"Yes," said the official.

"Then we shall ship machines in our president's yacht," was the ready
response.

This staggered the official. After a long discussion the director
received permission to bring in what machines were on the way; and,
also, he got a date for a second hearing.

Meantime he adapted a type of machine to the needs of a certain
department in the Board of Trade, sold two, and got them installed and
working before he next appeared before the Trade Censors, who, by the
way, knew absolutely nothing at all about the article they were
prohibiting. The first question popped to him was:

"Are machines like yours made in England?"

"Yes," replied the director; "but they have never been practical or
commercial."

Then he produced the record of the machines he had sold to the
government. Each one saved the labour of eight persons and considerable
office space. This made a distinct impression and the company got
permission to import two hundred tons of their product. But not even an
application for more can be filed until the first of next year. Only the
dire necessity for this article, coupled with the fact that it is
without British competition, got it over.

I cite this incident to show what many Americans in England believe to
be one of the real reasons behind the prohibition, which, summed up, is