Description
In his illuminating study, now to be had with a new preface by the creator, John Stealey examines the legal basis of this industry, its labor practices, and its marketing and distribution patterns. Through technological innovation, salt producers harnessed coal and steam in addition to men and animals, constructed a novel evaporative system, and invented drilling tools later employed in oil and natural gas exploration. Thus in some ways the salt industry was once the precursor of the American extractive and chemical industries. Stealey’s informative study is the most important contribution to American economic, business, labor, and legal history.