Competition
the act of endeavoring to gain what another endeavors to gain at the same time. In political economy it is simply the form taken by COMPIEGNE the struggle for existence as applied to industry.
Formerly, prices and generally the economic relations of men to each other were regulated by custom or authority. The growth of freedom has now brought it about that these relations are determined by individual effort In mediæval times the relations of men were fixed by custom or authority. But the restraints of custom and authority were felt to be vexatious, oppressive, and injurious, and in the various spheres of human activity, in religion, politics, and economics, the free individuality of men sought and found wider room to develop itself. This great movement began with the revival of learning, the discovery of America, and the Protestant Reformation and has been continued through the revolutions of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In the industrial sphere it means that whereas in former times a man's calling, place of residence, and the remuneration of his industry were fixed for him, he is now at liberty to decide them for himself as best he can.
English trades-unions are an attempt to regulate competition in the interest of labor. Employers' combinations have a like object in the interests of the capitalist. In the United States especially the development of "trusts" tends to make competition a dead letter, but recent legislation has curbed their power. protective systems of France, Germany, and the United States are intended to maintain native industries against British competition. The The COMPIÈGNE (kōmp-yān'), a picturesque town in the French department of Oise, on the Oise river, a little below its junction with the Aisne, 52 miles N. N.
E. of Paris. Of its churches three deserve notice, St. Germain (15th century), St. Antoine (12th century), and St. Jacques (13th century). But the chief pride of Compiègne is its palace, built anew by Louis XV., and splendidly fitted up by Napoleon, who often occupied it. Its façade toward the forest is 624 feet long. The forest extends over 30,000 acres. Compiègne manufactures canvas, corda canvas, cordage, and sugar. Compiègne is mentioned in the times of Clovis under the name of Compendium. It was at the siege of this town, in 1430, that the Maid of Orleans was captured; and here, in 1810, Napoleon first met Maria Louisa of Austria, on occasion of their marriage. The town was captured by the Germans in 1914, and suffered heavily during the battles of the Marne and Aisne. The French later captured the place, but almost lost it in the great German drive in June, 1918. Pop. about 18,000.
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