which make success absolutely certain in life. Men are exposed to so many contingencies that, no matter how rigidly they adhere to a certain course marked down for them, they may find the very path of safety end in disaster. The conditions which environ them differ so materially from those in which previous success has been achieved, that until perfect knowledge is had of the surroundings of each, the task of advisin^: is almost futile. " There is no more common thought among young peo- ple than that foolish one, that by-and-by something will turn up by which they will suddenly achieve fame or fortune. Things do not turn up in this world unless somebody turns them up." — Garfield, Banqueting Celebrities. The writer of tlicse lines was once introduced to the Press Ckib of New York, by that soul of cleverness in all senses, Congressman Amos J. Cummings, in these words: " I am about to introduce to you a gentleman who is play- ing a star engagement before the American public, and, d — n his eyes, he gets his advertising for nothing." Of course, in reply it was said that in such a presence a deed of this kind was a high crime and misdemeanor, but that it might be safely assured that no one got his advertis- ing for nothing. Perhaps the largest space given to gratuitous publicity ever attained by a single individual, resulted from four ban- . quets which it was the good fortune of the writer to give, and which, perhaps, as a lesson to others who need it, might be imitated, if circumstances favored the party attempting it as much as they did him who dispensed the hospitality in question. A great banquet was given on Staten Island, in 1885, to the President and Executive of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road Co., signalizing the consummation of a contract between that great corporation, represented by Robert Garrett, whom we deemed a Prince from afar, and the little Staten Island Railroad, which was dubbed for the nonce a " Nut brown country maid." It was an occasion to advertise the Staten Island project from one end of the country to the other, and the event was celebrated with more than ordin- ary success. The guests numbered nearly three hundred, and comprised the Governors of the various States through which the Baltimore and Ohio R. R. Co. passes, the Mayors of the various cities, the leading railroad people in the land (not in competition with the Baltimore & Ohio), the officials [III] I- m I'll I 12 Foiu'iccii Co/ic/nns of Advertising. Hi i! of the city, and a j^alaxy of pressmen, in all a moit repre- sentative group. George William Curtis, the silver-tongued orator of Statcn Island, made a speech never to be forgot- ten by those who heard it. The flow of oratory was so well handled for the New York press, that the report occupied no less than fourteen columns in the N. Y. Tribiutc, alleged by the business manager to be more than had been allotted to any one sub- ject since the funeral of President Lincoln. This was the measure of the occupnncy of the papers all over the country. A line of steamers ran all night from an improvised dock, at the Pavilion Hotel, Staten Island, direct to the Battery; four stenographers every ten minutes read their nolcs to telegraph operators, who, for the first time in the history of banquets, were brought with wires and instruments into the anteroom of the dining hall, and from one end of the country to the other, there was a presentation of the advantages which would come to the Baltimore and Ohi:), and especi- ally to the Staten Island enterprise, by this union of interest. Another good piece of advertising was once got for the project of a Commercial Union between the United States and Canada, in which the writer was profoundly interested, by the captureat Niagara Fallsof the Pan-American Congress, which Mr. Blaine had summoned from the South American Republics. They were being toted around the country from place to place, but were as closely guarded as if they were in a glass case. Finding that they would be at Niagara Falls on a certain Sunday afternoon, with nothing special on hand, the proposal was made that they should visit the Canadian sli ore, just across the river, and be the guests of the writer at a dinner at the Clifton House. Coming from countries so remote as South America, Canada seemed far away to these delegates. They were grateful for the opportunity of putting their feet on Canadian territory and on British soil. Accordingly, at the Clifton House, a sump- tuous banquet was provided, and with the aid of some prom- 0/-/i^//i of Mr. Blaiiics Rccipjociiy. "3 e )n le [)f \\\ r le inent Knijlish Canadiniis, licruled by riofcssoi- Goldwin Smith, the most ciiiincnt Kiii;lhsli scholar of his timr, a lieartv wclcosnc was affoidcLl to the mcmlx-is ol the Con- gress. Reciprocity was not then dreamed of. Indeed, it would have been regarded as iieresy against Protection, and Mi-. Blaine and liis lieulenants were very nervous for fear some- thing would be said that would savor of Free 'I'rade. The writer, however, was unable o contain himself on an occasion so marked as the visit of the representatives of so many nations, containing a population of fifty millions, and who honored him with theii presence in his native land. He, therefore, could not resist the temptation to [)reach " better trade relations " between all the peo[)le of the con- tinent, North and South. He was followed by a speech of Gold win Smith, on the same lines, and, though it was wSun- da}' afternoon, seed was sown in these "sermons" that after- wards took root in the mind of JNIr. Blaii.e himself and blos- somed forth into the Rcciprocitv Treaties, which, like the glow of the setting-sun, cast a ray of light over the close of his great career. These reciprocity speeches created consternation in the Protectionist ranks in charire of the con^-ress. To such an extent did they ofTend Mr. Blaine's representatives, the custodians of the traveling congress, that next morning the writer was refused admission to the special train which was to convev the party to Buffalo, where a s:reat banquet had been provided at a hotel, in the lobby of which the writer wandered alone and disconsolate, having so seriously offended the powers that; w^ere, that they would not invite him even to break bread with his guests of the day before ! Nevertheless, the advertising which the project of better relations got from one end of the country to the other was never equalled b}' any other banquet of that kind. Column after column of abuse and praise appeared throughout the country. The New York Sun, having its fling at the III fi i;| 114 Ba )i q net i no Celt br itics. administration, said tliat. tiic move " to capture the congress and carry it into Canada, where it could be talked to, was a stroke of diplomacy worthy of a genius." The dinner at the Clifton House, Niagara Falls, to the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain, was also an occasion when a good deal of first-class adveiLising was got in Canada, and the government of that country got a lesson they were not slow to learn. This great body, numbering several hundreds of Iron Masters and their connections in England, had an annual banquet of their own at Delmonico's, with only half-aclozen guests. The writer was honored with a seat at the head of the tables, and, because of that distinguishing mark of recognition, he determined that when they went to Canada they should at least have some attention paid them. The American people had laid out a fine programme of enjoyment on a liberal scale, while the Canadians, who had more at stake, seemed asleep. To let the English people understand how important it was that the relation between the two countries should be more intimate, it was determined that occasion should be taken at Niagara Falls to illuminate the subject. Accordingly, on the return from the northern route of the Institute, provis- ion was made at the Clifton House, Niagara Falls, for a purely Canadian dinner. Fish from Hudson Bay , venison from the woods of Muskoka ; duck from Long Point; mutton from Middlesex; potatoes, four pounds each, from Manitoba ; and apples from Nova Scotia as big as one's head. All this, with grapes from ** a section of Italy," near the Falls, made a characteristic repast. The speech-making was short, but very much to the point, the chief attention being drawn to the fact of the division between the English-speaking peoples who held the continent in common. Among other things of a strik- ing nature said on that occasion was an allusion to the new metal, nickel, then just beginning to be regarded as of value. It was stated that "Canada possessed the potenti- Ba}iqnet{)i^ Can'cain r/'s/s. i'5 alities of peace and war ; tliat, in tlie Sudbury rc<^ion, wliere they had just been, Mr. Kru|)p, the son of tlie f^^reatest of s^umnakers, hatl left his 22.000 men at Esseii and i. co^uito had been recently investigating^ the secret power that would make guns unburstable and armor plate impenetrable!" This sentence and, indeed, the speech was cabled to Europe and appeared in almost every paper, English and foieign. The words were quoted everywhere and attracted univer- sal attention to the whole subject of the better relations be- tween the two English-speaking peoples in North America, and the revelation as to the marvelous power of the new metal was universally discussed and recognized. No dinner ever given by a private individuni had a wider celebrity, or resulted in a larger amount of advertising than did this. Once a banquet was given without any result in adver- tising, and originating from a love of something unique. That occasion was a little dii\ner at the Motel Brunswick, in New York, given in honor of the writer's good friend, Mr. J. W. Bengougli, a caricaturist of Canada, who lias made a reputation that is continental, by his keen wit, artistic skill, and grotesque genius for caricature. In his modest retreat in Toronto, he only knew by their works the great caricaturists of New York, and on an occasion of his visiting that city, opportunity was had to bring together all the men noted in this peculiar line of life, and who, strange to say, had never before met together. The group comprised fifteen to eighteen men, and included such names, then famous, as Thomas Nast, the amiable Keppler, Gillam, Baron de Grimm, McDougall, of the World, Taylor, Gibson, and others, whose names have become household words as appearing beneath the cartoons which weekly delight and amuse this people. It was a most genial gathering, full of wit and good humor. As we were separating, on the invitation of Mr. Keppler, adjourn- ment was made to the Eden Musee, in which he is a director. Our Canadian friend was greatly interested in I I I I.' I Tl6 Si'hcr OncstioH made Plain. ■ uliat Ik* saw and in tlic ctilcrtaimiiciif. wliicli was affoidcd, wliicli wc were ciulcavorinj^ to explain, and ditl not miss the presence of onr liost. As we descended the somewhat g'looiny staiis to the " Chamber of Horrors," t!ic attendant drew our attention to wliat he described as a new piece of waxwork, which was sliortly to be jtlaced on cxlubition, and which lie said was a splendid likeness of Mr. Kepplcr, the ciiief artist of Puck, standini; on a pedestal, pencil in liand. Sure enoui;h, there was an exact reproduction of our friend. Turning to each other to verify the likeness, we nowhere could fnid the ** Puck " artist. Admirinjj again the work of art, as we thoui^ht it, we were turning aw^ay to descend, when a ripple of laugliter rang out from tiic wax figure, which descended from the pedestal, and, lo, it was Kepplcr himself I Charles Lamb, being once asked what he thought of predestination, frankly admitted he did not understand it, because he, said : " There is so-so-mum-much to be said on both sides!" It is a good deal this way with the Silver Question which the American people have been very earnestly discussing for many months. Those who do understand it, seem to be very positive in their opinion because of their perfect knoudedge. But it must be frankly admi 'ed that, so much having been said on both sides, there are tens of thousands who understand it as little as they understand predestination. Hence a good cartoon may place the strong points on clearer view, and as the artist, J. VV. Bengough, of Canada, referred to on the last page as having been entertamed by the writer and his fellow car- toonisfs in New York, desires to contribute something to these pages, readers will no doubt welcome an exceedingly clever explanation of the Silver Question on the next page. y ;j>. LO If;. •t:| .r l;il " r. ~7: ".^sBBaaaBaBBaoBM I V^l The Economics of Liquor. :|i I The elements of wealth, and the element of waste ^o side by side in this new world by strides ot almost equal propor- tions. If the success of great communities is judged by the usefulness of their efforts, or their failure measured by the wastefulness of their unwise expenditure — then, in the cit- ies and towns of America, there is one element which stands in the way of prosperity like a wall. Not only morally is the saloon a disaster to good living, but, economically con- sidered, the property occupied by saloons is an unneces- sary and hurtful waste. If any one will recall, in almost any community of this country, the exceedingly valuable proper- ties which saloons occupy, enumerate them, and estimate them, the aggregate value will appear appalling in com- parison with the value of property used in any other single department of commerce, the output of which is beneficent and useful. The completeness of the loss of productive power in the property thus used in selling liquors by retail is a serious economic consideration, and it may be taken for granted that, aside from the injurious social and moral results of the unlimited saturnalia of liquor selling, the absolute loss to the community from properties thus em- ployed is a heavy public charge. In these days, when so much is done by new inventions, when space is almost annihilated, and science enables us to compute the distance of the stars and the age of the earth, and, when commerce is so aided by scientific development, it seems singular that this appetite for drink and its econ- omic consequences, should be left at loose ends. The man- agement of a department of life, having consequences so dire and so vital, has not been as successful as it ought to have been. True, the total prohibition of the sale of liquor as ( 20 Government Sale of Liquor. 1 1 has had mucli attention, and the struggle in that direction is continuous, but in the main not succcssfuL In other directions, the attempt at High License has, in a certain sense, ticfeated itself. And, more recently, the experiment tried in South Carolina of regulating by the State the liquor traffic, just now excites a great deal of interest. It remains to be seen what the outcome will be. In the meantime, however, the study of the question of the regulation by government of a traffic so vast, so influen- tial arid, economically considered, so intensely important, is one that every business man and ever}^ youth should interest himself in. The experiment in Sweden, at Gothenburg, and other places of the control of the liquor business by the muni- cipality, is full of the deepest interest, and the world at large is watching the effect in a country most addicted to drink- ing of a policy in which the strong arm of the government regulates and perpetuates the use of alcohol on a basis at once of frectlom and restriction. So much attention has been given the question, especially in England, that the consuls of that government have been reporting upon it. The influ- ence of their conclusions in England is likely to be very- great, and almost entirely in favor of the regulation of this business by governmental power. It would not be surprising to see a measure introduced into the Imperial Parliament to give municipal regulation by local option at least a fair trial. In the United States the doctrine of local option largely prevails, and, already, there are in certain localities attempts by municipalities to take into their own hands the purchase and sale of this one article of commerce. Of course it may be argued that if liqour is thus to be dealt in, other merchan- dise may follow, and that a system of paternalism may be inaugurated which was never intended to be a part of gov- ernment in this country, and it ma}" be full of peril. But notwithstanding this objection, there is much to be said on the economic side of lessening the liquor evil, of reducing the amount of property occupied by it to the detriment of I ■! The Economics of Liquor, 12T all other proper! v. and g-eiicrally restricting the abuse to the narrowest possible limits, moral and economic, It seems clear, however, that the measure of success, which commun- ities will achieve, and in which individuals, old and young, will participate, will be greater or less in proportion as the waste implied in unnecessary indulgence, unnecessary occu- pancy of property, and unnecessary employment of people in the liqour traffic, is obviated by a better regulation of this great branch of human wants. At the rate which money from England a year or tu^o ago for investment in the United States, and at which it is likely to come again, it would not require more than twenty years to place Great Britain in control of one-half the indus- trial enterprises of the United States. The result would be to turn the tide of money back from profits and dividends to such an extent as to make this country pay avast tribute to London. Already, the amount of interest remitted abroad from the United States to England, Germany, and Holland, for governmental, state, municipal, railroad, and mortgage indebtedness must approach a hundred million dollars annually. If the amount to be invested from abroad should increase three-fold in the next two decades, twenty years hence would witness a repayment to European coun- tries of a sum equal to three hundred million dollars annu- ally, or at the rate of almost a million dollars per day for every business day in the year. This seems a startling con- clusion, and, as the bulk of it would go to Great Britain, it irresistibly brings to recollection the fact that, though the American people strenuously opposed, at the Boston tea- party and subsequently, the idea of paying tribute to Eng- land, the whirligig of time is bringing a condition of things, by which the amount is increased ten-thousand-fold, but under circumstances highly beneficial to both countries. m r il' ■ I *i'- 1; 0 The Chance of Success in Publicity. If one looks over the successful men of America, it will be found that not a few of them trace their good fortune to publicity. The number who have made money out of liberal and judicious advertising is very great in proportion to the amount of money spent. The successful vendor of an article of merit must often attribute his good fortune as much to the newspapers, magazines, and t!ie printing press, as to the article itself. Hence, publicity is more than half the battle. An article, for instance, so insignificant as Baking Powder, would hardly seem to possess the potentialities of a great fortune, nor would it if the most liberal advertising had not been coupled with it. The princely incomes earned by the sale of this article, as revealed by the proceedings in a suit relating to the proprietorship of what is known as" Royal" Baking Powder, showed how the public could be made to contribute for an article of merit with the aid of judicious advertising. Robert Bonner and the Ledger is another case in point. His paper is a good one, but it would have been unknown to the public at large, had he not, almost by the acre, filled newpapers with the reiteration of one or two announcements regarding its contents. A great property was created as much by the publicity thus attained, as by any merit possessed by the property itself. The success of proprietors of medicinal preparations, such as Warner's Safe Cure, Hood's Sarsaparilla ; industrial enterprises, such as Pear's Soap, Ivory Soap, Sapolio, etc., show what can be done by the use of printer's ink. No instance is more striking, how- ever, than the Douglass Shoe, which has attained an immense sale simply by the vigor with which it is advertised. One would think that, in the article of shoes, with competition [122] Advertising as an Invcstvicnt. MX W^ so excessiv^e, processes so complete, and the difference in the product so slight, no one shoe could be forced u[)on the community, by mere reiteration, the picture of the maker, and the publicity of the price. But the shoe in ques- tion is so widely distributed that it can be obtained at any point, through the persistent genius of the maker, located in a small town in New England, in making himself univer- sally known by obstinate advertising. The value of mere publicity is therefore a very important factor in the Chances of Success. It is an economic force in the creation of busi- ness, and the young man should contemplate its utility in the intense struggle of the future to make himself known above the rank and file of those he will have to compete with in the world. The art of advertising is, therefore, a wise thing to appre- hend. A gcod educational process in this direction is to subscribe for Printer s Ink, a most attractive little weekly, published by George P. Rowell, of Spruce Street, New York. The ability to attract attention at slight cost, the adroitness with which a principle or a fact can be implanted in the public mind, and the completeness with which the world may be made to appreciate tlie merits of an article, lie at the foundation of the science of advertising. Many publications afford information in this regard, and are worthy of perusal and study as a preparation for the future. Perhaps the most curious developments in advertising, and its beneficence are found in the great magazines, which now have a revenue far greater from this source than from the sale of the publications themselves. The striking character of the advertisements is getting to be a feature of the maga- zine. The reader is tempted to glance through the adver- tisements, so beautifully are they illustrated, and so varied is the instruction and information contained therein, so that often the announcements at each end of the magazine are absorbed before the literary contents are looked at. A good indication of the variety of pursuit that is possible to Amer- 11 /■i -M 124 ^^'^ Chance of Success in Publicity. f f ican youth, and of tlic Chances of Success in this country, can be had by cxaminin<^ closely the advertisements in the great magazines, aiul bearing in mind what they teach. An evidence of tiie advantage that flows from magazine advertising in its infinite variety and interest is indicated by the fact that The Cosmopolitan Magazine, in seeking the broadest circulation, voluntarily reduces the price of a most admirable publication to a figure so low as twelve and a- half cents. This it is enabled to do by a large advertising patronage, which is secured, of course. b3'its wide circulation, which in its tuin depends a good deal on price, as the differ- ence between twelve and a-lialf cents and twenty-five cents is very serious a one to a large class of readers. Here is an illustration of the Chances of Success depending on a sort of double-edged policy affecting the interests of both the owner, the reader, and the advertiser. Great properties have been created of late years by the necessity for publicity. The value of newspapers in the cities is one of the most important assets in each locality. The income of Mr. Pulitzer, of the World, is said to over a million dollars a year, from his three papers. Mr. James Gordon Bennett, of the Herald, is credited with $800,000 a year, and, as for Mr. Dana, of the Sun, no one knows how valuable that property has become, and how largely it is earning. The Philadelphia Ledger brings its great and good proprietor, Mr. George W. Childs, one thousand dollars per day, and the broad charities of its owner are known all over the world. Throughout the country there is a steady gain in newspaper property. Asa department of industry, as a field for opportunity, as a great economic creation, these are assets that must enhance and increase. The need for publicity, the hopelessness of success in man}'- avoca- tions without it, assure a permanency of prosperity and a growth in value for these properties, difficult even now to estimate. Many a man who has nothing to sell, but who, by force The Chance of Success in Publicity. I 2 ice of cliaracter in fortunate circumstances, <:^ets before tlie public prominently, has an asset in his name sui passing; in value even considerable monetary capital. The value of advertising is either in the merit of an article or the reputa- tion of an individual. This reputation, or name, is a posses- sion that cannot be measured or weighed, but its possibilities of profit may take rank with many a tangible asset of realiz- able value. Hence, it is well to understand the value of publicity as an economic force. i'U It! Mi mes X) a lOW is od iper all idy on, ed ca- 1 a to It is impossible that there should have been for so many years so vast a stream of labor from Europe coming in the direction of the United States, without in time being fol- lowed by a commensurate stream of capital ; and it is a reasonable conclusion that, while foreign labor has enor- mously benefited the country, the employment of the cap- ital now and hereafter to arrive from abroad will be even more beneficial. For it is clear that the money now coming from Great Britain, and other countries, occupies a vastly different place in our economv from that contributed to any other country. Here it comes to us, not as loans, bearing irrevocable fixed charges, which must be paid whether or no ; it comes as a contribution to the business capital of the country, taking its chances of success with the accumula- tions of our own people. It takes the shape of a huge inter- national partnership, in which individuals on both sides *. qually participate — a piirtnership in which the bargain is not to the disadvantage of either, but a profit is made for both, the extent and magnitude of which no man can tell. ■':( i I ' V'. r ■ m Bit li i ; it A Thousand Millions a Year. Having been honored by the salt interests of North America with the trusteeship of all their properties, amount- ing to about twelve million dollars, the writer, when in London, in 1889, became the practical or controlling custo- dian of a vast sum of monev, amounting to eight million dol- lars, which, in a single day, was subscribed there towards the purchase by English capitalists of the salt properties of America. It was at the height of the period when American industrial securities were in greatest demand, and it was just after the successfid combination of the British salt interests, wherein, twenty million dollars being asked for, over eighty million dollars were in a single day subscribed. My experience in London, during a month's contact with promoters, brokers, soh'citors, bankers, and others, was of great value to me. For, though the combination of American salt interests did not go through, owing to dissen- sions and want of liberality in the subscriptions on this side of the Atlantic, the success of the .vriter in accomplishing his quota, put him in good relation with people in London eminent in the financial world. The great advantage of the experience, so far as its use- fulness now is concerned, is this, that an observant Ameri- can, having learned so much, can never be entirely free from the belief that a very large amount of British capital must eventually find its way to the United States. Its influence is already ver}' great in this country, far greater than most people suppose. For it is a fact that the amount of interest which yearly goes out from us for the use of British money in the United States is a most influential factor in the bal- ances between the countries. It is likely to be much more so as time goes on. [126] Great Britain s Income from Interest. 127 The steady trend of money from Great Britain into the United States and the outer world is one of the phenomena of tlie present epoch. The money invested and h^aned abroad by Britain, brings in a steady return in the sliape of interest and profits, and it is alleged that the receipts of that country from intei-est on foreign debts, investments and profits accrued abroad, in Asia, India, Egypt, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Russia and elsewhere, together with the profits from her vast marine investments, equals no less than One Thousand Million Dollars per annum ! The magnitude of the vast sum which thus annually pours into the coffers of Great Britain, can be better estimated when we compare it with, say, the exports of the United States to foreign countries. Our farmers, f>lanters, manu- facturers, oil shippers and all those interested in creating products for export, annually send out of this country an amou..t only equalling that which Great Britain annually receives from interest and investments abroad ! Thus, apparently without labor or turning over her hand, the ** tight little island " taxes the whole world to an amount equal to that which we, with all our immense resources, can export to foreign countries in material and manufactures. The interest on the enormous public debts which the world owes to Great Britain forms a very important item in this great income. This is well illustrated by the neighbor- ing country of Canada, where the interest in the debt to Great Britian figures up to 35 million dollars a year, which is equal the value of the agricultural products which Can- ada exports to Great Britian annually, though she is her largest and nearest colony. The amount received ordinarily from the colonies of Australia for interest and profits is fabulous when the small population is considered, and the steady drain of money to the mother country for interest, no doubt helped forward the recent financial collapse in Australia, which, by the use pf this British money in internal development, had become i IW 128 A Tliojisand Millions a Year. tlie most vigorous aiul prosperous of the colonies of the Empire. The point mainly of interest to Americans, however, is that Great I3ritian does not need to spend moie than a quarter of her income from the outside world. That there is an accumulation in the last few years, especially since the Baring- failure, of a vast sum of money which yiekis little or no return, is certain. Equally is it certain that very soon the money must find an outlet, and, having got tiied of Argentine investments, having locked up large sums in Aus- tralia, having as much in Egypt as will pay, having supplied all Canada's needs for a long time to come, and realizing that in Africa and in Asia conditions are unfavorable to safety, there will seem to be no field for the British investor so large and so secure as this country affords. The unfortunate condition of things here arising out of silver legislation, and tlie fear that obligations incurred might be paid in silver rather than in gold, and the uncer- tainty in relation to financial affairs prevailing recently, is, of course, a check upon the trend of British money in this direction. But, with the adjustment of the silver question, and the gradual restoration to normal conditions of trade and commerce, and especially with a permanent policy in regard to the Tariff, British capital will, with great facility, flow in this direction. There are many reasons why it should. Speaking the same language, governed by the same laws, socially and financially closely affiliated, with perfect ?neans of commun- ication unequalled elsewhere, there can be no field so invit- ing to the British capitalist as that of America. It is true that most of the money sent in this direction in the. past has not yielded a large return, but it is only in case of default and failure that publicity has ensued. Theieare thousands of instances of English investments which havegoneon from year to year, paying with the promptitude of clockwork, of which nobody ever hears, but which in silent influence are -7 ChiDuc of Success for Millions, 129 the land lun- ivit- irue [has III It. Inds om f,of lare a constant reminder of the snccess and solidity of tliis coun- try. Perhaps the l\dhnan Car Co. is as good an illustra- tion of this influence as can be cited. It is said that nearly one-third of the thirty million d(^!Iars capital of the concern is held abroad, and the reriark is peihaps a proper one, that there is not on the continent of North America, a bed made upon a Pullman car, any night, but that a Scotchman at Dun- dee levies a " bawbee " from it, which pa3's for his '* brose " ten times over the next morning. English money for the development of suburban local- ities, first, by investment in the land and then by the crea- tion of means of communication, such as Electric Railroads, etc., can be easily made available when times settle. Nothing appeals to the Englishman so forcibly as land, near a great city, susceptible of development. The success of this kind of suburban investment in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Glasgow, and other cities, has been very marked. Its safety, its readiness of sale, and its constant increase in value, make it a very attractive form of investment. When things get into their normal condition here, a large move- ment in this direction would be very beneficial, not only to English capital, but to numerous localities which need development. A principle that would be very attractive to British investors might be with advantage noticed in this con- nection. This is the principle of leasing land in small lots for the erection of moderate-priced homes. Thus, property in the vicinity of a city, that would cost say $1,200 per acre ready for the market, could be cut up into 12 lots to the acre, and could be valued at $200 per lot, and rented at $10 each per annum. This would equal a 10 per cent, return to the Englishman, and as for the payment by the American of $10 a year for his lot, it would not trouble him in the slightest. Instead of spending his money buying the land, he would use it to help pay for his house, thus creating a home for himself with the least possible expenditure, v1 ^ a i 1 ; '!i fc tf It! 1 1 n 9 ^ II * 'i n H f 130 A Tho7isaud Millions a Year. True, he would not own the lot, but he would own the lease, which would be nearly equivalent, and which, at its expiration, would be renewed at a valuation for another term o f 25 y ears. Th( ese leases, w hicl 1 are >reva lent \\\ Baltimore and Philadelphia to some extent, are best illus- f rated by the practice of the Astors, in New York, the most successful real estate men in the world. The Sailor's Snug Harbor, which has an income of $1000 a day from 20 acres, and the Columbia College leases, are the most successful instances in this direction. The attractiveness of this plan to people of moderate means, who need houics and an outlet from crowded cities, is very great, and it is equally so to parties having land inaccessible and unimproved for want of capital, also to parties in Great Britain who need absolutely safe invest- ments for their money. It would seem to need only to be promoted in many cities to be successful, and thus all around improve the Chances of Success. " The tendency to persevere, to persist in spite of hin- drances, discouragements, and impossibilities — it is this that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak." — Carlyle. *• The crowning fortune of a man is to be born with a bias to some pursuit, which finds him in employment and happiness." — Enter sort. " Every person has two educations — one which he re- ceives from others — and one, more important, which he gives himself," — Gibbon, An Invisible Finanoial Force. hin- that ;ak." [ith a and re- Ih he It is not always the men whose names arc much in the nowspapeis who are forceful in giving siiape to the affairs o( the world. This is especially so in financial matters, and in London particularly the case. There are men behind the scenes whose names are little known to the outer world, and rarely mentioned in the j)apers, who move the puppets on the stage, and who have a greater power than those whose names are everywhere known. Not the least power- ful, in London, of these forces in one Mr. Bertram Currie, of the great house of Glyn, Mills cSl Currie, a concern hardly known in the United States, yet as powerful throughout the British Empire as the Bank of England itself. While the writer was on the way to be introduced to Mr. Currie by one of the most eminent men in London, the remark was made that "he was the ablest business man of that city." This was a characterization of great import from a most distinguished man himself, for in no city are there men of greater sagacity, more perfect business train- ing and breadth of view, than in London. To stand at the head and tower above them all, one must be a giant in intel- lect, experience and power. Entering the great house, which occupies a wide frontage on Lombard Street, and has five stories, all occupied by clerks busily engaged in the work of the concern, we passed into a large parlor to the right. Here Lord this and the Duke of that, Sir this and the Honorable the other, were pointed out as members of the firm ; while in the distance, somewhat isolated from the rest, sat the man who was literally the *' power behind the throne." Mr. Currie is a man of middle age, his hair slightly tinged with gray, of a most gracious presence, and a promp- titude and shrewdness that immediately impresses. A few fi3i] ir 1^2 A Sliipcudous Financial Act. moments conversation enabled liim to elicit ijalf what one knows, and becoming c'eeply interested in what was told him, a further appcjintment was made. This residted in an acquaintance of the most delightful character, in which views were exchanged very influential on the thought and purposes jf the writer. This liouse of Glyn, Mills & Currie is said to be the recipient of larger payments of inteiest than any other in London. They are the agents for a mass of loans made by English people to governments, corporations, syndicates and individuals, which involve immense transactions. Their receipts, daily and hourly, from one year's end to the other, form a volume equal to those of half-a-dozen of the largest firms in the same business. In distributing these accumula- tions of money, they come into contact with more people who depend on interest for a living than any other institu- tion. TliC student of financial forces would, therefore, be greatly interested in watching the trend of capital in one direction and the distribution of its earnings in another. Few men are possessed of information on this subject equal to that of Mr. Currie. It was not a matter of very great surprise, therefore, when, recently, it was found that he was in the main the iniluential force that shaped the policy of the British Gov- ernment in relation to the treatment of silver in India. This profoundly important movement, involving the income and financial fi'ture of millions of people, will eventuate a revolu- tion in finance, the importance of which can hardly be estim- ated. It should take its place side by side with events in the political world, such as the Declaration of Independence, the resumption of specie payments and the abolition of slavery in this country, the reform bill and the repeal of the corn laws in Great Britain. The name of Bertram Currie has hardly been before the public, yet the silent force of his intellect, the courage of his convictions, and his clear vision of the consequences to Great Britain of inaction \x\ t An Invisible Financial Force. T ^ -» India, etc., and to the world, of tlie change of policy in rela- tion to silver, make him stand out at last as a force hitherto invisible, but now potent in the financial councils of the world. It is safe to say that this movement of the British Gov- ernment, dictated by Mr. Currie, has had a greater influence in America than any other event of the last quarter of a century, as it is likely to result in a final settlement of the whole Silver question, so vitally important to this country. This will mainly be the work of the quiet, gentlemanly banker in Lombard Street, whose name is so rarely thrust into notice. The lesson to be learned from the life-work of this man is that publicity is not necessarily desirable, and that modesty with real ability is far more forcible than notoriety without the solid basis of capacity and merit. Mr. Gladstone, in a speech at Paris, three years ago, predicting that by the end of tiie next century the population of this continent would be six hundred millions, recognized '* the prospective and approaching right of America to be the great organ of tlie powerful English tongue ;" and alluding to the United States and Great Britain, added these sig- nificant words, that " there was no cause upon earth that should now or hereafter divide one from the other." That the interests of mankind at large will be advanced by a close bond of union between the two great English-speaking •lations, no one can doubt, and nothing will contribute more certaini)' to this harmony than the mutuality of interests which is certain to be created by the creation of a great commerce between them and the investment of British capital in American railway and other industrial enter- prises. ■;-ii! ;>l 1 I Iff I I'.? ■4. •5 4^ ili' i| i ^|B aK«^ Money from Abroad. Few men in this country have a broader view of its needs and possibilities than ex-Speaker Thomas B. Reed. His force of thought and comprehensive perception place liim at the head of the great Republican party, and his vigorous personality is as influential in its councils, as it is in shaping the legislation of the country. Recently, in his great speech in Congress favoring the repeal of the Silver purchase bill, he made this remark : " A second reason for my vote is that only by repeal can the nation hope to attract foreign capital, without which it were vain to hope for an upward turn of the country's business. We must put ourselves in a position when the time for that upward turn comes to be able to command the capital of the world, which shall assist us on the path to the next period of prosperity and progress." This statement is noteworthy, because it strengthens and affirms the conviction which is in the minds of many thinking men, that money from abroad must be brought here or we cannot expect our prosperity to be permanent. If, through a continuance of the policy of the party which Mr. Reed dominates more than any other man, there is no possibility of exports increasing to enable us to wrest profit from abroad, it may be found difficult to pros- per. True, there is a great deal of mone}^ in the country, and, under ordinary circumstances, there ought to be enough to lubricate the wheels of commerce ; but it is a fact that the internal trade of the country has grown to proportions so vast, that monetary facilities have not kept [134] More Money Needed. 135 up in equal ratio. The development ol natural resources has been so rapid, the stimulus applied to manufacturing so great, production has become so excessive, the total volume of activities so wide and deep and strong, that it is difficult to see where the money medium is to come from to carry them all forward successfully. It is true, that statistics show an amount of circulating medium far in excess of that possessed per capita by any other nation. It is equally true that the transactions con- summated by the exchange of checks, through the interven- tion of the Clearing Houses, enormously increase the facili- ties for the interchange of products and the payment of obligations. But, notwithstanding the currency in excess, and the use of this form of credit, the volume of commerce is so much larger \\\ per capita proportion, as compared with other countries, the area over which it is spread so much greater, and the amount of money in the pockets and pos- session of the individual averages so much more, that two or three times as much currency would be required in this country to perform its natural function as elsewhere. Hence, comparison with other countries in this regard is not fair. This is perhaps best illustrated by the extent of our means of communication, the payments for freight and passenger traffic, which alone must exceed that of all Europe combined. Hence, comparisons as to currency, etc., are hardly in order. It is, therefore, most significant that a gentleman whose conceptions are generally so able, and who has hitherto fought so vigorously to keep out the results of foreign labor, and foreign interference generally, should now reach the con- clusion that success only is possible by the introduction of foreign capital. Some such step is necessary, and that the settlement of the silver c':estion will help it forward, there can be no doubt. The disappearance of currency, the sud- den locking up of money, such as has been seen in tlie last 136 Money from Abroad. few months, and which at any moment may be repeated, sliows the inadequacy of the capital at command. Indeed, the whole financial policy regaiding importa- tions, high taxation, banking and expansion generally, has resembled an inverted cone. With banking capital dimin- ishing through the decline of the public debt, with limitations to State banks so severe as to prevent their success, with constant expansion in business, and in railroad building, far in excess of the creation of money, it has been a matter of singular good fortune that up to a recent date no great commercial catastrophe has occurred. It has only been by the interchange of transactions rep- resented by checks, as shown in the reports of the Clearing Houses, that the business of the country has gone forward. Credit, confidence, and trust in one another have been the bases of the success which in commerce has been achieved, rather than the employment of capital. The volume of checks current every day in the year represented currency, and took the place of the money which suddenly disap- peared when there was the slightest tremor in the business situation. Having had this experience in the summer of 1893, it may be doubted whether ever again just as complete a reliance in monetary circles will be placed on the inter- change of this class of securities. Capital will be more needed than ever, and to win foreign capital, and bring it here for favorable and satisfactory investment, both for its use and its profit, and to make it profitable for those who own it, will be one of the chief accomplishments of the com- ing time. Meanwhile, it is a gratifying result of observation and thought in the mind of so great a thinker, and so practical a man as Thomas B. Reed, to have an admission from him that foreign capital, after all, is not a bad thing to have. Just how far the United States will become the servant of Great Britain and foreign countiies in the payment of inter est, is elsewhere set foitli. If the Revolution was success* Money Spent Abroad. "^Zl ful in maintaining- a declaration of independence politically, it does not appear as if it could be maintained commercially. If the amount of money which the United States must per- force pay to the mother country for ocean freights, passen- ger traffic, hotel accommodation, the nick-nacks of our fashionable people, and the profits oi our exchange for tea, sugar, coffee, etc., which, with interest, amounts to about four million dollars a week, and now being exacted from this country, is already no inconsiderable tax from abroad ; how much more it is likely to be when capital is brought hither really adequate to the extent of the business we do with each other ; and what will be necessary when a foreign trade of equal proportions is built up ; the future alone can tell. But it will be all right if the mone}' comes, and the interest is paid, for the countries of the old world need the interest, and the countries of the new world can best aff< rd to pay it. "The most unhappy of all men is the man who cannot tell what he is going to do, who has got no work cut out for him in the world, and does not go into it." — Carlyle, 'Hi " A field becomes exhausted by constant tillage." — Ovid. " Hasty and adventurous schemes are at first view flat- tering, in execution difficult, and in the issue disastrous." — Livy. \ \> " There is no less merit in keeping than in acquiring. Chance affects the one ; the other is the result of effort." — Ovid. Doubling the Area of Trade. A scene in the beautiful Club House of Montclair, N. J,, will best illustrate what it is hoped may be accomplished by an agitation for the removal of the barrier that separates the Uni;.ed States from Canada, and cuts into two distinctive groups the English-speaking people of the continent. The good people of Montclair, every winter, have a series of debates on burning questions, and invite men prominent in each line of thought to participate. These latter are per- haps *' cranks" in their various phases; nevertheless, even cranks are sometimes interesting, and the series of debates have, therefore, for several years been very educational in their effect upon the bright people of this lovely town of suburban villas and homes. The debate specially referred to was that between Mr. W. H. McElrov, the well known and able editor of the N. Y. Tribune^ and the writer of these lines. The question at issue was stated with an abruptness and harshness from the point of view of the writer, and yet, possibly, the way in which it was put interprets the matter in the way that tiie American people generally have it in mind. The question and the manner of putting it was thus : " What shall We do with Canada ?" The debate occupied two hours and was a very vigorous contest, greatly to the amusement and perhaps somewhat to the instruction of the audience. Briefly reported, however, it was all summed up in the two answers made to the question at issue. Mr. McElroy's answer was, " Annex it," while Mr. Wiman's answer was, ** Trade with it !" The movement which has for its purpose the obliteration of the customs line which, like a barbed wire-fence, runs [138] A Continental Trade^ 139 athwart the continent, is one of absorbing interest to a great many people, who see it in the doubling up of the Chances of Success. An expansion of the commerce of this country to areas twice the dimensions that it now occupies, iniplies an extent of profit and advantage, which even tiie human mind, with its past experience in America, can hardly estimate. The subject is one which, it is well known, has occupied the attention of the writer of these lines, perhaps, to a greater extent than that of any other man in the country, certainly, very largely to the occupation of his time (which, perhaps, had been better devoted to personal mat- ters), and the expenditure of no small amount of money. It is, therefore, proper enough that some effort should be made in this book to explain what would be the conse- quences of the success of this movement, and what are the impediments to that success ; and how, and in what way a practical union between the people of this continent can be consummated. That such a union, whether political or commerical, would in the highest possible degree be advantageous to Canada, no one for an instant doubts; that it would be equally important to the United States, whether political or commercial, is plain enough to those who apprehend the forces that have been at work to make this country great, and the necessity that exists for more room to permit those forces to expand. With this in view, no event in the possible cat- egory of events could occur which would so much benefit the United States, which would be so contributory to its con- tinued growth and greatness, and which would strengthen it for all time in the great career of prosperity upon which it is now about to set forth. With such a motive, and such a concei)tion of the magnitude of this question, it ought not to be surprising to any one that a native-born Canadian, with British instincts and training, spending the best portion of his life in the midst of the great commercial movements I ■-', i 140 Doubling the Area of Trade. of this country, and being enamored of its institutions, and of its success, slunild seek by all possible means t(i bring about a union on this continent, which should take a place, side by side, with events that histor}- shows to have been most con- tributory to the good of mankind. Elsewhere, under the title of " The Three Conditions of Success," are set forth the three elements which have done more for the building up of this great nation than all other forces combined. To a perpetuation of these three most influential conditions the expansion into the Great North Land are as absolutely essential as the light is to-day. These elements, as set forth, are : First. — Ever-widening cultivatable area, now suddenly reaching limitations. Second. — Immigration, unrestricted and increasing. Third. — Development of natural resources, now largely pre- empted. That these three most important elements in national growth should be maintained in order to justify a continuous pro- gress, goes without saying. As for the present there is no possibility that Canada can be brought into the national life, the next best thing is to mnke all the profit possible out of the great heritage which is possessed equally, so far as trade and commerce is concerned, by both peoples on this con- tinent. What is the impediment to the practical possession, in at least a commercial sense, of this region for trade and com- merce ? If, for instance, in the thousand-mile-square area north of Minnesota, a wheat field were found that would take up at least three-quarters of the immigration that yearly arrives, why should not this area be made available ? It certainly should be availed of if these arrivals became read}'- made customers of the United States for every article of manufacture. Equally, if a profit could be realized from handling and trading in what they produced, and get- Doubling the Area of Tyadc. 141 ting from them all Uiat immigration has hitherto yielded in the shape of profit and advantage? Still further, if there were in the northern half of the continent unlimited supplies of natural products sucli as would he most contributory to the greatness of this country, and available to the efforts of the coming generation, why should not that generation have the chances thus afforded ? If in timber a practically unlimited area is yet standing; if iron in vast quantities, of better quality than ours, and nearer great markets, remains untouched ; if gold, copper andother minerals are but waitingdevelopment, why should not an opportunity be afforded to the "American youth to enrich himself in the process? Still further, if the vast agricultural forces of the greater half of " heaven's last, best gift to mankind," are available for his best service in the development of their products, why should not the possibilities which therein reside be open to all the American people ? These are the strong points which underlie the ques- tion in relation to Canada. These justify the attention which it has received, especially at the hands of the writer, and the large space given to it in this book dedicated to discovery for the youth of North America, on both sides of the line, of the Chances of Success. y ft " Despise not the rag from which man makes paper, or the litter from which the earth makes corn ! Rightly viewed, no meanest object is insignificant." — Carlyle. \ M\ \ 1 I 1 ( 1 i 3f 111 t- e^a u. ; i British Interests in America. The chief impediment to a free commercial relation between the United States and Canada, and an enormous increase in trade between the two countries, is the fear that British interests might be sacrificed. Tlicre is more loyalty among the Canadian people to British institutions than there is regard for Canadian interests in Great Britain. True, Canada has a tariff of precisely the same height against British goods, as against American manu- factures ; yet the tendency and desire of the Canadian peo- ple is to trade as much as possible with the mother country. Hence, the prejudice against the proposal to obliterate the tariff in Canada as against American goods, and retain it against British, is a barrier to a reciprocal arrangement between the two countries. It is impossible to conceive that the American people would open a market so vast as that which they possess, to the free admission of Canadian natural products and manu- factures, without obtaining an equally free market in Canada for what the United States produces. The necessity, there- fore, is that a rate of duty as high as that which the United States exacts, must be exacted by Canada against British and all foreign goods. Because, otherwise, Canada would be a back door for smuggling, which, of course, cannot for a moment be contemplated. In other words, to make Reciprocity perfect in this countr}', the tariff, which now runs athwart the continent, must be lifted up and placed right around it. If trade is to be as free between the United States and Canada, as it is between each State of the Union, and between each of the Provinces of the Dominion, a uniform tariff must inclose them all. This, of course, implies discrimination against British [T42] A Continental Chance of Success. 143 goods, and t.lic free admission into Canada of American goods. Tlie question is, if the Canadians sliould consent to this, whetlier Great Britain wonld accede. Legislation in Canada has to be approved by tiie government of Great Britain. Up to this time there has been no disalh)\vance of any act of the Dominion Parliam«nt. Even when Canada put on high duties, sliutting out British goods, and ach)pted a drastic protective policy. Great Britain assented to the legislation. It is only an extension of the same principle of liberty should Canada ask the British government to consent kIs fi to legislation that would admit American goods tree, wniic retaining the duty on British manufactures. The advan- tages which would flow to Canada from a market so vast as the United States, and a source of supply so near-by, from the developinent that would be possible in natural resources, and from the enlargement of her population by immigra- tion would be so apparent, tliat Great Britain could not refuse. If she did refuse, it would be notice to Canada that she must take care of herself. It would be a notice that the Canadian people would accept, and the result would likely be a conviction that Independence ar Annexation was her destiny. The result of submitting such a resolution would be to leave to Great Britain the responsibility of deciding. It would test the question of the willingness of the mother country to permit her greatest and nearest colony to adopt the policy best suited to her own commercial progress, or whether she should be forever bound and sacrificed to the interests of British manufacturers and British Imperial ideas. No statesmanship would be more timely, more shrewd and far-seeing than for the American Congress to pass the resolution that would enable Canada to ask this ques- tion of the mother country. Great Britain herself has a far greater, real interest in the United States than she has in Canada, Her sources of profit are infinitely larger from , i.'.i ■fvti: il f: r: i 144 British Into'csls in .iuicrica. forty-four States of the Union than from the Dominion Provinces. I Icr interests would be augmented materially by a development of these latter. Nothin<^ can so com[)letely develop them and enhance their value to the world at large, as a practical commercial union between the English- speaking people of this continent. No event in the history of Great Britain has been com- mercially more important to her stability than the Declara- tion of Independence and the success of the American Revolution. In the last article written by Mr. Blaine, he quoted the younger Pitt as saying, six years after the VVai- of Independence closed, that, notwithstanding the defeat of the armies, they had conquered America again, and con- quered it by an increase of commerce to five-fold what it was before ! The growth in America of a community of English-speaking people, governed by the same laws, influ- enced by the same literature, and animated by the same civilization, is more to Great Britain than all that follows unlimited Imperial aggrandizement. If Canada to-day had made the same relative progress that has been made in the United States, if the Declaration had not stopped short at the St. Lawrence and the lakes, but had extended as far north as the human race can live, Great Britain would be infinitely better off, and the opportunities for her own people, as, indeed, for the people of this country, would have been im- measurably enlarged. There would appear, therefore, to be no impediment when properly considered, to a rela- tion between the United States and Canada, which shall have for its purpose a perfect and free interchange of all that each possesses, and each can spare. The Two Markets. The CliMiiccs of Success in the Northcni half of the coiuiiieiit are frequently set at nought by the rclleciiou that any relation between the two countries that possess the continent in conuuon, will be so much to the advantage of the smaller communit}', that nothing ought to be clone. It is a very lidiculous conclusion; for if the same principle prevailed that the larger country should not trade with the smaller country for fear the smaller country would get the advantage, there would be no commerce at all in the world. If places contiguous to each other refused to trade because of disparity of size or extent (u business, no business would be transacted. But the fact is that there is no advantage in one place ove • another, from the size of the market, or the relative richness of the two localities. It is true that Canada oidy lias a market of five millions of people and that the United States has one of sixty-five. It might appear that in an interchange between the two markets there would be an advantage to Canada — but such is not the case. The Cana- dian can only sell that which he can produce, and he can only sell what five millions can get out of the ground, cut from the forest, or fish from the sea. The fact that there are 65 millions to take his product, does not increase his out- put one iota. The further fact that he must take back with him, not money, but products of an equal number of Amer- icans, shows that the trade would balance itself, and that the difference in the extent of the market has nothing to do with the question. If he were to take back money instead of manufactures, if there was no interchange except gold for produce, there might be some ground for the belief that the advantage would be on the side of the Canadian. But [145] I ,)' ""t\ 146 Why sJimild Politics Enter 9 as the whole principle of Reciprocity means an exchange of one article lor another, tiie fact that the Canadian merchant absorbed goods to an amount equivalent to that which he sold, makes the trade an even one, and gives no advantage to either side. Even if he took back nothing but money, he would leave behind him value to represent it. Were it not valuable and profitable the American would not buy it. So that, look at it as we may, the trade is on an even basis. It is an inference almost universally entertained that there would be something unfair to the United States in giving to Canada all the advantage of our markets without charging her with her relative share of the cost of the gov- ernment, administration, etc. There is, therefore, a dispo- sition to shut up for ever the Northern half of the continent until there is political readiness on either side for its admission into the Union. There never was a falser, more impolitic policy than this. If the Chances of Success in this country are now restricted and can be immeasurably enlarged in the other half of the continent to the North, how unwise is the policy that would indetinitel}' postpone them for the purpose of territorial aggrandizement. If Canada is willing to pay the expense of her own government, and is not to be a charge upon this country in the slightest; if she opens up fields for trade, profitable development, and accommodation of immigrants, creating customers for tV;c United States, why should politics enter into the matter at all ? Trade knows no political barriers. The vast internal traffic of this country breaks against the border-line like a huge wave and rolls back upon itself. The barrier is the tarifif, and if that sinister influence can practically be obliterated, why should not the commerce of the country extend as far North, and the field of opportunity be widened to an area equivalent to that in which human life can be maintained? If the Chances of Success are to be limited to half the con- tinent until it is all absorbed politically, the present gener- ation will have little to say about it; while the future gener- I The Tivo Markets. ^M ation will have its hopes marred, valuable time will be lost, and we will be leaving to posterity advantages which we should reap ourselves. It is not an uncommon thought that advantages are all on one side in a trade between two portions of the conti- nent. A little reflection, however, will show that to the United States, nothing in the world will be so advantageous as that which Canada can give, viz.: raw material, and cheapened food products. These are needed to build up a foreign trade which will give abundnnt opportunity to the youth of the country. If we do a foreign trade, it must, of course, be in competition with other countries, and nothing can help us in that case, so completely, as to have at our dis- posal the cheapest and nearest source of supply of raw material and cheap food. No country can supply these in such quantities as Canada. In the article of fish she is inex haustible, with fisheries extending from the Gulf of the St. Lawrence through the lakes to Hudson's Bay, and thence to the long r-, st line of British Columbia. Anything that keeps from the people this supply of sea-food is the supremest folly to maintain. Equally so with timber. No element enters more largely than wood into the manufac- tures which this country must export. It is a fact not gener- ally realized that there is less timber standing to-day in the United States, per capita, than there is in Germany. Yet this is a new country, with a vast extent of treeless prairie, on which timber is always needed to build homes. To stimulate the destruction of the forests by protection, and to shut out by a high tariff for ever supplies from Canada, is folly beyond belief! So with coal, which, on her Atlantic and Pacific shores, Canada possesses and we do not. It is an absolute necessity that the New England manufacturing States, on the one hand, and the Pacific States on the other, should have at their disposal the near-by provision of fuel, made by nature, without let or hindrance. The same applies to almost eveiy product which Canada yields in such abund- m ■ P ■ ' V % ¥ 148 T/ie Two Markets, ance. There is the vast Canadian region north o^ Mir.i.csota available for immigration, through the rich soil of which a plow might drive a furrow one thousand miles long, the existence of which is of supreme moment to the country at a time when the opening of reservations like the Cherokee Strip excites the whole West. When sources of food sup- ply, as compared with growth of consumption, have already reached defined limitations, and, also, when -immigration needs just such an outlet, the time is ripe to effect such arrangement with Canada as will make her wide stretches available. So far, therefore, as advantages are concerned, it is impossible to believe other than that they preponderate, to an equal extent, in favor of the United States. But it makes no difference. Such grand results as will flow from a practical union of the two people, cannot be weighed or measured by any standard of value. They are greater than the mind has yet conceived, and more far-reaching than our vision can penetrate. The people who will possess the continent between them, have the finest heritage ever given by Providence to mankind, and why it should not be mutually enjoyed at once and forever is difficult to under- stand. "The powers of man have not been exhausted. Nothing has been done by him that cannot be better done." — Emer- son. •'To succeed, one must sometimes be very bold and s(^metimes very prudent." — Napoleon. " The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, without a thought of fame." — Longfelloiv, Liberality of a Scotchman. It was a risky tiling in the largest Irish city in the world, — which New York is, — to undertake the celebration of the Jubilee on the completion of the fiftieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria. The bitterness against Great Britain, which, it is well known, exists in the Irish heart, and which, in New York, partakes of its most acute character, was a factor which made it difficult to steer clear of offense, when a group of Englishmen and Scotchmen undertook in a public way to celebrate an event more or less of a character which might be declared offensive. Nevertheless, there was a deep-seated feeling among the English and Scotch citizens of the metropolis that, when all round the world the occasion was being made much of, and in which Americans justly bore part, there should be, in the greatest of English- speaking cities on this continent, some recognition of the great Queen whose reign for fifty years iiad been so success- ful. Accordingly, a meeting was held at the Hotel Bruns- wick, a committee appointed, and preparations made for the event. There was a great deal of incongruit}^ among the ele- ments which came together. Tlie classes in the committee were widely divergent. Mechanics and bankers; lodges of working-men, and societies of gentlemen, found it difficult to pull together, and it required all the finesse, energy and amiability possible to carry the project through to comple- tion. Nevertheless, it was done, and the celebration was, altogether, a most dignified and successful affair. Opening with an immense meeting at the Metropolitan Opeia House, at which the writer had the honor to preside, with a chorus of 250 trained voices under Damrosch, resolutions of con- gratulation to her Majesty were adopted, and speeches made by eminent men, setting forth how much had been [149J i'!* I '|!- I50 Liberality of a ScotcJnnan. \ \ accomplished during the reign of the good Queen. Subse- quently, sports and games in various suburbs were indulged in, and, at night, a great display of fireworks on the Bay of New York, witnessed by 50,000 people, fittingly closed the day of a celebration which made it apparent that, in America, as well as elsewhere in the world, the Queen of Great Britain and Empress of India was held in high esteem. An incident among the preparations for this celebration gave a pleasant turn to affairs that might otherwise have been very uncomfortable. The Sons of St. George, an English organization, had raised among themselves one thousand dollars as a contribution to tlie Jubilee funds. Other sums from other sources had been brought in liber- ally, notwithstanding which, however, $1,000 were still needed to complete the undertaking. The Scotch element, who were few in number, but who had previously taken some part in the preparations, were not responding as liber- ally as it was thought by the Englishmen they should, and at one or two of the meetings there were some animadver- sions on the " Canny Scot," whose stinginess was apparent. As the day approached, and the necessity for the thousand dollars became pressing, it was an open question from what point it could be derived, when, suddenly, without any indication whatever of the source, the treasurer, Mr. John Paton, received the full amount, with the simple accompan- iment, " with the best wishes of a Scotchman." The gift was so generous, and the mode of presentation so modest, and it was altogether so welcome, that it gave a great thrill of pleasure to the British contingent in this town. For many months it was not known who the donor was, but by accident it leaked out that he was no other than the well- known banker and philanthropist, Mr. John A. Kennedy, whose liberality has since found expression in a most noble work, in the erection and completion of a building devoted as a home for the great voluntary charities of New York, the most charitable city in the world. I How to Unite the United States and Canada. A union between the United States and Canada, politic- ally, lor the present seems impossible. So far as trade and conimeice are concerned, it is unnecessary. If it will take thirty U) fifty years to break down the barrier between the two countries by a political absorption, it is too bad that all the advantages to flow to the present generation and to the youth of the country from an expansion into the northern half of the continent, should be so long postponed. Hence, it is well to consider if there is not a practical way by which some form of commercial union can be at once brought about. Before attempting that, however, it would be well to realize what were the instrumentalities hitherto used by the United States in the acquirement of territory, and to notice how impossible it would be to employ these methods in the case of Canada. The ways by which the political absorption of territory have hitherto been possible to the United States, have been by purchase, by revolution, and by war. In the case of Canada, none of these is available. The purchase of half a continent, containing an area greater than the United States itself, is impossible from a power so far above monetary considerations as is Great Britain. There is not money enough in the United States to make the purchase, and if there was, Great Britain does not want it. She has now more than she knows what to do with, and she is much more likely to buy the United States in job lets —which she is doing every day in the year,— than that the United Sta'.es should attempt to buy forty per cent, of the British Empire, which Canada comprises. The idea of purchase, theiefore, may be left out of the issue. [151] ill M 5 iil 1 n '' ■>! i 1 154 How to Unite the United States and Canada. Resolved, That whenever it shall be duly certified to the President of the United States, that the government of the Dominion of Canada has declared a desire to enter into such commercial arrangements with the United States, as will result in the complete or partial removal of all duties upon trade between Canada and the United States, he shall appoint three commissioners to meet those who may be designated to rep- resent the government of Canada, to consider the best method of extending the trade relations between Canada and the United States, and to ascertain on what terms greater freedom of intercourse between the two countries can best be secured, and said commissioners shall report to the President, who shall lay the report before Congress. If this resolution were passed, it would contain an offer to the Canadian people. It is a resolution Ihat both Demo- crats and Republicans can approve. Its passage would open up tiie question, and would lead to results of a very far-reaching character. The American Congress having done its duty and made the offer, it remains to be seen what would be the result in Canada. There are two great Canadian parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals. For years, the Conservatives, with a Protective polic}', have con- trolled the government. So long as they are in power, with the support of the manufacturers, just so long will they shut out American goods and maintain the policy, of isolation which cuts the continent in two commercially. The Liberal party, however, at the last general election, appealed to the people on the ground of unrestricted Reciprocity with the United States, of which the above resolution is an epitome, and so successful was the appeal that the Conserva- tive majority of seventy was reduced to twenty, and had it not been for the "extra loyalty " cry, that annexation was the intention of the advocates of Reciprocity, there is no question but a Liberal government would have been inau- gurated. At the next general election, which takes place within two years, the question will again be presented of a It IS jo ll- le la Canadians would Respond. 155 better relation with tlie United States. Reciprocity with this country is the basis of the claim of the Liberal party. Now that the desire for annexation is understood to be no longer chargeable to the Liberal programnie, there is no question but if the American Congress will pass the resolu- tion above set forth, a response will be had from the Canadian electorate in the shape of the return of a Liberal majority in Parliament and the inauguration of a Liberal government. That once assured, the relations between the two countries would take care of themselves. Parliament would pass a resolution similar to that which Congress had already enacted; commissioners, as suggested by the above resolu- tion, would be appointed, and the possibility of a practi- cal commercial bargain between the two countries early achieved. There are five great classes in Canada, comprisin;^?: the large majority of its people, whose interest would ail be served by the obliteration of the barrier between the two countries. These are, the Farmers, the Fishermen, the Lumbermen, the Miners and the Shippers. It is impossible to resist the conclusion that if an opportunity were offered by action of Congress, to obtain entrance into the Ameri- can market, without any change in their political condi- tion, these live classes would do other than respond favor- ably to that invitation. So that the policy of government in Canada, and the future opening up of that region for an extension of the trade and enterprise of the United States, rests with the Ways and Means Committee of Congress to shape and mould. Another occasion will be taken to show just the position Great Britain would occupy should such a resolution as the foregoing be concurrently adopted by Congress at Washington, and Parliament at Ottawa. Consequences more far-reaching would result from the passage of this resolution and the practical obliteration of the barrier that cuts this continent in two, than from any other piece of legislation possible to either body. 11 II in* !' V^ ii wl \ m Ml i i A Continental Chance of Success. Tlie Chances of Success for a great many business men in the United States, and of tlic arm}' of youtiis now com- ing up into active life, would be much improved if the people of Canada could be prevailed upon to admit American manufactures and products free, while, at the same time, keeping up a duty, equal to that of the United States, against Foreign manufactures. Baldly stated, this seems to be a very harsh proposition, and almost impossible of accomplishment. Yet, if it could be brought about — and there are many reasons why it should be, — it would open up an enormous area for development, in which both Ameri- can and Canadian people could participate, and immensely increase the opportunity of both the American and Canadian youth. Of course, the general sentiment in the United States is that development in Canada and trade with the greater half of the continent will be best brought about by its political absorption into the Union. But people who talk glibly in this wa}' do not realize that half a century must elapse before this can be accomplished. Hence, if new enterprise towards the North is to benefit those now active in business, or those who will soon step into their shoes, political absorption is too far in the distance. If, instead of political union, commercial union is attain- able within five years, it would be the utmost folly to post- pone for fifty years the advantages which would arise, in the expectation that the two countries might be made one. The hopeless impossibility that seems to surround any- thing practical in the nature of a movement towards annex- ation, the forces that, both in Great Britain and in Canada, are arra3^ed against a political union, and numerous other circumstances which it is needless here to narrate, convince [156J Cafiaiiii cannot be Forced. ^57 n those who arc best informed that any iinmediate hope of expansion towards tlie North by a political arrangement in this geneiation is simply out of the question. The enact- ment of the McKinley Bill, with the rigid exactions of the agricultural schedule, which has diminished the ex[)orts of Canada to the United States to the extent of three-quarters, has had little or no effect in promoting aiuiexation senti- ment, so far as it is apparent in the political affairs of the country. The exports which, to the United States, five years ago, from Canada, amounted lo over 67 per cent., and to Englantl 33 per cent., have been C()m[)lctcly reversed and more. Canada now exports to England 84 per cent, of her product, and to the United States but 16 per cent. It will be seen that the effect of the high tariff has been simply to drive awa}'' trade, to build up a commerce totally independent of the United States, and to deprive our {)Co- ple not only of the cheap food [)roducts of Canada, but of the protit of transportation, commission, exchange, and the general advantages which would result from handling the products of the neighboring country. So that the argument in favor of the continuance of a high tariff io force Canada into annexation has utterly and completely failed. Indeed, so far as trade and commerce are concerned, the question of politics should be entirely eliminated ; for, if the two countries are to become one, it will be the result of a union of interests rather than by the complete separation of them ; and, in any event, the merchants, bankers and railroad men would much prefer that an immediate trade should be created, rather than there should be a prolonged system of forcing, in the vain hope of political union. Dropping, therefore, all political expectation, all consid- eration of territorial aggrandizement, and viewing the ques- tion simply and solely as to the Chances of Success in the extension of trade and the broadening of opportunity, is it not possible that a commercial arrangement between these two countries can be made? The writer, who has given the i' 1 V Ijii) I 1!= m m ■58 A Statt'smans Opportunity^ 111 [itter more attention than any other man in the United \\ deration, that such a States, beh'eves, after mature consi arrangement is p(3ssible, and possible witiiin a very n short space of time. It is possible by concurrent legislative action of Congress at Washington and Parliament at Ottawa. It could originate at the present session in the Reciprocity branch of the Ways and Means Committee, of which that eminent statesman Burke Cockran is chairman, and, within three years, it could be consummated by action of Parlia- ment, and the writer believes, by consent of Great Britain. The method by which this can be done is that a pro- posal should emanate from the United States, as the stronger party, to the effect that, whenever the Canadian tariff is made iniform with that of the United States, as against the rest of the wojld,and also that all duties shall be obliter- ated along the border line, so far as the manufactures and producls of the United States are concerned, then will the Government of that country admit free ot duty, all the natural and manufactured products of Canada. The i.iTect of this proposal would be that, practically, ihc customs line thai runs athwart the continent would be obliterntcrl. While it would nominally exist, and the row of custom houses be maintained, nevertheless, so far as duties were concerned, every article on both sides would pass to and fro without exaction. Trade would practically be as free between Ontario and Ohio as between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Commerce would be just as unfretted between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts as between Michigan and Illinois. A consummation so great as this, resulting from a legislative effort so easily accomplished, would have consequences more far-reaching than any event since the abolition of slavery, or the resumption of specie payments. It would follow appropriately, and take its place side by side, with the recent decision that the commercial policy of the country should be reversed from that of restriction to freedom in trade. A S/(t/i'sm(t/i's Opfyortunity. 159 The result of such a commcicial anan*^cmcnt, in wliich the whole continent would be includetl, wouhl l)c to enlart>e the opportunities of the youtlis of both sides j^ieatly. What ail tiie Northwestern States were in the shape of opportunity to tiie last j^eneration, the opening up of the Canadian Territories would be to the comin<^ jjeneration. The development of the natural resources of this new coun- try, room for the accommodation of immigration, and an ever-widening area for effort, would be the heritage of the youth of both countries [ind the Chances of Success for all who sought a home in this direction, would be immeasurably enlarged. How a practical commercial union between the two countries may be accomplished, must be tcjld else- where. I ftl e s )f d n It will not do to argue that competition is not a blessed thing ; yet those who have gone through the competitive railroad business can hardly aver that it is. For instance, those who netted a loss of 50 millions of dollars, sunk out of sight in the West Shore Railway, along the Hudson River, and from New York to Buffalo, must have had an eye opener as to the cost of competition, and have reached a conclusion that competition in the construction of railways is at least a dangerous business. On the other hand, in addi- tion to the direct loss of the West Shore investors, the share- holders in the New York Central and Hudson River road have had hung about their necks for all time a burden in the shape of interest on another 50 millions of dollars for the privilege of making forever secure the monoply against competition within their precinct of transportation. Are the public any better off for, first, having among them lost 50 millions of dollars by foreclosure, and then being relied upon to pay just enough greater transportation charges in order to liquidate the interest on the remaining 50 millions of dollars as long as grass grows and water runs ? f ?! •ti The First of the Typewriters. " You sliould go to the American Institute and see tlie machine that writes," said my best of friends to me one day. " It is the thing you iiave been dreaming about to duplicate reports, and it will interest you greatly." Accordingly, as it was my delight to obe}' the slightest wish of him who spoke, the visit was paid, and sure enough was found a device which has since blossomed out into the Typewriter, now, numerous in design, speedy, accurate, and effective, but then, crude, slow, and so imperfect, that the Remingtons, of Ilion, had made up their minds to throw it on tiie scrap heap. The inventor, or rather pro- moter and assistant inventor, was in charge of the machine at the Exposition, but when questioned as to wiien a num- ber of the machines could be had for actual test, lie con- fessed that the prospect was very blue. He said that the manufacturers had become discouraged with the slow prog- ress towards perfection of the device in the first place, with the unexpected difficulties in providing the no less than two thousand distinctive pieces which the machine then comprised, and, above all, with the apparent hopelessness ui any demand for the machine when completed. " If I could give an order for a hundred machines, and pay for them in advance to the Messrs. Remington," said the discouraged inventor, ** we could get them in three months, and success would be accomplished. The machines cost to make, $55, and without money to the extent of $5,500, and some good business connection to justify the manufacturer, we are practically without hope. Unless this is provided by the end of the month, we will be thrown out at Ilion, to make room for a Turkish gun-contract that has been secured." , [i6oJ I in Kit M The First of tJic Typewriters, i6i i- if It seemed a hard case that, a machine which could write so rapidly, so uniformly, and could du|)licate so i)erfectly, should sink out of sight, and it was determined it should n(jt do so if ever3'thini;; was rii^ht about it and the people connected with it. Inquiry, so far as it went, was satis- factory. Unfortunately, one of the partners in my firm was much opposed to new devices, and would not hear of advances or experiments of such a speculative character [is to substitute machines for the army of copyists, and the i)rec- ious records made by copper-plate performances. The wa}^ seemed blocked, till the good old Tory got out on the steamer for England and left the course clear. The other partners were easily persuaded to let the junior j)roceed in the matter up to the limit of $5,500, and, accordingly, with a certified check in his pocket for this amount, a journey of investigation was made to llion. New York. It was a bitter cold morning when, after a wretched night on the cars to Utica, the accommodation tiain had to be taken back twenty miles to Uion. The walk from the station to the hotel, at break of day, lives yet in the memory of the rescuer of the Typewriter from demolition and extinction for a decade, or, perhaps, for ever. The Messrs. Remington were very cool indeed in their manner towards any one who came connected with the Writ- ing Machine. ''They had," they said, " become disgusted with it, and with the people connected with it, not but what they were respectable enough, but they had literally no business capacity, no money, and no limit to the demands they made on the time and facilities of the factory. Within three days it was determined to pitch tiie whole thing over- board and it would be a relief to be free from it. Besides which, it seemed incredible," they said, "that when men could write with their own iiands, a machine to do tiie same thing should be necessary. It could not be a success in view of the competition necessarily prevailing between the hand-made writing and a machine to do it. Hence, they had i^ % !|M i« m t.H v\ ■ M H l62 The First of the Typswritei's. made up their minds to get out of wliat had been nothing else but a nuisance since its introduction to the shop." If eloquence and earnestness were ever needed, it seemed to be on this occasion. A stream of talk had to be set in motion, argument, illustration, entreaty, and, finally, the assertion tiiat the talker's firm could use one liundred of these machines, aroused a languid interest in the minds of the great gunmakers. But, without money, they would and could do nothing, and money they must have, else the scrap heap would be the receptacle for the piles of parts of the Typewriter ready to be " assembled." When, there- fore, at the conclusion of a vigorcnis appeal, a certified check on the Chemical Bank was produced for $5,500, and a definite order for one hundred machines offered, the tone changed, and a new day dawned for the Typewriter. The details were soon fixed, and, before leaving the shop, the purchaser had the satisfaction of seeing twenty men shifted from gunmaking for purposes of war, to the creation of Typewriters for the purposes of peace. In sixty days one hundred Typewriters were sent down to New York from Ilion, and stored in the printing-office of the purchaser's firm. Ten of these were installed in the main office, at 335 Broadway, and before thirty days the remaining ninety had been sold by the patentee at $100 each, another order for one hundred and fifty had been sent to Ilion, accompanied by cash, the proceeds of these sales, and from that day to this there has been no cessation in the production of T3^pewriters. Their universal use is a test of the revolution which they inaugurated, especially stimulating the employment of stenographers, and greatly enlarging the field for the employment of females, while doubling and trebling the capacity of the acutest business men the country over. No better illustration of the efficiency and high degree of usefulness of the typewriter is afforded than by the firm whose liberality and foresight rescued it at its moment of The First of the Typewriters. 163 ►n is y ly le ss peril. In the Mercantile Agency to-day, there are no less than fifteen hundred writing machines employed, and the efficiency and completeness of that great instrumentality of commerce, has been more contributed to by this device than by any other single adjunct. That this great number ot machines, and all hereafter to be employed by the Agency, are furnished at the cost of manufacture, is the deserved reward that has followed the plucky putting up of $5,500, and the part i)layed in the rescue of the first typewriter. How much the great firm of VVyckoff, Seamans & Benedict, who have made most deservedly a million out of the device, and how much all the other members of the great combina- tion that now controls typewriters, as well as the public generally, are under obligation for the rescue from the scrap heap of the typewriter, it is not becoming here to say. But this is true, that a man's usefulness is not confined to providing for his wants alone, for no one can tell how wide may be the circle of the damage he may do, nor the good he may perform. Let us hope that going to Ilion, that cold December morning, and that plucky deposit of $5,500 to cover parts of machines otherwise consigned to the scrap heap, \ '11 atone for some of the mischief that other mistakes resulted in. The putting of the typewriter on the market was a great service to American humor. It made the lady typewriter possible, and, judging by the comic papers and the para- graphs of the time, she has come to stay and afford a mark for wit and humor rivalling the mother-in-law, the tramp, the amateur fisherman, and the other time-honored subjects of jokes. ^aA' :i|t! ■".fj 1:^': Food a Factor in the Chance of Success. It is sa'd that it requires the product of seven acres of land to sustain a liorse for one 3ear. This seems an almost incredible estimate, yet when it is recalled that three times every day for 365 days in the year, fodder has to be pro- vided for every horse, seven acres does not seem so much. Boys who have lived on farms, and have had to do with ten- acre fields, and know the big space they cover, especially when they have to be plowed, harrowed or raked, will appreciate the importance of the comparativel}' great area required to provide food for every single horse in the land, and its bearing upon the question of future food suppl}'. The increase in the number of horses used in the city and coun- try has been very great, though the introduction of electrical and other power for railways, etc., will now operate to lessen it, nevertheless, the food required for horses not only shows the extent of the tax on the resources of the country, but indicater what it requires to keep alive animal and human life. It is said that in order to sustain the natural annual increase in population of the United States, (which is added to, also, by immigration) there is needed an increase of acreage of corn alone every year of 2,800,000 acres I in order that there may be no doubt about what figures are meant, because the estimate seems so large, the sum is spelt out in letters, viz. : that two million eight hundred thousand acres of new corn land are annually needed to supply the increase of population with corn alone, not grain or wheat, but Indian corn or maize. Thus, our exports must dimin- ish, or the cultivated area of Indian corn alone increase by 2,800,000 acres every year in order to feed the increase, in population. This is a very startling conclusion when it is [164] M Food a Factor in the Chance of Success. 165 realized that the corn belt has about reached its limit ; and that its growth, either in variet}' of production or extent of acreage, cannot be much increased. It is evident that the rapidity of growth of population will soon catch up to the production. With regard to Indian corn, it is hardly realized to what extent this article enters into our daily life and consump- tion. A Kansas friend, Mr. C. Wood Davis, once spent a day and night with me some time ago, and drew my atten- tion to the amount or corn consumed by an average busi- ness man in a very striking manner. For instance, walking up Broadway on a cold winter afternoon, we comforted ourselves with a glass of Canada Rye. Subsequently we went to Huyler's, the confectioner, and bought a pound or two of candy, and later on, for a friend, 1 bought a lamp and some alcohol. Returning home, we took a drive, and for supper had chicken and bacon, and a glass of toddy before retiring for the night. In the morning we had ham and eggs, coffee and corn bread for breakfast. As we left the house, my friend said : " Ever since we met yesterday we have been consuming corn. The Canada Rye on Broadway was made in Wind- sor, Ontario, from corn ; the candy we bought was made from glucose, a product of corn ; the alcohol for the lamp was again corn ; the horses we drove last night were fed on corn ; the chicken and bacon for supper were raised on corn ; while the toddy at night was corn-juice ; the eggs and bacon and Johnny cakes for breakfast were, of course, the result of corn. So you sec that throughout your whole living and being this element of corn enters." It was a striking and unusual example, and the little episode is repeated here to bring to mind to what an extent this article of corn enters into human activity and economy. In its production there may lie possibilities for a better emplovment than speculatiiig in it, or even ujanufactuiing products from it. I m i':'li \ ,1*1 ■ .3f M'ti ■ ■ hn\ \ 1 ■ ,8 V ' « 1 1 (1 ' 1 i 1 V i ', ; 1 i '^ .) •• Buffalo Bill's First Real Success. One Saturday afternoon, while dispatching business rapidly so as to get off early, a plain-looking countryman sought an interview with me, which was difficult to grant. Looking at him as I passed the bench on which he was seated, 1 judged him to be a cross between a brakeman and a farmer, who had probably some scheme to unfold to me, and I did not give him much attention. As I hurried away from the office, he caught up to me, and said ; "I have come all the way from Omaha, Mr. Wiman, to see you, and I hope you will not leave town without letting me have a few words.*' Now any man who would come all the way from Omaha to see me, deserved some recognition, and I told him that I would talk with him if he would ride with me down to the ferry. Fumbling in his pocket he brought out a newspaper extract, and asked me if I had made the speech to which it referred. It was a piece cut from the Omaha Bee, con- taJning a synopsis of some remarks I had made at Baltimore a few days previous, in which I spoke of the possibilities of out-door amusements in New York, and especially how they could be boomed in Staten Island ; referring to the growth of the great leisure class, and the number of travelers who annually made New York their Mecca, and the hope that existed of gathering to it the largest aggregation of human- ity on the contineat under circumstances of great attractive- ness. I said to my companion that those were my senti- ments, and asked him what interest they had for him. He said, modestly : "I am John Burke, general manager for the Hon. Wm. F. Cody, usually known as * Buffalo Bill,' and I have been sent on to discover what are the chances for an alliance with [i66j Buffalo Bi/rs First Real Success. 167 the new Rapid Transit movement on Staten Island, antl I want to secure your influence and energy in promotinj"- our siiow at some good point on Staten Island." This fell exactly in line wicli what 1 had previously in mind, and I invited John Burke to be any guest, and, as I was going for a ride, he gladly cam(^ along. A carriage and pair awaited us at the ferr^'-landing on the Island, and I whirled him along the North Shore to a property which 1 had it in mind to buy, and which, before a month, would surround a new station on the Railroad, then rapidly ncar- ing completion. Mr. Burke was charmed with the locality. It was a beautiful grove, and he said that with a little expenditure it could be made an ideal site for Buffalo Bill's Wild West. The result was the purchase of the property by me and the location of a station, which was named by Cody " Erastina." At this point, during the following summer, Buffalo Bill gave exhibitions which were attended by a larger number of persons than had ever before been known to visit Staten Island. Over a million and a-half of people were brought to the show, and it became so attractive and so much the vogue, that for two summers he held the attention of the public, and in the winter played a long engagement at Madison Square Garden. The significance of the visit, however, is this, that on two previous occasions he had utterly failed in New York. At the Polo Grounds he had not received enough patronage to feed his horses; at Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, he had lost heavily, and equally, so at Coney Island, it remained for him to go to the remote recesses of Staten Island, and, under good manage- ment, energy and judicious publicity, to achieve a success which laid the basis of his historic tour in Europe, got him introductions to Royalty, and made for him and his great troupe, an international reputation. ! nl I Hi M III I If ■i' li: < 1' ii. til w •^M\. ii Sidney Dillon and the Wild West. Sidney Dillon, on whom more tiian any other person, tlie construction of the Union Pacific Railroad depended, was an exceedingly amiable and attractive man. His success as a contractor, and subsequently as president of that great corporation, gave him great prominence; while his relation with Jay Gould and Russell Sage, late in life, sustained him in a position of singular influence and strength. Simple- minded, as he was, his early friendships were very attractive to lum, a nd, am on g th em, none more so than that with *' Buffalo Bill," the Hon. W. F. Cody, of Nebraska. When Cody was playing his star engagement at Eras- tina, Staten Island, a day was specially set apart for the entertainment of Mr. Dillon, and Cody, knowing that not- withstanding !iis great prominence he possessed one of the tenderest of hearts, selected a day when arrangements had been made to have an immense audience of city children. Cody, who is liberality itself, had proposed to furnish free the entertainment, if the writer of these lines would supply transportation to all the children we could lay our hands upon, and give a day's pleasure to, at the " Wild West." Accordingly, the town was scoured. All the orphans' homes, missions, fresh air organizations, and other instru- mentalities were employed, and from eleven until two, one day, the Staten Island boats were literally alive with little ones who had rarely before been out of the city, and who were bound to see in reality the wonderful sights which on Ihe walls in the streets had been pictured on the bills. It is no exaggeration to say that on that Friday afternoon there were present ten tliousand little waifs who never .before had such an outing. While the children were being marshalled to their seats, (i68| Sidnn' Dillon ami the Wild West, 169 in the tent of " Buffalo Bill," a meeting had taken place, that was unique iu its character, antl most touchin*;^ in its pathos. Sidney Dillon, accompanied by a number of mil- lionaire friends, includin*^ Russell Sa<^e, Geo. M. l^dlman, !I. K. Thurber, and others, had been specially invited to Buffalo Bill's tent, which was decorated for the occasion. The meeting between the great railroad promoter and the scout, " Buffalo Bill,' was very hearty. Mr. Dillon explained to his friends that he esteemed the service which Cody hatl rendered as about the most important contribution made to the construction of the Transcontinental road. But for the efforts of Buffalo Bill and his fellow-hunters the workmen many a time would have starved, but by Cody's energy, skill in horsemanship, and knowledge of woodcraft, the camp was supplied with fresh meat for weeks at a time. Deer, bear and antelope from the woods and lish fresh from the lakes, were secured, and, in short, a perfect commissar- iat establisiied by the celebrated scout and his fellows. Mr. Dillon added that the community owed as much, in a certain way, to Buffalo Bill's devotion and eagerness to turn an honest penny in his particular line, as it; did to him, (Mr Dillon) and the other men who pushed lorward the great undertaking. The simplicity and earnestness with which the gray- haired and venerable contractor stated tiiese facts was not more winning than the modest}' of Buffalo Bill himself. Standing side by side, these two men, each of high stature, and both noble in appearance, it was difficult to resist the feeling that they represented "types," and ol the best kind in their respective lines. One, a great financier, promoter, and railroad builder; the other, "a mighty hunter," per- petuating the memory of his achievements before thousands of people daily, by a successful and creditable exhibition. It was interesting to hear the two exchange reminiscences, and it became a difficult matter for Nate Salsbury, Buffalo Bill's able partner, and that soul of good nature, Major Burke, to liii ;1| III. ■Hi i' •SI ' !■ i M I 70 The Child re us Happiness, break \\\t tlic syiiipcjsiuiu by announcing ih.it ten tluvisand people were anxiously awaitinj^ the a|)pearance of llie lier(3. The distinguished party of millionaires were conducted to their seats in front of the auditorium, and, as Buffalo Bill advanced, lookini,^ n[) and down tint rows of little ones, who, in a fever of expectation, were ready to burst into a cheer, he held up his hand, and said : " I am glad to see you all, and I hope you will thoroughly enjoy the afternoon. Both myself and troupe will do our very best to amuse you, because we are to i>lay to-day before my oldest and best friend, the man I most love, Sidney Dillon, and before the little children from New York, brought here by my next best friend, and they surely deserve to see the best that we have to offer." Whereupon, at a signal, the Indians d: led up on their wiry little horses, like a cloud, their great speed, wild cries and weird appearance generally, thrilling all beholders. It was a sight, indeed, to see these ten thousand little ones all attention and interest, and then to note the pleasure it gave to Sidney Dillon that so much happiness was infused into the sad lives of so many poor waifs at a moment when he was being specially honored. The old gentleman stood up, and with tears streaming down his cheeks, he turned to the writer of these lines, and said : "You have in your day done some clever and good things, my friend, but never in your life have you helped forward an event that gave so much pleasure to your guests, both old and young, as you do to-day!" Buffalo Bill played as he had never played before. He did not lose a ball in his wonderful rifle shooting, and his whole troupe, Indians and all, seemed to be animated with a desire to do their best. It was a scene never to be for- gotten, and is referred to now as much to cast a wreath of tender recollection on the grave of Sidney Dillon, as it is to recount the good nature and liberality of a man moving in a totally different sphere. Yet these two, by the strange Siihicy Dillon and the Wild West, 171 mutation of time and circumstance, had been brouii^lit to have an affectionate regard for eacii other. Tlie feeding of those ten thousand children that day, as on otiier days when the same lok ''ound them for a good farm for their boys. \\\ liiC c.Iirges the cliemistry of the soil and practical instruction in the sciences of production should take the place of the classics and other obsolete mental equipment. Boys ougiit to be taught how to mine for gold and silver in the broad areas which contain low grade ores, and practically instructed in metallurgy, and generally encouraged to work out of the earth the riches it contains. Training akin to this is the kind that will achieve success and enable men to live wittiout preying upon others. In other words, the great field f the American youth of the future will be to work out from the soil, the sea, the mine, and the forest, the treasures therein contained. M VA i I h: If 85 ii Rapidity of Creation. The most moinentous influence upon the economy of tlie period is tr.c rapidity with which things are created. The industrial activity of the time in this direction is illus- trated by the following extract : " One of the most interesting things about dime novels and summer literature is the way they are made. There is an establishment in New York which prints 5,000 novels an hour. They have a machine consisting of two cylinders, on each of which 144 pages may be screwed, and as the long strip of paper goes through, first one side is printed then the other, making it possible to print 288 pages at every revolution. The sttip of paper, after being carried over rollers which dry the ink, is cut, folded, and brought together in the shape of a volume, with the edges all trimmed. Every time the great cylinder goes around a novel is printed, folded and trimmed, and 5,000 of these are turned out every hour, while, if it were necessary, 7,000 or 8,000 might be the quota. The covering does not take long, 50 being the average for a minute. The paper costs nearly five times as much as the printing, and mounts as b'^h a two cents a novel. The whole cost for the mechanical construction of these books is not more than three cents apiece. — Chicago Graphic. There are other de|)artments of manufacturing in which the above remarkable showing is duplicated, and through- out the whole range of industry this rapidity of creation may be said to exist. The influence of this extraordinary ability to reproduce is ver}' great upon the future Chances of Success. Tt is especially important in view of a restricted commerce, and points with great force to the necessity for wider expansion for the future of tlu^ youth of the country, the business of which is now confined within what seems [174] Rapidity of Creation. /D very narrow limits; These limits seem narrow, not because llie American youth has not wider scope than any other, but, because, within the period of the life of the parent, space has been almost annihilated and rapidit}- in every- thing vastly increased. The possibility of instantaneous com- munication by electricity, the invention of the telephone, tiie quick movement of trains, by which Chicago and New York are practically only a night apart, the perfection of the po:^al system, the facility of the express, and the many other histrumentr.Iities of civilization, have resulted in a tendency to congestion everywhere, which this ability to produce has pretty completely filled up. The Chances of Success in the future in the making of books, their dis- tribution, and the profit upon their sale, as, indeed, upon cver3Mhing else that can be created with facility and rapid- ity, have entirely changed with the old processes which were in vogue when the parents of those now coming- forward stepped upon the stage of life. New conditions, (not always improved ones) are to be encountered, and it is j)rudent to realize with what strides the power to produce has gone forward. ill 51* ^ m :h h- t)n *y les ;d his Two names are peculiarly representative of the Jewish race — one name that of Rothchilds, the greatest of finan- ciers, and the other that of Baron liirsch, the greatest of philanthropists. The first by the power of accumulated wealth of centuries, and the best capacity, does more than any other single force in Europe to shape policies and con- trol dynasties; while the other, the good Jewish Baron, is known the world over as the dispenser of a large benefi- cence, a wider charity, a more unselfish and effective devo- tion to the interests of others than any other member of the human race. Proud indeed may be the Jewish people of names that so illuminate the current history of the world! A Race for Life. A telegram was one day received from Pullman, 111., in these words : "Secure passage on French steamer, Saturday, for wife and son Percy, bitten by a mad dog ; seriding him to Pasteur. " Perkins." The passage was secured at once, and at noon on the day of the steamer's departure a little woman arrived by the Pennsylvania Railroad, weary and worii, with a big boy of eight or ten, who, in company with three other children, had been bitten two da3's previously by a rabid dog. The little wotnan was intent upon getting her son to the great French doctor, Pasteur, before the nine days interval between the bite and the convulsions should elapse. They got the steamer, closely run for time, and arrived in Paris within five hours of the expiration of the fatal nine days. She went immediately to Pasteur and had her son treated. At the same hour in Chicago convulsions set in with two of the other victims, and the}- died, after suffering horribly, from hydrophobia. Far away in Paris the little Perkins boy was safely treated and, by a mother's energy and love, saved. The nature of the lad, however, became very mucji changed, and, though ordinarily amiable and intelligent, the slighest provocation now roused him to a condition of anger that he could not control, and at times it would seem he was almost dangerous in his rage. Nevertheless, he wascarelully trained, returned to America, and entered into iliy employ- ment. He learned rapidly, and was full of promise. Mis father meeting a violent death in Colorado, the boy dropped every prospect to go to his mother's side, [ind devoted him- self to her most assiduously. It is sad to realize that, after [1 76 J A Race for Life. 177- being providentially saved from a horrible death, he, too, shonld be cut off prematurely, as 1 learned to-day — August 20th, 1893, — by a dispatch from Denver, announcing his death. How strangely the lives of people, in no wise connected, cross each other. The bite of a mad dog in Pullman, makes vivid an incident in which the courage and energy of a mother, the skill of a great physician, and the gratitude of a son, intermingle. 1 ' !"l I Does any one suppose that petroleum could be as cheap as it is to-day if the Standard Oil Co. had not existed ? This vast monopoly has been most persistently abused, but it has done more to help the world toward a cheap and sale arti- ficial light, and thus done more for mankind, than all the contributions of its detractors cn, sale, and dis- tribution ; in banking, exchajige, freight, and numerous other departments. Because of a small importation, these men are not employed as, by exclusive power of the gov- ernment, this class of occupation is mostly confined to those connected with protected manufactures. Now, taxation is, of course, a necessity to pay the e< penses of the Government, and the needed money must be raised. The difference between the State and General Gov- ernments illustrates what it is possible to do. Theexpensta [178] I!i; I A Country Free Indeed. 179 ()( ,i!l tlic State Governments are paid by direct taxation, and constitute a charge which the t)eo['le submit to without a murmur. The expenses oi the General Government iiave been paid by duties on imported goods and by excise duties. The difficulty has been tiiat the rates exacted on imported goods has been so high that they have practically prohibited importations of goods so affected, and give such a practical subsidy to the manufacturers, that it has not only largely diminished the revenue, but increased the burden of tax- ation very much. The justification for this has, of course, been that the wage of the American artisan has been kept high as com- pared with that of tiie European workman; but there has been a practical abrogation of this in the free admission of foreign labor into this country to compete with the Ameri- can artisan on his own ground, which makes the benefit of protection to the native artisan almost null and void. So much is litis the case that, in fully one-half of the manufac- tories of Nt'w England, the French Canadian preponderates; while in many other localities, east and west, Poles, Hun- garians, and especially Italians, take the place of Americans and live on wages about one-half the amount the latter can afford to accept. The general impression is that the expenses of the Fed- deral goveinment are so great that it is absolutely necessary to continue taxation b}^ duties on imports, and the idea of carrying on the government without custom duties is to most men a remote possibility. A plan has been proposed, however, which, if carried out, would almost entirely oblit- erate the tariff, and with such a thought in the minds of the people, it would seem to be the most important subject for contemplation that it is possible to conceive of. To wipe the custom house practically away in all parts of the United States, and to make this a free country indeed, would be to fulfill an expectation of the grandest possibil- ities and to increase the Chances of Success immeasurably. I i I li 1 80 Obliteration of Custom Houses. The expenses of the general government, including interest on the public debt, are less than two hundred million dollars a year, or about thiee dollars /rr capita, yet to provide this comparatively small sum there has grown up an immense machinery planted around the entire border of the country, including an army of ofificials and an invest- ment of many millions in buildings and sites. When one looks at the customs service, its innumerable offices, from the august bureau at Washington down to the petty hut on the frontier, manned b> t* countless horde of ofificials and inquisitors, and sees the vastness and ubiquity of the sys- tem, the recollection of " the mountain in labor i:«roducinir a mouse," is involuntary, for the machine produces little, and that with a prodigious amount of fuss, red taj)e, annoyance, and expense to all concerned. Smuggh'ng, fraud, and cor- ruption are invited, and a general condition of immorality induced. Tiie immorality consists largely of making fraud easy and profitable, and the preferring of one class against another, while corrupting the voter in inducing him to help perpetuate the system. If, for the sake of providing a sum equal to about three dollars for every inhabitant of the country, so great a nuis- ance as the tariff and the custom house is submitted to, it would really seem as though civilization had ceased t(3 perform its perfect work, and that the science of govern- ment was dwindling into the science of oppression. The contemplation of existing conditions producing such thoughts makes it, therefore, extremely interesting to can- didly and impartially consider the proposition made by that most able of economists, Mr. David A. Wells, in a recent letter to the President, ir which he maintains that all the expenses of the government, including the interest on the public debt, can actually ho. paid by import and internal revenue duties on wines, liquors, beer and tr,bacco! He holds that, without any hardship, these articles can produce by taxation 245 million dollars. Of course, in this he docs not I i Obliteration of Custom Houses. i8i include the amount necessary for pensions, but it is proposed to extend this payment by the expedient of bonds, to be liquichited with the surplu;,, which even the duties men- tioned would in time afford. Thus, it would seem tiiat by direct taxation the expenses of the State governments are all paid, and that by taxation, almost as direct, the expenses of the general government could be liquidated. Is it not worth while to consider a proposal so transcendently important as this? Those who are now scanning closely the Chances of Success in the future, should estimate thoroughly and impartially how far these chances would improve if this plan of taxation could be adopted. If the Custom Houses were practically oblit- erated from the face of the country, what would b^ the consequences to the 30 millions of people who live on and by the farm, to the lumbermen, the miners, the Hshermen and the laborers, on whom depend the whole fabric of trade ? Would not the greatest good to the greatest num- ber result from a polic}^ of absolute free trade with all the world ? There is not, in the whole range of possible suggestions, a |)roposal affecting so many people, and so full of promise to the youth of the country, as that of Mr. Wells. The strongest objection which such a proposition would meet is that the American artisan and laborer cannot hold his own in his own country in the face of foreign competition. Is this reallv a fact? Having, through the paternal regard of the government of the country been enabled to establish a most perfect condition for manufacturing, as can be found in almost every department of industry, is it not the fact that the American can now maintain himself against all comers? If, with a perfect equipment in the shape of established trade and industry ; if with an inventive faculty nowhere equalled ; if, in the presence of all needed raw material pro- duced within the country itself; if, with an equal abundance of food products nearest the point of production, and with a .V ! m I ■ ¥■ i ■ I 82 A Co7t)itry Free Indeed. liomc market the most ample anywhere to be found, the American manufacturer and artisan is not able to hold his own, it would appear that the country has been taxed nearly to its ruin in vain. What is the result of all these years of taxation and paternal legard by the government, if these exotic industries cannot be UKjinlained except at the expense of the man)', for tbe benefit of the few. The fact that the home market for manufactures has reached its limit of absorption, that competition and over- producti(jn have done as much to obliterate profit as would be possible from foreign competition, points to the conclu- sion that an open foi'eign market is the necessity for relief to tlie existing congestion. What open market is possible so long as prices are kept high by taxation? Hence, the time seems pioper lor most careful and deep thought, free from previous prejudice, as to the stuj)endous J'esults that would flow from unshacklinij trade and commerce, and freeincr it from all artificial interference, ridding the country at the same time of the enormous cost of the customs system, with its cumbrous abuses, opening uj) a new vista of hjpe for the people, and a better Chance of Success for those who now are lookiup; so anxiouslv to the future. Economy is of two kinds, — the true and the false. Ex- pense, and great expense, may be an essential part of true economy. If parsimony were to be considered as one of the kindsof taat virtue, there is, however, another and an higher economy. Economy is a distributive virtue, and consists not in saving, but in selection, — Burke, '>' i!-3 Free Ports. While a liigb tariff wall, like a solid stone fence, has been stretched around the United States to prohibit the entrance of manufactures froni abroad, even the party who arc pledi^ed to its maintenance have felt the necessit y for an occasioned opening", so that the rigidity of the principle might be somewhat lessened in fact, and meet, to some extent, the popular demand for its obliteration. Mi". Blaine\> reciprocity schemes were distinctively in this direction, and the lavor with which merchants, bankers, and mami- f.'icturers at large have entertained the writer of these lines, vvhen advocating the pulling down of the barrier towards the Noith, has shown the tendency to treat with the outer world. Up to the last Presiciential election, however, such a possibility seemed remote, and hence, anything that would permit the benefits of a better relation with the world at Large, without abolishing the tariff, was likely to be favorably considered, especially as Reciprocit}' was relied upon to popularize the late administration and maintain its party in power. One of the ideas that was confidentiall}' considered just prior to the downfall of the last administration, was the opening of three Free Ports, in imitation of the plan which had been found to work so successfully in Germany. A con- siderable foreign commerce had been created by that com- bination of States through the free cities of Hamburg, Bremen anfl Lubeck, during the Zollverein, which was based on a practically protective policy, so far as the outer world was concerned. Even since the Empire displaced ;placed tiie Zollverein, a portion of Hamburg has been retained as a free port, and her success as a point of distiibution to foreign parts greatly augmented there byw I; HM I ■I . .,' J I t I 1 l!::i ,1 iJ ^ I w I i i if i " I' It a i85 ception of Reciprocity which ^lorifictl Mr. Biuiiic's later days. The writer of these lines was consulted in relation to New York Harbor, because of his prominence in that coiuiection and his knowlcdi;c of Staten Island. It was, of course, sug- gested that, for the F^ort of New York, no better bonded warehouse could be had than the whole of Staten Island. Having an area of tifty-eight square miles, and being en- tirely surrounded by water, it could be comj^letely guarded and restricted, so far as the sending out of matei ial and manufactured goods was concerned, and possessing every facility for manufacturing, within sight of the great city, with frequency and rapidity of communication, it seemed impossible that any other j)lace could be so admirably adapted for the purposes of a Free F^ort for New York as Staten Island. Of course, the defeat of the Republicans rendered the further pursuit of such a scheme unnecessary, because it is supposed to be one of the principal aims of the Democratic party t(j obliterate the oppressive and obnoxious features of the tariff entirely. The subject, however, is referred to now, simply to show the possibilities contained in this conception of Free Ports, and to illustrate to the business men and the growing youth of the country an economic phase little understood by people in general. The world abhors closeness, and all but admires extrav- agance ; yet a slack hand shows weakness and a tight iiand strength. — Buxton, A\\ ■ill m nil V, m ;; i.l •'if [f you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's stone. — Franklin. BH IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) % u o ^ y. 1.0 I.I I4i|2e |2.5 |5o ■■■ IBH £ %& 12.0 12.2 L2I IIIIJ:* il.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation \ «^ rv ^^ k ^ >. •^\' \ ?3 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-45 J3 '^ Si '1 The Hebrew in America. One sunny suniiner Sunday afternoon, al llic fool, of the irreat. liills of vStatcn Island, tlic corncr-sloiic of a Jewish Syna<4()j;uc was laid. A ])i-oniinent Israelite from New York, Mr. Ferdinand Levy, a useful citizen and an eloquent nuin, perfoiined the cerenionv, a l^abbi, in his i"ol)es, with his assistants, lendin*^ picturcsciueness to the scene. I'wo Gentiles were asked to part icipate, as lepresentiui;' the coin- nuinity in which the Hebrews lived. These were, that most eloquent of orators, now tieparted, (leorgc William Curtis, and the writer of these lines; (he latter, in a sense, rcprcsentins;- the business element of the community. This little incident was in kccpinj;- with similar proceedings in various ])arts of the country, becoming more and more fie- cjucnt, and indicating a growth in an important element of the population of a ver}' irarked character. Tliis giowth of the Jewish race among us is beneficial, because, take tliem all in all, they are material out of whicli good, law- abiding citizens are made, while their influence and impress upon the period and circumstances of the hou:', v^:;pecially as afTecting the Chances of Success, are most marked. It is, liowevcr, startling to realize that, out of a populat ion of 65 millions in the United States, there are but 600,000 Jews. It is startling, because the control, influence and impress which this race effect upon the cv)mmercial com- munity, is in far greater proportion to their numbers than that which any other sect accomplishes. That less than 600,000 men, women, and children, should so j)ermeate, direct, and in a sense, control many departments of trade in a population of 65 millions, is a sign of the intellectual vigor, energy, and force of character possessed by this peculiar race. Vcrv largely ciistinct, socially, in the cities, having I186J 1 i'ii The Isrixclitc in the South. iS; religious, educational and cliari'ablc institutions distinct- ively their own, they nevertheless car. always be rcliccj upon to help forward every other gcx^i woik. In manv places, while they are growincrto be a most influential class in commerce, their enterprise, industry and economv. together with their peculiar facility for keeping themselves ai)art from outside entanglements or injudicious invest- ments, make them a force in these communities (jf far greater imj)ortance than can be attril>uted to anv ofhei- class. The influence and success of the Hebrew in Amciica is a tribute not oidy to the high grade of abiliiv which tlicv manifest, but to the liberality of the institutions of the country, and the e(piality of ()i)i)ortunity whicli is here afforded. Esi)ecially were the Hebrews of the utmost value to the country at the close of the war of the Rebellion. Of all thiuL-^s It was necessary that men with monev in hand, or with poi - table property that could be readily moved, should perme- ate the regions devastated by the strife. And when, at the conclusion of the struggle, the peaceful Hebrew, with jiis money-making instinct, bent his way South in all directions, it may be said that no exodus was ever more beneficial. The distribution of merchandize was again rendered possi- ble, and the wants of the people supplied ; restoration to commercial soundness was helped forward in whole stretches of country, which would have long remained un- developed but for the presence of the Hebrew. Just at the close of the war, the writer of these lines had the good fortune to apprehend how imj)ortant it was that this great army of traders should be correctly reported and estimated, not only as a whole, but as individuals, with their claims to confidence, amount of capital, and Chances of Success in each locality. That this should be done without prejudice was the essential thing of the liour. The impres- sion on many minds that, to be a Jew, was to be a trader with whom it was dangerous to deal, was dissipated, so far \. S'll? m iiH k 1 I if,' I- -iff • i ' i 1 I < • ! E. E : 1^- 1 88 The Ifebrew in America. as it was possible to do so, by tlic great instrumentality of commerce witli wliicii the writer was identified. The opportunity which tlic Hebrews possessed in the occupancy of this new Hehl for trade was a ^rand one, and anytliing tliat contributed to their credit and to confidence in their intentions, was helpful in tiie largest degree to the rebuild- ing of the trade structure in the ruined vSouth. In thou- sands of cases, statements, special investigations and thorough knowledge of the buyer were made available to the sellci', resulting in a sudden growth of business of great proportions, resulting also in the creation of many cstab- lisiuuents which have blossomed out to bo among the most influential in their respective localities, useful and helpful, and enabling the Hebrew, thus encouraged, to become the most influential, as he is to-day, the wealthiest element in the Southern country. The general impression that failures are more numerous among Jews than Gentiles, is a fallacious one. In propor- tion to the number engaged in business, there are just as many Gentiles fail as there arc Jews. That there are bad Jews, as there are bad Gentiles, there can be no question. But the shrewdness and unscrupulousness of the one, is perhaps more marked than in the other. It is possible that there is something loose in the Jewish character in his trading with the Gentile ; but it is a fact that, so far as losses are concerned, by Jewish failures, the Jews themselves suffer about as much as the Christian among the creditors. While there is in the community an impression that the Jewish trader is unduly sharp and unsci ^pulous, it is a fact that in no other department of life is there fault to be found with the Jewish character. Rarely is he found to be a drunkard, or an offender against the laws of society. He is not often seen in the criminal courts, and is not given to crimes of violence. Taken as a whole, and considering the impress which the race makes upon the community, there is less blamable about them than there is about any other Land a Private Posscssio/i. 1S9 sect or class. As was said on lliat sunny Sunday after- noon, al)ove referred to, wliile mentioning the I.ardsliips of this people and the crimes committed against tliem in the past, and tlie prejudice existin*^ at present, "they are a ])e()ple apart, an imperial race, indestructible as matter itself." i'- However much many may differ from the advanced the- ories of Henry George, we owe it to his intellectual great- ness that in this generation a new and eidarged conception ' was had as to the value of land. The philosophy that possesses that vigorous thinker, includes real estate as a universal ])ossession, in the same sense that light, air and water arc universal possessions. Hence, any one man that owns some of God's earth, with that conception in view, is, in a certain sense, a i)rincc among men, having an advantage over the rank and file of others less blest. If in the race for wealth and possessions, a limited number arc proprietors of the earth, and the greater number are but trespassers tlicreupon, there seems to be some ground for the assertion of a superiority— of possessing a degree of shrewdness sur- l)assing the average man, and that these happy individuals are what Emerson calls "the masters of a certain long arithmetic." For it is a fact that, passing all other voca- tion-, and pursuits in review, there is no single element of profit that has been so certain and so large as that which has been derived from the enhancement in the value of real estate. JI1 ■ i m lit :\A If iilti % ' • I m ■ J ! ft (! i The Mite of the Million. An enumeration of tlie sources of income of the largest character must include those which are derived from the smallest sums. The insignihcant character of each separate contribution might make one think that there was no large profit possible from aggregations of this character. But the truth is, it would look sometimes as though the largest sums were gleaned from the smallest amounts. Thus, the incomes derived from the greatest newspaper properties are made up largely of the infinitesimal one, two, or three cents gathered up by the omnipresent newsboy, or from the " Wants " of the unemployed. That big estab- lishments, with heavy salary lists, and expenditures for paper, machinery, and ink, can be maintained by cent and two cent driblets from day to day, shows with what con- stancy and steadiness the papers are bought by the public daily throughout the year. The fact is, that no revenues are more certain than those, the sources of which are small sums collected over wide areas. Next to the newspapers come the street and other rail- roads, with five-cent fares. These collect great revenues all over the country, which form financial aggregations of the most influential character. The elevated railroads of New York collected ii million dollars, in five-cent fares, during the year just closed, from 221 million people carried ; probably the greatest army ever moved by one company. The Third Avenue Horse Railroad collected $i,500,cxx) from 33 million people in five-cent fares, ind other street railroads in proportion. The earning power of street rail- roads all over the country, especially now that so many are extending into the suburbs of the cities through the aid of electricity, will greatly increase the volume of this river of [190] *^ t T//e Mite of the Mt/Iiofi. 191 small contributions, and enhance the possibilities of success to lueu who invest their savings in these enterprises. The money made in numerous other avenues is by tiic union of small amounts. Thus, the licpior trade, perhaps the largest of any, gets its reveiuic^ in the smallest coin ; as also the cigar and cigarette interest. The four and a- half billion cigars yearly smoked in the United States, represent, perhaps, a thousand million sales of a few cents each. The penny weighing machine has a clientele iA seven- teen million people annually, while the Automatic Selling machines, which disburse chewing gum, postage stamps, ind a dozen other trifles, arc everywhere gathering in their harvests of cents and nickels. The yearlv revenues that arc made up in this way, aggregate such sums, that one might write *' Might " of the million at the head of this paragraph, instead of the " Mite." The Chance of Success in making money, by diiectly appealing to the people for small sums is, therefore, one of the things to be thougiit of, in the changed conditions which are encountered now. More freight is paid to the railroads by a relatively small number of Hebrews in Southern cities, llian is jiaid by the rest of the traders in these c'ties put together. More profit is realized from the outward adornment of the ladies of the land, and from the clothing of the business men and the mechanics, by the Israelitish brethren, than by the Gentiles, though the latter are ten to one of the former. Recall, for instance, the development of the finest shopping district on the continent, the splendid stores on Sixth avenue. New York, in the vicinity of 14th Street and 23d Street, and an illustration will be afforded of a condition that is duplicated in a measure in every city in the land. In progress, in enterprise, in taste, in liberality, and in all that makes a true merchant, the condition of the Hebrew tra- ders of the country is most marked. 11= ir Mil t. « n-3 I V Perpetual Imprisonment. The receipt of a letter, late in tlic autumn of 1886, dated Ludlow Street Jail, resulted in a very 'stran^i^e connec- tion with a lot ol {prisoners, un the one hand, and a revolu- tion in the law relatinj^ U) imprisonment for debt, on the other. The letter was from a younj^ Canadian, formerly employed in an eminent house in Montreal, \vh(» came to New York, and had been inveig^lcd into a partnership, which, after a few months, lesulted in failure, the senior appiopriatinji; the j;^()ods, and the junior, tiie Montreal bov, beinj^ arrested for debt, apparently incui red by fraud. I'he letter stated that for two years the writer had been im- mured within the walls of Ludlow Street Jail, and thai, as tiie 1 iw now stood, lie would be perpetually incarcerated unless the debt was i)aid or the law amended. He imj)lored some investigation, and the working-up of some public sen- timent against a state of things that seemed simply outrage- ous in the present advanced state of civilization. Tliis recital of the condition of not only the writer, but of some twenty-five or thirty other prisoners, revealed a most appalling possibility (A perpetual imprisonment for debt in this great centre of intelligence and liberality. Inquiry was made, the history of the young man was found free from taint, and the transaction for which he was imprisoned cer- tainly susceptible of explanation. There seemed no hope for his freedom, and a settlement was made of the claim by a remittance sent to Memphis, where the original creditor then lived, and the prisoner was freed. It was the good fortune, therefore, of the writer of these lines, to send on Christmas Eve of 1886, to the charming wife of the poor fellow, who had been separated from her for two years, as a Christmas present, the person of her [192] Jh'isoncrs linthoiit Hope. I9J husband. There was received from lier tlie next (hiv a letter full ()( patlios and er promoters of this great facility of civilization, there seems hardly any limit to the height to which safety and convenience may attain. The result, however, of this constant springing upwards, and the large investments which are being diverted sky- ward in the wny of office buildings, is to beget an extent of competition which dors not ex.st in other real property. The tendency of the peoj ic townr'ls the cities, so marked of recent years, las deurinded extraordinary accommo- dation; but the supply now bids fair to be far in excess of this demand. The result is al'"eady sh >wn in very consider- able difficulty in keeping up the revenue of office buildings. [197J t ! m i 4 \'M' 1 t; j 1 1 .5 Vil . III ti.i • 5* ■ ,. Jj(. i\ ii I9S Oj)uc-)-€)ital as a Source of Rcvouic. Edifices, which arc cnciiiiibcrcd with heavy interost and other expenses to take care of, find great difficnity in mak- ing ends meet. Many a down-town bnilding, which, five years ago,- seemed to promise a permancnt'and large retnrn, shares now, with other departments of bnsiness, tlie depres- sion of tlic times. It is, tlierefore, likely that excessively high buildings, containing a large numbci' of offices, will depreciate in value as compared with other real estate investments which seemed to be less judicious and less likely to earn a permanent return. Hence, many of tlu)se dependent upon this class of real property have to seek other Chances of Success in other fields of effort. wStill, to liavc a contingent interest, even a remote one, in a first-class office building in a growing city, is to have a good hope for the future. Only it shows how s(Miietimes the best of things may change. It is so in economics as in morals, — " the greater the good, the nearer the evil !" It would seem as if in the evolution of progress on this continent, that electricity was the flower and fruit. The stupendous change which in the condition of the human race has been possible by development on this side of the sea, needed just such a revelation as is possible only in elec- trical science. A drama of such proportions, on a stage of such magnitude, by a people of such intelligence, illustrat- ing such principles as self-government, such events as a material progress beyond all that the world had ever seen, needed above all things a new force, a new hint from the mysteries of the unknown, a new law of nature as forceful as gravity, as helpful as heat, as widely diffused as air. Electricity thus takes its stand just at its right place in the marvelous procession of events in the human progress to- wards a higher and nobler life, which has been rendered possible by the discovery of America. m *s\ Woman's New Place in the Creation of Economic Conditions Tlie enlari^cmcnt of the sphere of women, especially on the American continent, will contribute greatly to a chang-e in economic conditions. The gi'adual growth in the bcliei in her capacity, her rapidity of acquirement and intelli- gence, has enabled her in the last two decades, to take a j)lace in production, and in the transaction of business, very influential and helpful. At the same time, the presence of woman in the econo- mic world crowds out many men. Enlarging the number in the avenues of effort, intensities the struggle for existence for all. Women have made their way into most business pursuits, and as stenographers, typewriters, book-keepers, cashiers, saleswomen, operators, printers, and as clerks generally, there is a noticeable yearly increase in the num- ber of them employed. In the mechanical arts, in factories, and generally in the finer departments of manufacture, in printing-offices, in bookbinderies, in jewelry establishments, and in photography, the girl is taking the place of the boy very largely. There is no great struggle as yet between the sexes, as one against the other, but, between them, there is a great augmentation of the number struggling for daily bread. It is right and proper that this should be so ; but, at the same time, it changes the circumstances which the youth of the country encounter in their attempt to achieve success. Inasmuchas over-productionis the evil of the hour, there is a necessity for contraction in production, which involves a lessened number of workers to be employed. Thus, while the chances for employment are shrinking, the presence of [199] ■1 ' il 'l\ li . 'ill III p ;i|i ' 1 ii m hi it,^?-! '^1 200 Values in City Properties women in tlie field, as competitors witli men, is bound to be severely felt. It seems clear enough that the progress of women is in a certain sense a new difficulty for men; and in the race, within certain limitations, they will surpass the other sex. In deli- cacy of perception, in general intelligence, truthfulness, hon- esty and thrift, they are, as a rule, far in advance of the boys of equal opportunities and surroundings. The average girl can live and do well on two-thirds of the amount required by the average boy, and taken as a whole, they are growing to be, in many departments of life, much preferred to the "fresh " youth who thinks his superiority unquestioned. If the possession of land is in a certain sense a patent of nobility over and above the rest of mankind not so blessed, it is especially so in great cities, where, within narrow areas and in crowded quarters, a congestion occurs of a money- earning populace. The necessity for comfort, for shelter, (or existence itself, creates a demand for occupancy simply irresistible, which, if the supply is at all inadequate, begets a value for land of the most extraordinary character. In the great cities of ihe world the land is a possession beyond that of any other asset ; and if it is so in Elurope, and even m other cities in America, it is especially so in and about New York, and all the great American cities. The local circumstances of topography, the geography of the locality, intensify the claim to value which, both in New York and in the surrounding region, makes it absolutely sure that a constant advance in value must go forward. When one recalls the advantages which- the metropolis occupies, in that it is the great entrepot of so vast a continent, some conception may be entertained why it is that there has been so constant an advance in the past, and that a contin- ued enhancement is so certain in the future. I. i i Running against a Stone Wall. " You cannot enter here," were the gruff words witli wliich an orderly met tlie promoter of tlie Rapid Transit Railroad and a party of engineers, who were seeking- entrance at the gate of the Federal Light House Estab- lishment on Staten Island. " Why can we not enter?" wc asked. " Because I have orders to keep you out," was the reply. ** You must see the General in charge." Sending in a card to the head of the department, an interview to the promoter was permitted. He then was told that the construction of a railroad around the shores of Staten Island, under the authorit}'' of the wState of New York, was impossible ; that the powers of the State, great as they were, became paralyzed the moment they sought exercise where Federal property intervened, and as the Light House establishment belonged to the Treasury Department of the United States, no railroad authorized by an individual State could be constructed. Inasmuch as the Light House establishment is on the side of a hill, running up to sheer 150 feet, rendering it impossible to get around it, and as it ran down to the Bay it was impossible to get in front of it, it seemed indeed as if the project of a Rapid Transit Railroad along the Bay of New York was doomed to failure. It could only be accomplished by the right of way being secured by Act of Congress. This seemed to be impossible in view of the intense antagonism which the Treasury Department, guided by the Light House Board, manifested. Permission, however, was asked to adnnt a surveyor, so as to complete a survey which had already been perfected along both sides of the Federal property, and it was only necessary that the 800 feet, which this comprised, should be surveyed, in order to get estimates and perfect [201] i 1' :"1 'i'l ■ 1 n n I'M -6 j , 'if i 'A i , '! ; j i m r I HI! :i > •|.i 202 Rnnniiig against a Stone IVa/l. j)laiis. But even llic riglit to survey was denied, and posi- tive orders were given tliat no engineers sliould be admit- ted. Even tiie piivilegc of photograpiiing tiie propert}"" from a wail was refused, and tliere seemed nothing for it but to give it up. It was, however, deemed absolute! v necessary, in antici- ongress, that some clear apprehension ")ation of cfoinir to C of the locality should be had, and of the difficulties in the w[iv. Accoi'dingiy, it was decided to circumvent the Light House officers in a rather novel way. This was to send up a photographer in a captive balloon, taking views from each corner of the propert3% and getting such a representation of the locality as would render explanation of the project easy to members of Congress, whom it was determined to approach. This was accordingly done, and two whole days were spent by the representatives of a corporation, author- ized by the great State of New York, taking views from a balloon, of a locality within the State, which representatives of the Federal Government positively declined to let us into. This attitude of the officers of the establishment affords a ke}' to much that afterwards occurred in the shape of hostility to legislation and construction, and is but an indication of the immense difficulties whi'^'^ the project had to surmount. The secret of money-making is saving it. It is not what a man earns, not the amount of his income, but the relation of his expenditure to his receipts that determines his pov- ei cy or wealth. It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a great fortune ; and when you have got it^ it requires ten times as much to keep it. — Rothschild. Differing Dictionaries. The Act of Congress granting riglit of way tlirougli the Federal Liglit Mouse property on Staten Island for the Rapid Transit Railroad, stated that it should be" by means of a tunnel." After infinite trouble, and many journcvs to VVasliington, appearing before the Light House Board, and long delay, the right of way was agreed upon, and an excavation started on the 800 feet of property which com- prised the croquet lawn and tennis court of the officers in charge. To deprive these hard-working fellows of the use of their pleasure-ground for a period, was a cruel proceed- ing, and a piece of vandalisn? which nothing could justify ; but tlie absolute necessity for means of communication for the mere people along the shores of the Bay of New York, which the Light House property practically barred. After an infinite amount of trouble, in raising the money and pro- curing contractors, who hesitated to undertake construction under the severe exactions of the Department, some pro- gress was made in the shape of a cutting and the remov^al of earth, the commencement of the stone- work and the masonry of an arch, and, which, of course, it was the inten- tion to cover over and re-sod, restoring the surface to its original condition. A young limb of the law, who was courting a very pretty girl in the neighborhood, the daughter of a gentleman whose property was seriously affected by the project, saun- tering one Sunday afternoon near the work with \\\s fiancee, asked some questions about this construction, and being told that the Act of Congress authorized passage through the property " by means of a tunnel," explained to the father of the young lady that a tunnei was not being constructed, that it was a cutting, and that there was in law a wide differ- [203] '1:1 ■ . ■ ii ^A ■ ■',!t: n'\ .'if 'i 1i;l! * ' fi »i-'i :< 1 J 4! m I Sir ,! ■ I 204 Differ i)i!r Dictionaries, dice between an open cutting and a tunnel. Anxious, if possible, to defeat t!ie project, which would injure his prop- erty, and desirous of standing well with the Light-House officers, on the following morning he suggested to them tliat perhaps the whole thing could be knocked on the head if it were found that the Act of Congress was not being complied with ; that, up to the present, it was nothing but an open cutting; whereas if a tunnel was the means by whicii the privilege of passage through the grounds could be secured, tiie railroad should do nothing but *' bur- row" and excavate, instead of destroying the beautiful sur- face of the tennis court and the lawn of the toiling officers. This subtle point seemed to these gentlemen well taken, and, to the surprise and distress of the promoters of the undertaking, notice was received that the work must be suspended until the law officers of the Treasury Depart- ment could decide whether or not we were fulfilling the Act of Congress. We were, perhaps, half through the work, any delay was disastrous financially and pliysically, and serious engineering difficulties would impend if interfer- ence^were allowed. The strongest kind of an appeal was made to the local officers to withdraw the interference, but it was of no avail. They were rigid, as usual, in their demands, and they would not permit even an Italian work- man to enter the grounds until it was decided whether or not the work now going on was in accordance with the Act of Congress. If it was not, of course we would have to restore the property to its original position and give up the project of trying to build a railroad around Staten Island. The question having been referred to the Light House Board at Washington, and that august body in turn refer- ring it to the Attorney-General of the United States, it became important that that officer should bring all his legal ability to decide the question of whether a tunnel in the eye of the law was merely an excavation underneath the surface, or whether one could be constructed by making Diffcriiio- Dictioiaric ^05 ail open cutting and arcliinj;" it afterwards. If tlic laUci- was not a tunnel, tiien our jMoject was doomed; if, liow- evei", it was a tunnel after completion, then the project might go on. It therefore turned upon a technicality, and it looked as if the Dictionary alone could decide it. Most unfortunately, liowever, the two great dictionaries of the countr}' differed on the [)()int. Worcester's detinition was favorable to the Staten Island project going forward, defining a tunnel as a sewer, which, of course, generally implies a cutting from the top, afterwards completed by being covered in. Webster, or the other hand, defined a tunnel as a construction underneath a river, which would imply excavation only, and never an opening from above. It became, therefore, of prime importance to discover what dictionary would guide the Attorney-General in his decision, because, if he went by Webster, it was fatal to the Staten Island project. Visiting Washington for tlie special purpose of appearing before the Attorney-General in this matter, his office was found empty. Opposite his desk there was a wire frame supporting a number of books of reference. With greedy eyes the promoter of the Rapid Transit project scanned the covers, and to his horror discovered that the law-officer relied upon Webster s Dictionary. He knew that this would be fatal to him, and, after considering a moment, he hastened away and, at a bookseller's shop on Pennsylvania Avenue, purchased a copy of Worcester s Dictionary, with which prize he hastened back to the Attor- ney-General's office, inserted the book in the frame, and removed Webster. It would have been, perhaps, unconsti- tutional and dangerous to take it from the building, so he quietly pitched Noah Webster on top of a high cabinet which was in the room, the top of which was near the ceil- ing, where the great lexicographer lodged with a dull thud, and where he doubtless lies in the dust at this moment. Thus the United States was the richer by a dictionary. If the decision which was afterwards reached mi : i ! m i I. i 1 I? i 14 [ V^h ''if s i i \ if-- a 206 Differing Dictionaries. was the result of tlic examination of Worcester's Dictionary, the timely abstraction and substitution here recorded, was a lucky inspiration. Other considerations, however, than a mere technicality may have prevailed with the Hon. Benjamin Brewster, who was then Attorney-General. The writer was introduced to him by most influential people in New York. He also had a card from the President, General Arthur, himself, to whom he had the chance of explaining the whole subject, and got such a consideration by the Attorney-General that he defined the Act of Congress to mean the construction of a tunnel by the best available common sense method, which in this case was by the instrumentality of an open cutting. For two weeks, however, the project was delayed, and the lisk of defeat run, through a Sunday afternoon walk of a pretty girl with a maundering limb of the law. The changing character of agriculture in the United States — the fact that all the arable lands are now pretty well occupied — makes it absolutely essential that new modes of cultivation should be introduced. The abandoned farms in New Englatid, the exhausted soils in the Middle States, and especially the development of sucii States as V^irginia and North Carolina, where cultivation in small sections needs to be of i. character resembling that of the Continent of Europe, will afford a field for just the kind of immigra- tion that the Russian Jews afford. Their industry, skill, and thrift would make regions now barren blossom as the rose, and if they should come here to the extent of even a million or more, there is ample room and to spare for a new impetus, and a new character of cultivation of the soil. Certainly the haste with which most people condemn this class of immigration needs revising, and it is believed that investigation of the subject will show that the country would be a great gainer by the introduction of this element. Will the Progress of the Future equal that of the Past? No one tiling lias stimulated activity in business to a degree greater than Electricity, especially in its application to the telegraph and the telephone. The rapidity of the communication, its cxpansiveness over vast stretches of country, and the celerity of action which is {)ossible through its influence, have had a greatei- effect on business and gen- eral progress than almost any other agency since civiliza- tion commenced. That any new development of such magnitude will take place within the next fifty years seems impossible to conceive. The strangest part of this great progress is the character of the evolution, which from one step to another, has taken place. For instance, for the first ten years of the telegraph, the instrument ticked on to a slip of paper messages sent from a distance. Gradually the ear became familiar with the sound of these ticks, and reading by sound succeeded reading from impressions made upon paper. Once Mr. Alonzo B. Cornell recited a circumstance in relation to read- ing by sound that were very picturesque. His father, Mr. Ezra Cornell, the founder of the great University which, with such high degree of usefulness, perpetuates his name, visited his son at Montreal, where the young man was a telegraph operator. On his departure he was accompanied across the river by his son to the place where the Victoria Bridge now ends. Just as they were taking their seats in the station, Alonzo, the son, heard the instrument in the adjoining ticket-office, and interpreted by his practiced ear a word or two, which so excited his attention, that he started suddenly toward the instrument and intently listened. The stc»*y being told over the wire, was of the abdication of Louis [207J ii! 'tl 'ili JNI Vi :'f H i. \m I I 208 I 7Vn' Telti^Taph Ticker, Pliilij)pc, Kin<; of France, and of the Revolution of 1848. Turning to his father, who was just stcppinjj;- into the liain, he told him the startling news. J'he father hardly believed it could be true, because he could not credit that' his son hatl been able to glean it by sound in so brief a time, never having heard before in all his telegraphic experience that an operato' could thus receive by the sense of hearing what seemed j>ossible only to the sense of sight. That a revela- tion of this facility at so late a date as 1848 was almost dis- believed, shows what progress has been made. VVlien it is recalled that of all the 60,000 operators who hourly manip- ulate the keys, not a single one relies on sight, but only on hearing, to accurately transcribe the myriad messages that throb and pulsate throughout this nation of forty-four nations, the change from the old system can be better appreciated. The writer has had the pleasure for man)' years of an intimate relation with the projectors of the first telegraph system in this country. The men who planted the pole at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, for the first tele- graph line that was ever constructed out of New York, — Mr. (). S. Wood, who still resides on Staten Island, together with his brother-in-law, Mr. Ezra Cornell, — landed one day at Pier One, North River, and being very thrifty and poor men, ^irried a trunk up Broadway, between them, to a hotel in Cortland Street, then the hotel centre of the city. These two men were the first creators of a system of communica- tion stretching from Wall Street in all directions, both under the sea and over the land, and now representing a network of wires and a business facility more useful, more helpful and more influential than almost any other force in the country. If, in the lifetime of those now living, such tremendous results have been accomplished, what may not be achieved by the generation now coming on the stage? White-washing One's Self. Diiriii*^ the construction of the tuiniel tlirougli the Li^lit House gr(junds at Statcn Ishuul, permission was asked from the Board to commence itatboth ends after about one-third of the undertaking was accomplished. This was in order to facilitate tlic work, relieve the Department from the presence of a lot of laborers, and, generally, to take advan- tage of the privilege which Congress hatl granted. Hut the Light House Board would not permit such a change in the previous regulations, aiul resented the idea that the work should be luirried forward so rapidly. It became, therefore, necessary toa})ply to the Secretary of the Treasury, in order that he might over-rule the absurd decision of the Board. Mr. Manning, the new Secretary, had just been brcjugr.t from Albanv, and he had not been in office long enougli to come in contact with the stolid con- servatism of this branch of his department. Photographs were essential in order to explain the matter to him, and permission was asked to take a pliotograph in the grountls. It was denied ; but from the roof of a neighboring house the artist endeavored to get a " snap " shot. The staging and fencing were so new, and so nearly akin to sur.-light in color, that it was impossible, in broatl day, to get a photograph sufficiently marked to reveal to the Secretary what was wanted. The artist said that if the boards were white- washed, or painted any color, he would be more successful. Permission was asked to white-wash the boards around the open cutting. This too was refused, though it would not have affected anybody in the slightest degree. The writer, however, feeling that this refusal was based on a pure tech- nicality, was simply determined to defeat it. Theiefore, with the aid of a friend, who procured the services of a [209J ■^ ■■) ? ■^" I I! 2IO White-ivashing Ones Self, colored jjcntlcman and a pail of while-wash, the thiiij; was effected late at night. Neither the friend nor the colored gentleman wanted to assunic the responsibility of antagon- izing the whole United States government, and the writer was compelled, with his own hands, to white-wash this fence, which was about twenty feet long, in order to achieve the purpose in view. Ten minutes sufficed to do the job. The writer has been engaged in many jiursuits, and has labored in many ways in his time, but this is tiie first and only instance in which he engaged in white-washing. When the Light House officials, next morning, saw that the fence had been white-washed, the)' were surprised indeed, and ordered the fence torn down and a new one substituted; but, at early dawn, the photographer had been there and got pictures much more perfect that those at- tempted the day before, and which were sufficient to show to the Secretary of the Treasury t!ie absurdity of the refusal of the Board to permit construction to go on at both ends of the tunnel at once. The power of the assimilative processes, which in this country so universally prevail, are no where more apparent than in their e^ect upon the Jewish race. Education, con- tact with oth races, refinement, the beneficial influences of self-government, a participation in public affairs, are all having their influence upon this remarkable people. It is true, that distinctive characteristics designate the Jewish race, and will always do so; it is true they do not inter- marry with the Gentiles, but nevertheless it is a fact, that the Hebrew in America, is becoming less Hebrew and more American. Chasing a Great Engineer. Having decided, under pressure from various cjuarters, tiliat permission must be <;ranted to construct tiic Staten Island tunnel (rom both ends at once, Secretary Maniiin i| I I. 1 A Curious Railroad Contract. The bargain made between the great Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. and the little Rapid Transit Railroad Co., of Staten Island, is one of the oddest that exists between two corporations. One of the features of this bargain is that the Baltimore and Ohio, in order to get into Staten Island and New York harbor, undertook for ninety-nine years that the through trafific brought to the Rapid Transit system should every year equal the extent of the local traffic. In other words, that there should be as much cotton, coal, corn and other products at a certain rate per ton per mile moved on the Staten Island tracks, as would equal in revenue the num- ber of people carried on the ferries and trains, comprising the whole local traffic. A condition was also attached, for fear that the business might in time be starved, that the through traffic should never be less than the local traffic for the first two years of the contract. It seemed important, therefore, that the local traffic for two years, at least, should be boomed for all it was worth. If it could be lifted by some sudden energy into a large volume, its extent for two years would set the pace at which, for the following ninety- seven years, the Baltimore and Ohio would have to keep it. It became, therefore, important to consider what would most quickly increase the local traffic, and the determination was reached that various amusements and attractions should be immediately inaugurated in order that the business should be maintained and augmented. It was felt that every man, woman and child who came to Staten Island and paid len cents for the privilege of coming and returning, was worth twenty cents a year for ninety-seven years, so far as the future was concerned. In other words, that cotton and other products yielding revenue to the extent of the local traffic, [2l6j !l A Curious Railroad Cofitract. 217 would have to be brought, or a check for the difference would have to be forthcoming. This determination resulted in the inauguration of amusements on Staten Island of a most extraordinary character. Electric fountains, on the model of those so successfully operated at London, Paris and recently at Chicago, were built. Base Ball — then, as now, a great drawing card — was introduced, and the Metropolitans first, and then the renowned team of Giants from New York appeared. Buffalo Bill and his attractive combination, and lastly, Imre Kiralfry with the " Fall of Babylon," and other spectacular shows, inaugurated a class of exhibitions, without which the circus would have almost disappeared from the earth, and which at El Dorado, Chicago, London and elsewhere have since been so successful. It costs more to keep up two establishments in a small town than it does one, and yet the business often to be done is barely sufficient for one. Who pays the expenses of the second concern ? Somebody does, for the children have to be fed and educated, the wife dressed, the pew rent paid, the horses provided for, and all other expenses carried. According to Edward Atkinson, of Boston, whose insight into economic matters is a national advantage, it costs more in some places to deliver bread by the baker after it leaves the oven, than it does to grow the grain, grind it into flour, transport it to the point of consumption, and bake it into loaves. Now, if two baker's carts are e>n ployed in the delivery of the bread, where one would just as speedily per- form the task, the cost of delivery is just double that of all it has hitherto cost to produce and handle the grain and the flour. Who is benefited by the additional baker's cart? The only way the two bakers can continue to exist is to make the public pay the additional expense, which, of course, in the end they do. So that, in this case as in ten thousand others, competition does not cheapen, but begets an added burden to the cost ot existence. ':'>■■ A ? Combination upon Combination. Elsewhere allusion is made to the care with which the foundations of the government of the country were laid, so that power was so much diffused that perfect safety seemed to reside in citizenship. But no such diffusion was made of the power wiiich is now concentrating in the great monied potentates, who seem likely to rule despotically over wide ranges of industries and areas of country. The completion of the consolidation of the iron interests of Lake Superior, gives special point and significance to this reflection. It will be recalled that this enormous consol- idation, involving probably loo million dollars in value, has been mainly engineered by the principal men of the Standard Oil Co., and is another instance of the foresight- edness and ability which has characterized that combin- ation. The growth in the wealth of the men who thus control not only oil but iron, has enabled them also to acquire wide- spread power in other directions. Owning, as they do, a large control of the Northern Pacific Railroad, their influ- ence runs half across the continent. On the other hand, con- trolling noNv the International Steamship Company, which was the American Line from. New York to Southampton, they have great influence in a precisely opposite direction. Again, controlling as they now will, the new system of trans- portation on the Lakes, known as " The Whaleback" craft, they will dominate the great business of interior navigation extending over the greatest internal system of water-ways in the world. This they will do because these boats, built at less cost, carry more freight with less charge for operating than any other system, and being protected by patents, there is no imitation possible. Hence, the impos- [218] S) p Combination upon Combination. 219 sibility of competition for a tonnage, which is not only greater tlian that of the Suez Canal, but on its passage through the Detroit River, greater than that of Liverpool and London combined. Thus, in oil, starting from the point of production, per- colating tlirough tube lines to the point of manufacture and distribution, where it is refined and sent all over the Union, and all over the world, this great corporation has an earn- ing power hitherto unparalleled by any private corporation. Expanding into other departments like iron and into trans- portation by land, lake and sea, the rapidity with which their wealth will be rolled up, and power enhanced, would seem to be illimitable. Just how far this abnormal growth threatens individual effort, and how far the Chances of Success are made or marred thereby, the future alone can determine. It is wise, however, to contemplate and thoroughly apprehen,d the sig- nificance of the recent consolidatitjn of the iron interests in the greatest source of supply of the purest iron the country possesses. This metal being at the basis of civilization, and being used by Americans to a higher average per capita than in any other nation, and entering now more than ever before into every act of life, the possession of the sources of supply, so splendidly located, so ample in quan- tity, and so superior in quality, of a people so dependent on the product, gives to the combination that possesses it, greater power than was ever before possessed by private individuals ''.y'l TT I P i lii The Humors of a Ferry Franchise. The privilege of controlling exclusively traffic from and to any one point in New York City, is of great value, the City having established the monopoly and jealously guard- ing it, so that it is practically a special privilege to the pur- chaser of the franchise. Because of this, the city author- ities exact a large revenue, based upon the receipts, and the amount realized for the Sinking Fund of the City of New York, is very great fiom this source, and it is constantly increasing. The leasing of piers and the renewal of ferry franchises takes place about once in ten years, and there is always much interest manifested by each locality concerned. When it is realized that fully one-half the people who enter or leave New York must do so by a ferry, it will be seen how important the business is. Having secured the Vanderbilt Ferry and Railway on the South Shore of Staten Island, it became important that the ferry to the North Shore, run by the Vanderbilt satel- lite, Mr. John H. Starin, should also be secured. This was in order that the consolidation and concentration of the whole transportation and freight of an important suburban business should be made at a point on Staten Island nearest to the city, from the point in the city nearest to Staten Island. A new railroad had been constructed by the writer along the shore for the delivery of passengers from this nearest point. That having been accomplished, the road became an important factor in the offering of the ferry franchise which was about to be held. The conditions of the sale were a percentage of the receipts. Starin could charge nothing less than a ten-cent fare, because he had to convey passengers all the way from New York to the furthest point of the route, some ten [220J Ill A Sharp Bidder. 2 2 1 miles ; and, at a rate less than ten cents, that wonld be sitnply ruinous. The writer, however, had to convey tlie people only to the nearest point of the island, which he could do for five cents, distributing from that {)oiiit for five cents more by rail. The city had no right to exact tribute on the last five cents, so that at a given percentage of the ferry receipts, he would have to pay onl}' half \\\\:\\. Starin would have to pay the city at the same ratio. No one seemed to realize this, r.ad as Mr. Starin bid the percentage point by point, lip to fourteen per cent., the large group of Statcn Islanders present were dumfounded at what seemed to be the temerity of the new bidder, who followed him. They did not realize that fourteen per cent, meant only seven per cent, to him, while it meant fourteen per cent, to Starin ! When Starin had the writer landed in what appeared a pretty big h(.!e, and the ferry franchise was knocked down to the Rapid Transit promoter, and its control secured at a rate about half v.'hat Starin was willing to pay, he was amazed, and evidently thought that the Rapid Tran- sit victory was worse than a defeat. But there was " another nigger in the wood pile," that even the wil}' Starin did not see. The lease called formally for only two trips per day, between the City and Staten Island. The Ferry alongside Starin's, which had till then been controlled by the Vanderbilts, had been knocked down without competition to them at five per cent., was then con- trolled by the writer. There was no reason why all the business to Staten Island should not be concentrated into this slip, at five per cent., except the two trips called for by the franchise just sold at the high rate of fourteen and a quarter per cent. This system of traffic was accordingly inaugurated, and the entire business, except a trip at 5 A. M. and another at lo P. M., was done from the ferry upon which the percentage was five per cent., and that only upon five- cent fares across the bay, instead of upon a ten-cc nt fare, V :1 I t.i' i ;^IJJli ■'T ■US k i 1 - i ii -v I ^ : i. ■, :"•. 222 Airs Well that Ends Well. 1 f il W which under the old system had been paid for ferry delivery along each shore o{ Staten Island. The city officials, Starin, and the Vanderbilt party gener- ally, were somewhat astonished at what seemed to be a piece of very sharp practice, and they endeavored to upset the arrangement. But it stood the test of a long litigation and was finally approved and confirmed by the courts as entirely legal and proper. The new Rapid Transit system did more than that — it enormously increased the business of the ferries and aug- mented the revenue of the city. Where Mr. Starin had only paid the city $1,500 a year, Mr. VViman and his party paid it $15,000 a year, and the combined business concen- trated at one point increased so greatly, and was so satis- factory that, while the city had not hitherto got more than $20,000 a year from this source, the revenues to the city for the past ten years have never been less than $50,000 per annum. The means of communication were increased from fifteen trips per day to sixty ; the railroad was ex- tended in all directions throughout Staten Island to double its previous extent, and in the matter of economy, efficiencv and rapidity, a revolution was effected for this important suburb of New York such as had never before been seen in this vicinity. To this day, however, it may be doubted whether, without this explanation, parties, even intimately concerned, quite understand how it came about, that while fourteen and a quarter per cent, was apparently paid on gross receipts, practically only two and a half per cent, was paid. That the courts sustained and approved the operation, while the public were infinitely better served, and the rev- enues of the city immensely increased, was a good justifi- cation for a sharp bargain. Man a Parasite. If it be true that we live by supplying eacli other's wants, the complex machinery of society has a good deal to do with the Chances of Success, for the more numerous the wants, the greater the opportunity for supplying them. It seems a simple thing enough to buy at one price and sell at another, and, after all, that is the first principle of trade and commerce. The more complex, therefore, the framework and machinery of existence is, the more varied the needs, and the more fully employment is afforded. It is a fact that we all live one upon another, though hardly in tiie same sense as live the denizens of the sea, where the life of one species of tish is the death of another ; still, iii a degree, human life is based on the fact that the lack or want of one class is the sustenance of another. Man is, therefore, to some extent, a parasitf , Talking of " parasites," it is v/ell to realize the homely truth that man is the parasite of the cow. That a dumb animal, so far away from man in intelligence, so humble in the sphere of being, and regarded generally with commiser- ation and almost contempt, should form so important an element in the existence of man, is somewhat remarkable. If the beneficence which flows from her were estimated at its true value, there would be more justification for wor- shipping the cow in civilized communities, than there is for the worship of idols among the heathen. From babyhood upwards, the cow is an element of untold value in human existence. The milk which the child receives, and which sustains life through its most critical period, is derived from the cow. Throughout life the product of the cow is constant in its connection with our growth, in the abundant supply of milk, the most [223] liJ 1 ■ , ' i 'i t I 1 1 11 1 i 1 1 \i ■"!■! . l\ 224 A/an (I Payasilc. !. II 1% precious of foods ; in butter, in cliccsc, \vc derive in great part our sustenance. At last, by yielding up her life, or that o( her progeny, she supplies the luscious steaks, or the juicy joint, which, at the restaurant or the home table, imparts a force and vigor without which mankind would accomplish but little. After having fuitillcd all these vital offices, the httck; ' I the cow, or that of her ()ffs|>ring, forms the basis of a build great edifices or costly residences, the money is diffused in small sums of from $3,000 to $10,000 for the purpose of building homes of their own, for the class of people to whom the savings belong. Two results follow from this policy — the cessation of rent- payinj on the one hand, and the principle of periodic sav- ing on the other. This principle of periodicity, it may be remarked, exists in no other method of saving, and imparts of itself great energy and force to the movement, being in a measure self-compulsory. Last year, in Philadelphia, twelve thousand houses were built by the class who save. In New York City there are only 82,000 houses in all, and it is said that ninety per cent, of the population pay tribute to the other ten per cent, for the privilege of shelter. In Philadel- phia, it is found that more than one-half the population own there own homes, and the pressure of the hard times in Phila- delphia rests much more lightly upon the people because of that fact, and because the danger of panic and loss, to which ■'I ' ji ; : \i i If 242 Investments in Traction. savings arc exposed in New York, chjcs not exist in ?liila- dclphia. Comparing Brooklyn with Cincinnati, the same condi- tion exists. Tlie vast amount of money in tiie Brooklyn Sav- ings Banks is at the risk of the same conditions that prevail in New York, and at any moment loss, or at least a '* lock-up " of funds, is possible, affecting the whole country. In Cin- cinnati, there is but one Savings Bank, and it is not likely to be at all adversely affected. Tlie bulk of the savings of the people, instead of going into the keeping of these institutions has, as in the case of Philadelphia, gone into homes for the working people. The result is, the panic is not severely felt there, and the dangers arising from the withdrawal of dep(;sits, or the lock-up of large sums of mone}^ is not to be feared as in New York, Brooklyn and elsewhere. It has been a matter of surprise to many financiers how it came that Philadelphia should have so large a hold and ownership in the street railwa}'- svstems of the country. From the car line of the smallest town to the great Broad- way Cable Railroad in New York, an aggregation of money- earning properties has been swept into Philadelphia by two or three syndicates, more susceptible of growth and steadier in receipts than almost any other kind of enterprise. The secret of this power of absorbing municipal and railway bonds is, that the working people in Philadelphia, having no rent to pa}'', have large accumulations of money monthly on Mieir hands which enable them to rapidly absorb the securities of such undcrtakinj^s. Not onh' having no rent to pay, but having been trained by the discipline of monthly payments into building societies, the community have become impregnated with this s[)irit of organized thrift, and the result is that there is more money belonging to the working people of Philadeli)hia for investment in outside enterprises of a profitable nature, than is to be found in any other city in the United States and, indeed, in the world. 'ay ing hly ivc ■ift, Jie ide my The Misdirection of Finance. 24 The direction of money, therefore, as shown by these striking comparisons, is a matter of considerable interest to business men, and to those who seek occupation hereafter. The savings of the working people of all communities is a tremendous factor, and its direction and management has much more to do with success or failure, with risk or safety, with prosperity or danger of disaster, than is generally sup- posed. It is an economic feature of the hour that, scattered broadcast all over the TJnited States, especially in the many small centres of trade, the principle of thrift and home creat- ing, as embodied in the Building Loan Association principle, has become so strikingly prevalent. Financiers in Wall Street, great bankers and merchants, have hardly yet real- ized the magnitude of the movement, or its far reaching results, social and physical. The possession of homes, wholly or partially paid for by the working people, is nn element of strength and conservatism in the community which cannot be over-rated, and which should receive every legitimate encouragement. Savings invested in this way cannot well be wasted or imperilled, and are safe from the panic and distrust so hurtful to the world of business. Why should not the sources of supply be so perfectly understood or regulated so precisely to suit the demand, that the excess would never be created by which profit would be destroyed, or loss incurred. It would seem as if a period had arrived in the education of the human race when the class to whom had been committed, by the law of natural selection, the duty of transferring merchandise and money from one hand to another, would so thoroughly fathom all the i)ossibilities, that profit would be certain and failure impossible. I i ■ i i ^iili Leases as an Earning Power. Because land has been so abundant, and real property so cheap in and about American cities, there has been less leasing than is prevalent in other countries. A favorite form of investment, however, in Baltimore and Philadelphia, has been the perpetuation of ownership in ground rents at a very low rate of return, with the condition that the prop- erty should be improved by the occupant, by the erection of a home or place of business. The result has been remark- able in Baltimore, in the creation of a great many small houses, of a cliaracter that has been helpful to the growth and solidity of the city. In a less degree, Philadelpiiia has moved in this direction. The point of interest is, whether in and about other cities, there is a Chance of Success in this line, and whether investments would not be judicious in the purchase of land, for the purpose of leasing the same and sharing in the increased valuation which would follow its improvement by the occupant. In New York City there are some very remarkable instances of success in this direction, not only in its moncv- making power, but in the general desirabilit}^ of this mode of treatment of property, both for the owner and the occu- pant. Perhaps the best illustration is that of the Sailor's Snug Harbor, whose magnificent charity on Staten Island accommodates nearly a thousand old sailors, and whose affairs are administered, with rare skill and sagacity, by a Board made up of prominent men in the city, and an able representative in charge of the charit3\ The foundation of this great institution was only twenty acres of land, of which the corner of 9th Street and Broadway is about the centre. This property was left in 1820, to the Snug Harbor [244] Ml I Leases as an Earnino- Power 245 '\ Trust, but it did not come inlo their possession, owintr to litigation, till 1831. The terms of its leases are extremely liberal, the charge for ground-rent being; a valuation set by arbitration, renewable every t\vent3'-five years under a regu- lation of a similar character. Tiie result has been that some very fine edifices have been erected thereon, notably the great Stewart dry goods establishment, and the charac- ter of the improvements generally has been very good. While the charges for the use of the ground have been moderate, the revenues to the Trust have been iu the aggregate enormous. Thus, the Sailor's Snug Harbor has now from this twenty acres alone, a revenue of nearly $1,000 a day — or $365,000 a year. It is doubtful if there is any- where in tlie City of New York, a more profitable piece of property than these twenty acres owned by the Snug Harbor. The Columbia College property is another instance of rare administration of which leases are the basis. The great growth of the most illustrious land interest in America, viz. : the Astor family, is also based on the theory of leases. The world-wide reputation of this family for wealth, and the moderate policy which has characterized them in relation to leases, imparts a great degree of interest to the principle which they have adopted ot not selling property, but constantly acquiring it and improving it. Many other families in New York, such as the Goelets, Lorillards, Rhinelanders and others, have become rich beyond the dreams of avarice, by the enhancement in value of properties, to which they have contributed little or noth- ing in the shape of improvement. The practical question arising from this experience is, whether or not, in suburban localities, small holdings on lease cannot be profitably employed both to the owner and to the lessee. For instance, land that cost, say, $800 an acre, could be improved and made ready for occupancy at $400 an acre, so that twelve city lots per acre (after allowing for roads) could be had at $200 each, or say $1,200 per acre. 1 ( \^i ' 1 I i ■ f i [If M ; I ! ; 246 A Safe Ten per Cent. Then, these lOts could be leased for twenty-five years at $10 each per 3'ear, on condition that a house would be erected thereon. The exaction from the tenant would be so slight that he would hardly feel it, while the interest to the owner would be equal to 10 per cent, on the investment. The advantage in addition, however, world be that the increased valuation by ** unearned increment," would still rest in the owner of the property. But the occupant would have a similar advantage in the increased value of his house ; for at the end of twenty-five years, when the lease fell in, it would be renewable on a valuation by arbitrators mutally chosen, and the tenant is sure of the continuity of his lease at a fair rate for the use of the property. If he does not want to continue the arrangement, the owner of the property is bound to take the improvements off his liands at a valuation made by the same instrumentality of arbitration. For practical purposes there seems to be a great deal of merit and reasonableness in this plan. The money saved by the home-getter is devoted to the creation of a home rather than to the purchase of land. Me is thus sooner enabled to accomplish his purpose, a quicker movement is therefore possible in the creation of suburbs than under the existing plan of land purchase. The attraction to the investor of perfect safety and a high rate of interest is apparent, while it encourages the expansion of electric roads and other means of communication into numerous localities now inaccessible. Thus the Chances of Success in money-making might be enlarged in this direction by the adoption of this scheme of land-leasing rather than land- purchase. ^Mll The Creation of Homes. A survey of t.lic economic forces tluit nioultl and sliapc this nation is incomplete unless it takes in the p(3\ver that has created an infinite number of small homes. The force of co-operation is seen nowhere to i^reater advantage tiian when it finds expression in a concentra'iion of effort, the results of which are sacredly dedicated to the purpose of home-g-ettin^^. Co-operative banks in Massachusetts, and Building Loan Associations m other States of I lie Union, have achieved a work in this direction of far orreater moment to the £::ood of "the country than either economists or financiers realize. Indeed, it may be safelv said that there is no force in finance which has l)ecn so effective in numerous localities, and about wdiich there is so much ignorance in others. Thus, in Wall street, in New York, among the large bankers and bank officers, down to even the directors of savings banks, in which the accumulation of deposits reach tens of millions, there has been almost complete ignorance of the [)rinciples of these Building Loan organizations. Yet the concentration of savings in this way, and their diversion solely into the homes of members, is an influence more hopeful and help- ful than almost any economic force now prevailing. The financial feature of the day is consolidation in indus- tries ; consolidation of capital for great public works, as in railroads, and other forms of transportation ; co-operation in labor, and the concentration of savings in savings banks. But, side by side with these, and more .helpful almost than any other influence, is this movement of co-operation among the plain people in home-getting. It has almost the same beneficence that President Lincoln attributed to the government of the United States: as being peculiarly " of [247J k i 1 il!i V'. •Hi 248 TJic Creation of Houics. ? i the people, by tlie ])cople, for the people." No financier of great weight or breadth of view has appeared as a leader in the question, for none has been needed ; no philanthropist even, having for his aim the betterment of his fellow-men, has taken it up; and no [)hilosopher, as a writer or speaker, has been specially known in this relation. The wave of success, which started in Wilmington, Maryland, and Phil- adelphia, some twenty years ago, has spread over the coun- try by its own volition, until to-day there is hardly a city in the Union, the suburbs of which have not been built up in this way, the value of its citizenship increased, and relative independence [issured to thousands upon thousands by the opportunities offered tii rough these associations. It is said that in Philadelphia, last year, no less than 12,000 houses were erected under the auspices of Building Loan Associations. When it is recalled that there are only 82,000 houses in New York City, the fact that in a neighboring city, 12,000 could be, in a single 3'ear, created by this con- centrated effort among the people themselves, plainly indi- cates how forceful this element of co-operation may become. In view of an influence so powerful in its economic signific- ance, it is the duty of every business man to perfectly appre- hend the principles which underlie this movement. It is equall}' the duty of every young man who is preparing him- self for the struggle of the world, to thoroughly grasp the details and forces which result from this concentrated and organized co-operation, having for its sole purpose the crea- tion of homes. The Chances of Success are immensely increased by the existence and perpetuation of this princi- ple of economy. Aside, however, from the results in the shape of the erec- tion of residences, and the fulfillment of the best elements of citizenship which follows the possession of property, the influence upon those who are led into saving by these insti- tutions is very potent for good. The great principle which seems to underlie Building Loan Associations, is the period- Savings luitJi Profit, 249 3a- icity with which saviii^^^s liavc got to be paid in. The vSav- iiigs Bank prt)per, is only a rccej)lacle for the voluntary offerings of the depositor. Unless the individual is by nature thrifty and metliodic in habit, there is no certainty that he or she will save. In the Building Loan Association, however, a regularity of habit is cultivated, and the engage- ment to save so much every month becomes as sacred an obligation as the undertaking of the banker or merchant to pay his notes. The discipline of regularity is therefore enforced, and, very soon, a small accumulation swells into a sum of considerable proportions, which, with a j)ossibility of good profit, and an ainple return of interest, induces and seduces, as it were, the average member to adhere to his first intention of saving so much per year. The advantage, too, of the high rate of return which these societies can afford is very influential. The profit is larger from Building Loan Associations on deposits, than is possible in anv other Savings Institution with equal safety. It is a fact that eight per cent, is possible to almost any well managed association where the expense fund is kept down to a minimum. The fact that money can be loaned for building homes at a rate which does not exceed five per cent., though the lender can realize equal to eight per cent., seems a financial paradox that even Wall Street can hardly understand. Yet it is a fact that, by the pre- mium which the borrowers at the start pay, by the com- pounding of interest continually, by the profit on withdiaw- als, the fines, and other advantages which the permanent members are benefited by, the total result thus far for the vast sum which has gone into homes through these organ- izati(3ns, is a return of not less than eight per cent. The difference between the three and a half per cent, paid by the Savings Banks, and the eight per cent, realizable by Building Loan Association members, is a sum of very great magnitude in itself, and to it may be attributed in no small I ■ I! ' 1' H tti 250 Life InsHra7icc Srcnri/i^" Homes, 1 degree tlic; solidity and prospcril y of the places where Buildiiii^ Loan Associations have had their widest scope. Notwithstanding the success wiiich attached itself to tiie growth of the movement and the universality of the good wdiich it has done, there was apparent to the writer of these lines, an im[)erfection in the general phm pursued which needed to be remedied. This weak point he considers he has had the happiness of strengthening, by a suggestion which has been very much discussed in Building Loan circles, and which appears to commend itself, not only to the practi- cal economists, but also to the philanthropist. The weak point in Building Loan Associations was that the power to pay back to the Society the advances made on the homes of its members rested solely on the life of the wage-earner, generally the father of the famil}-. If the father lived and had the average success, such as would, for instance, enable him to pay rent in a hired home, the Society might rely upon his [)aying his dues for a home of liis own, with the same regularit}^ to the end of the time, wdiich UT)uld re-im- burse the S(^ciety and release the home. The borrower who undertook to pay the monthly installment, of course, relied upon a continuance of life to pay off the encumbrance on his home. But his death, in the meantime, was fatal to himself as to the Society, and as death is the most certain of all ev^ents, it seemed that if it were possible to provide against its consequences, a most perfect sy'Stem would be insured in the process of home acquisition. The writer, from a suggestion made by his friend Major J. C. Shoup, conceived the idea, therefore, that an insurance should be effected upon the life of the head of the family for an amount equal to the sum unpaid on the home and due to the Building Society. This amount, of course, dimin- ishes monthl}', and, as the loan is liquidated, the policy les- sens in amount. The premiun which, even at first, is not large, and alwa3^s a declining one, it was suggested should be paid with the monthly dues to the treasurer of the 4 TJie Creation of IIowcs. 251 iiH' Society, which institution bv the wnv, takes out the insur- ance on the lives of its borrowers, holds the policy as n^^ainst the mortgage, and sees to it that tlieieisno forfeiture by failure to pay. Paying the montiily instalment of dues, interest, and life insurance in t)ne sum, seemed to make effective the discipline of legularity in that legard, as it did in respect to the savings wliich, as we have s'-en, has been very successful. The regulation of expenditure throughout the month, so as to leave free and clear the amount necessary for these three items, it was believed would be very lu Iplul. The consciousness, too, of safety, not onlv in the possessi(jn t)f the home and its enjoyment for the time being, but for its event- ual permanent possession, even in the event of the death of the bread-winner, would have the best effect on all the rela- tions of the borrower with the Society. It seemed a most desirable thing to encourage this sense of security, and to make apparent to all savers, to all good wives and children, the advantages that would flow, first, from getting one's own home ; second, from regularly paying the dues thereon, so as to eventually clear it of encumbrance ; third, to pay so much in the shape of declining premiun UK^nthlv, so that, if the father died, the house would be theirs ; and whether he lived or died, equally they would possess a home of their own. First-class Insurance Companies have not gone into the question to any great extent, the movement being in its infancy; but Mr. J. G. Batterson, of the Travelers* Life In- surance Company, of Hartford, having very broad views on this and many other questions, and much previous experi- ence, greatly enjouraged, together with his staff, the new- idea. A special policy has been prepared by the Travelers' Company, who have thus set an example to other companies, who have since followed it, by which means most of the Building Loan Associations can now make arrangements ■:mt \m'- 252 The Chances of Success. by which insiinincc on flicir members can be had and re-im- biirscd for in the monthU' payments. The ability to make two blades of ^^^rass j^row where but one i^rcw l)cfore, lias been commentled as in a degtee liighlv Msifiil. The great good that has been done by the coiicentriited efforts of saving, towards the encouragement of Ihrift and tlie building of homes, has achieved a result riiore beneficial than any other influence prevailing among the American people of to-day. To have been, therefore, in the slightest degree instrumental in adding to that noble movement — a thought that would make it safer, and more attractive, — is a piece of good fortune that the writer of these lines hopes may go to his credit to counter-balance follies and mistakes to which all men are liable. It would seem as if the poor boys of the present genera- tion will hardly have the chances of the men v/ho pr- ceded them. The invention of the Canadian, Alexander Bell, in tiie telephone, imparting a facility of inslantaneou'-- comnui- nication, hardly leaves room for another device of a similar character in which to duplicate the fortunes made in that splendidly administered organization, the Bell Telephone Companv. The south shore of Lake Superior will hardly develop another copper mine like the Calumet and liecla, which in a quarter of a century has yielded $30,000,000 on a capitalization of $2,500,000. The profits of rnilroacl build- ing and of railroad operating, appear to have reached a climax for some years to come, and what new tield for this peculiar class of activitv is open, it is difficult to discover. The boom in real estate, in which many fortunes have been made, one would think had reached its safety point, con- ceiving that there is on the one hand an unlimited supply of land, and on the other a considerable limitation in the demand. The Means of Communication. I i One of the vital f'^'ccs uliicli, witliiii llic lifetime of men now livinj;-, has much altered economic conditions, is the complete revolution in the means of communication. It would seem as if, in the fullness of time, such forces as electricity and steam had come at their proper period for developiui^ a country so larg'e as this. The practical annihilation of time and distance by these forces, has put it into the power of the j)eopIe to achieve results far i;"reater than anythiui^- previous had su^^gested as possible, and per- fecti(jn of the means of communication at this hour influ- ences very much the Chances of Success in the future. For instance, the advantages in a country so vast as this of instantaneous communication b}' telegraph over all dis- tances, canncjt be over-estimated in securing celciity of action, promptitude of movement, and facility for business. The men now living, who have accomplished so much for the Telegraph, such as General Eckert, ex-Governor Cor- nell, Robert C. Clowry, of Chicago; John Van Home, Al- bert Chandler, and others, deserve well of their kind. Equally worthy are those who have brough' the Telephone to perfection, like Alexander Gra'iam Bell, Thomas A. Edison, Professor Gray, F^rofessor D(jlbear and others, carrying the human voice to the ends of the earth, and making electricity a part of the machinery of the household and the office. Civilization does not habitually take on a higher form than is shown in its means of communication. In this respect, no better indication is found of the advance of civilization, than the development of the Sleeping Car, originated by George INI. Pullman, of Chicago, followed by Dr. Seward Webb, in the development of the Wagner Car [253J ^.•1 I 254 The Means of Communicatmi. System. Mr. Pullman's servicefj to the people of this country, ir practically doubling^ up their capacity for busi- ness, in stimulating' comfort and safety in traveling, by completeness in service, lendering intercommunication a delight and a pleasure, has done more for the public than almost any other single individual. It is really impossible to conceive that the progress and prosperity achieved by the American people, could have been brought about had their nights not been made available for journeying by the aid of the Sleeping Car. At the foundation of the Telegraph service, equally with that of the Sleeping Car, is found the development of the Railroad class in this community. The army of Presidents, Managers, Engineers, and operatives generall3% of the great systc.ns of transportation which permeate the country, are a class who have changed the whole face of nature. To their far-sightedness, devotion and sagacity, and to the steady improvement they have sought to achieve in their several departments, the rountry owes more than it ever can repay. The coming generation have before them, in these arteries of commerce, a facility the greatest that any people ever inherited, and it is needless to say that the Chances of Suc- cess are increased by the existence of such a system of com- munication as the 162,000 miles of Railway afford to the people at large. '1 1 The Universal Hope of Property, iijir Goldwiti vSniith — who, more than any other individual in the New \V(jrld, is an international personality, ami who views the proi^ress of the United States witii better infor- mation, throu<^h Eno^lish eyes, than any other man, — wrote some months ago a rem^irkablc letter to the London Times. It contains a striking- comparison between Democracy in America and Great Britain. After having- witnessed the inauguration of the President, he discusses the difference between a Queen, without power, patronage or party, and a President, with a veto, with an immense patronage, and at the head of a dominant part}^ practically giving- him control over legislation. Descending, a comj)arison was instituted between the Mouse of Lords and the Senate, in which the latter was, of course, shown to be one of the most important powers in the country, as contrasted with the imbecility of a hereditary House of Peers. Still descend- ing, it was shown that the House of Representatives, as com- pared with the House of Commons, was elected by a much more intelligent class, and was far more representative of the people than the English Lower House. These conclusions, from so distinguished an observer, indicate that the safety and stability of Republican insti- tutions are now universally conceded, and, as Mr. Smith said, " bring home to the mind of every thoughtful English- man the momentous fact that America has the safeguards of a real monarchy, while Great Britain has only a monarchical pageant." The chief safeguard, however, which the acute observer noticed as between the two great English. speaking ci)untries was, in the United States, " A general possession, and almost a universal hope of property !'' This, indeed, is a splendid thought, and is possible, iu its full scope, only to [255J ' I i 256 T/ie Universal Hope of Property. those who approach this country in an attitude of compari- son with tlie conditions that prevail in the Old World. Tlie English people are being- taught by the vote-seekers of both parties to look to the State for support, and to found their hopes for an improved condition, not on industry, fru- gality and temperance, but on the use of their political oower to gradually transfer to themselves the earnings and savings of the property- holding class. In America that is imposiiihle. Hence, socialism has a totally different signifi- cance abroad to what it has in this country. The eminent professor closes his letter with this fine sentence : ** Property is the only known motive power of production. That is its warrant for existence, and the compensation for its sad but inevitable inequalities." In no country has the " hope of property " so stimulated the aims of humanity as iji America, and that hope, encour- aged and rewarded, is the most powerful element underly- ing the prosperity of the nation. Diminish that hope, lessen it as in crowded cities, where property to the poor is an im- possibility, and citizenship declines, manhood deteriorates and civilization sinks back. Encourage the hope of property in creation of homes, in acquirement of vested interests, and economically, socially, and politically, the country is safe. The Oxford professor is to be thanked for having delved so deep down into the bottom of things, as to disclose so much in these three words — " the hope of property I" m The Pennsylvania Senate Surprised. Occasion arose which made it advisable to concentrate the sentiment of the mercantile community upon the State Senate of Pennsylvania, in opposition to some adverse legisla- tion threatened against the Mercantile Agenc3^ For weeks a bill had been under discussion, a provision of which was that licenses should be issued in every c(Hinty for the priv- ilege of reporting the standing of its merchants. This would, of course, have been fatal to the freedom of action necessary to this business. The bill was siinply a " shike," but, nevertheless, it was supported in a log-rolling process by some good parties. Ha\ Ing passed the lower Ilmise, and the committee of the Senate, it looked as if it would become law. Only three days of the Session remained, and as the bill was down for discussion at noon of the last day but one, it seemed important that the voice of the mer- chants should be heard. Accordingly, the night before, a series of fifty telegrams was prepared and mailed from Ilar- risburg to the six branch estal)lishments of the Agency in Pennsylvania; viz.: Philadel[ lia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Allentown, Williamsport and Erie. It was requested that the signatures of prominent meichants be obtained to these strongly-worded dispatches, and that they shouldbe trans- mitted simultaneously at 11:30 on the following day. Just as the promoter of the bill, a few minutes before twelve o'clock, rose to advocate its passage, the door opened for a telegraph boy. Another and still another fol- lowed, till the Senators were fairly overwhelmed with pro- tests against the measure from the biggest men among their fc>^>' constituents in all parts of the State. They were thunder- struck by the unanimity, vigor, and influence which seemed to be exercised against this act. As one, by one, the Sena- [257] III i • m im I II \ 1 ! i 25S T/w Poiiisylvania Senate Surprised, tors received and read these protests fioiii their constituents, they began to realize how full of danger was the project under discussion. Never before had they received S(^ many dispatches, on i)ne subject, frcjin (juarters so influential in so short a time, and, with one voice, they immediately demanded <'w<. abandonment of the measure, which was never again lieard of. This circumstance simi)ly shows what can be done by a little forethought, manii)ulation, and management in the shape of working-uj) public sentiment in the interest of fair play. It was a French philosopher that said : " In ancient times, when fortojnes were made by war, war was a business; in these later days, when fortunes are made by business, busi- ness is war !" So it has become :; period of battle in this country without an outlet, for many an industr}' stimulated by every advantage, until the necessity of a truce became imi)erative ; unless, indeed, the combatants would wipe each other out of existence. Accordingly, in not a few depart- ments, peace has been proclaimetl,an(l the proclamation has taken on the shape of the consolidation or trust. For while the t)ublic mind has been agitated over this tendency, and the press vainly seeks to stop it by condemnation, and Leg- islatures by adverse legislation, the fact is, however, ai)par- ent that, while the liberty of the citizen remains, he must trade with his fellows on such terms as will yield a return. And the business combinations, trusts and the like, will go on creating more fortunes, frequently reducing prices, and achieving more beneficial results than the keenest compe- tition or the wildest speculation. The anxious seeker for Chances of Success must bear this growing tendency in mind as the newest development in the battle of giants for the highest prizes. A Type-setter's Chance. ii Jiff' On another occasion, in Harrisburg, tlic State ciipital of Pennsylvania, it became necessary, in combating some adverse legislation, that an article should appear in the Patriot, then the only daily paper of that place. Having carefully prepared an editorial, its insertion was asked Ironi the editor. His reply was that if the Angel Gabriel were to write a paragraph with a pen made from his wing, it could not be " set up," as his printers were on strd ^^<^^ '^ z 1 o^ mm ii ! a I ! 280 Fotir Wohes in Five Mimites, ticklish craft. In vain John pounded their licads witli a paddle, and shouted : " Down Rover! quiet Fan ! you'll upset us in the middle of the lake. Down, 1 say, or I'll brain you both. " The dog^s only became more excited, and it looked as if they would plung^e over the sides of tlic canoe, and tiuis surely upset us. But, luckily, coming- into fuller sight of Ihe wolves, abject terror took possession of tiiem, and they became as quiet as mice, grovelling in the bottom of the canoe. For the wolves were huge animals, and as they struggled througii the placid lake, raising their bodies half out of the water by their frantic efforts to escape, they looked formidable enough. Meantime, both John and 1 had been paddling for all we were worth to come up with them, for when first seen they were a mile ahead, and had been putting in their best licks to escape toward the shore. Once in shallow water, witli their feet upon the ground, we knew there was no hope of capture, and as il.e sh(^re seemed perilously near, we redoubled our efforts to get between it and the wolves, so as to head them into deep water again. We soon found that would be impossible, however, and the only hope of bagging such splcndici game, was to shoot at once. This John hurriedly said he wanted to do, because, first, he hardly had confidence in my aim ; second, because my gun was not ready ; and third, because he wanted a new cooking-stove. " John !" I exclaimed, full v)f excitement and anxiety to shoot, and paddling for dear life, " what has a new cooking- stove to do with the supieme Chance in my life?" " Why," replied John, *' the Government bounty on those wolves will be six dollars each, which makes twenty-four dollars, and with the ten dollars you pay me for this trip, boss, I'll get a new and splendid stove." I knew that Jolin was very poor, that he had a large tamily and a good wife, and it seemed selfish to risk an Four Wolves in Five Minutes. 281 *1 to an a*"ticlc so important as a new cooking-stovc to the comfort of the household, but such sport was, indeed, the chance of a life to me, so 1 said : '•For goodness sake, John, let me do the shooting. If I miss the wolves, 1 will pay 3'ou $6 each for them, and you shall have your heart's desire in the cooking-stove, whether we bag them or not." Meantime, I had ceased paddling, and had disentangled my gun froju our traps behind mc in the canoe, dropped a half-dozen cartridges between my knees, and as we were within shooting distance, let fly a bullet after a wolf nearest the shore. He was just beginning to feel the ground under his teet, and in a mtjinent more would have been plunging up the bank intoti.o woods. The aim was good, and the animal keeled over with a loud growl. This had the elTect of turning the other tince wolves into the lake again, and as they approached us, three abreast, it looked as if they meditated an attack, and had they found their feet on the bottom, they might have done so. They looked fierce enough, these three great heads approaching us, with their tongues out, and their teeth gleaming in full view. There was not a moment to be lost, and with my little Ballard rifle, I sh(3t again, hitting the wolf nearest the canoe square in the head. Loading again, I drew a bead on the wolf next in order, and in the excitement missed him. John let out a shout of disappointment, which, however, was immediately succeeded by an exclamation : " Well done! You shoot well for a city man," for I had brought the third wolf to his end, and talking careful aim, with equal |)romptitude then dispatched the fourth I Now', wasn't that an experience ? The idea of a plain business man having the great good fortune to shoot four wolves in five minutes! For in less time than it has takeii to read the story, I was being paddled ashore by the guide, having securely in the grip of each of my hands, four large wolves, by the ears, weighing just as much as I could hold *P' i 11 282 Fui- and Ferocity. on to, and drai^ tlirough tlic water. Tlicrc was more fur and ferocity witliin my grasp at that moment tlian it is the fortune of even greater luinters often to hold. The dogs, wlio liad been in abject terror during the sliooting, now revived, becoming again excited, fiercely jumping about in tiie canoe, and seeking to get to the wolves, the trip to the shore was perilous indeed, weighted down as we were with these four, huge animals, two in each hand, dragging them in the water. It was a glorious moment, however, for I realized that there was hardly another man on the continent of North America who had at that moment two wolves in each hand, the result of his own prowess with the rifle. Finally, we reached a landing point in the lake, and with infinite diffi- culty got the animals out of the water on the land. There they lay, all in a row, on the sandy beach, a trophy in game rarely allotted to a hunter of renown, much less to a city man of peaceful pursuits. It took only a moment for John to scalp the creatures, for it is by the presentation of their ears and scalp to a local magistrate that the bounty is collected, and we resumed our journey. The incident had taken only half hour, the sun was creeping up over the trees, and we knew it would be long after dark before we could reach Minden, so we ])ushed along. That night, just before midnight, weary and used up with the hardest day's work I ever experienced, we saw the few lights of Minden. Luckily one of these was in the house of Mr. Peck, the magistrate, before whom 1 made the necessary affidavit, and leaving the wolves' ears, had the sat- isfaction of knowing that John, next day, would get his $24. Paying him the $10 owed to him, he was the happiest man in town, in the prospect of a new cooking-stove. Years after, on another hunting expedition, occasion drew me near John Barnum's house, on a wet October even- ing. As we entered the house, just at dusk, I heard the Contribution from Immigration. 2^^3 kettle sin^nii^, smclled tlic bacon frizzlini;, and saw the children sitting around tlie cook-stove that John had bought, and to this day it is doubtless as bright and as cheery iii its good service, as the day it was bouglit witli the bounty yielded by four wolves shot in five minutes. Tlie money value of immigration in the last thirty years lias been a contribution the value of which can only be meagerly estimated by figures. But accepting the estimate of statistician Edward Young at $800 each in producing ])Ower of each emigrant, and estimating the annual average of arrivals at 400,000, since the war tlic countrv has been thus enriched by 9,600 millions. Add to this the supposed absolute money brought in of $100 each, the new money added to the country has been 1,200 millions. Is there room in city or country in the next thirty years for an equal addi- tion? It would be economic folly to shut out a stream of wealth so vast, so perennial and so necessary. Yet where are the new arrivals to be put in view of the struggle for homes shown in the opening of the Cherokee Outlet. Echo answers, Make a commercial bargain with Canada, fill up its great Northwest with ready-made customers from the United States, and thus possess the land ! Politically, then, the Canadian question will take care of ittsclf, and sooner than by any other plan. ,! . (Ill t« 1 (I I Equipment for the Future. Circumstances have indeed made the past half-century a p^olden age, in wliicli even tlie ignorant man could hardly fail to succeed, but in wiiich so many millions of them have really failed, so that wnen one succeeds he is held up in the light of a phenomenon, and his sayings are heeded as those of a prophet. The race of the future for fortunes will be of an entirely different character from that of the past. The first century of this republic afforded the Chance unequalled in the world's history for the acquirement of fortunes, but the second cen- tury will present conditions in which ability, training and exercise of the intellect, and especially a thorough knowl- edge of natural laws, will be essential to success. The competition, which in every walk of life now exists, calls for the exercise of the best powers of the man in order to achieve success. The fields of effort are crowded, the opportunities are less. The results of vast co-operative effort in railroads, in incorporated companies, controlled by few, in great combin- ations, in protective organizations, all make the conditions less promising for the ignorant man, so that the elements by which success in the past has been achieved are likely to greatly change. An acquaintance v/ith engineering, with chemistry, with geology, with metallurgy, with electricity, with physics, and indeed every science that is practical, and that can be prac- fically applied, will immensely improve the Chances of Suc- cess. The routine of business will always be crowded with boys whose parents cannot afford them a college edu- cation ; but to carry on the great work of this great repub- lic, to perfect its development, to make it what it should be, [284I Co-operation the Xcw Force. .\S •'tlic last best gift of God to inankiiKl," the task must be coiniiiittccl to men of iiuelli^eiice, of intellectual acquire- ment, fitted and trained to cany on so noble a work. Opportunity will be afforded to t lie class who are best informed and able to take advanta^je of natural advantai;es resulting only from a knowledge of natural laws. The ignorant business man is least calculated to work (jut the destiny of this continent; it will be only the athlete in knowl- edge who will shape its future. The introduction into col- leges of the study of political science, of political economy, of the results of history, and a knowledge of taxation, and above all the intellectual development of the whole man, will best equip him for the future Chances of Success. The extent and influence of Building Loan Associations in England, known as Friendly Societies, may be inferred from the statement that their funds amount to the astound- ing sum of 1,200 millions of dollars ! There are, altogether, 2648 societies, with a contributing membership of 585,836. Consul Lorin A. Lathrop, of Bristol, England, referring to the worst year evei- experienced by these institutions in the United Kingdom, says: "On the whole, the effect of the crisis has been to purify and strengthen the associa- tions that remain, and to draw attention to the societies carefully conducted on the old lines. The strength, as well as the weakness, of the system has been presented clearly to the public, who too sincerely appreciate its advantages to allow occasional shocks to shake their faith. Thousands of men in England to-day owe to building societies homes which, without their aid, they could never iiave acquired; and thousands more, in the future, will lie under the same obligation, and will learn through the mistakes of to-day to watch the management and not to juggle with financial methods." li •i f ' i I I ( A Chance for Statesmanship. In this book tlicrc is much said about the Ciiances of Success in trading witii the Great North Land laying along- side the United States. It is natural it sliould be so, for it is in regions outside this country now, that a future expansion of commerce is possible. With forty per cent, of tiie United States an aritl area, with population increasing twenty-five per cent, every ten years, and with such evidences of Land Hunger siiown, as exhibitetl in the never-to-be-forgotten scenes of tiio opening of the Cherokee Outlet, where 300,000 pcopie frantically sought homes where only 100,000 could find them, a wider field for effort is needed. That field is afforded in Canada, the greatest and nearest country to the United States, in which to trade and make profit from practical possession,' by purchase and develop- ment. Obliterating the barrier of a customs line between the two countries, the field is an open one. Keep up that custom line, and it is forever fenced in. The American public must not be deluded into the belief that annexation for the rest of the continent is near. The force of party ties is stronger in Canada than elsewhere in the world, as the people are more assertive, more positive, and have mOiC politics to the square foot than elsewhere is prevalent. In practical politics the question of Political Union is not a factor, because it would be absolute ruin to a politician to advocate it. But a reciprocal or free trade between the two countries, is a living issue. True, there is unrest, a lack of prosperity, an exodus, and an eager desire for better relations with-this country ; but in no con- stituency in Canada could to-day a member of parliament be elected, in no ward could an alderman be returned, in no county could a pound-keeper or pathmaster be elected [286] A Ciiance for StatcsniansJiip, i-^ 28; with annexation to tiic United States as a i)latf()rm. If llie people of the Uniteil States want to force a people into an alliance with them by isolatinj^ them, by repellini»- them, by refusinj^ to make money out of them, and by them, then is the world mistaken in the attractivenessof their institutions, and in the forces that draw the nations toward them. Cup- board love is not the basis for a life-lon«; partnership in everyda}' life, much less sliould be the bond that binds nations togetiier. If Canada can be conquered by com- merce, well and good — let the conquest go on. liut if she is to be forced into an unwilling compact by starvation, she is not worthy of a place among the commonwealths of the Union, and equally such a policy is unworthy of the Union itself. The truest way to test the sentiment of Canada in her relation to Great Britain and her willingness to trade with the United States, is to invite her to admit American manu- factures free of duty. This can be done by agreeing to admit to the United States free of duty all tlipt Canada produces, on condition of freedom of admission oy Canada. Inasmuch as a revenue is essential from imports, a duty would still remain necessary on foreign goods, and Iience English manufactures would still remain dutiable, while American goods would be free. If, at a general election, now to be shortly held, a parliament could be elected that would accept this invitation of the United States, a practical and progressive step would be taken to enlarge the Chances of Success toward the north. Without some such invitation by Congress, the Great North Land is a sealed book to the present and coming generation of Americans. But with such a step taken, results of most far-reaching moment would follow. Aside from the possibilities of the immediate expansion of trade from the United States into the remainder of the continent, aside from its rapid development now arrested, the question of the future relation of this great land to II 288 I ! . M Englaiid ivoiild Consent, Grcal Britain would follow, ll ICii^hmd was asked to con- sent to permit discrimination ajj^ainst herself bv the free admission of American manufactures, while Canada exacted a duty on those from the mother count r\, and ai4reed thereto, it would lessen enormously the commercial tie which prevails between that nation and her i^reatest and nearest of colonies. If, on the contrary, she refused to grant Can- ada the great boon which the American market affcjrds, she would be asking a sacrifice greater than that which in history justifies the American Revolution, and tlie Declara- tion of Independence. But England would consent, and gladly consent. Thus far she has agreed to cveryLhing Canada has demanded, even to the Canadian National Policv which shut out British goods to her great detriment. England would consent to a commercial alliance with the United States, because it coulrl be made to appear that it would postpone a political alliance, by which she would be deprived of 40 per cent, of her Empire, and rendered a second-rate power. England could not afford to refuse if she were inclined, which she is not For no one thing has contributed so vastly to the greatness of Great Britr'n as the success of the United States. All the achievements which have here conspired to help humanity, have helped Great Britain. The enormous profit in her transportation interests on the Atlantic, the heavy purchases by this people, the visitations of the pleasure-seeking class, and above all the income from interest which for the use of British capital is being paid by the United States, show what can be done in Canada, if a similar development occurred. The measure of the suc- cess of the United States is tiiat by which the growth of Canada can be estimated, and Great Britain would be enormously ben^^fited by such a relation between both parts of this c( iiiinent as would beget a policy of prosperity to the no'-th equal to that of the south. Let it be tried, this plan to broaden the Chances of Sue- Bourkc Cockrans Chance. J.Sg cess by taking down the l)arbcd wire fence that runs athwart tlie continent, over which one brother cannot trade with another brother, a buslicl of potatoes for a bushel of apples, without payin*:^ tribute to two j^fovermnents beyond the price of production of both articles. Bourkc Cockran, as chairman of the ReciiMocity con- tingent of the Committee of Ways and Means of the present Congress, has a mission in this world. That big head, that marvelous power of oratory, were given him for a broader and nobler j)urpose than to play the part of a Tarn man)' politician. Let him stutly in what department the role of states!nanship offers a greater opportunity in all the wide world than to increase, as he can, the Chances of vSmcccss for the American peo|)le, by inviting half a continent to share in the prosperity that has come to the other half, and making his own people the instrumentality to achieve it and to profit by that prosperity. f Sue- Territory after territory, state after state, commonwealth after commonwealth, has been added to the Union until now, in this Western Hemisphere, an aggregation of humanity exists, which, under a free government, is the grandest spectacle the world beholds. These commonwealths or nations, trading with each other, without let or hindrance, have illustrated to a better degree the benefits of a freedom of trade than was possible anywhere else on the earth. But for that principle, which Alexander Hamilton set in motion, of an inter- state relation, unrestricted by customs duties, the country could never have made the progress it has achieved. With a climate possessing all the advantages of one extreme to the other ; with a variety of resource un- paralled; with an agricultural productiveness within its own borders unequalled, an abundant supply of everything needed for hurnan blessedness, these ever-widening areas have invited all the world. ^ I i' I'll !; A Tunnel for the Nation. To the million of people in Brooklyn, as indeed to llie nation at lar^e, the Chances of Snccess would be enhanced if that city, as the chief point of storaj^e, ceased to be iso- lated. Brooklyn is the only city in civilization, contain- ing a population so j^reat, that is not reached by a railroad. It seems incredible when tens of thousands of towns, little and big, are served by this modern means of communication, that this great aggregation of wealth, intelligence, and indus- try suffers from an isolation so complete. In the matter of the cost of food, in the supply of raw material for the ten thousand factories here located, for the shipments of their fin- ished products, for the ability to c()mj)ete with other towns on trunk lines, it would seem as if no reasonable expendi- ture would stand in the way of making connection with the railway system of the continent. Vet, for $5,000,000, im- plying an annual charge of only $250,000, a tunnel could be built, under t'^e bay of Nc\/ York, from Brooklyn to Staten Island, bv which coiuiection could be had with every trunk icross the Arthur Kill. ■y Llg( built under the authorization of Congress, makes Staten Island accessible to the railroad system, and brings cars of every company in the West and South to the shore, less than two miles distant, across the Bay of New York, from Bro(jklyn. For less than five millions of money this two miles and the approaches could be excavated, and the con- nection completed between the third city of the Union and 162,000 miles of railroad, from which it is now completely sep; ira ted. Having for many years made a study of terminals in New York, and having made the Staten Island shore available to railroad connection, it was natural that the writer of these [290J A TiDUicl for the Nation, 291 \ 0 tlic meed ic iso- iitaiii- Iroad. Utile ation, iiulus- ter of he ten eir fin- towns pendi- th the 30, ini- Id be Staten trunk Kill, Staten ars of e, less , from s two e con- )n and letely als in lilable these lines should orii^inate the project of a tuiuiel uiidei- the Hav tcj Brooklyn. The scheme isan aml)it ious one, and as it does not serve the enormous tratlic between Niw Vt)rkand liiooklyn, now jjreatly conj^ested, the undertakiii}; has received less encoura<;ement than it otherwise would. But a moment's reflection will show, asa mapof thesurroundiiij^s will reveal, that, for the j)urposes of freii^ht traffic, a tuimel, via Staten Island, is much more feasible and reasonable in cost than from any other direction. What the great East River Bridge has done loi- passen- ger traffic, the Staten Island tunnel woidd 'lo lor freight traffic, and, for a minimum amount of money, a reform in terminal charges could be thus etfected that would result in the saving of millions annually, to which the whole coun- try now contributes. For it is a fact tha* the heaviest charge, in proportion to the service rendered, on two- thirds of the entire exports and im{)orts of the nation, is exacted in the h.arbor of New York. By inadequac}' of management, every ton of freight received or shipped, is handled unnecessarily and nrost expensively, and the isolation of Brookly i the chief cause of this vast amuial expenditure. For it naist be borne in mind that Brooklvn is the chief storage reservoir of the Atlantic coast, and that on almost every article at this {)oint of transfer of the prod- ucts of the continent to the tonnage of the sea, and vice versa, tribute is levied because of the isolation of Brooklvn from railroad communication. If a tunnel under the I3ay of New York from wStaten Islan ' to Brooklyn were completed, not oidy would that city b greatly henefited, but the country at large would be relievtc' from the excessive terminal charges which it now pays for the costliness and inadequacy of service which the port of New Y ^rk permits. It is proposed that this tunnel, connecting with the rail- road system created by the writer, should enter practically the back door of Brooklyn at Bay Ridge, and that by a I . A I if :») ^: 292 Tjinnel for the Nation. system of street railways, already existing, freight trains could be brought to the rear of every storehouse on the entire water front. Thus could be simultaneously per- formed the three great purnoses of a terminal — Receipt, Storage and Shipment. With a ship at the dock, with storage between, and a freight train alongside, a perfection in terminals fourteen miles in length could be attained. The reform and saving thus effected would be in startling contrast with existii\g methods, whereby, instead of a per- fect teimina!, in which receipt, storage and shipment are united, the precisely contrary policy is pursued. As a matter of fact, for two-thirds of the commerce of the port, receipt is now had at Jersey City, storage in Brooklyn and shipment in New York! It is impossible to conceive of greater folly, more needless expense, delay and annoyance, than existing methods exact from the country at large. Therefore, the project is not only a large one, but one liighly beneficial to numerous interests over wide areas, and helpful to the nation. When it is realized that its accom- plishment would only cost five million dollars, and that, as Brooklyn annually consumes two million tons of coal, and the cost of transfer of every ton is fifty cents per ton, the saving on coal alone would pay the interest on the entire cost of the tunnel, it seems impossible to resist the hope that this great work will some day be achieved. Whether it will be in the lifetime of its originator, or whether cir- cumstances will pcmit him to have a hand in its promotion, does not now seem plain. But this is a comfort, at least, that the contribution made towards it in its conception, in its advocacy, in its feasibility, and by making Staten Island accessible, must stand to the credit of the writer in the gen- eral accounting as to the success or failure of his career. The Chances on the Water-ways of the New World. r. The magnificent stretches of water-ways, as a means of communication have, in a certain sense, taken a second pkice owinj^ to tlie rapid development of the raihoads. These hitter, however, iiaving about reached their extent, the munificence of Providence — disphiyed in the possibilities of water communication, — begins again to dawn upon the people at large. The growth of the commerce of the Great Lakes is an illustration of this improved appreciation of t!ie possibilities of lake navigation. The fact brought out in the speech of Secretary Windom, a few minutes before his sad death, that a greater tonnage was carried on the Detroit River than was shipped and received in Lonrlon and Liver- pool combined, startled the w^orld more than almost any other economic comparison ever made. A further fact, frequently alluded to, is that a greater commerce exists in the canal on the American side of the Sault Ste. Marie River in seven months of the year, than is carried through the Suez Canal in the twelve months. When the canal on the Canadian side, now in progress, is completed, and the great Northwest of Canada has the same relative development that has occurred south of the Minnesota line, no one can estimate how vast the lake com- merce may become. The Chances of Success in the development of commerce upon the inner waters opens up, therefore, almost a new- field, and anything in relation to its growth is of interest. For instance, a simple proposal in Congress, and consulta- tion with the Engineers of the War Department, as to the feasibility of connecting the remote and almost unknown Lake Traverse with Big Stone Lake, in the northern part [293] i i'-» ^k i ml 294 Chances in Water-ways. • i W of iMinncsota, would seem to have no particular interest for the rest of the country. Yet it is a fact, thai if these two lakes were connected, it would give practically uninterrupted navigation on the long- stretch of water, from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Winnipeg, and from Lake Winnipeg almost to the North Pole! Lord Dufferin's fine sketch of the water-wa3's of the Northwest is brought to mind by the possibility thus opened, that from Mexico to Manitoba and from Manitoba to the limits north of human habitation, means of water communication are possible, and will be developed in time. No better idea can be conveyed of the magnificent dis- tances of these interior water-ways than is afforded by this speech of Lord Dufferin, and no conception is grander of the great Northwest of Canada, as a field of effort for the American youth, than is set forth in these glowing words. After describing the journey by water, from the Atlantic up tlie St. Lawrence and through the Lakes, with which the world is familiar, he carries the traveler to the Lake of the Woods and continues : " From this lacustrine paradise of sylvan beauty, we are able at once to transfer our friend to the Winnipeg, a river whose existence in the very heart and eenire of the continent is in itself one of Nature's most delightful miracles, so beautiful and varied are its rocky banks, its tufted islands; so broad, so deep, so fervid is the volume of its waters, the extent of their lake-like expansions, and the tremendous power of their rapids. At last, let us suppose we have landed our traveler at the City of Winnipeg, the half-way house of the continent, the capital of the Prairie Province. We ask him which he will ascend first — the Red River or the Assiniboine, two streams, the one five hundred miles long, the other four hundred and eighty, which mingle their waters within the city limits of Winnipeg. After having given him a preliminary canter up these respective rivers, we take him off to Lake Winnipeg, an inland sea, Ejiormous Interior Navigation. 295 three luindred miles long and upwards of sixty broad, during the navigation of which, for many a weary hour, he will find himself out of sight of land. At the northwest angle of Lake Winnipeg he hits upon the mouth of the Saskatchewan River, the gate-zvay to the Northwest, and tlie starting point to another one thousand Jive hundred miles of navigable water, flowing nearly due east and west, between its alluvial banks. Having now reached the foot of the Rocky Mountains, our * ancient mariner,' for by this time he will be quite entitled to such an appellation, knowing that water cannot run up hill, feels certain his aquatic experiences are concluded. He was never more mistaken. We immediately launch him upon the Arthabaska and Mac- kenzie Rivers, and start him on a longer trip than any he has yet undertaken — the navigation of the Mackenzie alone exceeding tivo thousand five liundred miles. If he survives this last experience, we wind-up his peregrinations by a concluding voyage of one thousand four hundred miles down the Fraser River, or, if he prefers it, the Thompson River to Victoria, in Vancouver, on the Pacific !" Following this possibility of an unlimited extension of navisration to the Northward and Westward, throui^h the Canadian ways, comes another interesting circumstance, viz.: The Lucas Navigation Co. are now building a steel steamer to ply between St. Louis and South America. If more intimate commercial relations are established between South America and the United States, a very important trade may be built up through the interior of each country, and that the long stretch of navigable, connected water run- ning through the entire continent may be made available for the good of Americans. The certainty that, if the commercial barrier were oblit- erated between the United States and Canada, the long stretch of the St. Lawrence and the Lakos would be united by ship canals, opens up another field for future develop- ment, so that standing at the centre of the continent, say at iiWt I ::l If' ^n 'V I II 296 A/an tifac luring Prospects. some point in Minnesota, and looking North, South, East and West, a practically uninterrupted water communication can be had for the benefit of the world at large. How very correct Secretary Seward was, is now beginning to be realized, when, standing thirty years ago on the steps of the Court House, at St. Paul, he drew attention to the great fact, that what then seemed to be the most remote Northern settlement, was indeed the centre of the continent. Few then thought that from the region of which St. Paul is the centre, the bread of the world would be derived, and that a commerce would radiate from that point that would im- measurably enlarge the Chances of Success of the American people The possibilit}' of growth in the markets toward the north for United States manufactures is measured only by that which has already occurred within tlie Union itself. If Michigan r»nd Minnesota are typical commonwealths con- tributory in their greatness to the internal commerce of the United States, then Ontario and Manitoba but duplicate the extent and prof** "/f the trade, if the tariff barrier were on both sides the border removed. The Maritime Provinces and Quebec would do more for Boston and New York than Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. British Columbia, with its enormous areas, minerals and fish wealth, would duplicate the whole Pacific Slope within the Union. Here is abundant room for the absorption of all the emigration that Europe can pour upon these shores. Here is field large enough to double the transportation facilities already existing, and here : re the future Chances of Success for the coming generation. Food Fields a Thousand Miles Square. It sliould be recalled that wide as is the area of the United States, nearly one-half of it is not available for the production of food. This one fact should Siiik deep into the minds of every one who is looking to t!.e future Chances of Success. The superficial areas of the United States aggregate about i,86o millions of acres. Of these, about i,ooo millions of acres are within the region of a well dis- tributed rain-belt. It should never be forgotten that the remainder is arid plain or mountain. Hence, no less than forty-four per cent, of the entire land surface of the Republic is of littk; value for agricultural purposes, and likely so to remain. In the absence of fructifying rains, cultivation is possible only through irrigation, and water is available to fertilize only the merest fraction of these great arid areas. The question of food, therefore, will become one of intense importance, and in its cultivation, the expansion of the area for its production, in the handling of these products, their transportation and manipulation, there are Chances of Success that reside in no other department of human activ- ity. The question of food, however, is not confined to the products of the land, because it is likely to come about that, through the excessive cost of this product, sea-food will take its place side by side with that produced on the land. In other countries, notably upon the European continent, and, indeed, in portions of Great Britain, the inhabitants are sustained to a far greater extent upon fish food than they are upon animal food. The time may therefore be not far distant when the now neglected fisheries of the New World, so munificently providential in extent, may be far more available than they are now for the increased popula- tion. With these conceptions in view, it is important to real- [297] ■n I'l it "I \: 11 II' H M •I 'i Z ^ \i n 298 ^ Ftirfow of Four Thousand Miles. ize tliat on the new continent — of which the Republic of the United States forms less than half, — there are possibilities lor expansion toward the North, both in the extent of arable land and fiuitful seas, far greater than is generally supposed. A trade relation once established with the Dominion of Canada, by which perfect freedom of action could be had, backwards and forwards, of all the manufac- tures and products common to the continent, would op'^a up for the youths of both countries, an area for commerce, double that now possessed. The Jand areas available North of the Minnesota and Dakota line, so far as wheat-producing power is concerned, are greater than that South of it. This is best illustrated by the statement that a plow can be put in the ground at Winnipeg and never taken out until a furrow a thousand miles long is made, ending at the foot of the Rocky Moun- tains; it can then turn North and proceed a thousand miles in that direction ; then the same distance East and South to the place of beginning, making practically a wheat field of one thousand miles square ! Remember, it is not a thou- sand square miles, but a thousand miles square ! So far as the region to the North is concerned, in the Peace River district, 1,200 miles Northwest of Winnipeg, wheat has been grown for twenty years, averaging thirty bushels an acre, without rotation or without fertilization. The theory that in these Northern regions the climate is detrimental to the production of wheat, is. a mistaken one. It must always be borne in mind that altitude more than latitude affects climate. In this respect Canada occupies a position superior to most wheat-growing regions. Accord- ing to Humboldt, Europe has a mean elevation of 671 feet; North America, 748 feet ; the Canadian part of North America averaging only 300 feet. It will be recalled that all the rivers from the Northern limit of the United States run towards the North, rather than towards the South, indicating what the height of land is along the border. Fish Food Essential. 299 ate IS one. than Dies a cord- feet; forth that tates outh, As to the character of the soil extending over this vast area, the testimony of Lord Duffcrin is conclusive. After six weeks of rapid travel over this region he says that " the soil constantly reminded him of an English kitchen-garden." The soil is an alluvial black loam, with an average depth of twenty inches, resting on a sub-soil of clay. Practically there are eight days in the week, during the wheat season, owing to the length of the time the sun is above the horizon in these higher latitudes. It may be asserted that nowh,ere in the world is there so wide and so favorable an area for the successful raising of wheat as in this vast region. In the district of Alberta, which forms a portion of this Nortii- west territory, the winter climate is comjiaratively mild. Blizzards are unknown, and stock driven in from Wyoming, and other neighboring States, winter in the open air and come out fat and in good condition in the spring. As to the productiveness of this region in grain, cattle and vegetables, there is no question. It is therefore impor- tant, both for the American and the Canadian youth, that this ample area should be occupied by the incoming hordes of emigrants ; that an abundant supply of food should be assured, and that development, growth in wealth and activity in commerce should here take place. So far, there- fore, as an abundance of land is concerned, and a Held for opportunity, nothing is quite so important as the conception of the value of these regions of the North. With regard to the life-sustaining power of the sea, it is somewhat singular that in the United States so small a pro- portion of the people derive their support or sustentation from this element. The possibilities, however, of food from this source is found in the marvelous production on the Columbia River, which, though it rises in Canada, enters the Pacific Ocean within United States territory. From its broad bosom has been afforded an amount of food almost inconceivable. For many years there has been derived from this estuary, an amount of food in the shape of salmon, r • ( 300 Sources of Food for Fish, more than from any other equal surface on the face of the earth. It lias been caug^ht, canned and distributed broad- cast over the country. There is not a corner grocery in tiie remotest or most densely populated portions of the United States, but can be found a supply of this nutritious, delicious and delicate food. Indeed, throughout Europe supplies from this source have found tlieir way. The money that has been made, the Chances of Success that have been improved in this one river, show what it is possible to do in supplying food, if other regions were cultivated as assidu- ously. The Southern fisheries do not seem to prosper, and it is only when the Northern regions are reached by fishermen, that real success is achieved. The reason for this is found in the supply of fish food which apparently is derived mainly from Northern sources. A good authority oo this p(jint, Alexander Harvey, of St. Johns, Newfoundland, says, that the " Arctic currents which wash the coast of Labrador, Newfoundland, and Canada, chilling the atmos- phere, and bearing on its bosom huge ice argosies, is the source of the vast fish wealth which has been drawn on for ages, and which promises to continue for ages to come." Wanting tliis cold river of the ocean, the fish which now crowd the northern seas would be entirely absent. Pro- fessor Hind, says : "The Arctic seas and the great rivers which they send forth swarm with minute forms of life, con- stituting in many places a living mass, a vast ocean of liv- ing slime. The all-pervading life which exists here affords the true solution of the problem which has so often presented itself to those investigating deep-sea fisheries, the source of food which gives sustenance to the countless millions of fish." The harvest of the sea has not yet been gleaned to the same extent as the harvest of the land ; but this fact may be taken for granted, that of all the countries in the world, and of all the riches of these countries, nothing can be made more useful, in a higher form, toward sustaining life, or to a Hncfson Bay One Thoiisa^id Miles Long. 301 greater extent, than the vast wealth of tlie fisheries of Can- ada. In the matter of the fisheries ah)ne, Canada stands unrivalled. Very few realize the vast stretches of coast line along whicli the Dominion controls. They are the great- est fisheries in the world. Bounded, as the Dominion is, by three oceans, it has, beside its numerous inland seas, over five thousand five lundred miles of seacoast, washed by waters abounding in the most valuable fish of all kinds. The older provinces of the confederation have two thousand five hundred miles of seacoast and inland seas, while the sea- coast of British Columbia alone is over three thousand miles in extent ! It is impossible to take these figures in, and all that they imply, without realizing at once the enormous magnitude of this interest. Two facts in relation to future fish food are of interest to the youths of both the United States and Canada. The first of these is, that Canada, possessing more than one-half the fresh water of the globe, can be for the continent the source of supply for fresh-water fish ; and second, that mid- way across the continent, between the Atlantic coasts on the East, and the Pacific coasts on the West, there projects almost into the centre of the continent, an enormous arm of the sea, known as Hudson's Bay. Examine a map and note its central location. This bay. which is one thousand miles long and six hundred miles wide, is likely to be of vast im- portance to the future food supply. Think of a stretch of sea-life covering a distance equal to that from New York to Chicago in length, and from Washington to the Great Lakes in width. It possesses potentialities of food supply almost beyond belief, and it is a virgin field for effort. If it is true, according to Humboldt, that one acre of sea area is equal in food-producing power to eight acres of land, it will be seen how important to the future food of the world is this now neglected region. If, in the narrow Columbia River, so great a supply of food has been realized, what may not be expected irom the numerous rivers along the Pacific &j r ill II ;o2 Yclhnv ShuDid of Orientalism, coast, on the one hand, and those running into tlic wide stretches ol the Hudson's Bay, on the other! Thus attention is drawn to tlie two great fields for future food supply in the Nurtli. One a thousand miles square of wiieat and grazing land ; the other a thousand miles long of possible hsh food sup|)ly. If the same relative expansion on this continent is needed in the next thirty years as lias already taken place in the last thirty years, the regions above described will be the theatre of activity for the youth of the future of the two nations that hold this continent in common. Marriages between Jews and Gentiles do not in the United States frequently occur. Very intimate social inter- course between the gentler sex of the two races seems somewhat distiinf, no matter how intimate may be the business men of the community. Tliere is thus, in the vast stream of life in this country, apparent this slender thread of distinctive character, — this yellow strand of Orientalism, — running through the warp and woof of its constitution. But in education, in amusements, in charities, in business, in finance, and in intellectual de^'elopment, the Israelite pervades to a degree far in excess of his proportionate number, and by his wealth, its portable character, his shrewdness, and the intelligence that the coming generation will acquire, the Hebrew in America is bound to have a most important influence on the future of the country. Bear Hunting by a Broker. We liad cam[)cd, after a hard day's work in the canoes, a mile or so away from the last settler's cabin, before we cut loose from all signs of civilization for a fortnight in the woods. As we sat at supper, in the cool autumn air, two sons of the settler put in an appearance, curious, doubtless, to see our outfit, and to hear the gossip of the camp. Of course, they were heartily welcomed, and though shy and reserved at first, we soon got them talking fast enough. ** We thought you would like to go on a bear hunt," said the youngest, " and as we know where there is a l>ig she-bear, we would like to show you the way and share the Sj)ort." " Nonsense," said the elder brother, " he thinks he saw a bear two mornings, one after the other, in the stubble at the top of the hill, in the clearing back from our barn. I tell him it is nothing but our black heifer-calf, which, in the mist, just alter daylight, looks as big as a bear." " I know a bear when I see it," rejoined the lad, "it was not our heifer; she was in the barn-yard when 1 got back. It was a big bear, and I bet if you hunters will come with me in the morning, you will get a shot and perhaps kill it." We were impressed with the earnestness of the boy, and feeling that for two mornings in succession he could hardly be mistaken, it was arranged that we should get up at day- light the next morning, and see what our luck would be. Accordingly, just before daybreak we were roused by the youth himself, who said that he hardly slept a wink all night for fear we would miss the chance. He was accom- panied by the elder brother, who, though he doubted the story, nevertheless wanted to see the fun, if there was any. It was just breaking day as Robert Kimball, of the New York Stock Exchange, another friend and the writer, sallied [303I f < R' 304 ,7 S/(ul' /iX(/t(rn<^(' Juar in the W'oods, forth armed willi our rillcs. A walk ol a mile 01 so btoiiji^lit us to the l;asc of a iiill back ol the l)ain. Slowly climbinj; the declivity, with our foices scatteied .at C(iual distances over the ten-acre field, we soon surmounted the summit. There was no si<;n in the misty air of game, and the elder brother, who was with me, l)e<^an to snicker, and said wc had been fooled. Suddenly, howevei-, we saw Kobert draw his rifle, and lookin*^" in the direction in which he aimed, we discovered his object. Sure cnou<;h, it was a bear which had scampered towards the bush on our approach, and was in the act of scram blin«^ over the fence just as Robert fired. As soon as the smoke cleared awa}', we all 1 ushed to the spot, expecting; to find the i;ame behind the bush. But tiierc was not a vestii;e of the animal to be seen, not even a drop of blood, and beyond a few broken sticks, crushed grass and leaves, no sij^n whatevei' that a bear had passed that way, much less than one had been hard hit with a rifle- ball. It was a case 01 mysterious disapj^earance, so complete, thai wc bej;^an to doubt whether there was any bear at all. Robert vowed that he took f^ood aim at the bear's hind quarter, just as he raised himself to jump, and, as he was a capital shot, it seemed almost incredible that he should have so completely missed him. We beat about the bush for an hour, one of the boys went back for the do<^s, and we hoped to put them on the scent, but they threw up their noses, and seemed to agree with the elder brother that there had been no bear at all. Hu.-gry and tired with our long walk before breakfast, we hurried back to our tent, disgusted with our luck, and feeling we had lost the early start necessary to complete our day's journey to our permanent camp. All day long, as we paddled and portaged over into Hol- low Lake, we discussed that mysterious disappearance, and all the week after, until in the end we concluded that there must have been an optical delusion, and that it was only in yl If lifer or a Bear. 305 boys the igree ill. :fast, L and [plete iHol- and Jhere lly in our imaf^iiritioii tliat a bear had existed. I'Miially, in the jimsuit of other ^anie, the circumstances faded out t)f siijht and we had almost forijfotten about it. After two weeks fun in the upper stretches of rivers and lakes north of Hollow Lake, we started on our homeward journey. Toward night of the first (iay's journey, some dis- tance after we had sighted the settler's cabin a mile or so away, Kimball was paddling along, when a man suddi'uly appeared on the bank of the river with a gun in his hand and hailed the canoe. It was old Zack Cole, the settler himself, who had been treating himself at his own whiskey still. He was one of the swarthiest and most forbidding looking fellows that one could meet in those woods, though, as it turned out, he was not a bad-natured man. " Hello, you city-bred cuss," he shouted, " I want to set- tle with you. Is this the kind of ball that fits your rifle? If so, I want you to pay for my black heifer which you shot on your way up. I have got her hide at my house to show vou what you have done, and unless you pay me twenty dollars 1 shall take the law of you." His whole manner was so threatening, his temper was apparently so violent, and, having a gun in his hand, it was hardly any wonder that Robert felt like handing over the amount demanded at once. As we paddled up beside him, and Cole saw that we were in force with plenty of shooting material, his manner changed, and he said : " Well, I am sure you did not mean to do any harm ; and I blame my voungest son for misleading you. But come over to the house and see for yourselves the damage you did." We all had a good laugh at Robert's expense, and as we leisurely paddled along the river towards Cole's place, we jeered him not a little, as a mighty hunter, to come eight hundred miles away from New York to shoot a black heifer. We told him that he could had just as good sport as that in Vermont, with heifers of his own, and saved the poor 3o6 Dear Hunting by a Broker. r : I! settler in these far-away woods from a loss so serious. He was very grave, and, laying back for us fellows when he got a chance, reiterated what he had again and again urged, that the rest of us were just as much mistaken as was he, and that if that animal which jumped the brush was not a bear, then there were no bears in the world at all. But that kind of banter did not go for much in the face of the fact that Zack Cole was now demancihig twenty dollars for that morning's sport, and that the poor heifer had been sacrificed. Dou*^tless, it had been a great favorite in the family, and in the woods the loss of a heifer was a serious thing. Poor Kimball's heart — one of the kindest that ever beat — was touched, and we could see that he was already preparing to make the most ample reparation. Zack Cole, having taken a short cut through the woods, met us at the landing, and with his whole family, assisted us to disembark. Leading the way to the wood-shed, poor Robert looked like a criminal, for we were very silent, and even the family, seemed depressed with the gravity of the occasion, for there, laying stretched out on the wood-pile was a great black skin, which at first glance at a distance looked like a heifer's hide. One glance seemed sufficient, and Robert was hurrying away, when looking at the head we saw him start, his face flush, and he exclaimed : *' By jove, it ain't the heifer, it's a bear skin!" And sure enough it was a clever ruse of old Zack, who, to frighten us and play us a trick, had represented to Kim- ball that he had shot the heifer. Well, you may be sure that we were curious enough to know how the missing bear had been found, and the joy of Robert at the glory of shooting his first bear, was not more complete than the relief he experienced at beinsf freed from the c[ inof a heif '*ge er shoot •'Tell us all about it," he said to old Zack. " I would rather than fifty dollars shoot the bear than shoot the heifer. My fellow members on the Stock Exchange in New Yorl^ A Wonderful Shot. 307 who, IkI in- sure bear fy of the re of lould ;ifer. ork would never let up on me, if a well known cattle-breeder like me had shot a heifer ; but now that I have shot a bear 1 can glory in that achievement, and threaten all the bears on the Exchange with a like fate, when they deserve it. But tell us, Zack, how and where you found the bear?" " Well," said Zack, deliberately filling and lighting his black pipe between his sentences. " Well, you sec, about eight days after you left, 1 was ploughing in the u[)per part of the clearing, and every time I came near the brush fence, I smelt a terrible smell. After two or three furrows had been completed, I made up m v mind I would investigate, fearing some of the cattle had got caught and perhaps killed. You know I was away to the front when you went past the farm to the woods, so I had heard nothing of your bear hunt. By the aid of a little dog I traced the smell, and right underneath the brush I found a bear in a pretty bad state of decomposition. He was not far enough gone, how- ever, to prevent me examining him closel}' and saving his skin, which you see before you. But in skinning him 1 found a most wonderful thing. I discovered that your bullet had gone plum through the animal. Entering the rump, just at the right of the tail, the course of the ball could be traced right along the back, underneath the skin, right to the brain of the animal, and hanging in the loose skin, beside the ear, I found this cartridge." And handing Robert his ball, he convinced us this was the case. It was a wonderful shot. A distance of two hundred yards, just as the animal was disappearing, the mist of break- ing day surrounding the atmosphere, and yet true to its mission, and straight as a ray of light, the bullet had done its work, by ploughing right through the animal direct to the brain. Of course he must have dropped on the instant, and rolling inward under the brush we never thought of looking for him there. It was presumed he must have gone further into the woods, and hence the place where he, dropped dead was not discovered. 3o8 A Commo7i Destiny. I i I't You may be sure Robert was a proud man ; with a bul- let that had gone through a bear, and a splendid skin as a tropliy, he had good evidence of his prowess as a hunter of bears. Years afterward, in the Soho Bazaar, in London, I saw a great toy bear, that crept along, with head swinging from side to side, and purchasing it in loving remembrance of my friend, I brought it out to New York. One day, when business was dull in the great Stock Exxhange, in New York, it was sent across the floor to the Western Union group, in which Robert Kimball stood, creating the great- est fun among the brokers, and still further emphasizing the fact, that as a bear hunter in or out of the woods, Robert Kimball still stands unmatched. The two countries, occupying together this continent, have a destiny that is harmonious and united. It may or may not be a political destiny — the future may well take care of itself in this respect. For the moment they should be united in bonds and ties of the closest commercial character. Willi an unlimited area to trade in, b}^ the creation of markets in the north, equally with the unequalled sources of supply of raw materials, and, above all, the unlimited supply of cheapened food products, the future of the United States, as the future of Canada, is the most hopeful of all countries in the wide world. Able to absorb immi- gration in her agricultural regions of the northwest to a greater degree than is now afforded by the United States, through Canada the emigration question would be solved. An adjustment of the transportation problem, by which Canadian railways conflict with American interests, could be settled by insistence upon interstate commerce regula- tions, as a condition precedent to a business bargain. The fishery imbroglio would sink out of sight ; the seal fisher- ies would cease to trouble diplomacy ; the navigation laws could be harmonized, and the freedom of the greatest water- ways in the world would be for ever secured, The Future Granary of America. The sher- laws atest The Ciianccs of Success on this continent are so intimately allied with the capacity to produce bread in con- nection with all the activities which, in a wheat-gro\vin<^ region, are likely to be in motion, make it important to per- fectly understand where, in the future, the sources of supply are likely to exist. This is all the more important because of the narrowing limit in which wheat can be grown, and the rapid expansion of the consumptive demand by increase of population. The tendency of direction of wheat produc- ing areas, the exhaustion of soils, formerly susceptible of its cultivation, and the centralization of great milling industries, are all points of interest to him who would study the Chances of Success in any relation to the staff of life. The steady movement toward the north of the wheat- producing regions of this continent is remarkable. Wheat is a plant so delicate and so easily affected by frost and adverse conditions, that it might be supposed to be cultured safely only in the most temperate zones. Yet the move- ment, of the wheat-producing areas towards the North Pole has been as steady as the movement of the needle in the compass in that direction. Within the memory of many readers, the Genesee Valley, in the State of New York, was the great wheat-producing region. So much so was this the case, that R(jchester was named the *' Flour City," from the number of its flouring mills, and the nctivity of its commerce in that direction. Since then it has changed the manner of spelling the words which designate it, and though it is still called the " Flower City," it is because of the development of the nursery and seed interests, which so adorn and benefit it and the rest of the country. No longer is Rochester the centre of the wheat-producing [309] 310 Altitude and Latitude, areas. It is now Minneapolis, fifteen hundred miles North- west. Westward the wheat areas took their way, first to the valleys of the Ohio, then to the prairies of Illinois and Iowa, until now, in the most northern tier of States and territories, is found the great sources of national wealth in the production of this great cereal. The wheat-fields of Minnesota and the Dakotas, the milling activities of Min- neapolis, the marvelous railroad development in the North- west, both toward the west and north, and more recently toward the east, for the special accommodation of this flour and wheat trade, tell the story, that so far as climatic advantage is concerned, wheat has found its greatest success in States to the extreme north. With such a revelation of the tendency of the great life- sustaining force, it is interesting, as in time it may be import- ant, to apprehend the magnitude of the Chances of Success in wheat production in the vast region just beyond the bor- der line, namely, the great Canadian Northwest. The time may not be far distant when, by some reasonable business bargain between the two countries, the oppo: tunity of the American and Canadian youth may both be equally enlarged, so that in this field of effort they may profit to the same extent and with the same Success, as measured by the progress of the Northwestern States themselves. The general impression of the Canadian Northwest, as indeed the general impression regarding the whole of Can- ada, in the United States, is that the climate is so rigorous that vegetation, especially in a plant so delicate as wheat, cannot be successful. Tiiere never was a greater mistake. It should always be remembered that altitude has a great deal more to do with climate than latitude, and that the eleva- tions at the border-line, where the fertile areas begin, are two thousand feet above the sea, and at the Mackenzie River are only three hundred feet. This difference in altitude is equal to thirteen degrees of latitude in a climatic sense. It must always be remembered, that the growth of Adva7itag€S of Ca7iadian Climate. 311 , as an- rous eat, It deal eva- two are of cerealia, and of many important vegetables, depends principally on the intensity and duration of the summer heat, and is but little influenced by the severity of the winter. In the Canadian Northwest, the summer heat is as remarkable as is the winter cold. Lake Huron has the same mean summer heat as Bordeaux, France. At Cumber- land house, on the Saskatchewan, over five hundred miles Northwest of Winnipeg, the average heat exceeds that of Paris or Brussels. Perhaps the best test of climatic advantage is found in the ability to produce, in the largest quantities, and of the best quality, the most valuable and the most universally used article of commerce. Certainly, in this respect there is nothing surpassing the article of wheat, which may be said to be the basis of civilized existence. It would therefore be a startling statement to make, as showing the advantages of the much-derided C?inadian climate, that even in its extreme northern latitudes the Dominion possesses a greater wheat-producing area than does the entire United States ; that the soil of this wheat area is riciier, will last longer, and will produce a higher average of better wheat than can be produced anywhere else on the continent, if not in the world. Again, in a union of extreme heat and cold, there are compensations and advantages in the northern region of Canada which must not be ignored. For instance, what would be thought of a device that should provide, under- neath the whole surface of a vast and fertile wheat-produc- ing area, a well-spring of moisture, that should continu- ously exude and feed the delicate tendrils of roots that the wheat plant sends down into the earth for sustenance ? Yet this is preciselv what nature has provided in the thousands of square miles of wheat areas of the Canadian Northwest. Ages of long winters, continuous and often severe cold, have produced a frost line in the earth far down below the surface, which being thawed out during the summer h iv. . 312 lag lit Days in ikc Week. months, is full of force. What seems, at first glance, a bar- rier to the productive powers of nature, is, in this case, found to be contributory in the higiiest degree to man's advantage. For this vast area of ice, far enough below the surface to permit the growth of plants, holds in suspense and readiness for the land above, the needed element of moisture, constant and assured, which in other regions comes only in the rains and dews that fall from the sky — a supply uncertain and uncontrollable. But tiiere is still another advantage in these Northern wheat-fields of Canada incident to the climate; and that is, that while these latitudes imply long winter days, they equally imply the longest days in summer. Thus, there is an average of two hours more a day of sunshine during the period of the growth of wheat in the Canadian Northwest, than is vouchsafed in any other locality where wheat can be produced. Not only is two hours of sunshine in each day an inestimable advantage, but the sun is stronger and more forceful at this period and in this region, not only helping rapidly forward the ripening process, but the heat is continuously sufficient to cause an exudation of the moist- ure from the ice in the ground beneath. So that, in this far North land, despised in the minds of many for its cold and sterility, conditions unite to make it the most productive and the most valuable of all the wheat lands upon the continent. It would seem as if a conjunction had been formed by the heavens above and the earth beneath to illustrate, in the highest degree, the productive forces of nature in regions where man least expected this development. It so happens, also, that the soil which enjoys these advantages of moist- ure beneath, and long, forceful ra3'S from above, is particu- larly rich and inexhaustible. The best idea of the magnitude of the wheat areas is pre- casfo to sented as follows: If a line were dra fi wn irom Chi forts Vermillion and Dunnegan, in the Peace Valley region, where wheat and other cereals have been successfully grown, The Future Grauary of America. 31 and it were made a radius, the circle described would enclose the Bermuda Islands on the east, and the Gulf of Mexico and San Francisco on the west. To the average American, the great North Land of Can- ada, comprising as it does in area forty per cent, of the British Empire, has hitherto been a far off possibility. Eco- nomic forces, however, now press upon the people of both countries a consideration of a more intimate acquaintance with each other, to a mutual advantage almost beyond the power of estimation. So far as Canada is concerned, nothing could exceed in importance the freedom of a market such as the United States affords. While results of opening up the northern part of the continent to the enterprise and trade of the United States would be the most eventful thing j)ossible in economic history, taking rank side by side with the dis- covery of gold, the triumph in war, the abolition of slavery, and the resumption of specie payments. If, without the drawing of a sword, the shedding of a drop of blood, or the expenditure of a single dollar, the area of the trade of the country could be doubled, it would be impossible to con- ceive of a greater achievement. The extent and character of these northern regions, their value in natural resource, and the profit realizable from their development, can only be measured bv what has occurred south of the line of demarcation. pre- |o to ^ion, >wn, Parsimony requires no providence, no sagacity, no powers of combination, no comparison, no judgment. Mere instinct, and that not of the noblest kind, may pro- duce this false economy in perfection. The other economy has larger views. It demands a discriminating judgment, and a firm and sagacious mind. It shuts one door to impudent importunity, only to open another and a wider to unpresuming merit. — Burke. «ll I > I ^ 1: The Power of Interest. There is no greater force in the world to-day tlian that of a steady and certain return in the shape of interest. The farmer plows, and sows, and reaps, and depends upon the moisture, the heat and forceful influences of the atmosphere, of the earth, and yet his return may be uncertain. The fisherman risks his life, imperi's his craft, endures the storm for his reward. The miner delves in the earth and sees not the sun for days at a time, and runs the risks of noxious gases, and gets his pittance doled out to him. The busi- ness man, with his bookkeeper, with the clerk behind the counter together with the operator at the telegraph instru- ment, all working away for a return. Yet no return is so com- plete as that which comes from interest. Day and night, iiour by hour, interest returns the profit that in nothing else is of such a permanent character, or so certain in its opera- tion. The great question is, how to have interest commence, how to have it begin to yield the reward which it promises. That can come only to the average of mankind, from a little saving, a little thrift. Hence, institutions that have for their purpose the encouragement of thrift, are of the greatest value, and should have all encouragement. Tlie power of the continuous saving of trifling amounts in the aggregate is simply enormous. If it is true that there is no force more potent for the creation of wealth tlian inter- est, neither is there a current more swift, and river more broad, a force more potent, than the steady and gradual accumulations of a community. [314] '-. Men of One Idea. ^^ pera- ence, mises. little their atest 1-, Heretofore, men of one idea have made the most money. The principle which has brought the greatest reward has been that of the concentration in one direction of tlie in- creasing value of things on the one hand, and the returns available from interest on tlie other. The growth in values has, in many cases, made individuals rich in spite of them- selves. There are thousands of people in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and other great cities, who, without an effort, or the exercise of a single bit of business bright- ness, have become enormously rich. This has been, perhaps, through the lucky purchase by an ancestor of certain prop- erty, or by its acquirement in settlement of a debt, which in the course of time has become of exceeding value. The trick of acquiring wealth in these cases was simply that of concentrating or keeping together that which was already possessed, and allowing others to make it valuable. There does not seem to be anything very clever in this. Yet it may be safely said of half of the incomes of rich people in the great cities, that they are derived from this kind of inert business capacity, which illustrates the advantage of keeping close to the shore, and making the most of what one has. Appar- ently, one of the most successful features in a business career, judging by the cold facts of the case, is that of avarice or greed. This is a virtue rather than a vice from a purely business point of view, judged by the success it has achieved in the past. Just how far rapacity is going to be successful in the future, remains to be seen. Avarice and greed, without advancing values and exceptional circum- stances, will not of themselves make money. These have been the kind of principles that in the past paid best. The future of the American youth may need something brighter and more ennobling. [315] •I 'M 1 11 Si ^.[ \i' The Dog Power. The industrial value of dog-s in Belgium is in startling" contrast with the waste in America in sustaining hordes of useless animals. In Liege, it has been recently stated by the American Consul, there are ten dogs in harness for every horse, and the horses are as numerous as in any city in Europe. The dog pulls the carts of all the small traders, and it has been found that he will travel faster than the horse and draw a greater load in proj)ortion to his size. The usual burden of an ordinary dog in Belgium is 600 pounds, though a mastiff often pulls twice that amount. It is alleged that dogs are cared for at a cost of five to six cents a da}', while the expense of feeding a family dog amounts to even less. Mr. Nicholas Smith, the American Consul, thus quoted, estimates that there are in the United States 13 millions of families, nearly every one of which has a dog, while many support two or more. It is estimated that if each American dog possesses half the power exercised by the Belgian can- ine, there is a waste in this country in this way of a million horse power a year. True, this loss is so generally distrib- uted that it is imperceptible, but the aggregate constitutes a waste of very large proportions. There is absolutely in every city and town, dog-power enough to move no small proportion of its industrial machinery. When times are bard and food scarce in communities commerciall}' depressed, the amount of food required to keep the dogs alive, is a serious waste and worth thinking about. [316J I ,, • Serfs in America. dogs One ol tlic greatest evidences of wisdom which animated the Fallieis of the Country, in tlic creation of the constitu- tion, was the reservation to tiie Federal Congress of the power to enact a Banis.iupt Law for the nation at huge. Side by side witli the power to regulate co!iimerce, to declare war, to impose taxation, and the other sj)ecial pur- poses of a central government, rests the now latent force which, if availed of, will relieve and set in motion a vast number of those upon whom business paralysis has fallen. To control the assets of all the bankrupts in the country, to employ the Idgli capacity of the courts in the disentangling of their affairs, and to see that there is fair play in the dis- tribution of the assets, on condition of discharge from further liability, is one of the supreme purposes of a gov- ernment " by the people for the people." A period has been reachedin the history of the country when this latent power should be no longer imured. The terrific business C3'clone of last summer, coupled with the long period which has elapsed since the repeal of the for- mer Bankrupt Law, make it absolutely essential that some steps should now be taken by the Congress oi the United States, to set in motion the pent-up capacity and business energy contained in the vast arni}^ of serfs, who cannot lift up their heads, or trade in their own name. How large a proportion of the best business capacity of the country is thus paralyzed, it is difificult now to estimate. It may be safely said, however, that it includes men of the greatest enterprise, of the most far-seeing range of vision, with the least selfishness, and to whom the country owes most, now, as it were, in a mesh of circumstances out of which they cannot emerge. [317J •V^! m m rJ Ir7 • . I 3'S Serfs in A ff I erica. The sentiment for a new Bankrupt Law has steadily j^rown in force and favor. There were abuses in tiie work- ing of the old law, which, for some years, made the possibil- ity of a new one remote. But time and experience arc enforcing the necessity for some provision other than that which the Stales are competent to enact. The duty of Congress to take some action is now almost imperative. 'J'he prosperity of the country at large would be greatly augmented by the freedom which would come to tens of thousands of men, now among the business paralytics, who, under tiieir existing disabilities, have no Chance of Success in store for them. 1 '« Paying in full by failed men is very rare. The main reason, of course, is that in the struggle to avoid suspension, great sacrifices are made, assets depleted, high interest paid, and a condition of exhaustion experienced by the estate, before it passes from the control of the debtor. But bad as may be the average condition of banki upt ^istates, it does not compare with the injury done, alike to the credi- tor and debtor class, by the inability of the failed man to get on his feet again, owing to the absence of a National Bankrupt Law. The best ability, the most honest intention, the best possible Chai-ceof Success, are all thwarted by the hopelessness of freedom from former entanglements. The energy, experience, capacity, hopefulness, and honesty of purpose, of a quarter of a million of men in this country, goes for nothing, because they dare not put their hands to anything, or raise their heads among their fellowmen. It is a vast mistake to permit a condition so injurious to the individual, to the credit, and to the country at large. If Congress has one duty above another, next to the com- pletion of silver and tariff legislation, it is to enact the bankrupt bill of Mr. Torry, whose devotion to this great lueasure of reform deserves a national recognitioiit = T>^ Hints for Young Fortune Hunters. Do not drift, but steer. Have a defined motive in full view. Do not mortgage your future, — it may be useful to y^u hereafter. The surest way to mortgage your future is to incur indebtedness. The only justification for debt is the immediate prospect of profit. Incur no debt, except for that on which you can readily realize, in order to liquidate what you owe. The young man who incurs debts, without securing a corresponding ability to pay them, practically pawns his future, — his most precious possession. Three-fourths of all the progress in this new world has been achieved by the generims and judicious use of credit. Yet three-fourths of all the anxiety that pervades it, has come from the abuse of credit. Like every other blessing, *' the greater the good the nearer the evil." Credit is often unnecessarily used to supply some fancied want, to promote some speculative enterprise, or in some way to hypothecate the future. Hence, always take a week to decide whether you should go into debt or not. A week's delay may save a year of sorrow. " Falsehood prospers by precipitancy." Is it a fact that the world is divided into two classes — ■ those who save all they can and those who spend all they can ? Is the division further extended so as to include, on the one side, those who are always creditors, and, on the other side, those who are always debtors.-* [319J 'Ik •ft dl i hi 320 Hhits for Young Forftuie Hunters. If this is so, and it rests with the reader of these lines, who is young and has yet time to shape his destiny, surely he will make every effort to get into the camp of those who are likely to be the freest from anxiety all their days. Human happiness is difficult to achieve ; it is easy to destroy. It may not always reside in the first of these divis- ions, it certainly never stays long in the latter. The virtue most conspicuous in its absence in the aver- age human being is Thrift. It can come only by cultiva- tion. Hence rultivate thrift by periodicity in saving. Fitful saving may do for the man who has a tendency for thrift, but for the average of humanity a trained and determined course of action is necessary. The discipline of regularity is just as essential in saving, as it is in any other exercise of the body or the mind. Hence periodicity in saving is the way to get an exercise in that virtue of virtues, whereby our young man may for all time call his soul his own. If you live in a city, one of the best ways to secure periodicity in saving is to join a local Building Loan Associa- tion. The obligation in joining one of these associations is to pay into a treasury so much money a month. It is a splendid exercise, and not only yields a larger interest than any other investment, but is safer, because it is based upon building homes for the people of the middle class, who will never sacrifice their home if they can help it. These Asso- ciations now include a capital exceeding that of the National Banks, and are providing more homes than any other instru- mentality. The good they are doing is incalculable, for in the creation of homes rests the hope of the Republic. If you live in the country try to get possession of some land b}'^ saving your money, either in using the instrumen- tality of the Building Loan Association or some other plan by which you can buy on instalments. If possible, get pos- Hints for Young Fortn'dc Hnntcrs. ''21 v^ Isome I men- plan pos- session of some of God's earth. Land near f^reat* cities of rapid growth is likely to be exceedingl}' valuable. Good farm land is sure to grow in favor. There are boys now living who will witness an increase of population until this nation reaches 130 millions of souls. Think of it! These have all to be fed, and only from the farmer and the fisher- man can food be derived. Hence, good farm lands are likely to advance in value. Remember that the law of supply and demand prevails in Real Estate as in every other trade. Unlimited supply is dangerous, equally with a limited demand. But if sup- ply is regulated by accessibility and nearness to large aggre- gations of humanity, and rapid means of communication, the limitations are generally safe. As to the extent of the demand, it must rest with the character of the place near which the land is located. If you cannot get land, get a section of a " corner," because trusts, combinations and consolidations have come to stay. They are the economic features of the hour. Shares in a well managed trust or combination, at a reason- able price, are, generally speaking, a safe investment. If the country grows in the proportion above set forth, those who control such great articles of commerce as oil, sugar, starch, lead, cordage, cigarettes, and staples, can hardly fail to make great gains. Competition, which has been a most expensive luxury, is practically eliminated from many of these departments. Periodicity in saving, a close observance of the economic changes that are impending as to combination and com- petition, as to increase of population in proportion to pro- duction, and as to advancing values near centres, are all suggestive thoughts for young men. •' 5 '1: f -i The Life-Blood of Commerce. The Currency of the Country and the Chances of Suc- cess are bound hand and foot together. The " disappear- ance of currency," which a few weeks ago suddenly oc- curred, was an event unparalleled in the experience of the younger business men of the countr}^ and an object lesson for the youths now coming forward. While there is a larger percentage of dollars in circulation in the United States than in any country of the world per head, more is needed than in any other country, because of the area, activity, and volume of ^rade. Under ordinary circumstances, however, the existing currency is abundant, and while the patient is in health the current of life-blood is adequate. When, how- ever, there is the slightest symptom of disturbance, — and this liability ma}^ be more frequent than ever before, — the life-blood ceases to flow rapidly, congestion sets in, a chill in confidence occurs and the body politx becomes sick indeed. It is well to realize this danger and to apprehend how intensely important is this whole question of the cir- culating medium. To show how in past ages, as now, ^Nis question of " currency " affected the world the follo'vit >, extracted from Alison's History of Europe, should be care- fully read : ** The two greatest events that have occurred in the history of mankind have been directly brought about by a contraction and, on the other hand, an expansion of the cir- culating medium of society. The fall of the Roman Empire, so long ascribed, in ignorance, to slaver}^ heathen ism and moral corruption, was in reality brought about by a decline in the silver and gold mines of Spain and Greece. And, as if Providence had intended to reveal in the clear- est manner the influence of this mighty agent on human [322] chill sick lend le cir- f ■ I i s care- n the by a e cir- oman then lit by reece. clear- uman The Life-Blood of Commerce. 323 nffairs, the resurrection of mankind from the ruin which those causes had produced, was owini^ to a directly oppo- site set of agencies being put in operation. Cohinibus led the way in the career of renovation ; wlien he spread his sails across the Atlantic, he bore mankind and its fortunes in his barque. The annual supply of the precious metals for the use of the globe was tripled ; before a century had expired the prices of every species of produce were quad- rupled. The weight of debt and taxes insensibly wore off under the influence of that prodigious increase. In the renovation of industry the relations of society were changed, the weight of feudalism cast off, the rights of man estab- lished. Among the many concurring causes which con- spired to bring about this mighty consummation, the most important, though hitherto the least observed, was the discovery of Mexico and Peru. If the circulating medium of the globe had remained stationary, or declining, as it wns from 1815 to 1849, f^'oiii the effects of the South Amer- ican revolution and from English legislation, the necessary result must have been that it would have become altogether inadequate to the wants of man ; and not only would industry have been ever3^where cramped, but the price of produce would have universdily and constantly fallen. Money would have every day become more valuable : all other articles measured in money less so ; debt and taxes would have been constantly increasing in weight and oppression. The fate which crushed Rome in ancient, and has all but crushed Great Britain in modern times, would have been that of the whole family of mankind. All these evils have been entirely obviated, and the opposite set of blessings introduced, by the opening of the great treasures of Nature in California and Australia." ■|f: ■ 'iJii '/ I II , I The Chances with Heiresses. There are more rich young- men and rich 3'oiing women in the United States than in any other country in the world. To these have come as a heritage the fruits of tlie efforts of the most enterprising, the most industrious, and the most economical of parents, in a field for the exercise of that effort the grandest tlie world has ever seen. What Chances of Success did these parents not have? What opportunities in the enhancement of values of property, in the discov- ery and development of coal, iron, copper, gold and silver; in the creation of new nationalities in the shape of new States ; in the growth of trade and in the steady gain in profit ! All these opportunities afforded, with a thorough equipment to make the most, of them, it is no wonder that success attended the efforts of these parents, and that, dying, they have left behind them fortunes which should last for many a generation. So there are already created a great class of leisure-lov- ing, money-spending, young, and middle-aged people in this country, to whom the Chances of Success are more or less a matter of indifference. It is well that it is so. These will be good customers, liberal patrons of that which is refined and expensive, and in the creation of which good profits are possible. The growth of a moneyed aristocracy is an immense stimulant, though there may be a feeling in some quarters, that if the good things in this world were more evenly distributed, there would be less cause for discontent, and less neces ity -y with an open field and no favor, the Chances of Success for the young men and young women of America are better than are elsewhere afforded. The accumulations of those who have already left the L324] TJie C fiat I CCS ivith Heiresses. ^ ■^ c omen i^orld. rts of most : that lances inities iscov- )ilver ; f new ain in rough jr that dying, ist for p e-lov- le in ore or sewill efined rofits is an some more ntent, eless, ss for etter ;ft the stage of effort, and whicli are now er.joyed by the growing leisure class, arc a good foundation for stability in the nation, for use in business, for h()j)e of profit, and for a stimulus to ambition. It docs not follow, for instance, that all rich young women are going to marry "Chappies" who are equally rich. An American heiress is just as much the prize of the poorest boy in the land, as of the richest native 3'outh or the stupidest titled foreigner. The race is open to all, and as tlie American heiress is an indei)cndent creation, and has a mind of her own, she is not likely to be fooled into choosing a husband she does not like. There are ten thousand Chances of Success in this most charming of pur- suits. But in thus casting about for an American heiress, and thus endeavoring to marry money, so as not to have to work for a living, the young man of ability should not part with his manhood. He should not, for the sake of bread and but- ter and tine clothes, throw away the most precious of all his possessions — independence. The realization of a fortune oi his own, — even if it be but a small one, — is a better inherit- ance than gilded misery, and a life dependent on the bounty of others. Besides, how many a sweet girl there is who has not a dollar! These must not be passed by, — these loving, kindly ones, who would be such cheerful helpmates. Having noth- ing but her sweet self, she may be worth ten thousand times over the girl with money galore, in the creation of happiness for which all strive, in the stimulus of effort, in the con- sciousness of achievement for her sake, and for those that will come after. God bless all the sweet girls of the land, — whether they stand and pick the type that the reader now reads, tap the typewriter in the office, or in the store ; whether they labor in the school, the college, in the kitchen or in the parlor ; whether they work for a living in their noble effort at self- support, or for the s-upport of those they love, or whether t i f- I*. M 11 326 T/ie Chances ivith Heiresses. tlicy wait for tlic sweet fate that should envelope them all, in liie loving embrace of him who should come to every one of them. Heiresses are all very well. in their way — they, doubtless, will be [dways deservedly in demand ; but the manly man who wants to make the most of his Chances of Success, should not pass by the heiress, whose fortune is in her disposition, in her ability, her accomplishments, her virtue, her devotion, or in her love that will lighten ever}' load and brighten every hour. Governor Roswell F. Flower, of New York, believes in farming for a living. Mis strong common sense perceives the tendency of the times, and in a recent speech he said : " The urban population is increasing at a very rapid rate. Millions of people must be fed. Their tastes and wants are increasing every year. The ability to satisfy these tastes and these wants must increase proportionately. Let us give up the old methods of farming, that have been proved unprofitable and impoverishing, and take up new crops whose production is profitable. Let us study new methods which science and the application of business principles to agriculture have shown to result in economy and a large margin of profit. Instead of a discouraging and profitless occupation, agriculture can be restored to its old-time splendor as an honorable and remunerative pursuit." Electrical Chances of Success. In the range of Liglit, Heat and Power, there must reside many a Chance of Success. The cieation of these three great forces seems possible to a greater degree by Electricity than by any other element. Hence, in the growth and development of this flower and fruit of civiliza- tion of the age ; in this new current in life, which seems so universally applicable, there is an opening field for employ- ment and achievement. It would seem as if Electricity had come at a period when it was most needed, and to a nation that wou'd employ it to the best possible advantage. No other country has been so alert to avail itself of the advan- tages of this new agent and servant of mankind as America ; and in no country have the rewards, in the shape of pro- gress and profit from its use, been so universal. It is true that in the diffusion of Light, by the aid of Electricity, very large sums have been expended, and in many sections of the country losses have been sustained. But the experimental stage of these enterprises is now past, and with a rapidity that has been remarkable, the distribu- tion of illumination has been changed from loss into profit in almost all parts of the country. The employment afforded by Electric Light Companies and their rapid • extension affords, therefore, a good field for effort and in- vestment. In the new domain of the creation of Heat, only partial progress has thus far been made. Sufficient, however, has been developed to show that, if the same relative progress is made in the next five to ten years as in the last decade, establishments, which are now employed during the hours of darkness in the diffusion of light, may be used all day for the diffusion of heat for cooking, heating, and for mechani- [327] in 328 The Electrical Chances of Success. cal purposes — as in all these the current has been found to be very effective. Tliough the cost is yet considerable, there is a steady tendency towards reducing the expense, and it cannot be long before wires, scattered through the community, and entering residences and factories, will con- vey the heat necessary for their use. But it is in the creation of Power that the most useful phase of this mysterious current will be developed. The transmission of power for some distance from a central station, say within a radius of ten miles, is a great facility. The ability to divide up into small units the accumulations of a great boiler and engine, giving to one house sufficient to run a sewing machine or rock a cradle ten miles away, and to another sufficient force to drive a great lathe or a printing-press, ten miles in another direction, with a trans- mission sufficiently delicate for a dentist on the route to bore a hole in the tooth of a sensitive patient, or the barber in the next building to brush hair, will be seen to possess pos- sibilities of the broadest application, and the widest useful- ness and economy. Here is a field for the future youth ^i America to investigate and study, and in which the Chances of Success seem almost unlimited. The use, however, of electricity in the creation of nneans of locomotion is, perhaps, the most extensive field which opens up. Already, the area of numerous cities has been widely extended through the introduction of the electric railway, — cities, too, which had been supposed to have reached their limit of progress so far as area was concerned. The instance of Boston is, perhaps, the best illustration of the success of the electrical system. It has opened up a new future for that metropolis, and, by the increased facil- ity of access to its beautiful suburbs, has not only enhanced values enormously, but at the same time broadened the opportunity of its people for getting homes of their own, and greatly added to its attractiveness as a place of resi- dence, and to its success as a point of manufacture. The Electrical Enha)icc))icHts. 329 he n, si- le same will be true of otlier cities in proportion to their use of the electrical current for the movement of tlie people, for by that will their progress and growth be measured. The enhancement in value of land in suburbs, by the introduction of Electric Railroads, has been so great, as to exceed, perhaps, any other local growth of wealth which the country has witnessed, while the social and moral pur- poses served by the avoidance of congestion of population at crowded centres, has been highly beneficial. New fields of opportunity have thus been created, and we are yet but in the infancy of the usefulness of electricity in traction. The binding together of numeroi'3 smaJl towns by electrical railroads, making them virtually one city, is sure to have a marked influence, for as towns get nearer to each other, the facility for the interchange of people and prod- ucts will beget for them a greater prosperity than would be possible if the communities remained isolated and their interests separate. The uses of electricity in agriculture have yet to be developed, but there is hardly any question that dynamos on farms, with the current intelligently applied, will much increase the earning power of the farmer. Not only may the power be employed in the manual operations of the farm, but in the chemical consequences possible through the use of this mysterious agent, unknown benefits may develop. In it may reside the power to restore exhausted soils, and, as the element has been found most efficacious in the purification of water, no one can foresee what will result from its application to fertilization and stimulation in the growth of products. Perhaps, though, the widest field of effort, in relation to electricity, is the transmission of force from water-powers to great distances. There is, especially in the northern regions of this continent, natural powers latent and unused, which, by transmission through electricity, can be made to perform the work of thousands of horses, and broaden I 3.30 Panic Unexpected, immensely the possibilities of work in manufacturing, in mining, in agriculture, and in almost every kind of pursuit in which power is required. The great object lesson of the period, will be the harnessing of the power of Niagara, which, if successful, will be but a commencement of a new era in the utilization of wasted forces. The subject is full of the deepest interest, not only for the business man of the period, but especially, for the youth looking out upon the world for Chances of Success. The panic of the summer, and the resulting slow recovery, is difficult to account for, not only because it occurred at a period when it was thought the highest success in material prosperity could be exhibited to mankind at large, but be- cause it happened in tlie presence of conditions which it would seem were calculated to make impossible so great a calamity. Never in the remarkable history of this country were there apparent so many evidences of prosperity. A nation of forty-four commonwealths, trading with each other and with tl^world in the products of every climate; occu- pying areas unparalleled in extent, with natural resources unequalled in variet}' and richness; with means of com- munication perfected to the highest degree ; with sound financial institutions, and abundant currency as a medium of exchange; with perfect political contentment; at peace with all the world ; with enormous contributions from im- migration ; with capital from abroad constantly seeking investment; with no foreign indebtedness; and, with it all, a people of great industry and intelligence, whose genius for business, finance, and enterprise is unsurpassed, — in the presence of all these conditions, and at a' period when the world was invited to observe them closely, that there should occur circumstances so disastrous and so far-reaching in their effects, seems most surprising, and most unfortunate. The Chances in the Food of the Future. Tliink of it! There are boys and girls now living that will sec the population of this countiy increased from 65 milli(jn to 150 million souls! The general expectation of young people, under twenty, is that fifty years yet remain to them. That will mean five dec'ides, in which the census will reveal to them, what the increase in the number of people will be by the time they arc seventy. Starting with 65 millions for the year 1895, and adding less than the ratio of increase of last census, say only twenty-tive per cent, each time for three decades, or thirty years, the result is as fol- lows: In ten years (1905) the po[)ulation will be 81 millions ; in the second ten years, (191 5) the population will be 100 millions, and in the third ten, (1925) or at the end of thirty years, the number of inhabitants will have reached 125 millions ! If the ratio of increase should then decline to fif- teen per cent, for the fourth decade, and to ten per cent, for the succeeding ten years, the five decades i«iil^ ill end with a pojiulation here of 150 millions ! Now, the question is, how does this certainty of enor- mous increase of population affect the Chances of Success for the boys and giils who are to witness it? There is not a parent but is anxious to provide a competence for the children they leave behind them, and half the lives of the present generation has been given up to a provision for those that are to succeed them. Hence, they must be pro- foundly interested in this question as to how their children are to be affected by this most momentous and inevitable increase in population. Equally, and indeed, more particu- larly, does the question affect the future of the young people themselves, of just how many people there are likely to be in this jostling, surging, struggling age in which their [331] il 332 The C/wro/ccc Outlet, lot is cast. Tlicrcf(;rc, bolli old and y()un<^ arc profoundly concerned in this question of increase. It is clear that the Chai»ces of Success, in view of such a growth in numbers, reside lar<^cly in the domain of food. The added mouths and stomachs will require to be tilled, and in that mission will be found the widest ran<;e of employment. As we have seen elsewhere, the way to make a living is by helping to keep someone else alive. Our own wants are supplied by supplying the wants of others. If there is to be an almost phenomenal increase in those whose wants arc to be thus supplied, it fc^Uows that the Chances of Success are greatly to be affected by an abilit}' to supply these wants, a knowledge of the best localities from which to do it, and a perfect apprehension of the probable neces- sities and urgency of the question. At first, it must be realized that upon the F er and the Fisherman alone rests the ability to feed the i^mainder of the population. Hence, with such an increase in the number to be fed in the next thirty years, the question is, Are the farmers and the fishermen likely to keep up with the demands upon them? If the farmers were to have in the next thirty years as much land to take up as tliey settled upon in the last thirty years, there would be an easy answer to that question. But the startling fact is, that the farmers cannot increase in anything like the proportion that the population increases, because very little more land fit for cultivation remains for occupancy. The scenes at the opening of the lands for settlement in the Indian Reserva- tions,— which, having reverted to the Government, have been offered for sale, — are an object lesson of the profoundest sig- nificance to the American youth. " The sun rose over the Cherokee Outlet on the morning of the i6th September, 1893, and disclosed not a single home on the six million acres comprising the Reservation. The sun set at night on a hundred thousand home sites, claimed and largely occupied !" 7\(t//() of fficrcasr Iniposniihlc. ^l^ In tlic history of the j^rcatcst asfricultiiral movement the world has ever seen, nothin*^ has been so strikinj^ as this event, and, as it is practically the last of the cultivatablc land available for Government offerinii^, it closes the Chances of Snccessfor an increase in farming- popnlation in anythint^ like the ratio of j^iowth in the popnlation dependent upon them for food. A realization of the fact that 44 per cent, of the area of the United States is arid, and uncultivatable for food supplies, is an important dutv for those who think of the future. Still further, a realization of the fact that so rapid has been the occupancy of the tillable lands within the Union in the last thirty yeiirs, that the increase in the next thirty years caiHKJt at all approach the ratio of increase in the popula- tion. These two convictions, once fastened in the mind of him who thinks, will greatly aid in correctly estimating the future food supply. It is true that, in this year of grace, wheat has been lower than ever before known, and this in the face of an increase of ten years in city population of sixty per cent., against a growth in farmer population of only fifteen per cent. But as against that very low price of wheat, there has been an increase all along the line of other food supplies. Bacon has cost at the table two dollars and a-half for what was before dear at a dollar. At all the seaboard cities, eggs at the breakfast table, all the early part of 1893, cost four and one-half cents each ; beef and mutton have kept up the highest figures, while even bread, based upon wheat worth in Kansas thirty cents a bushel, has been sold to the con- sumer at no perceptible decline. Hay has been a penny (2 cents) a pound in London, and relatively high here. This, too, with all the land taken, and all in the most vigorous cultivation ; with a series of the greatest crops ever har- vested, and with accumulations over from other years which never again can be duplicated. If, theref( re, living has been so costly in the green leaf of abundance, what will it ■'i i 334 T^^^^ Chances in the Food of the Fuitire. be in the sere and yellow leaf of exhaustion of stocks ahead, with lessened crops and an enormous growth in population ? As the people fly along the railways from East to West and from Ncjrth to South, they see wide stretches of idle land. Naturally enough, they say what nonsense it is to talk of any doubt of food supplies, while so much remains to be tilled. True enough ; but it must be remembered that the wide areas of forest and pasture land are not idle. Pos- sibly it is resting, recuperating and changing its character as it must to yield continuously. It is doing its work, though it does not yield a harvest of grain. As the popula- tions of the cities grow, the increased use of land for hay, oats and dairy purposes is very great ; equally so for garden- ing, fruit and purposes other than that of wheat or corn. The breadsluffs and provisions are but one department of agriculture, and these staples being most economically produced in the great States of Minnesota, Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, it is the exhaustion of land in ihese States, both in area and quality, that has got to be watched in order to understand the question of the future food supply. Without increase in area, with only yields of average quantity, with exhaustion of accumulations, and with an increase of population that must be fed as certain as the sun, the question will come back to every one who thinks, Where, in ten, twenty, and thirty years, will the food come from that will supply the population, increased by fifty, a hundred and a hundred and fifty per cent. ? That there will be an abundance of food for such a popu- lation no one doubts, but that great economic changes will result from the necessities of its supply cannot be denied. That these changes should be carefully studied out, and that the Chances of Success are somehow involved in them, hardly admits of a question. The changes that impend from the altered positions of supply and demand are these : ■""TT- Three Results. 335 First. — An improved condition of tiie farmer, in the fact that hereafter he will get a better price for his prod- uct, while his purchasing- and debt paying power will increase. His taxation will be less, his interest pay- ments will diminish, and his will be the most prosper- ous class in the nation. The whole community will benefit and prosper, because the farmers — the basis of all trade within the Union — prosper. Second. — The Chances of Success on small farms, highly cul- tivated by intelligent application of chemical and other knowledge of natural laws, will greatly grow, and thus open up new fields for effort. Third. — The need of new regions for cultivation of food supplies, and for the accommodation of the new h(^rdes of population that will press in upon the life of the coming generation, will require the opening up of the remainder of the Continent to the North. Elsewhere is told the story of a wheat field a thousand miles •yL.are, where the new immigrant may find a place in which to grow grain and consume goods for the bene- fit of the American boy and girl, and in which the Chances of Success will broaden to double the area of the present generation. These three great consequences will follow the inevitable and tremendous increase of population that, within the life- time of those now living, will come upon the scene of activ- ity in proportion to the restricted and altogether limited sources of supply of sustentation. Therefore, to be fore- warned is to be forearmed, and he who would guide his course aright, must at least realize these facts. '1 1. M 1- Vi I 1 I im The New Force in Economics. Will not the new discovery for the coming century be some mode to regulate commerce other than Competition or Combination? No one who has realized fully the waste of unlimited competition, but feels that it is not altogether the best way in which to carry on the vast project of feeding and clothing the world. Equally to those who have followed up the possibilities of combination there is in it even greater danger of eventual disaster. As between the two, up to this period, the great mass of people feel that safety alone resides in competition, while those who look deeper, and count the cost of competition, believe that in combination there is the greatest possible economy, certainty of qualit}', and satisfaction generally. But neither competition nor combination quite meet the requirements of advanced civilization. There seems to be something wanting in the manner of doing business which neither of these great forces supplies. The question is, how it will be developed and what shape it will take for the future; for success much depends on whether combination and competition will prevail, or whether there is another mode possible. One of the most striking instances in which a necessity exists for the trial of some new principle for the regulation of affairs, is found in the Coal trade of Great Britian. Com- petition certainly here has been most disastrous, while combination, so far as attempted, has utterly failed. There is a conflict so serious and so constant between labor and capital, that it would seem that almost a revolution in economics impended. A condition of loss, uncertainty, mis- ery and disaster exists as between miners and owners to a. degree found nowhere else in the world. That eventually [336] The Neiv Force in Eco)ioniics, 1 '* '7 do/ Ml such a condition may occur in America, a good many believe, unless tliere is some mode of regulation, other than competition, of the great blessing which Providence has given to mankind in the mines underneath the earth. At the last analysis, competition in an article in which the chief outlay is labor, ends in the wages of the laborer being cut so low as to be insufficient for the sustentation of him- self and family. Then he becomes desperate, and desper- ation knows no right except the right of food and comfort as a return for labor. This seems to be about the condition reached in England. With an unlimited supply beneath the earth of an article most needed by mankind, and with a demand that is univer- sal to be supplied, it does seem singular that this question of supply and demand cannot be solved without starvation, hardship and universal loss. Yet, at last accounts, coal throughout the coming winter in England was likely to be two shillings per ton higher than last year, which is a calam- ity in itself to nine-tenths of the people ; but, in addition to this, gaunt want threatens hundreds of thousands of miners themselves, and the government, it is thought, must inter- vene to save from starvation a great section of its most industrious and most dependent constituents. Convinced that there is something entirely wrong in the modes of business adopted, and that a remedy must be dis- covered other than that found in competition and combin- ation, intelligent men are intent upon working out a plan in which Co-operation shall play the leading part. Wiiat it is proposed to do is shadowed forth in the accompanying cable dispatch, printed in the Evening Post of a recent date, * and apparently nowhere else referred to : London, Sept. 20. — After a year's consideration and con- sultation between coal owners and experts, Sir George Elliott, the originator of the scheme, to-day publishes a proposal that the coal lessees of the United Kingdom shall form an immense 338 English Friendly Sociclies. m co-operative union, charged with the entire working of tlie Brit- ish coal deposits. He proposes that after 5 per cent, has been paid on deben- ture shares and 10 per cent, on ordinary stock, the next 5 per cent, shall be divided among the workmen and shareholders. All profits beyond this will be divided among the lessees and workmen, and a purchasers' board of trade or referees will be appointed. The Lord Chief Justice will be intrusted with fix- ing the price of coal. From the foregoing it looks as if a new feature in trade were possible in a bioader application than ever before of the element of Co-operation. Is it not possible tliat, a quarter of a century hence, men will say : There are tint e great forces in trade, Competition, Combination and Co-op- eration, and the greatest of these is Co-operation ! If Competition and Combination both utterly fail, as they seem to have done in the administration of so great trust as the Coal Interests of Great Britain, with supplies so abundant and a demand so great, and a new principle of Co-operation is introduced, it is but a fulfillment of an expectation that seemed to be in the mind of John Stuart Mill a quarter of a centur}' ago. He said capitalists would *' gradually find it to their advantage, instead of maintain- ing the struggle of the old system with workpeople of the worst description, to lend their capital to the association — to do this at a diminishing rate of interest, and at last, per- haps, even to exchange their capital for terminal annuities. In this or some such mode the existing accunuilations of capital might honestly and by a kind of spontaneous process become in the end the joint property of all who participate in their productive employment; a transformation which, thus effected, would be the nearest approach to social jus- tice, and the most beneficial ordering of industrial affairs for the universal good, which it is possible at present to foresee." V Epochs in Oil. "~T- Hi The Cliances of Success in the early history of this country, when the commerce was small, would seem to have been restricted to a far greater extent than now, when its commerce has reached proportions so large. Yet this is not the case, as shown in the business of supplying oil, which has always been a great element in trade. A com- parison in respect to this article of a most interesting char- acter is possible by a thrilling quotation from a speech of Edmund Burke, in the British Parliament in 1775, and following it by extracts from the census of 1890, both in relation to oil. Mr. Burke said : Look at the manner in which the people of New En cr. land have of late carried on the whale-fisher}'. Whilst we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson's Bay and Davis's Straits ; whilst we are looking f h or them beneath the Arctic circle, we hear they nave pierced into the opposite region of polar cold, — that they are at the antipodes, and engaged under the frozen serpent of the south. The Falkland Islands, which seemed too remote and romantic an object for the grasp of national ambition, is but a stage or resting-place in the progress of tiieir victoiious industry. Nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging to them than the accumulated winter of both poles. We know that whilst some of these Americans draw the line and strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa, others pursue their gigantic game along the coast of Brazil No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries. No climate that is not witness to their toils. Neither the per- severance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous nor firm sagacity of English en! ei prise, ever [339] !■ II I !s-;! 11' it If 1 I w I 340 Epochs in Oil, carried this most perilous mode of hardy industr}- to the extent lo which it has been puslied by tliis recent people, — a people wlio are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not 3'et hardened into the bone o( manhood!" These are fine sentences from the greatest of orators, and thrill the imngination with admiration for the hardy seamen who, for whale oil for lubricating and lighting pur- poses, ran such risks and endured such hardships. Yet the whole product of their efforts were as a drop in the bucket compared with the oil now required and supplied, and which is derived frohi the earth instead of from the sea, and in quantities so v-ast and by facilities so great as to almost stagger belief. Yet great as is the quantity, and broad as is the distribution, it is in the hands of half-a-dozen men, and there is no possibility of independent action in relation to its production and manufacture. The Chances of Success, by individual enterprise or adventurous spirit, is even less than when Burke uttered the glowing words above quoted. The contrast, however, is most interesting between Burke's description of the whale fisheries of New England and the following figures from a special report of the census as to the oil business of the United States, now almost solely centred in the Standard Oil Company: "The export of oil now figures as fourth in the list of articles sent out. It is exceeded only by cotton, breadstuffs and provisions. For the year ending June 30, 1864, the total exports were 23,000,000 gallons. Five years later they had increased to 100,000,000 gallons, in 1874 to 200,000,000 gallons, and in 1891 to 700,000,000 gallons. A larger per- centage of the oil product of the country is sent abroad than of any other product except cotton. The reduction in price has been remarkable. In 1861 the price of a gallon of export oil was 6i>2 cents; in 1871, 23^ cents; in 1881, 8 cents; and in 1891,6^ cents; and in 1892, 6 cents. The growth of the industry is also well illustrated by the facts that 25,000 miles of pipe lines and 9,000 tank cars have Epochs i}i Oil. 341 been built to convey tlie oil. Fifty-nine freight steamers are now employed in transporting it to foreign countries. The capital in Pennsylvania wells and lands is estimated at $87,000,000, and $65,000,000 is invested in plants for pro- ducing the crude petroleum. This is exclusive of such accessories as pipe lines, tank cars, refineries, docks, fleets of vessels, etc., and an estimate of $300,000,000, as the total valuation of all branches of the industry, is not i.oo high." per- broad ion in )n of ^81, 8 The facts have The success in fortune-making in the generation now in possession of the fields of effort, and gradually passing away, has removed the necessity in numerous instances for similar pursuits in the generation now coming forward. There are in the United States more rich young men and rich young women, ready to share their wealth with part- ners for life, than it was ever estimated there could be in a period so short in the history of the country. This is shown in the perceptible growth of the leisure class every- where, and especially the tendency toward crowding into the cities and towns. The absence of stimulus for effort, which follows the possession of wealth, in time will lessen the number of those who strive for the worthy achievement of success. Except in the mere duty of holding on to what has already been accumulated, rich men's sons and daughters need not be expected to do more than occupy the field held by their fathers, while even this poor satisfac- tion is denied to not a few of them. The prediction remains to be fulfilled that " every third American must go back to the soil." The most difficult thing to keep, by the average man, is money ; and the ease with which fortunes are dissi- pated by speculation, injudicious investment, or mistaken judgment, by extravagance and idleness, make it reasonably certain that, hard as it has been for the rich fathers to make fortunes, it will be a great deal harder for the sons to keep them. i i^ if I The Crime of New York. Threc-fourtlis of the money that comes into the country is received for stuff sent out of it at the port of New York. Nine-tenths of the money sent out of the country is for mer- chandise received through the same channel. Very nearly two tliousand million dollars a year is thus concerned in the exports and imports through the harbor of New York, and there is no section of the entire country, that is not inter- ested in the economy or the extravagance with which its affairs are administered. When the national debt was two thousand live hundred millions of dollars, the burden of interest seemed intoler- able. The administration made haste to reduce it, and the people responded by taxation to the ordeal of payment. But in the expensiveness of* the harbor of New York, the whole people are continuously carrying a burden almost as great as the war left upon their shoulders, and the tribute levied from them is almost as broadly diffused. In conse- quence of a crime against the national commerce in New York, the cost of living is largely increased throughout the Union, while every farmer, planter, miner and shipper is taxed to atone for the supremest folly ever perpetrated by a city administration. The terminal changes, which are rendered necessary by the peculiar shape of freightirg facilities in New York, exceed those of any harbor in the world, and are so onerous as to add materially to the cost of both exports and imports. For instance, there have been periods when it cost more to handle a barrel of flour in New York, than it did to trans- port it a thousand miles from Chicago. The boast was recently made by that giant in transportation, that marvel- ous combination of courage and ability, W. C. Van Home, 342 The Crivie of Nezu York. 343 F^rcsident of the Canadian Pacific Railway, tliat a barrel of flour could be freighted from the dock at Montreal to a dock in Liverpool, for the same cost as it could be handled in the port of New York. The coffee which the reader had for breakfc'ist, bore a charge heavier for terminal accommo- dation than for anything else since it left the place of growth. it is impossible to name an article in food or clothing which has ever touched this point of transfer, but that its cost has been in some way unnecessarily augmented by the inadequacy, the costliness, and practical imbecility of the national terminals at New York. The reason f'>r this is, that the shape of the harbor, the isolation of parts of it, the difficulty of unititig it, and, above all, the supreme folly of the administration of the water front owned by the city itself. The purposes of a terminal are three ; Receipt, Storage and Shipment. In the proportion that these three purposes can be united, in that degree is a terminal perfect. In the degree in which these three are separated, in that extent is there imperfection, costliness, and inadequacy. For a very large portion of the exports of New York — from all trunk lines except one — the Receipt is at Jersey City ; the Storage is at Brooklyn, miles away ; while the Ship- ment is in New York, miles back again. If the devil him- self wanted to organize a system of taxation, delay, expense and annoyance, it could not be better contrived. So, too, with regard to imports. The coffee before re- ferred to, if received at New York, (at a pier the rent of which is only $70,000 a year, and which the coffee must help to pay) is lightered to storage in Brooklyn, hoisted labor- iously out of the lighter with a horse and tackle, and when ordered to the interior, is lowered by the same process, again lightered to Jersey City, hoisted again into the cars, and finally put on its way to consumption. It will be asked why could not the coffee be stored in New Yor-k and shipped from there. Well, the reason is i4 1; 1 344 The Crime of Ncio York. that tlicrc is no storage in New York, because the city owns the water front and administers it, while individuals own tiie uplands near the water front. But there is no unanimity of action between the two, sufficient to induce the erection of storage accommodation. It would be an unsafe investment; for nextyear the city might lease its dock to a coal dealer, who would need no storage. The result is, that along the whole water front of New York, — the most valuable stretch of territory in the world, — there is noth- ing but second-hand clothing stores, meat markets, sailors* boarding-houses, cigar stores, etc. There isn't ro.im in any one place on the whole water front of the great city of New York for the storage of i,ooo barrels of flour! The division of interest between the ownership of the land under water, by the municipality, and its extravagant administration, and the ownership of the land adjoining, with impoverished administration, is so marked and so disastrous, as to be fatal to economy or efficiency. But that is not all. The city insists upon a street right around the front of the water, and thus cuts in two parts the duty of receipt and storage, or the purpose of storage and shipment. These streets necessitate cartage, re-hand- ling, transfer, and once that is necessary, the storage along- side has no certainty of being the receptacle chosen, and hence the danger of investing in storage. The cartage business, which this exterior street makes necessary, is a vast disaster to the city, and to the countr3^ It has now reached a magnitude so great that, if the carts were to be put in a line, the oaths of the drivers could be heard all the way from New York to San Francisco! In the narrowest of cities, in the worst paved and dirtiest of streets, there is con- gested the greatest number of costly means of communica- tion it is possible to conceive of, bearing about the merchan- dize of a continent, at an expenditure of delay, mi ly, money profanity and annoyance unequalled elsewhere on the earth's surface. Therefore, so long as the city of New York The Crime of New York. 345 con- ica- lan- ney, th's ork administers its water front as a municipality itself ; so ion^ as it permits a street to separate tiie uplands from the lands under water, and stands in the way of the performance of the legitimate union of both for the legitimate purpose per- formed anywhere else, so long will it commit a crime against commerce. A disposal of its riparian rights to pri- vate ownership — resulting in a union of the uplands and low- lands, and the obliteration of the exterior street, which like a boa constrictor is strangling trade — is the only remedy. Meanwhile, Jersey City is crowded to a terrible extent. Brooklyn piesents a splendid array of storehouses, because private enterprise is permitted to own both sea and land with no streets to divide them. The war goes merrily on at the cost of the public, and is likely to, till the growth of Staten Island as a terminal, and the construction of a tunnel under the Bay from that point to Brooklyn, brings relief, economy and accommodation adequate to the trade which is sure to be concentrated at the point of transfer, where the products and wants of so vast a continent meet the tonnage of the world. " In the course of a single life," seemed a short time in 1775 to predict so great an achievement as the creation of American commerce. Yet Edmund Burke, in the British Parliament in that year, most eloquently said : *' If an angel, turning to a youth, should tell him : * Young man, there is America, — which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners. Yet it shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which is the envy of the world. Whatever England has been growing to through progressive improvements, through the virtues of the people, by the succession of civil- izing conquests and civilizing settlements in a series of 1700 years, you shall see as much achieved by America in the course of a single life." 5? I 1 The Treacherous Eddy. lie wasa str()nij;-!y-l)uilt boy, was Willie Ilanna, of Bracc- bridge, Muskoka, ant! ihoiigli he was only fifteen, lie looked big enough to iiandle a canoe. Our party of six hunters were looking for guides, and as we sat in the shanty-tavern eating our dinner, the anxious face of Willie peered in at the window. He had a right to that anxious face, had Willie TIanna. lie was the eldest son and sole sup[)ort of seven children and a worse than widowed mother, for she had been abandoned by the I'ather in the woods, with this family on her hands. In this remote region, where employ- ment could bo had only at rare intervals, and with difficult subsistence from land four-fifths covered with rocks, any lad who had the responsibility upon his shoulders of six little brothers and sisters and a broken-hearted mother, had occa3i(vi to look anx'' us. Talk of lieroi'^m, boast of rou'-age on the battle-field, or encounter with wild beasts, tlial is the true heroism in which the heart, the head and hand arc all at once engaged in scratching for bare life, in circumstances such as these. Any boy tliat would undertake it, and do his whole duty, was worth knowing, and after gleaning these facts from tliC landlord, and taking a good loc^k at that honest face, I made up my mind to have Hanna for my guide, and ascertain the stufT iiC was made of. It was a lucky choice, (or it not only laid the foundation of a friendship that has ever since existed, but the sturdy courage wiiich had already developed in the lad, saved the life of both myself and my companion, who was then iiiy nearest friend. How we were rescued from a treacherous eddy by the brave Willie Hanna, is now to be related. We pitched our camp some twent) miles up the river [346] A Great Days FisJmig: 347 a Ibe er Utx a week's fishing in tlic gloiious days of June. A(ter exhausting the rapids and eddies in our vicinity, my friend and myself determined to extend our journey ah)ne up to tlic higliest falls, some ten miles north, and selected Willie Ilanna to accompany us. We started bright and early, and had the most glorious morning's sport imaginable. IJanna seemed to know just where to guide us to secure the yellow beauties, and trout after trout from the limpid stream dropped from our hooks into the bottom of the canoe. At last we came in sight of the great falls, which proved to be a tremendous body of water, madly rushing over tno rocks. In shape, the falls resembled a horse-shoe, but in the centre, low down on the river, a rock some ten feet square was uncovered. It looked a perilous phice to fish from, with a vast volume of water surging madly on either side, but Manna said it was the best site for fish on the river, and it was concluded to land there. " Paddle a steady stroke," said Willie," and I'll land you safely at the foot of the rocks, and after that all danger will be over." Little did he realize the deadly struggle that would follow, in which he would fight the noblest fight for life or death it was ever our fate to witness. " Steady !" said the boy, as we plunged through the swirl and waves of the boiling water, and I heard my friend quote liis favorite line from Tennyson, " Courage, brave heart — this mounting wave will roll us shore-ward soon !" In a moment the nose of the canoe touched the rock and, getting carefully out, I grasped the rail at the bow and firmly pulled the ticklish craft up to what was considered a holdiiig distance on the rocks. As my friend landed, I glanced along the bottom of the canoe. I was impressed with the freight we were carrying. Not only was the bot- tom almost covered with splendid trout, but two rifles, extra fisiiing-tackle, books, flasks, knives and other valuables were scattered over the surface, and the thought went i I I I iw s ■ 348 A Desperate Struggle. through my mind, how careless we were to leave all these valuables to the cliances of an upset. But we had work in hand, for no sooner had my friend cast Ills line into the rapids, when a mighty trout flaslied into the sunlight in pursuit. Hurriedly getting my rod into play also, we were both soon so profoundly engaged that we did not dream of the tragedy that impended. Willie had remained resting in the stern of the canoe, which seemed sulificiently secure on the rock at our feet. But, imperceptibly, the swash of the waves had loosened its hold, and in an instant, while we were intently watching our sport, a tremendous eddy running inwards swept the frail bark right under the falls at our right. With a sud- denness and a swiftness that was unaccountable, the light vessel was shooting under the torrents that tumbled twenty fe3t from the top, and in an instant, of course, it was sub- merged, upset, apparently dashed to pieces, and Willie had disappeared beneath the swirling tide. ** M}' God !" I exclaimed, in an agony of prayer, " save that boy." It seemed as if the mother and her six little helpless ones were appealing to my friend and me, with out- stretched hands, to rescue their support. It seemed as if all nature pleaded that this life — so precious, so noble, so de- voted— should be preserved. But we two stood there like two statues of stone, and as dumb and helpless, for our noble little fellow was out of sight, and we were powerless to help him. Suddenly, however, at a distance of fifty feet below the falls, we saw his body gradually come to the sur- face, and you may be sure it was a moment of supremest suspense to discern whether life was or was not extinct. To our gladdened eyes, however, we saw he was battling with the waves in a feeble way, and soon his head emerged and we could see from his pallid face what a desperate struggle he was undergoing. Little by little he got out of the eddy and slowly floated down the stream with efforts The Ri'sino; TFa/ers. 349 ve •ur :ss :et r- st t. growing apparently weaker and weaker, till a turn in the river liid him from our view. Meantime, our own position of peril had begun to dawn upon us. Here we were, on a rock ten feet square, in the middle of a tails twenty feet high, with eddies on each side of us, that did we attempt to swim would surely suck us under. Without food or fire, ten miles away from camp, with night coming on, and no boat or other means of rescue, we were indeed in a strait. Our hearts, however, turned towards the boy, perhaps lying stark dead on the shore around the bend of the river, or clinging to the smooth logs or struggling in the brushwood to get ashore. These circumstances were sad enough, but to our horror a new peril awaited us. We found the water was rapidly rising, and that the small patch of rock on which we stood was being gradually covered ! Little by little the edges began to disappear, and it seemed that before another hour, the footing on which we presumed we securely stood, would be covered with a rushing stream. Our own peril increasing so fast, our means of escape cut off, the hopeless- ness of our situation dawned upon us, and we almost gave ourselves up as lost. Unfortunately, the canoe, which had been pulled by the eddy sheer under the falls, had rolled over and over as it shot out from beneath, again to be drawn back, and again sub- merged. At length, by great good fortune, it freed itself from the whirlpool, and slowly swept bottom-side up along the sides of the shore, and floated down the side of the river, bumping along the logs and stones that lay strewn along its course. As the canoe rounded the bend of the river, and was lost to view, our hearts stood still, for with its disappear- ance seemed lost all hope of rescue. The sun was sinking, the water was rising, the distance to the shore seemed lengthening, and our hopes dying out. Except at the desperate risk of attempting to swim to the .V ll i' I 350 A Brave Rescue. \ I. ^ ■ ■ , i; 1 1 11 b ■ ii m. 1 iBi If ■ shore, risking tlie trcaciierous eddies that would certainly draw us under the falls, it seemed certain death awaited us. We looked at each other in mute alarm, speaking never a word, but with hearts full of foreboding. But, lo! in the distance, coming round the bend of the river, a glad sight met our eyes. Was it the ghost of our guide, in a phantom canoe, that was pushing towards us, or was the real stalwart brave boy that, having survived a death struggle, approached the dread spot again, where he had fought for his life ? Sure enough, it was he, with a thin round stick instead of his lost paddle, laboriously and carefully making his way through the waves and swirling eddies of the stream. His shirt had been torn from his back, his hat had long ago disappeared ; his hair was dis- hevelled, his face was black and blue, his eyes bloodshot, and he looked no more like our stalwart Willie than a real ghost. Yet his heart was throbbing with anxiety for our fate, his courage was not lacking, and his cool head and steady hand were surely employed in an errand of mere v. *' Brave boy !" was the exclamation that involuntarily escaped my friend. *' No nobler, self-sacrificing act was ever attempted, and God be thanked for such a rescue and such a rescuer !" In another minute, by a splendid effort of those strong hands, with his rounded paddle, the nose of the canoe touched the now submerged rock, and was grasped by hands that held on to it with a death grip. "Carefully, carefully, dear Mr. Wiman," stammered VVillie, through his chattering teeth, blue with cold and exposure. " Hold on till your friend gets in, and then let me get out and you take my place while 1 get to the rock, so as to give her a mighty shove, otherwise this round stick will not give us, so heavily laden, power enough to escape the eddies that sucked me in." Thoughtful, brave Willie Hanna. We had to do as he told us, though it seemed as if he might thereby sacrifice A Hero Rewarded. ;5i himself ai^ni'n. Takin<^ liis place in the stern, lie took mine on tlie rock, with his hand oi llic canoe, and Kxjkiiii;- up into the clear sky, we saw his li[)S move in prayer, and then with a careful but vigorous push, he gave the frail bark and its {)recious cargo such a momentum as drove it down mid-stream far away from the point of danger. Mow we landed immediatel}', how we built a fire to warm our young hero, how we tried to prevail upon him ^o take from a little flask a drop of whiskey to save him from a chill, and he would not because he would violate his temj^erance pledge, how we found a [)addle on the portage, and how we got back to camp near midnight, need not be told. Only this need be now said, that for years and years after, brave Willie Hanna had the best shooting-iron in the country, sent by his two friends from the city ; that in the succeed- ing decade, every year, he was our chosen companion in the woods for these delightful vacations; and how^ from being a boy he grew \.o be a man, helpfid and hel})ing the dear mother, the sweet sister and all the little bo3's and iris that made ud the iiro ui And now in mid-life, how fc>' the same Willie Manna has prospered, lias become a well- to-do merchant, a magistrate, a postmaster and a useful and influential citizen, need not be told, for it will be testified to b}' all the good people round and about Port Carling Ontario. Only he who writes these lines will never forget the anxious face that peered in at the window, looking for work on that bright June day ; nor will he ever forget the look that was exchanged between them, as he was swept under the falls, by the treacherous eddy, to issue again as the bravest and best of boys, and in his community one of the most trusted of men. ft? k! 'MH: II il t Wresting Money from Each Other. There is a fixed and certain amount of wealth in the country. The question as to who possesses it, and how people get it from each other in proportion to their needs, is a very interesting- one. There is a continuous struggle to get this wealth one from another, for services rendered or for wants supplied. It would seem to the majority of people who struggle for existence that the distribution of wealth was most unequal — a few seeming to have a very ample supply, while the mass have only just enough to get along. The army of laborers, mechanics and other workers get about enough to exist on ; while a few, with superior thrift and ability, get a little ahead. The question with these, as with many others, is how to wrest a little more from the heap. This wealth is, in a sense, a fixed sum in the aggregate. It is represented by the gold, silver, bank-bills, treasury notes, and the other currency which forms the ordinary medium of exchange in buying and selling and making pay- ments for services rendered. There is in the massof human- ity a degree of activity and interest like that which prevails in the ocean among the particles of water, — loo^.'^^;poo. which .-s pn-dJc;;;; ■:' el :,.?::;:;::-- urct?;.4Li: ri;;-^'^ -"^'"-- ''- --S.en;: living out of one another. From the hm, ""''' ^^ ^^^ '^ ;so.ated .on, each othe,- fn .^ ht,et"lK:tnJ-:?hT;::; fo. the supplies of food that support the whole mas t ,1 country village with its mild excitements toVhV . ' of millions, there is the widest nn c n '^e great cities est forms of usefulness'^anSp^:^ ^.r'scirj ai': S'" iiization. But, somehow, the sfnio-o-l^ ;. .i ' ^ ^'^ one. and, in this country oabnS^ ' ""'"" more intense, to wrest 'In.me ho ."l-^tr.^^ """' '"' life. The Chances of Success nnl'l, "^^^^^'^^nes of for those who watch nn,-' !k ,;l'^':'^'^^'""^§^'^ ''"P^'ove tunities of the time, and available only to th and tch narrowly the tend new development encies and opnor pp( s, new wants are ose who are acute enough to d prompt enough to appropriate them. H informed, the most intelligent, and will always succeed, other things be iscover, ence, the best the most enterprisi ing equal. n S> Sweet Home. 1 m Staten Island, in wliicli the writer ol these lines has lived a life of activity, may have some interest for his reader. It is a place unique and by itself in many respects. Located between two of the most populous States c^f the Union and lying on the shore of the second harbor in the world, within sound of a traffic whose roar never ceases, the interior of the Island is as quiet ind secluded as the remote legion of Dakota or Arizona. As it happens to be on the road to nowhere in particular, no one has occasion to cross it, and the interior has changed but little since it was first settled by Dutch and Huguenots, or since the British made it their head-quarters in the War of Independence. Theie are farm- liouses, massive and quaint, surrounded by ancient orchards, which have stocjd for 200 years, and the appearance of which affords no evidence t.f the vast city and the new civilization almost within gunshot. An old church at Riclimond, which looks like many a prototype in English country villages, has a communion service presented to it by Queen Anne, the respectable daughter of James the Second, of bad mem- ory, when Addison was Secretary of State, and Dean Swift intrigued in London and wrote that queer " Journal to Stel- la," and when Marlborough was winning Bicrdieim, Ram- iliesand Malplaquet, The sight of the place takes one back to the days of the Stuarts, to the Augustan age of Anne, and to manners and a civilization long since buried. The British earthworks still overlook New York Bay, and one can imagine the guns there mounted which protected King George's fleet and transports anchored under the shores of the Island. English money, muskets, cannon and bullets, are still dug up occasionally, to the delight of the local an iqu: iries. j?'^ Swci'/ I lo)uc nno, Tlic one ing- bres lets, >cal The transition from a drowsy life of quaint memories, is, howevei", takin^^ jjlace in tiiis beautiful isle of tliesea. Ws concentration and amplification of traffic, a levolution iias been effected, whereby C(Miimunication with the outer world has been greatly augmented. Egress and access was only j)ossible fifteen times a day, when the writer inaugurated a reform, resulting in trips sixt}^ times a day between the island and the great metropolis, — a service more fiecjuent and more rapid than to any outlying place. By the completion of a railroad bridge to New Jersey, available to ten trunk lines, a great means of communication has been established, and ten miles of deep water front added to commercial accessibility in the chief port of the nation. Already the Sleeping Beauty feels the thrill of life in every part; population, commerce and manulactuies increase, and a new and glorious future is already in full view, with Chances of Success moie numerous and more certain than elsewhere offeis. Within sight of a metropolis with the densest ])opulation on the earth's surface, Staten Island is the most inviting field for occupancy around New York. Fifty-eight square miles (A area, delightfull}' diversified, with superb views, healthfulness and attractiveness, rendered completely ac- cessible from the metropolis, makes its expansion in this direction only a question of time. A conception of the City of the Future, of which — instead of Central Park — the Bay of New York will be the center, is already being ful- filled. Brooklyn, with its million of souls, occupies the east shore; New York and Jersey City, with its wide extensions, forms the north side; while Staten Island, occu- pying the full Western limit, has for the future an oppor- tunity of growth nowhere else in the world so apparent. A condition of preparedness for entrance into the constella- tion that will form the Greater New York, is already accom- plished. The consolidation of New York and Brooklyn into 'J II OD 8 Stcec/ Home. one city is inteiulcd to include Stiitcn Island, and no con- tril)iiti()n to tiic united cities will have a promise gieatcr. a tlegrec of usefulness liiglier, or attractions more complete, than this section of the city down the bay. Then may be fulfilled a remarkable prediction by Courtlandt Parker, the eminent counselor of New Jersey, who, when he was sought to be retained to aid the legislation for the Arthur Kill Bridge, turned up///,; 359 plastic and so promising is „„t .-,„ unhnppv Ihino- ,„ look back upon I„ achieving a uork „l sncl, masnitndc as is .ere goinfT forward, nuslakcsand follies have been , ,n,mil. cd Uul U >s the rounded life of a n,an, il,;,t nu.sl forn, he basis ol the esliniale of his success or failnrc. Al the h.ml acconntin,!;, perhaps, it will be what he has d,.ne or ned to do or his fellow-man, rather than what he has ch,ne for himself by which he will be jn.lsed. By that s.andar,l, 'n btaten Island as elsewhere, the writer of these lines will be content to abiilc the verdict. THE END. THE CHANCP:s of SUCCBbS. i INDEX. A Speck upon the Ocean, 77. Abolition of Consolidation, 41. Absorption of K anufactures by the Farm- ers, 5?4. Af^cumulationa lik--' U lessen, 95. Advantaf?es f' r JiriLsl '"Japital here, l'i7. Adverse Leg, atio Ci. •eked, 257. ic Force, 122. , 123. Advertising '.ni FAsoVii Advert»>,lnp" ly t.lte V Age, ar t^sct.-'pti mii'. Agricultural i,ilov.n;.«int, most eventful in Hisioi-y, 19. All Depends upou the Faumer, 13. Altitude, Intl lence on Climate, 298. American Tr oute to British Ships, 77. American Farmer on Top, (52. American Safe-guards of Government, 255 Amusements, Intluenee of 259. An Ark of Safety— thn Farm, 33. An Economic whole, 43. Annihilation of Time, ~."3. Arable Soil Completely >cciipied, 20. Area of Production increased only 3 per cent, 18. Arid Areas 860 Millions Acres, 972. Associated Press Scored. Avenues of Effort Crowded, 25. Average Condition of Mankind 93. Average Income per acre, 16. Baltimore & Ohio Banquetec 111. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Contract, 216. Bank Accomodations Alfected, 239. Bankers in Lombard Street, 133. Banking Capital Diminishing, 136.] Bankrupt Law Essential, 817, 348. Banqueting Celebrities, 111. Bargain, a Sharp 222. Base Ball Team Inlluental, 261. Base Ball on Slalcn Island, 217. Basis of Things, 13. Batterson, J. G. Broad Views of 251. Bear Hunting by a Broker, 303. Bell Alexander Graham, 252. Benefits of Free Trade, 289. Bengough, J. W. Great Caricaturist, 115. Bequests of the War, 49. Bertram Currie, a Financial Force, 13J. Between Seller and Buyei', 61. Between 8hirt sleeves & Shirt-sleeves, 213. Bitten by a Mad Dog, 176. Blaine, Mr. Three Stories by 54. Blaine's Reciprocity, Origin of 113. Bonded Areas for Manufacture, 184. Bonds for 235 Millions Unnece.ssary, 4546. Boots and Shoes for a 100 Million, 63. Borrowers and Lenders, 266. Bounded by Three Oceans, 301. Bourke Cockran's Chance, 289. Bread, Delivery of, costly, 217. Breadstuffs, Exports of to cease soon, 84. Britain in Control of United States, 121. ^ !i U Britain's Refoipts loriulerost eciiiuling our Ex polls, lii7. Bi'idsh Sails wlii ten every Soji, 76. Britisii Interest in America, 142. Broker's Bear Hunt, a03. Brooklyn Isolated, 290. Brunt of Taxation, borne by Farmer, 19. Buffalo Bill's First success, 1(50. Building Loan Association, 241, 246, 249. Building Loan Life Insurance, 251. Burden of Steel Kails. 45. Buried by the Collin Trust, 27. Business better done at less Expense, 37 Business is War, 258. Business Methods Changed, 26. Busine. T reliability of Girls, 200. Buying at one price, Sellingat another, 30. Cab Horse in liondon cared for, 93. Gall Loan of 455 ]Miilions, 240. Calumet and Hecla ditficult to duplicate, 252. Canada cannot be forced, 152. Cdiuida needed by the United States, 287. Canada, Testing the Sentiment of, 287. Canadian l*arties, 154. Canadian ({uestion discussed, 139. Canadian French teaching a lesson, 34. Canadian Telegraphs Consolidated, 102. Canadians would respond, 155. Capital made greater, 135. Caravansary in each city, 36. Caricaturists banqueted, 116. Carnegie's Andrew, star engagement, 213. Carter Company's tribute on transactions, 91. Cartwright, Sir Richard entertained, 453. ('arving out a career, 31, Chance as a Farmer, The. 33. Chance for Statesmanship, 28C. Chances on the Waterways, 293. Chances of Success, 251. Chances of money getting, different, 23. Chi* ndler Albert, usefulness in telegraphy, 253. Charles Lamb on predestination, 116. Cliarts to guide in business invaluable, 103. Chasing a great engineer, 211. Check pad, 91. Ch*»mistrv of Nature, Learn it, 63. Childs' MV. .fl.OOO per day, 124. Children of the North, 12. Children's day at Wild West, 168. Choctaw Latin, 56. (/hristmas dinner in prison, 268. Cities, growth of, 172. Cities, Population of, grows 6') per cent., City Populations dependent v^holly on Farmers, 24. Civilization, Evidence of highest form of, 253. Civilization sinks back, 256. Cleveland, Suggestion of Mr., 18. Climate influenced by altitude, 310. Close cultivation may be profitable, 33. Clowry, Robt. C. a giant in telegraph}', 235 Coal on two oceans, 147. Cobbler's little daughter, 171. Codv, William F. and Sidney Dillon. 168. Collars and Cuffs for 150 Millions, 63. (Colleges and business education, 34. Columbia Kivor, productiveness of, 299. Combination among retailers, 36. Combination limiting production, 25. Combination prevention of failure, 218. Commercial union on this Continent 144. Commercial capture of Canada, 153. Commerce, an unregulated quantity. 292. Common destiny for the Continent, 308. Comparison, bottom of all Philosophy, 16 Compensation inadequate to Farmer, 19. Competition a most potent force, 229. Competitive complexity, 229. Competition life of trade, now death of Profit, 25. Competition superseded by combination, 25. Competitive telegraphy illustrated, 102. Concentration of Saving, 247 Concentration of wealth in Imv hands, 213. Condemnation of Combination, 42. Conditions of Success, 70. Condition of those low down, 97. Congressional action needed, 154. Conkling's, Roscoe, helpfulness, 232. Conkling, Senator, and the lady, 23ii. Conquering America by commerce, 144. Consolidation is a force irresistible, L'tJ. Consolidation, a truce to war, 258. Consolidation of iron interest.^, 219. Consul Taylorof Winnipeg, his usefulness 80. Consummate ability of Gould, 99. Continent, a treasure house, 65. Continent only lialf Subjugated, 12. Continental chance of success, 142-156 Continental Free Trade, 139 Contraction and Conservatism, 267 Contretemps, A Serious, 237. Cooking Stove earned by wolves, 280, Co-operation in finance, 247. Copeland's W. P. rapid ride, 234. Corn acreage needed annually, 164. Corn Beef Dinner, A, 61. Cornell, Ezra and Alonzo B, 207, Corruption and Customs co incideutj IS'3 Cost of competition, 159. Cotton and ("orn pay onl}' for CofTee, Tea, etc., 109. Cotton, two thousand bales saved, 261. Country equipped for expansion, 88. (Country free indeed, 178. Courtesy, Nothing ever lost by, 102. Cow, Man a parasite of the, 223. Creating an aristocracy, 47. Creation of homes 247. Creiitioa of Foreign Trade, 43. Creation of property by publicity, 123. Creation, Rapidity of 174. Credit, basis of success, 136. Crops 20Q million acres devoted to, 136. Cultivation of the mind, 36. Cultivated areas inci-eased 154 %, 87. Curious Railroad contract, S16. Curiosity gratified. Currents anc! eddies, 36. Currency per capita, 135. Currency, Disappearance of, 239. Currency the life blood of trade, d'i2. Custom houses obliterated, 181. Cutting the continent in two, 154. D< >a.ia Mr. Chas. A. high order of ability, 79. Davis, C. Wood of Kansas, profoundly important work of, 88. Debate at Montclair, 138. Decline of income per acre, 10. Decline of 82 per cent, purchasing and debt paying power, 61. Death provided against, 250. Debt paying power of farmer. Compara- tive, 15. Defeat for the Vanderbilts, 225. Democracy in America and Great Britain, 255. Department Stores, 36. Departing from legitimate business, 39. Dependent on the Cow, 224. Depressed Conditions may become per- manent, 84. Despotic Rule over wide areas, 318, Destiny American people. 13 Development of national resources. 71 Difference in New York and Philadelphia, 39 Differing Dictionaries, 303 Dime novels, how made, 174 Direction of Savings, 241 Disbanded every year. An army, 109 Discipline of regularity. 251 Discrimination against Britain, 143 Displacing Farmers, 72 Disraeli's Successful Man, 276. Distribution of Immigration, 267. Distribution of Savings, 239. Divided into Two Classes, 266. Doubling Area of Trade, 138. Douglass Shoe, The, 122. Drenched with Talk, 80. Duty of $17.60 on every ton of steel, 45. Each Person his own Pilot, 102. Earnings of vast numbers diminished, 23. Earning power unparalleled, 219. Eat, drink and wear, 35. Eckert, General, Tribute to, 100. Economic condition of Woman, 199. ni Economic force of publicity, 125. Economic paradox, 40. Economic policy, conmientary upon, 96. Economics of liquor, 119. Education, practical and profitable, 67. Eggs taxed five cents per dozen, 61. Eight daj^s in the week, 299 Electrical chances of .success, 3i7. Electricity stiunilating celerit\', 207. Electricity, flower and fruit oi' Age, 198. Elements of life, 195 n)illion acres devoted to, 15. Elements of success, 2r)6. Employees, a less number required, 27. Employees have a chance of success, 27. End of the land. 86. England as a second-rate power, 388. England levying tribute, 74. England would consent, 888. Enjoyed in broadcloth, 213. Enlarged opportunity in foreign com- merce, 76. Epitome of the period, 33. Equilibrium, Restoration of, to farmer, 20. Equipped thoroughly, as is the United States, 74. Equipment for the future, 284. Equipment for over - production com- plete, 22. Exact weight and Ponds Extract, 30. Exaggerated incomes, 108. Exchange and barter soems simple, 229, Excessive incomes of the few, 107. Exhaustion of arable soils, 18, 83. Exhaustion of opportunityp 32, 75. Exports absorbed by imports — tea, coffee, sugar, 25. Exports of breadstuffs, cessation of, 21-84. Ever-widenuig areas, 70. Evolving from the earth's surface, 33. P ace of nature changed, 254. Failure of food supplies, 85. Failures among Jews and Gentiles, 186. Farmer, condition of, 13. Farmer must pay the interest, 46. Farmer on top, the, 18. Farmers prosperous, so is country, 14. Farmer's power to pay, 16. Farming for boys, 173. Favoritism and over-production, 48. Feeding ten thousand children, 171. Ferry fmnchise. Humors of a, 220. Fertile section increased 971 per cent, 88. Few prizes, many blanks, 50. Fibre and food producing forces, 24. Fictitious town a trap. 263. Field of Opportunity Wide, 31. Fields for Employment, 215. Fifty thousand for a Weighing Machine, 29. Fifty thousand a year tribute, 221. Fifteen hundred typewriters, 163. IV ■ PB* ' ^.Ic^MJUU-J-Bi li\ ,1 Fifty Telegrams received suddenly, 257., J'llLy years full of Chances. 49. ]''i nance, Misdirection of, 239. Finest herita^'e ever given, 148. First of the Typewriters, 100. Fish fv)od must increase, 297. Fish of the sea to sustain life, 224. Fisheries inexhaustible, 147. Five Editorial Columns of the Sun, 81. Five thousand novels an hour, 17."). Flour City, now the Flower City, 309. P^lower, Governor, Dry humor of, 56. Follies and Mistakes counterbalanced, 252. Food areas increase three per cent., pop- ulation, 11 per cent., 84. Food question intensely important, 297. Food from the Columbia River, 299. Food fields 1,000 miles square, 297. Food in the Chances of Success, 104. Forcing Canada into annexation, 157. Foreign Capital, Attracting, 134. Foreign (cities have world for market, 24. Foreign demand regulates price, 20. Forgetting the papers, 234. Forty four percent, of Republic arid, 87, 297. Forty niilliosn of people to feed. F()uruhition of the fabric, 95. Four millions a week in gold goes abroad, 137. Four wolves in five minutes, 279. Fourteen columns of advertising, 112. Franchise of Ferries a Monopoly, 220. Free Raw material, 147. I'ree ]>orts, 183. French Canadians taking abandoned farms, 34. Fruit of the hen, 60. Frye, Senator, his usefulness, 285. Fulfillment of every day needs, 31. Fullness of Time, 22. Fur and ferocity, 283. Furrow of four'thousand Miles, 298. Future Failures, 277. Future Granary of America, 309. Future farmer, where will he go? 87. Future of Youth of the Country, 172. G alloping along Pennsylvania Ave. , 235. Gambler's contribution, The, 55. Getting rich by taxation, 108. Gold in abundance if made available, 65. Gold output, forty-five millions, waste, fifteen millions, 65. Gold mining, an independent pursuit, 64. Gold win Smith's important letter, 255. Gould's, George, good nature, 214. Gould, Jay, how he made ten millions, 98. Government costs, $3.00 each, 180. Government, expenses of, 200 millions, 180. Government Sale of liquors, 120. Great Britian's remoteness from food, 90. Great engineer. Sleeping with a, 211. Good to be born poor, 23'). Great Newspapei* properties, 124. Great number of large incomes, 106. Greater half of the Continent, 43. Greatest of Opportunities, 11. Grocery goods, consolidation therein, 26. Growing Skyward, 197. Guns unburstable, 115. Half the Continent only subdued, 73. Half population live by farming, 13. Hard work essential, 230. Harvest of the sea. 300. Heavy burden taxation, 19. Heavy tax of interest, 131. Hebrew in America, 184. Heifer or a bear, 3(1.'). Heiresses, chances with 324. Hide of a cow. The, 00. High buildings a source of revenue, 197. Hints for Young Fortune Elunters, 319. Hitt, Mrs. R. R., entertainments of, 51. Hordes of foreigners, how to be em- ployed, 73. Holding on to what they have got, 214. Homes, creation of, 249. Hope of property. The universal, 255. How Jay Gould made ten millions, 98. How to imbue the press, 79. How to unite United States and Canada, 150. Hudson's Bay described, 301. Huge international partnership, 125. Humors of a ferry franchise, 220. Ignorance in business unsuccessful, 285. Ignorance as to foreign needs, 7H. Immigration question solved by Canada, 308. .., * ! nunigratioh a condition of success, 71. unuigration, Contribution by, 283. nmiigration turned Eastward, 73. )ediments lo imion, 140. lerfection in terminals, 293. loriation of foreigners, 24. iress of the Jews, 185. niprisonment for debt abolished, 194. )roved condition of farmer 335. in . m ID im m m )robable prophecy fulfilled, 268. ' n ife, in death, combination pervades, 27. n ifetime of boys now living, 173. iu!omes (;u( in two, 215. lu'ome of average worker, 107. "ncome|I,000 a dav. 1'45. Income per acre, 1893, $40.75; 1866, |78.21, 16. Independentmember of community. Only, oo. Individual effort paralyzed, 28. Influence of free ports. 184. Influence of the Sun, 79. Installment life insurance, 2.50. ill. 36. ein, 26. I. 73. 3. !, 197. 319. f, 51. 36 em- ,214. !55. ;, 98. ]:!anada, , 285. )atiaila, 71. V li. es,27. ;78.21, Only, Instantaneous comtnunication, 253. Institutes founded by rich men, 34. Interference, Governmental, 178. Interest, The power of, 266. Interest payable .'-broad, 121,266, 314. Interior navigation, enormous extent of, 295. Invisible financial force, 131. Iron and Steel Institute entertained, 113. Iron, consolidation and influence of, 218. Iron tlie basis of civilization, 219. Israelites in the South, 186. Jews, only 600,000 in 65 millions, 186. Jewish names, two great, 174. John Bull's demand, 117. Justice of Jay Gould, 100. Ivansas farmer, A, an'l his ff reat work. 83. Kennetly, Liberality of Mr. John A., 149. Keppler in wax, 116. Kej ed up to a ratio of pro<^ress. 63. Krupp, son of the gun maker, 115. Laborer's wages, Farmer only earns, 16. Lady Tliurlow's first cry, 68. Lake Traverse and Big Stone Laue, 293 Land a private i)ossession, 189. Land doing its work though idle, 334. Largest incomes from smallest sources, 190. Leasing land attractive abroad, 129. Leases as an earning power, 244. Leisure class grovNing, 341. Less Hebrew and more American, 210. Lessons of the hour, 215. Liberality of a Scotchman, 147. Life insurance with building loans, 251. Life insurance and homes. 250. Life blood of commerce, 322. Life sustaining power of the sea, 299. Light house officials surprised, 210. Light-liouse Board opposition, 201. Light, Heat and Power, Chances in, 327. Likelihood of starvation, 83. Limitation of areas, 72. Limit of power of production, 21. Little hope of profit, 36. Little round of avocations*, 35. Live without ])reying, 173. Living upon one another, 25. 75, 223. Living by supplying wants, 35. Lobby at Ottawa, 40. Local ti'aflic stimulated, 216, Located near all their supplies, 77. Locomotion by electricity, 328. Looking outward for success, 75. Lord Dufferin's waterway speecli, 293. Lord Landsdowneand the lady, 104. Loss, Measuring farmer's, 16. Lottery- with a million chances, 89. Low-grade ores, Possible yield of, 65. Ludlow Street Jail relieved, 195. grade Lunch, An appropriated 227. Luscious Steaks supplied, 224. IVIankind and its fortunes, 323. ]\lcKinley Tariff ruinous to trade, 156, MackenzieRivernavigabU' 2500 milc^, 295. Magazine Advertising advantageous, 123. ]\lany a sweet girl, 324. i\laking small farms pay, 60. Making of books, 174. Man, parasite of the cow, 222. I\Ianagement of local .ovt, 34^, Oil trade rigidly controlled, 28. One thousand millions a year, 120. One acre of sea equals 8 of land, 301. One in a million Chances, 8y. One class enriched, 48. One class at tlie expense of another, 45. Only exporter, the Farmei-, 49. One thouisand miles square of Wheat area, 298. Ontario duplicates Michigan. 29fi. Opportunity, America another name for, 11. Opportunities, Greatest of, 11. Outlet for living only in the land. 3:J. Outpouring of money less next thirty years, 14. Over production cause of Panic, 19. Over production impossible, wiiere? 64. IP ace pet for ninetj'-seven years, 216. Pan- imerican Congress at Niagara, 113. Panic unexpected, 33n. Paralyzing rapid transit, 201. Pursuits of man. 35. Parasite, Man a, 223. Parents' anxious foi-ebodings, 59. Patent, A, boiigiit for tifiy thousand dollars, 29. Paying in full by failed men rare, 318. Penny weighing machine, 29. Paternalism threatened, 120. Pennsylvania Senate surprised, 257. Percentage cut in two, 2:^1. Perspiring producers at the basis, 47. Periodicity of saving, 320. Perpetual imprisonment impossible, 193. Petroleum, its cheapness, 177. Phenomenal earning pow^ r. 29. Philadelphia, Sa vines in, 241. Photographing under difficulty, 209. Photographing from a balloon, 2<'2. Pirates, A printer's trap for, 263. Playing a star engagement. 111. Pl'^dging the future, 319. Plentv of room at the top, 271. Politely tell him to go to the Devil, 228. Political union not a factor, 286. Political union advantageous, 139. Poor boys of present generation, 252. Population, Growth uf in world, eleven per cent. 18. Population increases with in(«vUable cer- t vinty, 7n. Population and proilnctiou comjjared, 84, Population Itl'ty j'ears h^nce. 331. Possession of property, A general, 255. Posti)oning chances of sviccess, 140. Postponing liade fifty years, 156. Potentialities of peace and war, 1 15. Power of assimilative processes, 210. Power of interest, 814. Power to |)ay, decline of fifty per cent, 16. Power possessed by private uidiviiluals, 219. Power of concentrated savings, 248. Power, Transmission of, 328. President more powerful than Queen, 355. Prevalent economy, true and false, 95. Prevention of competition, 41. Primer of economics, 106. Printer's trap for a pirate, 263. Printer. Not a rat, 259. Prison wall, writing on the, 268, Prison bars let down, 195. Problem of the period, 25. Profit in leases, 245. Progress of the future, 207. Property, motive power of production, 250. Property occupied by saloons, 119. Proportion of aliens, 267. Proposed control of English coal, 337. Providential munificence in fish, 297. Providing for the odd hoy, 58. Publicity, Chances of Success in, 122. Publicitv, an asset, 125. Public, the, be d d, 22S. Public pay additional expense. Pulitzer's Mr., income, 124. Pidlman, (xeo. M., services to nation, 253. Purchase of Canada, impossible, 151, 231. Purchasing power of farmer compared, 15. Siuadrille of Honor, 105. leen's Jubilee in New Yc^rk, 149. Qiif> without p'/wer, 255. QuicK way to cotKjuer Canada, 278. Race for a lif*». 174. Race for future fortunes, 284. Railroad class. Great services of. 254. Railroad contract, A ctu'ious, 21*>. Railroad expenditure hereafter restricteu, 11. Rain-belt creates limit. ''o:i^ , 73. Range of human eT.-'i re.tr. cted, 28. Rapid transit triun.pi'd 1 221. Rapidity of creation, 174. Ratio of increase in )a?t fl < e '"cades, S7. Ratio of consumption ano j^r^ .iuction, 21. Real estate, supply and dem ,;, ', 321. Receipt, Storage an<5. Sudden 3ontrol of telegraph facilities, 98. Siiit for Slander, 195. Sunday Telegraphing diflScult, 233. Supplv of food catching uj) to consump- "^tion, 31. Supreme lolly of New York terminals, 343, Survey, A general, 33. Sweet home, 346. Solution of liquor traffic, 120, I ariflf, A continental, 142. Tax from abroad, 136. Taxation direct and indirect, 178. Taxation re-adjusted, 77. Telegraph companies combined, 41. Telegraph war in Canada, 101. Telegr:.ph jiole on Wall Street, First, 208. Telegraphing by sound, 307. Tendencies towards cities will he checked. 28. Ten millions in New York, 173. Terminal charges universally fell, il42. Timber less in U. S. than in Qermany„ 147. H , 1 i i n h VIU The Land's End, 80. Theatre of activity for the youth, 302. Thirteen millions of dogs, 310. Thirty millions Farmers taxed for thirty million others, 17. Thirty millions inhabit farms, 14. Thousand, A, weighing machines bought, 30. Thousand millions a year for coffee, tea, sugar, wines, etc., 84. Three prominent Hebrews, 37. Three conditions of Success, 70. Thrift conspicuous by absence, 320. Throwing in Adjectives, 2~)d. Tonnage of London and Liverpool sur- passed, 219. Torry's bunkriipt bill, 348. Treasure undeveloped, A, 03. Tr«'asure which the vvorld contains, GO. Traction Syndicate, support of, 242. Trade, doubling the area of 138. Trade knows no Politics, 140. Trades, few better than farming, 01. Trading with the North, 140. Training of poverty and self reliance, 214. Transmission of Motor Power, 329. Travellers' Life Insurance Co. 251. Treacherous Eddy, A, 347. Tribute levied b^' terminals, 290. Tribute from every nation, 127. Tribute paid to England, 121. Trips, fifteen per day increased to sixtj', 222. True mission of the United States, 78. Trusts, a proclamation of peace, 258. Tunnel for the Nation, 290. Tunnel, lighting for a, 204. Tunnel under Light-house grounds, 233. Two appreciative ladies, 79. Two brothers contrasted, 190. Two markets, 145. Type-setters' chance. A, 258 Ty[)ical Canadian dinner, 114. Typewriters, the first of, 159. Uncle Sam no longer rich enough, 80. Uncle Sam's dilemma., 117. United States through English eyes, 255 United States enriched by a dictionary, 205. Uniform tarilf, 142. Universal use of corn, 115. Universal use of egp;'^. Unliniited supply of land in Canada, 81. Unnatural growth of cit' •", 24. Unsliackling ti-ade and commerce, 182. Urban population increasing, 320. V allies, enhancement of, 329. Values in city properties, 200. Vanderbilt, Cornelius, useful in every way, 214. Vanderbilts, A defeat for, 225. H. and the public, 228. a pillar in telegraphy. v., courageous and able, Vanderbilts yield the telegraph to Gould, 99. Vanderbilt, Wi Van Horn, Job 253. Van Home, W. 342. Village population depond(^nt on Farm- ers, 14. Voice of God following voice of people, 09 Wanamaker, John. 37. Wants of foreign Nations, 73. Wants supplied by wants of others, 333 War as a business, 248. War with England unlikely, 231. Waste of Compeliiion, 30. Water famine avoided, 228. Water poweis transmitted, 829. Waterways of the New World, 293. Wealthy men could do infinite harm, 213. Webb, Dr. Seward, a useful man, 253. Webster and Worcester exchanged, 205. Wells, David A., proposal, 180. Wells, David A., epitome of the period, oo Western Union Telegraph Co., contract of, 99. Whale back craft, dominating navigation, 218. Whale fishery of New England, 330. What shall we do with Canada? 138. Wheat and corn belt occupied, SO. Wheat a dollar a bushel, 17. Wheat Grown for Twenty years, 29 >. Wheat Movement toward the North, 399. Where will the farmer go? 87 Whether Living or Dying, a Homo Cer- tain, 250. Whitewashing One's self, 209. Who Pays Expenses of Competition? 219. Why Should Politics Enter? 145. Why should there be Debts Abroad? 85. Wild West on Staten Island, 107. Will Mercantile Failures cease? 277. Windom's, Secretary, Great Comparison, 293. Winnipeg, Centre of Continent, 293. Willidrawal of Capital, 39. Within a boy's lifetime. Wolves in plenty, 279. Woman's new place, 199. Wood, O. S., pioneer of tflegraphy, 308. World fighting for food pad fibre, 62. Wrecks and I'uins in business, 28. Wrestling from Nature, 59. Wresting money from each otlier, 353. YeHow Strand of Orientalism, 302. Young fortune hunters, Hints for, 319. Young loafer provided for, 58. Young man's chances, 31. Youth of the country in gold mining, 07, « iph to Gould, public, 228. t telegraphy, us and able, nt on Furna- ce of people, ;thers,. 333 231. J9. 1, 293. 2 harm, 213. lan, 258. inged, 205. ). the period, b., contract navigation, 1, 330. i? 138. ,80. ,rs 29^^ Norfl),"399. Home Cer- itition? 219. 45. )roa(l ? 85. 67. V 277. 'omparison, t, 293. iphy, 308. re, 62. 28. ier, 353. , 303. for, 319. lining, 07, A