The most useful books for our purposes are the descriptive works, most of which contain considerable historical material. First of these should be mentioned D. M. Wallace, **Russia, N. Y., Holt, 1877, 1905; references in the topics are to the revised edition, 1905. Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu, ** The empire of the tsars, N. Y., Putnam, 1893, has the rank of a classic, but a large part of its three volumes treats topics removed from our direct interest. Among the smaller books the most useful are the following: Francis H. E. Palmer, *Russian life, N. Y., Putnam, 1901, W. von Schierbrand, *Russia, N. Y., Putnam, 1904, Edmund Noble, Russia, Boston, Houghton, 1900, H. M. Thompson, Russian politics, N. Y., Holt, 1896.
A work deserving special mention is **Industries of Russia, published for the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, and edited in the English translation by John M. Crawford, St. Petersburg, 1893, 5 vols. with maps and charts. Volumes 1 and 2, paged continuously, cover Manufactures (with historical surveys) and Trade (brief on foreign commerce); volume 3 covers Agriculture and Forestry; 4, Mining; 5, Siberia and the Trans-Siberian Railroad. I cannot cover here the mass of literature on Russia’s eastern policy, and refer for that to the bibliographical aids mentioned above. The U. S. Monthly Summary, Commerce and Finance, April, 1899, contained a compilation of various material on the Russian Empire and the Trans-Siberian railroad, with a map; another monograph, on European Russia, appeared in this series in 1904.
On Finland, a distinct part of Russia for the treatment of which the text offers no space, see N. C. Frederiksen, **Finland, London, 1902, with bibliography; this is an excellent book, especially full on economic matters.
The Balkan States have attracted more attention from writers than accords with their recent commercial importance; for a general survey see Laveleye, *The Balkan Peninsula, N. Y., Putnam, 1887. On the conditions of commerce in the peninsula just before the World War see Day, The pre-war commerce and the commercial approaches of the Balkan Peninsula, Geographical Rev., N. Y., May, 1920, 9: 277-298.
TOPICS FOR REVIEW
Among topics suitable for general review of the recent period, (1800-1900), the following may be suggested: (a) shipping; (b) transportation by canals; (c) transportation by railroads; (d) production and exchange of raw textiles; (e) finished textiles; (f) coal; (g) iron and steel; (h) introduction of steam and power machinery in manufactures; (i) commercial policy.
PART V.—THE UNITED STATES
CHAPTER XLV
THE ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION, 1789
560. Comparison of conditions in 1789 and in 1914.—The United States was in 1914 recognized as one of the greatest countries of the world in area, in population, in wealth, in efficiency of the organization of production and business, and in the volume of internal trade and foreign commerce. Little more than a century before, when it began its career as an independent state, it was an aspirant struggling merely for a respectable position among the minor powers. Its population, which in 1914 was nearly one hundred million, was in 1790 less than four million, placing it in this respect far below the great states of Europe, and not far above such little states as the Netherlands, Portugal, or Sweden. The whole settled area, comprising a strip along the Atlantic coast, and the mere beginnings of settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains, was less than the area of the present state of Texas. The people were poor, and backward in industrial development. The amount of internal trade was small, even in proportion to the scanty population. The people were forced into foreign commerce by the necessities of their condition. They were as yet unable to supply the needs of civilization by wares of their own production. They had as yet developed no resources which assured their economic position in commerce with European powers, and in their political and military position they were so weak that they must beg as favors rather than demand as rights the opening of markets which were essential to their commercial growth.
