The United States of America is an association of sovereign states, each of which retains the right to decide those matters which are of importance to that state alone, while all questions of interstate concern are automatically referred to the Federal Government. At the same time, matters of common concern to all of the states such as the coinage of money, relations with foreign governments, the regulation of commerce with other nations and between the states, and the like, are also under exclusively federal jurisdiction. By this means, those questions which are of local moment may be settled within the state in which they arise, while all questions affecting the interests of more than one state, and those having to do with the common interests of all the states, fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. The organization of business has followed similar lines of federation. During the early years of capitalism there was a strong tendency to concentrate all of the power of a given business at one point, and in the hands of one man. With the growth of large enterprises, however, such centralization became unworkable. Instead of a single generalissimo, business organized the general staff. The corporation with its board of directors (executive committee) helped to make the transition, and when the United States Steel Corporation was formed, at the peak of the period of American trust organization, its constituent companies were given large scope for individual initiative and activity. The tendency toward departmental autonomy in large businesses is also very marked. Bitter experience with "one man" concerns and top-heavy organizations convinced business men that the road to success lay along the path of federated autonomous units rather than of highly centralized bureaucracies. The labor movement has had the same experience in many of the more advanced countries of the world. There has been almost a century of local, independent groups, each one acting on its own initiative. The failure of such a divide-and-perish course was predicted from the beginning. Then there have been highly centralized organizations of considerable extent and power, like the American Knights of Labor, which flourished for a time and then dried up and blew away. But out of the hundred years experience, the labor movement, as at present organized in Germany, Britain, Belgium, the United States, etc., is an exponent of the social principle that local autonomy must be preserved in all local matters, while questions of general concern must be referred to some general body which represents the general interest.