age in it. Men by the
pressure of competition are forced to seek out the easiest and most
direct methods, and to learn how to secure the greatest results with the
least expenditure of labor and material.

It is this principle which lies at the very root of our industrial
development. Men have so striven to meet each other's competition and
outstrip each other in the production of superior goods at low prices,
that the cost of the staple articles of consumption, measuring by the
labor required to produce them now and the labor required by the clumsy
tools and hand work of a century ago, is from a tenth to a hundredth of
the cost in those days. It must be remembered, too, that this system of
competition is in accordance with the sense of inalienable personal
rights which is implanted in the breast of every man. The work of my
hands and brain are my own. In disposing of it for a price, I have a
right which none may deny to obtain such a sum as I can induce any one
to pay me. If I choose to sell it for less than my neighbor, it is my
right. In short, the open market is open to all; and every man has a
right to sell there his labor, his skill, or his goods, of whatever sort
he can produce, at such a price as he can obtain. The same is true of
the buyer. I have a _right_ to go into the open market and secure such
goods as any one wishes to sell me at the lowest price for which he will
part with them. A curious illustration of this sense of personal right
is the custom duties on imported goods. It is an evidence of this
inherent feeling of a natural right that both public opinion and the law
hold that it is a much less serious crime to smuggle than to steal.
There are a dozen people who would smuggle, if tempted to do so, to one
who would steal. Another illustration is the opposition shown to
sumptuary laws on the same grounds.

It is to be said that the fact that competition lies at the foundation
of our industrial civilization, tersely expressed in the saying,
"Competition is the life of trade," has long been known, and, to a
certain extent, appreciated. The common law, based on the decisions of
men most eminent for wise insight and sound judgment, has always held
that combinations to restrict competition and establish a monopoly were
contrary to public policy, and the protection of the law has invariably
been refused, whether they were combinations of labor or of capitalized
industries. The establishment of labor combinati