The Strong Trade Position of Manufacture. 79 



stores with the foreign goods and the high-priced prod- 

 ucts of monopoly would remain unsold. To prevent this, 

 there are what are called protective duties. 



The effect of these in increasing the cost of what the 

 farmer buys has been told in preceding chapters. 



To sum up : Manufacture is, to a great extent, organ- 

 ized to obtain trade advantage. Occupying a naturally 

 strong position, by many devices manufacturers have 

 aimed to, and largely succeeded in gaiuing control of the 

 Americaji market. Divided into several hundred non- 

 competing groups, in very many of these the individuals 

 composing each are in zealous collusion to hold price at a 

 high artificial level by destroying the effect of mutual 

 competition. At the same time their associations have 

 so great influence at "Washington as to prevent foreign 

 competition, except under such conditions as nullify the 

 effect. 



To make all future resistance to this trade tyranny 

 imDossible, in 1895 the Manufacturers ' National Associa- 

 tion was organized, and an address was sent out to induce 

 all manufacturers to connect themselves with it. The 

 address stated that ''the general purpose proposed for 

 the national association was to obtain the advantage of 

 united action for the promotion of the interests of Ameri- 

 can manufacturers, both at home and abroad." ''If we 

 shall have a national organization, the power will be 

 employed with all the force of concentration and always, 

 we believe, with advantage both for manufacturers and 

 for the nation." It is stated that the next "convention 

 will consist of over four hundred delegates, all manufac- 

 turers. ' ' 



President Dolan made further explanation. "First of 

 all, and of more value than all else, is the principle that 



