older countries. So our children may choose their own life work.

The changing output of farm and factory opens up new kinds of work every day. Yesterday we were making carriages. Today we are making automobiles. A generation ago very few people were earning their living by making automobiles. Today three millions of people earn their living directly in that industry. Had these people been required to stay in the callings of their fathers, no such change would have been possible. The freedom of each to choose his own work makes it possible to adapt work to present-day demands. This choice brings personal competition, but it also makes possible modern industry.

Individuals choose their occupations, but the employers choose those they desire to work for them. In this choice of employees the drones, of course, are sifted out, and those with real ability have a chance to climb to the top. If this choice is made fairly, those are chosen who are best fitted for the work to be done. With a fair chance each worker has at least the opportunity to make good. No one ought to be discriminated against because of his religion, nor because of his politics, for the less the discrimination, the more capable the employees in the long run. To be sure, some employees will always feel that someone else gets the better jobs because of favoritism. And that sometimes happens. But the dependable worker who is prepared for his job seldom, indeed, finds just cause for complaint, because the profit the employer makes depends on the skill and trustworthiness of those who work for him. Freedom in choice of occupation and the selection of employees by merit brings the mobility of labor that makes progress possible.

A Fair Chance to Make a Living. In olden times, when the domestic system of manufacture prevailed and all articles were made in the home, each journeyman discovered his own opportunities to make a living and regulated them

to suit himself; he worked when he pleased, and as long as he pleased at one time, and under working conditions largely determined by himself. Today a large amount of money is required to build and equip a factory. This money is usually secured by individuals who organize themselves into a corporation. These corporations are organized primarily to make money, yet they have the power largely to determine working conditions and wages. The laborer, under this system, is taught only one process in the making of an article. Since he owns none of the machinery needed, he must work for the corporation or else start over again in the factory of another corporation at whatever wages they offer. His chance to make a living is no longer left to him alone. He is now dependent on others for this opportunity.

For this reason, the government has had to intervene in numerous labor matters to assure a fair chance to all. Laws have been made regulating the lighting and sanitation of factory buildings. Laws require safety devices and limit the hours of work of women in any industry and of men in dangerous industries. Such laws are discussed elsewhere in this book.

A Fair Price. Large businesses may unite to control prices or to control the supply of raw materials. Such a combination is called a monopoly. Other men, especially those in the same business, do not like such monopolies. We believe that a fair price for work accomplished, or for the products of our industries, will be assured only by keeping the channels of trade open to free competition. By this is meant that both the large and the small business man shall have the same opportunity to sell their goods in a market free from price control. If one industry offers a higher profit than another, higher wages can be paid in that industry. Those with capital lend it where the return is highest, if there be the same assurance of repayment. When the supply of a certain article gets beyond the demand for

it, and prices are too low for a fair return and a fair wage, some capitalists and some laborers leave that industry to enter another which will bring them greater profits or higher wages. A monopoly, by restraining trade, may thwart this freedom of competition and this exchange of capital and labor.

Consumers, too, object to monopolies when they extort unfair prices. This they may do by driving the small business concerns out of business, and then, free from any danger of competition, they may regulate prices and quality of goods as they desire. So we have a demand for laws preventing monopolies. The principal law on this subject passed by the national government is the Sherman Law, already referred to. Every state, also, has laws regulating monopoly.

Business Protection and Regulation. To carry on the game of business, rules are as necessary as in the games of childhood. There are rules (laws) as to payment of wages, as to the collection of debts, as to the endorsement of notes, and as to the legal rights of husband and wife. There must be laws as to the inheritance of property, and as to the duties of partners. Corporations are chartered by state laws. By far the larger part of our business and social relations are conducted under the guidance of state laws.

State banks are under the special care of state officials, in order that the moneys of depositors may be duly protected. So, too, the business of insurance companies is supervised as a guarantee to all business men and property owners of fair rates and proper practices. The public utilities such as water, gas, electric and street car services-and the common carriers doing an intra-state business are regulated as to rates and services by state public service commissions.

Commercial Law. All this body of law dealing with business men in their relations with each other we call commercial law. By means of these laws the courts settle any cases which are brought them concerning business

dealings. In many such cases the law itself is not so important as the fact that a law is established as a guide to uniform decisions on a given subject.

Commerce and Industry. Our various governments give more aid to the making of a living than most people realize. Wages depend on the progress of commerce and industry. This progress is possible only in a country where a firm, stable government protects life and property. The free flow of commerce, for instance, depends in large part upon the accuracy of weights and measures. Bureaus of weights and measures are therefore supported by cities, by the states, and by the nation. These bureaus prevent fraud by testing weights and measures, and also make for progress in commerce and industry by encouraging the use of standard and accurate weights and measures.

Through the reports of our consuls stationed at national expense in every important city of the world, business men, large and small, can keep themselves informed as to new inventions and other developments pertinent to American industry or commerce. The national government has established a Department of Commerce, whose published reports tell our bankers and business men of the exports and imports of this and other countries. In these and other ways our governments help to keep American business equal, if not superior, in efficiency and opportunity to business in other countries.

Order in Commerce and Industry. To prevent the destruction of life, liberty, or property, the citizens of a community give to their public officers power to preserve peace and order. It is equally important to enforce a known and orderly procedure in the relations between individuals in business and in commerce. Modern industry could not survive if we came to believe that business agreements would not be kept.

Business agreements are usually in the form of contracts, oral or written. A contract is an agreement between two