The Portland daily press., 1896-04-22

Hon. CbRuncey Depew the Editor and A
Hundred Article by Recognized Ex-
perts-
The 10Th of December, 1895, marked the
hundredub year of "Amity and Com
merce" under the John Jay treaty with
Great BIitain. 1t also was the hundredth
birthday of the shipping and CONNER
oial List and New York Price Current, !"
the oldest newspaper in this country. In
seeking some method Of celebrating the
cen tenn1al in a m amer worthy at the
same time Of the paper and Of the bust
ness of the country, the present idea was
evolved. 1t was decided that no better
way could service be rendered to the COM
merclal community than by gatherin q
together i'll compact form the interesting
facts OF its remarkable Development
In the year 1895 there was ratified by
the Senate of the United States, and for
mally approved by President Washington,
treaty of amity, commerce and naviga-
tion with Great Britain. This treaty
conceded the aotuality of our national
existence, and implied conviction as to
its permanence. The immediate ad-
vantages it brought to our commerce are
shown In the fact that the foreign trade
of the United States almost doubled in
the single year following its making
The era it ushered in was for the nation
one of progress and prosperity unpre-
cedented.
The opportunity to celebrate its oenten-
NAL with an appropriate monument ap-
pealed to the best judgm emit of the lead
ing business men of the country. 1t
was determined to have nothing ephem-
eral about it. It should be . standard
work of reference, compilation of facts
and philosophy, prepared under the best
literary guidance, and made with the
best mechanical skill. 1t should not
only do long delayed justice to the mem
ory of the patriots of one hundred years
ago, but should recognize the business
men who by their industry and genius
have aided in the industrial advance of
this country, and present a source of i'm
proving and stimulating knowledge to
the young business man of today and
tomorrow.
The preparation of "One Hundred
Years of American Commerce was the
result of this decision.
DR.. ChauDoey M. Depew generously
consented to edit the work, and Hon.
Levi p. Morton, Governor of the State
OF New York, accepted the assignment
of American Banking" From this time
the success of the undertaking was as
sured. The work Of preparing one hun
dred chapters by one hundred business
men, about business and for business
men, and covering one hundred years of
progress, was put into the hands of pre-
eminent leaders and experts, each in his
own line of business activity. In no
other way could reliable record be
written. 1t had never before been at
tempted. For century the commercial
history Of the United States had re-
manned unwritten.
One result of the work upon this his
tory. not foreseen when it was projected,
has been the setting aside of December
10Th as Commercial Day. in honor of
the centennial of American commercial
liberty. DR.. Depew's suggestion of
Commercial Day has already been taken
up throughout the country. The Cham
Der of Commerce and the Board of Trade
OF New York led off in the movement.
DR.. Depew truthfully says his preface:
These volumes illustrate the dignity
OF labor. the benef1cence Of liberty, aud
the trIumphs of invention. The wonders
OF the material development of the most
remarkable of the centuries of recorded
tims are exhibited in this gallery of pen
pictures. They care the word paintings of
artists, each eminent in his own de-
partment OF benefcent industry. Capt.
tai and labor have caused and shared this
creation of power and production, and
this work written by business mon is
appropriately dedicated to the business
men of America"
1t Is impossible in the space at our
command to give the full list of con-
tributors to this volume, but some sam
pies will serve to show that the men best
qualified on the subjects which they treat
have been selected. Thus American
Banking is discussed by Gov. Morton !;
American Labor, by Col. Carroll D.
Wright; The Postal Service IN Com
merce, by ex-Postmaster General Thorn
as James: Advertising in America, by
Francis Wayland Aver, of N. W. Aver &
Son; American Railroads, by Stuyvesant
Fish; American .3hipbuilding, by
Charles II. Cramp; The Telegraph, by
Thomas 7. Eokert, President Western
Union Telegraph Company; Street Rail
ways of America, by Herbert H. Vree-
land, President Metropolitan Company;
American Newspapers, by Gen. Charles
II. Taylor, of the Boston Globe; Ameri-
can Flour, by Charles A Pillsbury, Of
Minneapolis; America Printing, by
Thomas l. DeVinne; American Pub
fishing, by John W. Harper, of Harper
& Brothers; The Packing Industry, by
Phil D. Armour The Bicycle Industry,
by Albert A. Pope; American Musical
instruments, by William Steinway.
The work in its mechanical execution
is model Of simplicity and elegance
The paper, which was I.lade especially