upon an occasion similar to this, I referred to what is termed the "commercialism" of the age in which we live. Let me recall what I then said:

"In these prosperous times we hear much of the term 'commercialism.' It is frequently referred to as though in itself it represented a misguided national spirit or a tendency of our people to lower their standards. There is, undoubtedly, a commercialism that would dwarf the national life; that would place business success above business honor; that would contemplate the profits of trade without the ethics of trade; and that, if followed to a large extent, would make the American name a shame and a reproach among the nations. But there is another commercialism that is founded upon the traditions of the fathers; that seeks to secure the markets of the world by the American traits of thrift and fair dealing; that weaves into every fabric, as a prime essential, a moral fibre; that combines the fine qualities which have made the names of our really great merchant princes and leaders in the business world synonyms of honor and integrity. That is the commercialism with which you and I wish to ally ourselves, for the nation that is devoid of that spirit to-day sits supinely while her competitors pass on to the goal of commercial and industrial supremacy. Let us dedicate ourselves, not to the warped and sordid and altogether false commercialism that would gain success at all hazards, but rather to the true commercialism that is worthy of our best American ideals.

"It is so easy to start a word or a phrase on its rounds, that is later to be taken up, written about, and preached about; and it seems to me this is as good a time as any to place ourselves on record on the right side of this proposition and have the eminent gentlemen who are such ready critics and prolific controversialists understand that there can be a commercial spirit in a great nation so fine and so true that it becomes a support for the best tendencies and best possibilities of the national character; and that we do not intend that this spirit shall be misrepresented by any sweeping generalization or by a failure to recognize the fact that among the greatest of the forces that have made this Republic what it is to-day are the men of commerce and industry."

My remarks this evening contemplate this true commercial spirit as an essential basis for a consideration of agencies for the ex

tension of our domestic and foreign trade. Upon that foundation, what are some of these agencies?

First, there must be the initiative and energy of the individual merchant, and cooperating with the individual merchant must be his employee, for the initiative and the energy of the one must be supplemented by the faithful service and devotion of the other. Granting this, we find ourselves at the very outset confronted with the great question of the relations of what are called capital and labor. Elsewhere I have discussed this question at some length. I shall not delay you with any remarks upon it further than to say that the relations maintained between the employers and employees in our business life have an intimate bearing upon the whole subject of the extension of our influence on commercial lines. Labor and capital must work together, must reason together, must be tolerant and openminded if they are to achieve the goal of their mutual desires. Men naturally differ among themselves in their opinions on this subject, but very often their differences are found to show but slight divergence from a common ground. The man who seeks to accentuate these differences for political or personal advantage will ultimately receive the condemnation his mischievous teachings deserve. The demagogue is always with us. For some months in the immediate future we may expect to hear much from him. Whether in the ranks of capital or labor, whether in one political party or another, he is an impediment to progress and a menace to free institutions. In spite of him and in the interest of good government, the problems that are essentially nonpartisan must be sacredly kept so. Not that we should minimize the dangers along our pathway, not that we should abridge the freedom of speech or of the press in the discussion of wrongs that must be righted or of evils that must be eradicated, but running through the whole discussion must be a spirit of fair play and common decency. It is not necessary that one should be a pessimist to recognize the evil tendencies and forbidding influences that menace the national welfare. We are not naturally a nation of pessimists. The founders of the nation breathed the very spirit of optimism, and, while recognizing that this Government, like all human devices, had its imperfections, and that dangers and difficulties were inseparable from the working out of its destiny, the great leaders of American thought and action from the days of Washington to the

present moment have carried aloft the banner of a national hopefulness and have been sustained and strengthened by a firmly rooted belief in the integrity and greatness and glory of this mighty Republic.

Among the problems confronting our people to-day, none is more worthy of serious attention than that relating to commercial and industrial conditions. I believe that we are making progress. I believe that there is to come better feeling between employer and employee. I believe that the organizations and individuals representing the men and women of wealth, and the men and women whose toil makes the accumulation of wealth possible, are exercising an ever-increasing influence for better feeling; and your association and others of kindred purposes, chambers of commerce, boards of trade, and commercial organizations generally-great unofficial agencies for the extension of American commerce-are doing much vital work in that direction.

To repeat: first, individual initiative, energy, and loyalty upon the part of the citizen whether employer or employee; then, in cooperation with them, the agencies of government, and, at this time, most appropriately, the new executive establishment which has been created to have some jurisdiction over commercial and industrial affairs.

Turning to the Federal agencies, we find that nearly every branch of the Government does important work for commerce and industry. The Department of State in negotiating treaties promotes the development of commerce, while the work of the consular service, the results of which are now given to the public daily, by the Department of Commerce and Labor, is almost exclusively devoted to commercial interests. The Army of the United States, for which many millions are annually appropriated, although intended primarily as an instrument of war, is, in fact, an important agency for the upbuilding of commerce, since it is under the jurisdiction of the War Department that the vast appropriations for the improvement of rivers and harbors are expended. The Navy is also an important factor, not only by way of protection to our merchant marine, but also in its work of exploration, in the laying out of cable routes, and in many other ways. The Post-Office Department, with its expenditure of over one hundred million dollars per annum, is an invaluable agency for commercial development. The Department of the Interior is an

other, through the aid which it gives our citizens to establish homes and to become producers of agricultural and mineral wealth; and particularly in the encouragement which, through the administration of the patent laws, it gives to the inventive genius of the country. The Department of Agriculture, for which nearly forty million dollars have been appropriated during the past decade, is engaged in promoting and fostering our principal source of wealth, agriculture, whose products form such a large part of the materials entering into our commerce, both internal and external. Of our total exports, which now exceed those of any other country of the world, agriculture supplies nearly, or quite, two-thirds. The Department of Justice, in enforcing the various laws against the restraint of trade, and the Treasury Department, in administering the finances of the country, are also potent factors in our commercial progress and development; and in conjunction with these Departments the Department of Commerce and Labor will contribute its share to the maintenance of our commercial and industrial preeminence.

It is especially with reference to the work of the new Department that you naturally expect me to speak in detail.

Congress has declared it to be the province and duty of the Department of Commerce and Labor to "foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce, the mining, manufacturing, shipping, and fishery industries, the labor interests, and the transportation facilities of the United States."

One of the most important methods of aiding commerce is to give to those engaged in it such definite information regarding existing conditions as will enable them intelligently to determine the classes of articles which can be most profitably produced, the sections to which they should be distributed, and the agencies through which they can best be placed before prospective customers. of this work the new Department is actively engaged.

The Census Bureau, which in the year 1900 gathered the statistics of population, manufactures, and agriculture, is now engaged in collecting and compiling information on other subjects having important relation to our industries, and is also preparing to take, a year hence, another census of our manufactures, thus giving a quinquennial instead of decennial statement, which in the past has been our sole information on the subject of manufactures. In addition,

its statistics on cotton production are now presented at frequent intervals, and in conjunction with special investigations ordered by Congress, it is giving to the country a fuller knowledge of the great factors of our commerce than ever before.

The Bureau of Statistics of the Department publishes, for the benefit of our commercial interests, such information as it is able to collect with the cooperation of the various governmental offices and commercial organizations. It also gathers and publishes from month to month statements of the concentration of the principal articles at certain internal points and their transportation therefrom to various parts of the country and to the seaboard for exportation. This work, a comparatively new one, is carried on by the Bureau largely through the cooperation of commercial bodies, the press, and the large organizations engaged in transportation. In like manner information is collected and distributed regarding exports and imports. Material for use in manufacture is forming a steadily growing share in our imports, while the home market for articles in a form ready for consumption is more fully supplied year by year by our own producers and manufacturers. Manufacturers' materials in 1860 formed 26 per cent. of our total imports; in 1880, 37 per cent.; in 1900, 46 per cent., and in 1903, 48 per cent., while the imports of articles manufactured in a state ready for consumption have decreased in about the same proportion.

Monthly statements of the total exports of the various articles of production and of the countries to which exported are presented by the Bureau of Statistics and distributed to individuals and to commercial and industrial organizations. In addition, statements are issued at the close of each fiscal year showing the distribution by countries of every article exported and the quantity and value sent to each country during each year of the previous decade. Semiweekly statements of commercial conditions are prepared and distributed to the press and to commercial organizations, thus giving the widest possible publicity to the latest available information regarding commercial conditions.

Still another important undertaking of the Department is the publication and distribution of commercial information collected by the consular service of the United States—a service composed of more than 300 men scattered throughout the world-who report