The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1857-12-10
A prophecy Before the Event.

The subjoined citation is from speech de-
livered by Mr. Seward in the Senate of the
United States more than two years ago, aad IN
which he predicted, with singular sagacity
and minuteness. the evils Of the time through
which we are now passing.
.'Mr. President" said he, s.we were told by
the honorable Senator from North Coroli-
ma, MIR. Badger, that we must adept either the
tariff project before us or his amendment, be-
cause the railroad interest requires relief.
"This brings me back to the precise ques-
ton which discussed here few days ago
think, sir, that the restoration of the business
of railroad building to healthy state requires
us either to leave it TO work ont its own cure.
or else to adopt remedy which will stimulate
productions of the raw material, and Of fabrics
by manufacture. Anything short of this will
fail to give tone to the general financial sys-
tenn OF the country, now so much deranged.-
The trouble with which we are contending
arose from excessivse importations. The pro-
Ject before US tends to reduce duties, and so to
encourage and stimulate imports still MORE
is q. .terer Of phich zoe are sick. You propose
to add fuel to the flame that is consuming us.
"Lct US look backwards for instruction. In
1884, by excessive importations, by an unex-
ampled enlargement Of credit, we had brought
on great fiscal embarrassments. Property of
every kind was deprecated; every BODY want
ed relief loans; credit was paralyzed. The
Bank Of the United States exerted itself and
gave relief; the crisis seemed 10 have been
passed. Importations were Immediately re-
sumed, credit was again expanded. Wheat
rose to two dollars per bushel; prices of all
descriptions of property were inflated. The
relief obtained was only Temporary. The en-
barrassments of 1884 ret ,rned in 1897, aggra-
vated ten fold. And then came that fearful
convulsion which carried distress and ruin
throughout this broad land-distress and ruin
from which we have required twenty years to
recover. Sir, we, ia 1854, Just passed through
the promonitory symptoms of crushing pres
sure, ,chich is to come IN 1857, or some uear NOT
long thereafter. Let this not be thought
strange. 1t is near twenty years since the last
revulsion. Commercial revnlsions come once
in twenty years. The circumstances of our con-
diton now correspond exactly with our condi
ton previous to the revulsior. Gorernment
then refused to stimulate production bv a tariff
ofproteciion, and, on the contrary. stimulate
importation. 1t went on to a bitter end,
''Government refuses to stimulate produc
ton now by tariff for protection, and gives
fresh impulse to importation. The resul.
must unavoidably be the same. Those who
think otherwise rely npon fresh contributions
70 our currency which are derived from The
gold mines of California. Igrant that those
contributions may delay commercial revulsion
for time, and may modify and break It's force
when it shall come. But they can aeither post
pone 1t iadefnitely, nor can they break its force
so that 1t aciH leare the country harmless. What
will be the limits of the influence of those
contributions upon commercial reyulsons is
mere speculation. After the severe revu,sion
of 1897, produced by excessive importations,
Government returned to a system of p-otec-
ton in 1912, and so restored the prosperity of
the country. We shall return to the same pol
icy, for the same purpose, IN the present case -
The only question is, whether we shall adopt
that policy as a preventive. or wait until the
dstemper has become otherwise incurable.-
| am for applying protection now. Never
theless, stand alone. Congress is not pre-
pared to raise the duties upon imports. All
that remains for me is to do all that can to
prevent the reduction of those duties.