interstate or foreign commerce. Recently this commission has been given power to permit consolidations of railroad companies, so that one large concern will handle all the transportation in a given section or zone of the United States. Congress also created the Federal Trade Commission, with extensive powers to prevent unfair trade practices. Pure Food and Drug laws were made necessary by abuses in the manufacture and sale of drugs, foods, and drinks. All these laws refer to Interstate Commerce, but each state has similar laws to protect and further commerce in the state itself. Shipping Regulation. Up to the war of 1812 we possessed a very successful merchant marine. The result of that war was to swing our shipping from American boats to British owned vessels. It was not until after the World War that the United States again talked of a strong merchant marine. The encouragement and development of our merchant marine, and the regulation of the services and rates of common carriers by water in both interstate and foreign commerce, are vested by act of Congress in the United States Shipping Board. In 1914 the United States opened the Panama Canal, thus shortening the route between East and West. At present, this Canal and the United States Railroad recently finished in Alaska are two of the few public utilities owned by the federal government. State and Nation Work Together. The Interstate Commerce Commission is organized on the same lines as the Public Utility Commissions of the various states. The Interstate Commerce Commission has authority over interstate railroads and other agencies of transportation between the states, just as the state Public Service Commission controls similar agencies within its borders. The national government controls the service given by the delivery of mail, but the state controls chiefly the service we receive from the telephone and telegraph companies. Private Aids. Agencies furnished by private aid diminish the difficulties of modern travel. The Travelers' Aid Association, with stations in the larger cities, furnishes a means of safety for young and inexperienced travelers. Then, too, tourist companies lessen the cares of traveling by arranging all details, from buying tickets to engaging hotel rooms. Express companies handle packages or bag The Battleship "Minnesota" in the upper Gatun locks. The canal makes it possible to use the navy on both coasts and save the great waste of time and expense involved in sending the ships around the Horn. gage sent over long distances, with little danger of loss or damage. Information Bureaus in various cities answer questions concerning routes and hotels. Our Nation Is United. Today our territory covers over three million square miles. One central government holds this vast expanse together. After the American Revolution King Frederick of Prussia criticized our plan of government. He said that a republic could never exist in so vast a terri tory, extending from Maine to Georgia. Not only have we proved that he was wrong, but since that time we have vastly extended the dominion over which this republic rules. In 1846 a United States Senator objected to the addition of Oregon territory, because it would take ten months out of every twelve for the representatives to Congress from a state so remote to go to and from Washington, D. C. Such a statement seems to us ridiculous. We have worked together for the common good. While transportation facilities have brought us many problems, they have increased our prosperity and have made possible a nationwide coöperation and sympathy. TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION 1. Name various methods of transportation used in different countries, and the country usually associated with each one. 2. Get Franklin's Autobiography and read of his trip from New York to Philadelphia. Compare with a trip between these places today. 3. Visit a modern ocean liner, if possible; if not, get a booklet describing one, and then tell the class about its arrangement. 4. Make a list of the advantages of good roads to those who do not themselves have automobiles. 5. Why should the states control some roads while the nation controls other roads? 6. Find out about the development of the mail service. 7. Discuss whether the radio in the future will be as important as the telegraph is today. 8. Give reasons for the development of the modern newspaper. 9. Describe three local traffic troubles and tell how your community has solved them. 10. Name all the local quasi-public corporations in your community. 11. Have you ever heard of any complaints about the facilities for transportation or communication in your local community? If so, what are they? Do you consider the complaints justifiable? If so, what would you suggest as remedies? SUGGESTED READINGS FOR COMMITTEE REPORTS Assign reports from the following: 1. Starr's First Steps in Human Progress: Chapter XVI, Boats, Carts and Sledges; Chapters XVII, XVIII, and XIX, Gesture and Speech. 2. Tappan's When Knights Were Bold: Chapter VII, Pilgrimages and Crusades. 3. Van Loon's Story of Mankind: Chapters on Medieval Trade; the Medieval World; The Age of the Engine; The Age of Science; The Social Revolution. 4. Haskin's The American Government: Chapter VI, The Post Office Department. 5. Burnham's The Making of Our Country: Chapter XIII, Life in the Early Republic; Chapter XIV, Steamboats, Turnpikes, Canals, Railroads, Telegraphs. From these reports have class discussion on the progress made in communication and transportation. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS AND TEACHERS 1. Chronicles of America Series, Volume 21: I. The Man Who Caught the Vision II. The Red Man's Trail III. The Mastery of the Rivers V. The Flatboat Age VI. The Passing Show of 1800 3. Holland's Historic Inventions. 4. Manle's The Boy's Book of New Inventions. 5. Tower's Masters of Space. 6. Hartnell's All About Railways. 7. Alice Morse Earle's Stage Coach and Tavern Days. These books contain fascinating stories that have a direct bearing on this chapter. CHAPTER VIII MAKING A LIVING "No man is born into the world whose work is not born with him; there is always work, and tools to work withal, for those who will, and blessed are the horny hands of toil." -Lowell A Loaf of Bread. Out in Montana a farmer is planting wheat. The ground has been plowed by a large tractor made in a factory employing thousands of workers, in South Bend, Indiana. The wheat seed the farmer uses is the kind A primitive method using a homemade wooden plow. Contrast this with the picture on page 171. recommended by the Montana Agricultural College. In due season the wheat ripens. Some of the men who help to harvest it come from the East, through state, national, or private employment bureaus. The making of the reaper that harvests the wheat, the thresher that separates the (170) |