266 JOSEPH HORNER 



then, is not that of making goods as well as one's rivals, they 

 must be better, or cheaper, or both. And, again, the firm 

 which is already in possession of a market holds the best 

 position for its retention. 



The firm or nation, therefore, which has a good start of 

 its rivals will have the better chance to hold its own. This 

 is the case now with the leading American makers of machine 

 tools. They have secured a good market in Great Britain 

 and abroad. In a dilatory way British manufacturers are 

 waking up to the gravity of the situation, and are offering 

 rival tools, of a class similar to those which find a ready sale 

 here. But the necessity for producing something better still 

 is generally neglected; and while they imitate existing ma- 

 chines, the American firms advance, constantly devising im- 

 proved forms. While British firms are panting to recover 

 lost ground, the Americans are still forging ahead, and scoring 

 new triumphs year by year. 



