> i
*
Conservative * 5 I
teotivo tariffs. His iuvcstigntions in
foreign countries convinced him tlmt
this belief imist bo surrendered. Ho
became satisfied that other countries in
adopting the policy of stimulating their
manufactures by laying duties upon
imports had not carried this policy to
the stultifying extreme of taxing raw
materials or partly manufactured subs
tances which were to bo subjected to
further processes of manufacture ;
and ho saw that while such a policy
might enrich a few interests , it was
necessarily detrimental to almost all
industries of high grade , and tended to
reduce the wages of .skilled laborers.
What was of even more importance ho
observed that such countries as Austria
and Russia , whose manufacturers were
most clamorous for protective duties ,
were precisely the countries whore the
lowest wages wore paid , and ho was
forced to the conclusion that the pay
ment of high wages in connection with
the use of the most improved machinery
was a proof , not of industrial weakness ,
bxit of industrial strength. In this way
Mr. "Wells found himself logically com
mitted to the fundamental position in
the theory of free trade , that general
high wages arc the result of a low cost
of proditction and cannot possibly be
produced by government interference.
Mr. Wells' proposed revision of the
tariff , together with an elaborate report
upon the revenue resources of the coun
try , was submitted to congress , with the
hearty endorsement of Secretary Mc-
Oulloch , in December , 1807. It was
embodied in a bill , and , strange as it
seems in these days , came very near be
coming a law. It passed the senate by a
vote of 27 to 10. In the house it failed
by a few votes in the closing hours of
the session. It was impossible to get it
before the house , except by a motion to
suspend the rules , for which 100 votes
were cast against 04 in the negative , not
the required two-thirds. There arc not
many occasions upon which a change oi
half-a-dozen votes would have been at
tended with more far reaching politica'
results.
In the matter of protective tariffs
however , the motto of the faithful has
always been Xulla vcstiyia rclrorsum ,
and the dominent influences in the re
publican party at that time were ex
tremely hostile to the changed views
which Mr. Wells expressed. Upon the
piiblication of his report for 1809 Horace
Greeley publicly asserted that Mr. Wells
had been corrupted by British gok
through the agency of A. T. Stewart
Mr. Stewart was extremely angry at the
charge and wished Mr. Wells to bring
an action for libel , several leading Now
York lawyers volunteering to conduci
the proceedings , but Mr. Wells declinec
to seek a vindication of this character
His retirement from office at the expira
tion of his term became a foregone con-
Jusion , President Grant assigning the
personal dislike of Secretary Boutwell
; o Mr. Wells as his reason for refusing
: o reappoint him , in case the office
should be continued ; but his services
lad been so plainly advantageous to the
country that the leading members of
jofch houses of congress , without distinc
tion of party , united in offering him a
public testimonial. The four volumes
of the reports of the special commissioner
of revenue , published in 1SGG 09. are
among the standard works of statistical
science , and although , of course , not
popularly known , are probably the most
enduring monument to Mi" Wells' capa
city as a financier. They have given
him a distinction in other countries that
has , perhaps , been attained by no other
American who has labored in this de
partment of statesmanship.
Mr. Wells , however , was not allowed
to retire to private life. As soon as it
was known that he was no longer to be
employed by the national government ,
the state of New York sought his coun
sel in the examination of the laws re
lating to local taxation , and he was made
chairman of the commission appointed
for this purpose. The investigation
which ho made was the most thorough
that had over been made of the various
questions relating to local taxation.
The distinguishing feature of the report
was the abolition of all taxation of per
sonal property ( except that of moneyed
corporations ) , and the substitution of a
tax on the rental value of dwellings , to
be assessed against the occupier , whether
ho bo owner or tenant. The theory ot
this recommendation was that since per
sonal property in its modern forms can
not , as a general rule , bo found by the
assessor , the best available index ol
wealth of an individual is the house that
he lives in. The report was not adopted
however , by the legislature.
In 1873 Mr. Wells was invited to lec
ture upon political science at Yale col
lege , and in the same year ho was
chosen a delegate to the democratic na
tional convention , occupying the posi
tion again in 1880. In 1870 ho was a
candidate for congressional representa
tive from Connecticut , his residence
being at Norwich in that state , but with
the same lack of success as in ISOO.tho dis
trict being then as now overwhclminglj
republican. Ho was appointed in 1870
one of the receivers of the Alabama am
Chattanoog\ railroad , and in a littk
more than a year restored it to a condi
tion of solvency , besides expending i
considerable sum out of earnings for re
pairs and improvements. In 1877 ho
was chosen by the board of canal com
missioners of the state of Now York
chairmaii of a commission to considei
the tolls on the canals , and in 1878 made
an exhaustive report upon that subject
At about the same time ho became one
of the trustees of the bondholders of the
Erie railway for the purchase of that
road at the foreclosure sale , and took
part in its reorganization. While a di
rector of the road in 1879 ho was selected
by the associated railroads of the United
States as one of the board of arbitration
o which they agreed to refer their dis
putes over the apportionment of their
earnings from competitive business , act-
ng in this capacity for two years.
Mr. Wells' abilities as an economist
were early recognized in foreign coun
tries. Ho was elected a member of the
Cobden club in 1870 , and was invited to
deliver the annual address before that
club in 1873 jbecamo an honorary member
of the Statistical Society of England in
1871 ; was elected foreign associate of
; ho French Academy of Political Science
, n 1874 , to lill the chair made vacant by
the death of John Stuart Mill , and of
the Regia Accademia dei Lincoi of Italy
in 1877 , receiving its medal of honor from
the latter society in 1S7JJ. The Berk
shire Medical college honored him with
the degree of M. D. in 1803 , Williams
college with that of LL.D. in 1871 , and
lie received the degree of D.O.L. from
Oxford in 1874 , and that of LL.D. from
Harvard in 1890. Ho was president of
the American Social Science association
from 1875-9 , of the Now London county
( Conn. ) Historical Society in 1880 , and
of the American Free Trade League in
1881.
In addition to the works already men
tioned , Mr. Wells published , in 187fi ,
"The Creed of the Free Trader" and
'The Production and Distribution of
Wealth ; " in 1870 , "Robinson Crusoo's
Money ; " in 1878 , "Why Wo Trade ,
and How Wo Trade" and "Tho Silver
Question ; or , the Dollar of the Fathers
vs. the Dollar of the Sons ; " in 1882 ,
"Our Mercantile Marino : How it Rose ,
Increased , Became Great , Declined , and
Decayed ; " in 1884 , "The Primer of
Tariff Reform ; " in 1880 , "Principles of
Taxation ; " in 1887 , "A Study of Mexico
ice ; " in 1888 , "A Short and Simple Cat
echism" and the "Relation of the Tariff
to Wages. " In 1887 ho visited New
foundland for the purpose of ascertain
ing on the spot the facts of the fisheries
question , giving the results of his in
vestigation in a speech before the Re
form Club in Now York. This speech
contains all the information that is re
quired for the speedy settlement of the
dispute , and whenever the national gov
ernment shall cease to consider it neces
sary to keep the sere running , Mr.
Wells' suggestions will be put in prac
tice.
tice.Mr.
Mr. Wells' last , and in some respects
most important book , appeared in 1889 ,
under the title "Recent Economic
Changes. " The substance of this book
had been published as a series of articles
in the Popular Science Monthly , the
title there being "Economic Disturban
ces Since 1878. " No recent work in
economics has aroused more general in
terest than this , and it is peculiarly in
structive at the present crisis. With a
mastery of detail possessed by few
practical men , Mr. Wells combined , in
this treatise , an almost equally remark-
