Witte worked in railroad management for twenty years, after having begun as a ticket clerk. He served as Russian Director of Railway Affairs within the Finance Ministry from 1889 to 1891; and during this period, he oversaw an ambitious program of railway construction. Until then less than one-fourth of the small railway systems was under direct state control, but Witte set about expanding the rail lines and getting the railway service under control as a State monopoly. Witte also obtained the right to assign employees based on their performance, or merit, rather than for patronage, that is, political or familial connections. In 1889, he published a paper titled "National Savings and Friedrich List", which cited the economic theories of Friedrich List and justified the need for a strong domestic industry, protected from foreign competition by customs barriers.