TRACT SOCIETIES. 393 TRACE ASSOCIATIONS. printed page a vaUial)Ie auxiliarj' in reacliini; the "submerged tenth.' ilany of the evangelieal de- nominations have their own boards ot publica- tion or publishing societies, which employ tract literature, especially in aid of their Sunday- school work. In Great Britain, in addition to the Religious Tract Society, there are several other tract societies, such as the Monthly Tract Sociclji and the Uliriiiir/ Tract Enterprise. On the Continent of Europe there are perhaps a score of societies which are engaged more or less in the publication and circulation of tract liter- ature. Among the most important of these are the Paris Tract Society {Society des Traitcs Re- liyieux), the Toulouse Religious Book and Tract Society, the (jcncra Erangelical Society, the Italian Erangelical Publication Society of Flor- ence, and the German Erangelical Book and Tract Society. In India, China, Japan, and other heathen lands there are a large number of tract societies which aim to provide Christian literature in the native languages. According to the Centennial Survey of Foreign Missions, by .lames S. Dennis (Xew York. 1902), there are a total of 159 missionary publishing houses and printing presses in such lands. The annual issues from these amount to 10,800.927 copies. There are also 379 magazines and pajiers pub- lished under missionary auspices, and these have a combined circulation of 2.50.809 copies. BiBLiOGR.PHV. The literature on the subject of tract societies consists chiefly of the annual reports, pamphlets, etc., published by the vari- ous societies themselves. The Story of the Re- ligious Tract Societii for One Hundred Years, by Rev. S. G. Green, D.D. (London, 1809), was pre- pared by an editorial secretary of the Religious Tract Society of London, and is an authoritative history of that society. The American Tract Society — .1?! Historical Sketch (New York, 1000), though but a brief pamphlet, presents the salient points concerning the history of the American Tract Society. The Report of the Ecu- menical Conference of Foreign Missions, Xew York. 1!)00 (New York and London, 1900). gives some interesting facts with reference to this sub- ject. TRACY, tra'se', Alexandre de Pronville, Marquis de (1603-70). A French soldier and administrator. After serving in several wars, he was appointed lieutenant-general of the French possessions in North America on Novem- ber 19. 1663. and reached Quebec June 30. 1665, accompanied by many young nobles and 200 soldiers. In 1(366 with l.SOOinen he led an ex- pedition against the Mohawks, burned several of their towns, and forced them to sue for peace. This expedition greatly alarmed Governor Rich- ard Nicolls (q.v.), of New York, who attempted in vain to secure the aid of the New England colonies for an expedition against the French. Soon after this expedition Tracy returned to France. TRACY, Antoine Louis Claude Destutt, Count de. A French philosopher. See Destutt DE Tr.cy. TRA'CY, Benjamin Franklin (1830—). An American lawyer and Cabinet officer, born at Owego. N. Y. He was educated at Owego Academy, and was admitted to the bar in 1851. In 1853 he was elected on the Whig ticket as district attorney of Tioga County, and in 1856 was reelected. In 1861 he ^ya3 elected to the State Assendjly on the Union ticket. In 1862 he recruited the 109th and 137th New York Volunteers and became colonel of the former. Failing health compelled him to relinquisli his command, but within a year he again entered the army as colonel of the 127th L'nited States regiment of negro troops. Subsequently he commanded the prison camp at Elniira, and at the close of hos- tilities was brevettcd brigadier-general of vohm- teers. From 1866 to 1873 he was United States District Attorney for the Eastern District of New Y'ork, and from ISSl to 1883 was associate judge of the State Court of Appeals. In March, 1889, he entered President Harrison's Cabinet as Sec- retary of the Navy. In 1893 he resumed his law practice in New York, and in 1897 was the un- successful Republican candidate for Mayor of New York City, being defeated by R. A. Van Wyck, In 1899 he was counsel for Venezuela before the Anglo- Venezuelan Boundary Arbitra- tion Commission. TRADE ASSOCIATIONS. Associations of men engaged in numiifacture or trade, for the furtherance or protection of their nuitual interests. In England these associations antedate the nineteenth century. In the L'nited States some were founded before 1850; by 1890 they had been formed in most well-established industries; while during the last decade of the century the.y had spread to almost every subdivision of the industrial world. In general, the trade associa- tion may include one or more of three classes of functions, the commercial, the industrial, and the protective. Associations to do the work of busi- ness agencies display most clearly the conuner- cial function. The London Association of Ciuar- dians for the Protection of Trade was established as far back as 1776. The operation of the earlier societies was confined chiefly to the compilations of registers of bankruptcies, insolvencies, and private settlements with creditors. Societies may undertake investigations into the circumstances connected with a bankruptcy, and perform the general agency business of their mendiers. More recently ailded features are in connection with credit. Althoigh large commercial concerns ftu- nish general information, there is still room for developing information bureaus within some trades. JIany establishments have special credit men, who have formed a national association, with branches in thirty-five chief cities of the L'nited States. The general industrial functions of trade asso- ciations include first, the surveillance of impor- tant influences, such as legislation or railway rates, which affect the entire trade. With many associations the tariff question is a weighty and permanent issue, while laws affecting labor, the quality, the method of sale, or the inspection of goods (as in brewing or boiler-making), are constantly watched, advocated, or contested. In the second place, associations may seek to establish agreement in business methods to keep their members informed of new inventions or processes, of market conditions, and so on. A natural result of this activity is the pub- lication of a trade journal, of which the Bulletin of the National Association of Wool ]Ianufac- turers (formed in 1864) is a w-ell-known ex- ample. Various special functions, also, are often
