SCIENCE. 



FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1886. 



COMMENT AND CRITICISM. 



Mr. Edward Atkinson of Boston has for years 

 ranked as one of the fir.-t statisticians in the world. 

 To be a statistician implies a great deal. It im- 

 plies more than a jDi'odigious memory in retaining 

 figures, and more than an untiring energy in 

 gathering them together. The statistician must 

 add to these qualities a graphic power of presen- 

 tation and an insight into the real meaning of 

 figures, which amount almost, if not quite, to 

 genius. All of these qualities Mr. Atkinson pos- 

 sesses in a marked degree, and his two articles on 

 ' The relative strength and weakness of nations,' 

 contributed to the Century magazine, the first of 

 which is published to-day, show them at their 

 best. These articles are certain to be widely read 

 and discussed, not only by the general reader, but 

 by the economist, who will pay pariicular atten- 

 tion to Mr. Atkinson's methods and his mterpreta- 

 tion of his results. Much of this first article reads 

 like a chapter from ' Triumphant democracy,' and 

 the ingenious illustrations used by the author add 

 greatly to its force. Since 1865 we find that our 

 population has increased 69 per cent ; our hay- 

 cr'op, 106 per cent ; our cotton-crop, 194 per cent ; 

 our grain-crop, 256 per cent ; our railway mileage, 

 280 per cent ; our insurance against fire, 310 per 

 cent ; and our production of pig-iron, 386 per 

 cent. 



Mr. Atkinson's warning to the military powers 

 of Europe is, ' Disarm or starve.' He holds that 

 the annual product of a country is the source of 

 wages, profits, and taxes. If one secure a larger 

 proportion than now exists, the other two must 

 supply it. Furthermore, Mr. Atkinson believes 

 that wages, earnings, salaries, and the income of 

 the small farm, are not the measure of the cost of 

 production, but the results of the conditions, both 

 material and mental, under which the work is 

 done. From this it follows that the wages or 

 earnings will be hioher in that country which is 

 not weighted down by the cost of a large standing 

 army or the burden of a heavy war debt, and in 

 which the work is done by the most intelligent 

 No. 204.— 1886. 



people, under the most favorable conditions. The 

 mental, material, and political influence of such a 

 country will become the most potent factor in the 

 world's commerce. This is the future Mr. Atkin- 

 son sees for the United States. The keynote of 

 the argument for democracy against dynasties is 

 commerce. Mr. Atkinson estimates the world's 

 population at 1,400.000,000, of whom 400,000,000, 

 are classed as machine-using. The other 1,000,- 

 000,000, being non-machine using, must depend 

 almost wholly on the work of their hands for 

 production. The control of the commerce of the 

 world lies in the answer to the question, Which of 

 the machine-using nations shall supply the need 

 of the non-machine using nations ? Mr. Atkinson 

 sees that the nations of Europe cannot sustain 

 themselves under their present conditions without 

 commerce ; but, if they hold to their present con- 

 ditions, the United States, by virtue of its high 

 wages and low cost of production, will take their 

 commerce away, from them. Therefore he says 

 to the dynastic countries, 'Disarm or starve.' 



The reasons for the vast gain in the conditions 

 of material welfare in the United States, Mr. At- 

 kinson finds to be seven. The first is the free 

 purchase and sale of land, and the stability re- 

 sulting from the large number of land-owners. 

 The second is the absolute freedom of exchange 

 between the states. The third is the extension of 

 the common-school system. The fourth is the 

 right of suffrage, with the consequent feeling of 

 independence every voter possesses. The fifth is 

 the conservation of local self-government in its 

 strictest sense. The sixth is the existence of gen- 

 eral state laws which preclude the possibility of 

 any monopoly of the mechanism of exchange. 

 The seventh is our habit of organization and self- 

 government, which is so far developed, that "if 

 any tliousand persons were suddenly removed to 

 some far-distant place, away from their fellow- 

 men, the men of adult age would immediately 

 organize an open meeting, choose a moderator, 

 supervisor, or mayor, elect a board of selectmen, 

 of assessors of taxes, and a school committee, ap- 

 point one or two constables, and then, adopting the 

 principle of the English common law, would at 

 once undertake their customary gainful occupa- 



