The  principle  adopted  is  to  "suit  your  customer
and  the  conditions  as  well"  ;  a  principle  which  it  is
said  the  British  manufacturers  are  slow  to  adopt,
their  idea  being  to  make  what,  and  how,  it  suits
them  best,  and  then  to  sell  it  by  chance,  hoping  a
man  may  want  what  they  wish  to  supply.
For  instance,  a  big  merchant  in  Rio  de  Janeiro
had  a  large  contract  put  in  his  hands  for  tile  pipes.
He  asked  a  well-known  English  house  to  bid  for  it
in  "metre  lengths";  but  that  house  refused,  say-
ing that  their  pipe  was  all  in  three  or  four  foot
lengths,  and  that  they  did  not  care  to  use  other
standards,  A  German  house  made  an  offer  on  the


THREE  ELECTIONS  191

terms  required,  viz.,  metre  lengths,  and  secured  the
contract.
Great  Britain  was  bound  by  foot  rule,  and  lost.
The  dissatisfaction  of  the  British  working-people
is  spoiling  our  trade  somewhat,  so  the  ordinary
American  citizen  thinks  Great  Britain  is  asleep.
It  is  quite  true  she  sometimes  slumbers  gently.
But  he  seems  to  forget  that  in  the  neutral  markets
of  the  world  there  are  a  few  things  such  as  :  —

Ships  from  Belfast,  the  Clyde,  the  Tyne,  or  the  Mersey
Sheffield  steel
Manchester  textiles
Lancashire  cottons

British  threshing-machines  and  engines
Nottingham  lace
Yorkshire  woollens

Birmingham  small  arms  and  jewellery  (and  copies  of
every  country's  specialties)

to  say  nothing  of  biscuits  and  jams,  or  carpets.
Yes,  after  living  through  three  elections  one
realises  the  people  of  America  as  a  mass  are  be-
coming more  intellectually  interested  in  politics
and  big  outside  matters,  and  are  learning  con-
trol at  the  same  time.  They  are  steadying  down,
as  may  be  seen  by  the  almost  imperceptible  flut-
ter in  the  Stock  markets  over  Wilson's  election.
