New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1849-01-17
Mechanic, In.rirute-coI. Prau,. address.


ZADocE PRATT, the newly elected President
Having been introduced % fte meetins. De de'iv-
cred tie following address:
bRoTHER MEcHAycs And FriF~rs Tie great Object
~ living a o. be useflus.a o olrseTes. cr neigh
bors aud our country IrrLf. srr.t uy friends have
accepted your call - TIE cll.- % f-- il.i-i-l .-a
your invitation to 5s present Oh ms ason hy p-f
Pose = O. c-er some o5serv-t-Jus. % 10y a-- way
upon Jew o tre mary s-- -cts -lirre-inz ~ me s-
Chanic and tr g prscrcal man And . anything trat
working and Tanner can say ~ ~ nl s-rsice ID
you you are heartily welcome o. T. you WILL hoi eN-
Pect however sry iowery narsng1e' or riely ,-l-.-
period. from ne. for most oi you must Know iLa'
have mad through life better 1slliance VIA MAJ
ers Of fact than o fsncyalc assure you t17t "nle
have rign opinion Of Nnat Il called oFafofy A. Ht -
fine writing I have a SRI higher op.lion % MAR VI
plain mechanics sometimes cal pracucs- cofinon 'hss
- that sort ri training and q 4-aii1n hc -.a
y practical substantial resl ts rr, instead ~ stnl
IN men through the word comp planning % Providence
and laying plans snd telling What they He 40 20 o.
make them put their shoulders o to- W1'el ana %
something for their own good and the benfti Oh man
kind Tle goc ri e1Qufnce ~ the sFer % flrlIlle
have DoBe-tutsgc a. have. brig unto you.
IL has been sometimes said, my friends thsi ne Ne
chauics have nHrd hands BE- o bat CO matter Tor
that long the heart i warm and 10 ~ i-nt see
better q the man h0 mas hard land than be "Lo nis
hard heart-beteris BE- whose hands -nOs the narAs
of tona.t toll trt who hss sound living liberia nesr
within than the man with sOit and delicate pam Nho
has DO hear, a. all or Vnst = jet a. sd h-ari ina =
chilled By the love Of gain j. misery icetouud 10 al
its obects-un grateful - the Over q al DRESSINGS
warned bv no synpathy for his fellow man
Ny friends ueed AK you, who Is Natures none
man. am sure YOU viii say ] DO. b. . the WORK
ing nan. VINO with honest heart and open nsnd and
cheerful face meets you half way, with nearly grasp
and with q soul thst feels every word ne ssvs whose
countensnce displays the light Of kindred feeling 10
tie human heart. VIA, man. indeed, without
kindred feeling tor biz brother cold marble hearted
image Of death itsoi-lke the miser. Llser IKE
Ny friends, shall ask you what constitutes the rue
wealth II this great country You vii answer, and
you will answer truly, u - Labor. Tx 70 how you
wl-let 1nc viii live upon our bread ana outer Iee
and pofk-siii Labor lee - the foundation % al and
without IL neither society nor civilization could exist
He who cerdes Labor unoervsaes 10 strikes At the
order of Nature the foundation OF society a. cflika-
non aud At Christianity itsef Labor s the very gold
OF Ophir-the true intrinsic wealth Of nation les B
the hardy uers OF the soil are the ioundauon ana me
ind lstrous working mechanics are ile supports zoe
builders OF our mighty fabric % nat0na wealth, ine-
psndence and hsppness ] here repeat what have
often said that the aborng men and mechanics 90 our
country are the bone and zine" or the and the
handspring and support Of the machine oi government
They are IN truth the crestrrs Oi patton q wealth
and would % God my frisnds that could make you
feel your real importance IN TIE community -inat D
could sufficiently impress upon your minds nc conyic-
ton the, you are 10 our happy country a. least TIE
great srtihcers of the national prosperity nay. the
most inn 0rant part and parcel ~ the
lfthe iyrsut Louis XIV 10 the glory of hs most spleen
did reign could utter IN the pride of his borrowed roy
W.
more truth can We say and how much more noble and
true doe. Il sound when the People say that We are
the state My friends. wish y1u 10 think and reflect
upon hi, point and % consider ts bearings upon your
own and the nations welfare. Where the mechanics
and lab0rng classes are down-trodien and depressed
made heVers Of wood and drawers OF water 90 those
who have robbed them Of their rights-ihen such mon
ster as Louis and other crowned heads, might well
say am the State but let labor bs h0nOred as 10 Is
here"le there be light shed upon the great deep-
Of Desputism, see i beginning % beam in
Europe and you viii the People there, A. here
rising Up their majesty and saying 20 their banished
monafchs, We are The State Let there be no mose
Kings or Queens
and builder Of his fortunes aud Of society. well
a. Of atoms prosperity but that his u one OF the
most Independent classes 10 the community. The pro
fessona man depends upon hi giils acq lremens Of
the mind and when he falls rs some do. 70 gain the
popular favor. or by some sudden change loses
IT, be is put desperate 30 shifts earn & livelihood ,
aud not unrequenty. my irioids have yeu and seen
the crestallen lawyer or proud tatesmen or politician
humbly suing for aid al the comfortable hreside Of the
mechanic say then that the ssilfu artisan is an IN
dependent for place him IA whatever part 81 tue
word you may. he can always secure his bread, be
Gauss he is CAP able OF dong something that Is useful
bis fellow man. The story OF lle TWO men cast away
among savagcs Is apt Illustration. One was 4 gen
tleman the other was baskeimaker. The basket
maker well treated because he could do something
for himself but the savases IN their simplicity could
not understand what gentleman was, aud the bss
ketmsseIs haIdiwOrk saved the poor gentlemen from
starving
In The circles Of false refinement where true re-
nnement perhaps never dwes, you may hear the eN
preston sometimes used as If IN dersion or commits
seration " on. he IL only mechanic a. u may seem
but there and roo who can Doast
other lineage themselves ana who when told % TINS
poor mans misfortune or that mans sudden fall pass
over the matter with the old remark OF He q only
mechanic-no matter God help him. he is only me-
chenic I" God does help him, my irieuds-God helps
those who help themselves and J ssy II boldly here
this day that there more happy. prOsperUus-ay,
noble the mechanics OF this our land, than
In any other class of equal numbers. Only me-
chauic q" Why remember there was certain man
called Felix IN the Scriptures what his peds was
do not know, but HE country men were proud race
ana hated the mechanics but one Of these despised
mechanics atentmsker msde this same Felix tremole
" Only mechanic" Why Nosh was shipwris hit
Solomon An architect And who built the pyramids :
who the ancient cities whose ruins al the historians
philosophers and learned men OF modern times sre IN
able plain The great temples OF the Holy cry
Tyre and Sydon. Bsbec Persepols. Babylo Palmyra
and other wondrous monuments OF the East whose
mssnifcence no modern art can exccl-who built them
" oh. IL was only mechanic '
In another place and on a different occasion Al
luded 10 the impulse given % modern improvement.
and the change wrought upon the face OF The whole
world. ~ the invention Of Faust who gave light aud
knowledge 70 all ankind the discoveries OF C0lum-
bus the science OF Franklin the ingenuity OF Albright
the genius OF Fulton and Whincy-mechanics al
~. nothing but mechanics. need not attempt 20
say what We Owc-What this nation Owcs-What the
civilized world owes. 70 these great men All The Nngs
and emperors that lvcds the artists pucts phi
lOsophers-sl the Statesmen, you may pile up IN one
scale aud they are weighed down ~ the discoveries
of Faust Fulton and Whitney. Aud Jet these men
were "only mechanics
You have right 70 De- proud. my friends. and Ger
tsiny feel proud thsi Franklin and Fulton and Whit
ney. al country men 81 yours and Oi mine
though they only mechanics feel a. u could
hold up MY head proudly. when can say, young 80
are nsiion-suCh Is tue free scope and tendency OF
our institutions and glorious climate 10 foster the
full euerg ies of the mind snd 20 grow the whole nan
that in al the useful mechanic stripping
the nations Of The Old World In arts aud in arms, and
/ Ia every worldly pursuit q man, our advancement
stands uneQualed since the world began
saw statement somewhere not long since whether
true OF false know not that the King 90 the Begaus
refused 10 receive Ambassador IRON the French Re-
| public. because be wss only mechanic" lie Vas a
man OF rank 10 be surehsd earned by Industry and
integrity. and honorrd 81 home, In regenerstei
France but sad 20 Telsie dreadful % think OF he
wss once shoemaker a. Brussels Follies OF TIL.
sort might expect from he present race n kings
and il Is wonder that the artisans, the me-
the wor<.ngmen learn o. think for themselves aud arise
% their sLis that their crowned heads o.
their heels Mechanics, ray friends, hsve been tyrsn
uzed over for centuries Ia Europe Tiled prod. ates
"a Church and state haze troadcr them under theii
feet To keep them from knowing their rights u has
ever been The policy 10 iyrans 70 keep tie people ia
ignorance prevent their accuu alton Il the means
Of resistance they have degraded labor and absorbed
rs fruits oar sh great beacon raised gh shines
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