grown on the soil or directly sustained by it, such as 

 live stock, or made from soil products, such as flour. 

 Of all the materials used in manufacture in this coun- 

 try, 42% are furnished by the soil. We shall have less 

 and less of this agricultural wealth to part with as popu- 

 lation increases. And as to enlarging greatly our sale 

 of manufactured products in the world's markets, it is 

 mostly a dream. We cannot finally compete there, ex- 

 cept in a few selected lines, without a material lowering 

 of the wage scale at home and a change in the national 

 standard of living which our people are not ready to 

 accept without a struggle. When capital cannot find 

 a profit there will be no money for the payrolls of an 

 unprofitable business. Doubtless as we grow we shall 

 buy more and sell more ; but our main dependence half 

 a century ahead must be upon ourselves. The nation 

 can no more escape the operation of that law than can 

 the man. It is time to set our house in order. 



Not only the economic, but the political future is 

 involved. No people ever felt the want of work or the 

 pinch of poverty for a long time without reaching out 

 violent hands against their political institutions, believ- 

 ing that they might find in a change some relief from 

 their distress. Although there have been moments of 

 such restlessness in our country, the trial has never 

 been so severe or so prolonged as to put us to the test. 

 It is interesting that one of the ablest men in England 

 during the last century, a historian of high merit, a 

 statesman who saw active service and a profound stu- 

 dent of men and things, put on record his prophecy of 



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