American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-09-13
rFor the American Republican. !

county, found that you had given my com
mueication a place in your paper, for which
am thankful to you. Sickness In my family
has since prevented me from continuing my re-
marks sooner, and not until now am ! able to
resume the subject again.
At the close of H7y last communication, !
promised to shew cause why, III the transform
alton of the various Charitable and pElanthro-
pic contributions, t.om Colnlnta kind, Baltimore
does not participate; or in other words "why
she is passed by"
And the first cause will mention is "unIim-
lied tibsraliiy." That Maryland, and especially
Baltimore, largely contributes 80 these bcnevo-
lent institutions, cannot be denied; and this is
as it should he. But while wo are thus liberal
towards others may we not Also be just to our
selves? Where, then, is the necessity and pro-
priety of sending our money out of town, when,
for all the purposes of benevclencc, our produce
lions would answer the same end, and more cs-
pecially, when we know, that money, abstract
ly speaking, is of no use, and must absolutely
be turned into kind, somewhere, and by some
body. before it is i'll anyEise available,
But, ia the plentItude Of our nevolence VIC
90 yet step farther than this; and strange as
it is, it is nevertheless true, that we have be-
come heavy purchasers, and consumers too, of
those very articles which in neghboring cities
are manufactured, in part at least, by means of
our locations. This is indeed imposing an
oncrous tax upon our liberalty; and that such
is the csse, peep into our bookstores, churches,
Sabbath schools, Trac. societies, SC. will album
dainty grove. Whether this kind of liherality
is required of us, leave for others to decide,
but hazard the opinion, that so long as we
persist in 1t, we shall be passed by.
Again, there is a want of public spiritedness
among us this matter. When collections are
being made as above, we give according to our
capacity or our disposition, and there We stop,
believing that we have done all that can be re-
quired OF U.s. But is it not right and proper, IS
it not our duty also, that, so far as practicable,
we should make ourselves acquainted with The
character, disposition, and capacity OF the
agents who are TO act as our distributors and
Of the manner in which our donations are dis
posed off; And when zee can turn tie money
thus contributed nto the resquslte kind, to
some advantage to 0USeiues-l ask-wheu all
this can be done by as at home as wel--ayc,
better and cheaper too, than abroad, why send
to our neighbors! Are we quite certain, that
tkep have our interest at heart more than zee?
Can thcyiurnish better and more faithful agents
than we can find at honlel Are their actzans,
er workmen than oar o,Cn? If this is not the
case, as we know it is not, why then &C abroad;
But setting aside for one moment the direct
inter t we have al stake, | ask, what becomes
of our honest pride as citizens of BaltmGre?-
are we forever to remain in a state Of pup!iage?
are we never to be known abroad as acting for
ouselreS and in our Olrn name?-is New York,
OF some other city to stand sponsor for ste the
end of time:-f this be so, we shall surely be
passed by.
While on the subject public spirtedness, |
woald vet make one more remark, and though
somewhat foreign from my original purpose,
5 II it is so much IN point, that am 10th to
leave it untouched.
1t is well known, that at all times, but more
especially about the time of holydays, our city
is flooded with great variety of articles man
utactared in neighboring cities, such as furs,
furniture, clothing, books, jewelry, toys, &C.
Now we know, that many of these articles are
fragile, others badly put together and very de-
ceptive, some entirely useless, others morally
unfit and hurtfhl, and all of them made for
sale, and yet we buy them,-buy them with
our eyes wide open, knowing that we are chca-
ted-5uy them with avidity and pay high, and
in many cases, eEtravagant prices for them,
while a. the same time we arc convinced, that,
as to the useful part of them, and even many
fancy articles, we could obtain them from our
own mechanics and manufacturers, if not chea-
per, certainly much better, both in make as
we'll as quality. For the truth OF what Is here
stated ! can safely appeal to the experience OF
thousands in our city, who have. as franklin
said, paid dear enough for their whistle. But
have we ever seriously considered tins matter!
and has experience made us wscl:-thatth!si is
not the case, is lamcntabIe fact, And now, |
would ask, where Is our public spirItednessl-
If it were possible to ascertain the amount
which IN this manner we annually send abroad,
it would astound US, while at the same time it
would convince us, how much we pay away
for foreign labor, to the evident injury OF our
own people.
I There is yet another cause why VIC are pass
ed by, which | shall mention, and that IS the
many societies, dWriiayieS TO parent societies
located IN other cities. Maryland, and esPeci-
ally Baltimore, has number OF societies and
institutions, which are intended to mehorate
/ the condition Of the human family, there arc,
! however, few of them comparatively, which
date their origin from Baltimore, by far the
greater number are auxiiaries to societies in
( New York. These auXliarics, as a matter Of
course, send their comtingcnts TO their respcc.
! tive parent societies, and hence systematic
training of our money, which would not exist
if the former were independent societies.
In the foregoing have endeavored to give
some ofthe principal reasons why we arc pass
ed by; there are others which might be men
toned, but since they are not SO important, anC
partakc more of foreign character, | shall for
bear to mention them here, preierring to con
fine myself exclusively TO those which originate
within ourselves, and are therefore more easl
ly corrected
find, however, that my present remarks
have become somewhat lengthy, aud therefore
with your permission, shall postpone stating
the remedy until my next. A BALrlMoREAN.
THE RUNAWAY. Davenport, the abscond
ing Messenger of Gays Express, was seen a
! "