i66 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



in the wealth destroyed. How clear, then, is the source of com- 

 mercial distress ! The machinery of war, which can no longer 

 be made profitable, exhausts, in its unnecessary perpetuation, 

 what ought to be the surplus of j^roduction. It has become a 

 system of disbursements without counterbalancing receipts, pro- 

 ducing scarcity and want. 



With what state of facts could our theory more exactly cor- 

 respond ? Is not the condition one where surviving " militancy " 

 is impeding that "industrial" growth in which alone civilized 

 prosperity can be found ? Then the only remedy for European 

 poverty and distress is plain. The disappearance of autocratic 

 governments, the disbandment of armies, the repeal of artifi- 

 cial restrictions on trade imposed to raise the revenues of war ; 

 in a word, the removal of all that has its roots in "militancy." 

 Slowly, indeed, will this great, far-reaching change come about, 

 but with it alone can the growth of what we call prosperity pro- 

 ceed. 



Leaving warlike Europe, and turning home to our own great, 

 peaceful, and hard-working commonwealth, it would seem that 

 " industrialism " being so manifestly the type of American civili- 

 zation, the existence of commercial depression with us afi^ords 

 evidences fatal to the theory we have been elaborating. How, if 

 this theory be sound, can a land of peace and free government 

 ever be the scene of " hard times " ? 



First, as a partial substantiation of our jjosition, we would 

 point to the familiar fact that the accompaniment of the pre- 

 dominating " industrialism " of the United States has been a 

 growth of wealth and prosperity far exceeding in rapidity that 

 of any other historic people. All that remains for us to show, 

 therefore, is that the interruptions to this prosj)erity are to be 

 traced to militant tendencies. 



There are two great issues before the American people to-day, 

 in the settlement of which, all are agreed, the national welfare 

 is deejjly involved. These are the tariff and the currency issues. 

 Let us inquire into their nature. Institutions, like men, may 

 largely be judged by their genealogy ; so let us ask whence came 

 this system of enormous taxes ujDon imi3orts, the wisdom of which 

 men view so differently. We find it had its birth in the neces- 

 sities of war. True, the representatives of a number of wealthy 

 industries, which have fattened at the public expense under this 

 artificial barrier to competition, would have us believe that the 

 function of a tariff is to start a nation into industrial activity 

 — the extraordinary implication being that industrial activity 

 would not arise independently of such a device ; but of the 

 almost impassable barrier, which confines our commerce to-day, 

 war alone was the creator. To the philosophic observer, then. 



