The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Wells, David Ames

WELLS, David Ames, American politicaleconomist: b. Springfield, Mass., 17 June 1828;d. Norwich, Conn., 5 Nov. 1898. He was graduatedfrom Williams College in 1847, and fromthe Lawrence Scientific School in 1851, butbefore entering the latter institution had beenassistant editor of the Springfield Republican,and was one of the promoters of the inventionof a mechanism for folding books andnewspapers in connection with the printing press.In 1851 he was appointed assistant professor atthe Lawrence Scientific School, and was alsolecturer on chemistry and physics at GrotonAcademy; during this earlier period of his lifehe published several textbooks on the naturalsciences. He first attained reputation as a politicaleconomist by an address on “Our Burdenand Our Strength,” read before a literarysociety of Troy in 1864; it discussed the resourcesof the United States in regard to the nation'sdebt-paying ability, and attracted the attentionof the President, who summoned him to aconference in regard to the national finances. Thisresulted in the creation of a commission of threefor the investigation of questions of taxationand revenue, of which commission Wells waschairman. In this capacity he was the first tocollect economic and financial statistics forgovernment use. In 1866 he was appointed to theoffice of special commissioner of revenue, wasinstrumental in abolishing the many petty taxeswhich had been imposed during the war, andoriginated most of the important forms andmethods of internal revenue taxation adoptedfrom 1866 to 1870. In the latter year the officewhich he held was abolished. He had at firstbeen an advocate of the protectionist policy, butafter a visit to Europe and a careful study ofthe English system, he changed his views, andadvocated the system of free trade. In 1876he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congresson the Democratic ticket. He published “OurBurden and Our Strength” (1864); “The Creedof the Free Trader” (1875); “Why We Tradeand How We Trade” (1878); “The SilverQuestion or the Dollar of the Fathers vs. theDollar of the Sons” (1878); “Our MerchantMarine; How it Rose, Increased, became Great,Declined and Decayed” (1882); “A Primer ofTariff Reform” (1884); “Practical Economics”(1885); “Relation of Tariff to Wages” (1888);“Recent Economic Changes” (1898). His writingsare notable for their clear and forciblepresentation of a vast number of details andstatistics.