The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1860-08-02
Thursday Morning, Aug. 2, 1860 50
-DougIas, and lLake aarbors..


price Of lands and Of the products of the SOIL are
intimately dependent on our commercial facil.
ties. 1t is not so much the merchants and bust
ness men in our Lake shore towns, who are
benefited by harbor Improvements, as the farm
srs and producers, who seek market for their
surplus products. The inhabitants ofKenosha
and Of other cities on tue shore of Lake Michir,
gan, have consented to heavy taxation for the
improvement of Harbors, and large expendi-
lures have yet to be incurred in future years, to
render our harbors fully available for CONNER
cialpurposes, and to keep them in repair. The
people Of the vest very generallyihold it to be
the duty of the general government, to make APP !
preparations for the construction of Harbors;
they believe it to be clearly within the c0nstitu-
uonal powers Of Congress, to make these i'm
proyements l# AJibp o4y4ID al HJH 50
What is the record Of Mr. Douglas on the sub !
iect Of Harbor and River improvements Since
Mr.. Douglas is now a candidate for the Presi-
lency, it is proper the people should understand
disposition on this important public interest
In 1852 while the subject of Harbor sappropria-
lions was under consideration in Congress, Mr..
Douglas proposed in the United States Senate, to
tbandQn the whole system Of improving our
Rivers and ,Harbors, by the General Government,
md thereby allowall the commercial ports, to
fall into decay, unless the States would provide
Tor themehy levying special tax on the tonnage
Of vesse's.G This plan of Mr.. Douglas, may be
found on page i 127, Appendix of the Congress
ional Globe, lst Session, .3lst Congress. We
quote as much from the record, as may be nee
essaryt to show what Mr.. Douglas method is for
making Hsrbor Improvements : + .ssl5ara u.
l '.Mr. DOUGLAS.--I rise now to offer the
amen dment of which have given notice. 1t is
to add to the end Of the bill the following;
SEC.-And be ii further enacted, That Con-
gress hereby consents that each State may au-
thorze the public authoritier of any city or town
within its limits, which may be situated ON the
coast Of the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, or of the
Gulf Of Mexico, or on the banks of any bay or
arm of the sea connecting Herewith, or on the
shores of Lake Champlain, Ontario Erie, ST.
Clair, Huron, Michigan or Superior, or on the
banks of any bay or arm of the lake connecting
with either ofsaid lakes to levy duties of tonnage
notexcesding TEN CENTS PER TON upon
boats or oeSSetS Of any description entering the
harbOr and t5aterS oithinthe limits of such citg
or t0Wn Provided, That the funds derived from
said duties shall be expended exclusively in con-
tructing, enlarging, deepening, improving and
securing safe and commodous harbors and the
entrance thereto, at such cities and towns, and
shall be applied to no other purpose whatever,
&c, &c. ....1
+ Another section offeredby Mr.. Douglas, pro-
vides for the Improvement of River navigation,
by the collection of tonnage duties on all boats
and vessels navigating such rivers.a I'd niW o1 e
Mr.. Douglas supported this proposition in a
speech covering sixteen columns in the Congress.
sional Globe, Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, the
present Republican candidate for Vice President,
was at that time Chairman Of the Committee on
Commerce in the Senate, and opposed the
scheme of Mr.. Douglas in speech, showing its
unjustness and utter inconsistency. At that pc.
riod as well as now, it is well known the slave
granting of appropriations by the General Gov
eminent for the construction of Harbors--pro-
Tossing to regard such use of the public moneys
unconstitutional. Mr.. Douglas, then as well as
now, was willing to saddle the whole burden of
improving Harbors, upon the ship owners and
sailors Of the north, to gain the favor of the
south. Moreover, the subsequent record of Mr.
Douglas does not show that he has changed his
plan for improving our western Harbors; there
fore our tax papers know what to expect, pro-
vded such an event as the election of Stephen
Arnold Douglas to the Presidency, should ever
happen,
What is the record of Mr. Lincoln, on the SUBJ
ject of Harbor improvements While Mr.. Lin
coin was a member of Congress, President Polk
vetoed the Bill appropriating million and half
of dollars for the improvement of Rivers and
Harbors. Mr.. Polk at that time made sug-
gestion, similar to tho proposition aferward
offered by Mr., Douglas, viz: to allow towns and
cities 10 tax the tonnage of boats and vessels
On this point Mr.. Lincoln spoke in the House of
Representatives as follows
"Mr Speaker, the President seems TO think
that enough may be done in the way of improves
ments, by means Of tonnage duties, under State
authority, with the consent of the General Gov
srnment. Now, | suppose that this matter of
tonnage duties is we'll enough in It's own sphere.
{ suppo sc it may be efficient and perhaps suf-
cient, 10 make slight repairs and Improvements
in harb' RS already in use, and not much out of
repair But il have any correct general idea of
it, it must be wholly inefficient for any benefi-
cient purposes OF Improvement / know very
little of the practical matter of levying tonnage
luties but suppose one Of its principles must
be, to lay a duty, for the Improvement of any
particular harbor, upon the tonnage coming into
hat hdr5OT. To do otherwise-to collect money
in one harbor to be expended in improvements in
'nother-would be an extremely aggravated form
IF that equality which the President so much
iepretates. If / am right in this, how could we
make any entirely new improvements by means
of tonnage duties? How make harbor canal,
" clear greatly INSTRUCTED river? The idea
hat We could, involves the same absurdlty ofthe
lnsh bun about the new boot 81 shall never
Sit EN- on" says Patrick, "tll wear en- day
n two o stretch 'em little" We shall never
make harbor by tonnage duties, until it shall
'lready have been made while, so the tonnage
| IAN get into it."
Mr. Lincoln, in the same speech advocated the
policy of making judicious appropriations by the
General Govermsnt for the Improvement of Har
oors and rivers, The issue now before the peo-
pie on the subject of harbor appropriations is a
plain and well defined one. The plan of Mr.
Douglas, would be destructive to the commercial
interests Of the west if adopted. Lincoln and
Hamln both stand on the record, committed 10 a
jndicioqs system of harbor and river improve
nents by Congress- The question presented to
every voter is plain one--are you in favor OF
having the boats and vessels navigating the
Lakes, taxed to improve harbors Congress
claims jurisdiction over the Lakes and naviga-
blewaers Of the, United States; Congress builds
Custom Houses, collects revenues aud exercises
| its authority in our commercial ports WHY not
then build our harbors? Every man who votes
Tor Douglas deliberately consents to throw the
borden Of improving our Harbors, on the peo-
pie Of the towns where the Harbors are located,
or else to adopt Mr.. Douglas ruinous policy of
taxing the vessels navigating the Lakes. +.
THE OLD PEoPLE.-The political friends Of