536 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



need of trades-unions in this country than in America. Undoubtedly, 

 English trades-unions have brought about great reforms in the condi- 

 tion of factories, as to the hours of labor, in regard to the employment 

 of children, etc.; and there are indications that the alleged restrictive 

 policy of trades-unions, express or implied, is gradually being modi- 

 fied." 



American Worhingmen promoting Expansion. 



Whatever be the merits of the points at issue between employers 

 and organized labor, it is evident that the existing conditions are not 

 only unfavorable to the increase of Great Britain's competitive energy, 

 but actually handicap her in the effort to adapt herself to the indus- 

 trial exigencies which we have created. The advantage we enjoy in 

 this particular is rendered all the more formidable from what seems to 

 be a growing tendency in the United States toward a more harmonious 

 cooperation between labor and capital, as was strikingly shown in the 

 recent conference of employers and labor leaders in New York which 

 resulted in the creation of a permanent board of conciliation. Ameri- 

 can workingmen generally, instead of seeking to limit output, strive 

 to increase it, and they find their reward in the cheapening of produc- 

 tion, which enables the manufacturer to compete in foreign markets 

 and thus get rid of the surplus beyond the demands of home consump- 

 tion, with the result of keeping his factory going and giving steady 

 employment to the operatives throughout the year. 



Competitive Energy hut partly developed. 



It may be assumed that, whatever the symptoms of a falling off 

 in our sales abroad, the causes are not to be found in any decline of 

 our industrial efficiency or in a more strenuous competition on the 

 part of Europe. It is evident, however, that, if we would again attain 

 the rate of progress of a year ago and keep it against all comers, we 

 must avail ourselves of something more than the indigenous resources 

 that have been described. As yet, we can not be said to have made 

 full use of our powers. It must not be forgotten that, as has fre- 

 quently been pointed out, our sudden and surprising success in invad- 

 ing Europe with manufactured goods was due, not to concerted and 

 systematic effort on our part, but to the need of finding outlets for 

 surplus product and the unlocked for recognition by European pur- 

 chasers of the superiority of many articles of American manufacture. 

 To a very great extent, our goods have sold themselves in the Euro- 

 pean markets, and that, too, in the face of high tariffs, of the hostility 

 of industrial interests, and of a very general indisposition on the 

 part of our manufacturers to adapt their styles, patterns, etc., to the 

 tastes or prejudices of foreign consumers. 



