The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-01-09
Ghe Urii)mnr.
WITH SUPPLEMENT.
ALL RIGHT.

Some of our exchanges who believe
that it is good policy to have every
thing we need manufactured in some for
eign country, come to us bewailing the
fact that on the Atlantic seaboard the
ship building interest is dying out, and
speak Of it as dire calamity. We look
at it just in the opposite light; for. of
course, if it is becoming Improbable to
build vessels for ocean sailing it must be
that there is not so much carried between
this and foreign lands as heretofore. 1t
is true great many men are being gradu-
ally thrown out of employment by the
change, but SO is capital, and it is quite
reasonable to suppose that it will speedl-
ly be invested in some other direction
where it will pay just as well, give en-
ployment to just as much labor, and the
final result be of infinite more service to
the country. Now what does this ship
ping interest amount to? Just this; it
is maintained for the purpose of taking
material from here. that might be used
at home. and carrying it thousands of
miles and then bringing back goods which
we might just as well manufacture our
selves. This seems senseiess oper-
alton, but it is precisely what four-fifths
OF our ocean commerce amounts to. 1t
strong corporation should undertake to
build a railroad to the North Pole for the
purpose of furnishing cheap ice, people
would say it was a crazy movement, but
it would not be whit worse than taking
wheat from Wisconsin and other western
states to Europe and in return bring back
loads of ready made clothing i'll order to
furnish cheap article, because we have
here erety facility that is possessed there,
aye, even greater facilities, we have
cheap water power in great abundance,
we have broader fields in which to pasture
sheep, the expense of living need not be
near half as great here as there, all class
es of people here, are, as a general thing
more enterprising, and more ingenious in
the construction Of useful implements
and machinery, than in the old world
where each is expected to do just as his
father did 1t follows then that should
the capital AMI labor now cngageu in
ship building, sailing anil other occupa-
tions which resui; from those means of
traffic between this and foreign couutrlco,
be employed in manufacturing those arti-
cles which are mostly brought hithcr. VIC
should soon see 4 ,l:tGcrent stage of al
fairs. There would be a home mu5ket FOR
all the produce we would raise, eur cloth
ing and many other necessarl.s would b.
reduced in price and mankind would be
made happier and better by the change.
But We cannot expect the change will
take place in all Instant. Time is rcquir
ed to effect any remarkable OF desirable
difference III long settled affairs, hut TIA:
the change is taking Place can be seen
in the mourning of the Free Traders over
the falling off in the shiilbuiiding inter
est
We car never be great free and indie
pendent nation un.il we are self-support-
ing, self-reliant, Industrious, economical
and willing to be government by just
principles, but when this shall be the
case our land viii <urpass all others on the
earth in richness, beauty and true great
ness.