The reader's guide to the Encyclopaedia Britannica : A handbook containing…

FOR MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS: GENERAL AND INTRODUCTORY [Sidenote: Technical Education for Manufacturer and Merchant] The article on TECHNICAL EDUCATION in the new (Eleventh) Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (Vol. 26, p. 487), written by Philip Magnus, one of the greatest educational authorities in the world, says that: “The widespread appreciation of the advantages of the higher education among all classes of the American people, and the general recognition among manufacturers, engineers and employers of labour, of the value to them in their own work, of the services of college-trained men, has largely helped to increase the number of students in attendance at the universities and technical institutions.” A still broader truth is that the men who have learned to think clearly, by whatever study or _reading_ they may have developed that power, possess the greatest of all advantages. As the Britannica article on EDUCATION indicates, the true value of education (not simply school education, but all education) lies as much in the influence which intelligently directed study exerts upon the mind as in the immediate usefulness of the information acquired, and the articles in the Britannica not only supply the most recent and authoritative information, but are so logically arranged, one dove-tailing into another, that they give the reader precisely that _orderly_ view of knowledge which is the foundation of all mental training. Since all of the series of chapters which immediately follow and which are intended for merchants and manufacturers, deal with commerce and manufactures, it will be for the reader’s convenience to begin by dealing with those two subjects in general. But certain branches of industrial and manufacturing knowledge are dealt with in special chapters. The articles on banking and finance are described fully in this Guide in the chapter _For Bankers and Financiers_, those on insurance in the chapter _For Insurance Men_, and those on law in the chapter _For Lawyers_. Three of the legal articles should, however, be mentioned here, as they are on especially important subjects: SALE OF GOODS (Vol. 24, p. 63), COMPANY (Vol. 6, p. 795), which deals with the laws in various countries regulating corporations, and EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY (Vol. 9, p. 356), on this topic so important in modern industrial law and in the relations between capital and labour. [Sidenote: Practical Economics for Practical Men] The broad questions of commercial and industrial policy are discussed in ECONOMICS (Vol. 8, p. 899), by Prof. Hewins; COMMERCE (Vol. 6, p. 766); TRUSTS (Vol. 27, p. 334); MONOPOLY (Vol. 18, p. 733), and TRADE ORGANIZATION (Vol. 27, p. 335), which describes commercial associations in the United States, the work of the consular service, and the organizations in Germany, France, Great Britain and other countries. BOOK-KEEPING (Vol. 4, p. 225), with its up-to-date account of modern accounting methods, card ledgers and loose leaf systems; ADVERTISEMENT (Vol. 1, p. 235), and MERCANTILE AGENCIES (Vol. 18, p. 148) may be named as specimens of the many practical articles on business methods which need not all be enumerated here. [Sidenote: Imports and Exports] Much of what you read and hear about the tariff systems of the United States and various other countries and about their influence upon trade is so vague and confusing that you will be delighted with the group of clear, common-sense articles in the Britannica. TARIFF (Vol. 26, p. 422) is by one of the most famous American economists, Prof. Taussig of Harvard, and is a very full and fair discussion of the points in controversy. PROTECTION (Vol. 22, p. 464) is by Prof. James of the University of Illinois, and FREE TRADE (Vol. 11, p. 89) by William Cunningham. You should read with care CUSTOMS DUTIES (Vol. 7, p. 669); FREE PORTS (Vol. 11, p. 88), and BOUNTY (Vol. 4, p. 324). BALANCE OF TRADE (Vol. 3, p. 235) and TAXATION (Vol. 26, p. 458) are both by Sir Robert Giffen. EXCHANGE (Vol. 10, p. 50), by E. M. Harvey, a partner in one of the largest firms of bullion brokers in the world, deals with the movement of gold. COMMERCIAL TREATIES (Vol. 6, p. 771) is by Sir C. M. Kennedy. Freights are discussed in AFFREIGHTMENT (Vol. 1, p. 302) by Sir Joseph Walton. LIEN (Vol. 16, p. 594), with its section on “Stoppage in transitu,” is by F. W. Raikes; SALVAGE (Vol. 24, p. 97), by T. G. Carver, and BLOCKADE (Vol. 4, p. 72), by Sir Thomas Barclay, the great international lawyer in Paris. Marine insurance, indemnity, Lloyds, and other insurance subjects fall under the chapter of this Guide _For Insurance Men_ to which you should refer. Cargo-carrying and merchant shipping are further covered by SHIPPING (Vol. 24, p. 983). This article is by Douglas Owen, honorary secretary and treasurer of the Society of National Research, and author of _Ports and Docks_; it contains information about the great freight carrying lines of the world that can be found in no other book. Railroad freighting is covered by the article RAILWAYS (Vol. 22, p. 819), in which there is a special section (p. 854b) on the new models of American freight cars. [Sidenote: Manufacturing and Consuming Nations] In the article UNITED STATES, which contains more matter than a whole book of ordinary size and more information than a dozen ordinary books, the sections (Vol. 27, p. 639) on manufactures and on foreign and domestic commerce, are by F. S. Philbrick, Ph.D. _The internal commerce of the United States, as this article states, is in itself greater than the total international commerce of the world_, and is so far from exhausting the country’s power of production and consumption, that even when coastwise traffic is disregarded, New York is the most active port in the world. A section (Vol. 9, p. 916) of the article EUROPE deals with European commerce in general. The articles on the great manufacturing towns of Europe contain much information as to industries. Great Britain’s industries are dealt with in the article UNITED KINGDOM (Vol. 27, p. 691). The industries of England alone are separately treated in a section (Vol. 9, p. 426) of the article ENGLAND. Germany’s industries are the subject of sections (Vol. 11, p. 811) of the article GERMANY; and it is interesting to note that although Germany has outranked France in cotton manufactures since Mülhausen, Colmar and other important milling centres of Alsace became German, France has retorted by overtaking and passing Germany in the production of linen. The sections (Vol. 10, p. 785) on foreign commerce in the article FRANCE show her position as in the main a self-supporting country, though only a fourth of the cargoes loaded and discharged in French ports are carried under the French flag. It would be a waste of space to enumerate here the articles on Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and other countries, which you will consult in relation to those of their exports in which you are especially interested; but you should not overlook the article on Japan. The Britannica has done commerce a great service in giving to the world at last a good account of this extraordinary country. The body of the article JAPAN (Vol. 15, p. 156) is by Capt. Brinkley, long editor of the Japan _Mail_, whose opportunities of seeing Japanese life from the inside have been greater than those of any other foreign observer. Baron Dairoku Kikuchi, President of the Imperial University of Kyoto, a statesman of great experience and authority, contributes to the article a section (Vol. 15, p. 273) dealing with Japan’s international position. His remarks upon the commercial morality of the Japanese are so ingenuous and so candid that an extract from them cannot be omitted: Now when foreign trade was first opened, it was naturally not firms with long-established credit and methods that first ventured upon the new field of business—some few that did failed owing to their want of experience—it was rather enterprising and adventurous spirits with little capital or credit who eagerly flocked to the newly opened ports to try their fortune. It was not to be expected that all or most of those should be very scrupulous in their dealings with the foreigners; the majority of those adventurers failed, while a few of the abler men, generally those who believed in and practised honesty as the best policy, succeeded and came to occupy an honourable position as business men.... Commerce and trade are now regarded as highly honourable professions, merchants and business men occupy the highest social positions, several of them having been lately raised to the peerage, and are as honourable a set of men as can be met anywhere. It is, however, to be regretted that in introducing Western business methods, it has not been quite possible to exclude some of their evils, such as promotion of swindling companies, tampering with members of legislature, and so forth. The account (Vol. 15, p. 201) by Capt. Brinkley of the curious system of creating branches of Japanese business houses is another part of this article which should not be overlooked. [Sidenote: Mill Labour] The proportion of labour cost to the total cost of production is in most industries so great that you cannot study too carefully every aspect of the labour question. The chief articles are LABOUR LEGISLATION (Vol. 16, p. 7), jointly written by the late Dr. Carroll D. Wright, the great American authority on the subject, and Miss A. M. Anderson, Principal Lady Inspector of Factories to the British government; TRADES UNION (Vol. 27, p. 140); STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS (Vol. 25, p. 1024); WAGES (Vol. 28, p. 229), by Prof. J. S. Nicholson; PROFIT SHARING (Vol. 22, p. 423), by Aneurin Williams and APPRENTICESHIP (Vol. 2, p. 228), by J. S. Ballin. The article EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY (Vol. 9, p. 356), has already been mentioned.