648 FRANCIS AMASA WALKER. 



thing grander and broader. He undertook to announce i^rinciples and 

 to draw deductions which, whether new or old, could be clearly backed 

 by fact and reason. He was not worried about definitions. * * * 



In his discussions on wages and distribution, while merciless in 

 destroying the popular views of simple cooi^eration, thus showing his 

 power as a theorist who understood conditions as well, he did not hesi- 

 tate to advocate, not as a solution, not as a full remedy for labor diffi- 

 culties, but as an alleviation of them, the principles of profit sharing 

 and industrial partnership, and to this end he was, from its inception, 

 one of the vice-presidents of the American Society for the Promotion 

 of Profit Sharing. 



This and various other positions did not give him the highest reputa- 

 tion as a theoretic economist, although in other lands he stood higher 

 in this respect than in his own country. His strong grasp of whatever 

 subject he was discussing, and the striking and interesting way in 

 which he presented it, added force to his views. At the same time his 

 interest in all good works, his attitude in educational matters, and his 

 warm-hearted personality brought him strength with the masses, while 

 he held his own as a theorist. He had that rare faculty of treating 

 matters, both scientifically and popularly, in such a way that neither 

 the scientists with whom he was associated nor the common people who 

 admired him could claim him for their own. Impregnated, it may be, 

 with the hard-headed doctrines of Sumner, which admit of no collateral 

 distinctions in economic science, he could still see, feel, and comprehend 

 the ever-existing struggle of humanity toward a higher standard. 

 Yet no man was more rigid and unyielding in his teaching. He never 

 allowed himself, optimist that he was, to proclaim any sentimental 

 doctrines, for he knew well that their adoi:>tion would simply result in 

 increasing the difficulties which he was so anxious to avoid, in intensi- 

 fying the struggle which he was so desirous of softening. This scien- 

 tific attitude enabled him to attack some of the modern isms, and even 

 to destroy some latter-day views of life. * * * 



His knowledge of history and his familiarity with statistical science, 

 or the scientific method of statistics, were his powerful allies as an 

 economist. With this equipment he vitalized political economy, aiid 

 thus stood, with all fair and due consideration of the splendid abilities 

 of other economists, at the head. No one was jealous of him, even 

 though attacking him. * * * 



It was very natural, when the professors of political economy and 

 others organized the American Economic Association, that General 

 Walker should be chosen as its leader. It was an honor due him and a 

 choice which honored the association as well. Modest in his acceptance 

 of the trust, he always urged that other men should take the lead, and 

 yet he was continued as its president from 1885 to 1892, His counsel 

 in guiding the course of the association in its formative period, his 

 addresses at the opening of each recurring session, and his reputation 



