TO THE STUDY OF ECONOMICS BY CHARLES JESSE BULLOCK, PH.D. SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY NEW YORK.... BOSTON .... CHICAGO Not only a valuable text-book for the student, but also a highly satisfactory manual for the business man or workingman and for the general reader. - Commercial Advertiser, New York. INTRODUCTION ΤΟ THE STUDY OF ECONOMICS. By CHARLES JESSE BULLOCK, Ph.D., THE STUDY OF ECONOMICS. By CHARLES JESSE BULLOCK, Ph.D., HE American people, beyond all others, need to be educate to understand and solve the problems of social and politic life that are being forced more and more upon the attentio of mankind as the world grows older. Other nations feel the drift the times, but they are hampered by monarchial governments, by hered tary laws, usages, and traditions. But the citizens of the Republi of the United States, in the liberty of universal suffrage, are con fronted with these problems as a part of their very govern ment, which, while it permits higher privileges, imposes greater obliga tions. They cannot afford to let politicians or newspaper writers d their thinking for them; they must think and act for themselves and to show them how to do this intelligently is the office of Eco nomics. Unfortunately, this science, which has so much to do with the welfare of the nation and of its individual members, has, until recently heen regarded as one of the higher branches of learning requiring long 1 ic PREFACE. THIS work is designed for an introductory text-book of economic science. The first three chapters aim to familiarize the student with an orderly treatment of some leading facts in the economic history of the United States before the study of economic theory is commenced. Throughout the book economic principles are discussed with special reference to American conditions, and their workings are illustrated by frequent allusions to American experience. Some of the chapters treat of topics that are extremely difficult. In such cases no attempt has been made to secure a false appearance of simplicity. The subject of public finance has been only incidentally touched upon. The author considers it impossible to discuss taxation satisfactorily without studying public expenditures also. To do this would have required more space than could be allotted to that subject. When many important points of economic theory are unsettled, as is certainly the case at the present time, the preparation of a text-book is not an easy task. The author believes that it is neither desirable nor possible to introduce the beginner to many controversies |