The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-02-09

| ;nsoinings OF q dreamy aud ndolent theorist.
| In view of the surprising facts have brought
| 10 the attention of tne com mmittee and the 1
| urgency of the Commisio for a return TO tue |
| revenue tariff and cnntraIed currency OF 1850, |
| am forced to the conclusion that he regards |
| poverty and idleness as supreme blessings 10 |
| the laboriDg people OF country, and rejoice |
that succeeded IN obtaining the floor upon the |
motion to print his report. and sounded an |
| alarm 10 the masses of my countrSmen that 1t |
| is an Insidious plea for their impoverishment.
In my judgment, the first duty of an Americ IN |
statesman is TO watch and guard the rights OF
| the laboring classes Of the country. They pro- |
duce its wealth, they fight its blttles aud in |
| their hands is It's destiny; for at every election
they cast majority OF the ballots, and upon
| their intelligence, integrity, and manly indie |
| pendence rests the welfare Of the country To
| make republican government an enduring sue |
cess, we must guard tae productions ions, OF our
lll.paid and oppressed laborers of Europe, that
| each bead of family may by the wages he eau
earn maintain home aud be able to support
| his children during the years required to give
them the advantages of our common school
| system. If the Commissioners report proves
fallacies, and test the fulness and accuracy of
| its comparative tables, 1t proves that under
| the influence OF the cheap and abundant cur
rency we now have, and the system of pro-
lection which the war forced US to adopt, the
| American people are consuming more of the
| necessaries and comforts of life than they
we're ever before able to consume; are pro-
ducng more of what they consume than ever
| before, and in spite of the taxes imp posed by
the national debt and other incidents of the
war, are rapidly coming to be commercially
independent OF other nations. Yes, sir, under
the influence Of a tariff which, though 1t levies
duties on raw materials and commodities which
we do net and cannot produce, is still IN mea-
sure protective, and an adequate amount of
currency, we are slowly emerging from our
commercial dependence upon England, as is
shown by the fact that our imports have
steadily diminished since 1866. Thus in 1865,
1867, and 1868, respectively, the amounts of
foreign merchandise Imported into the country
| were as follows;-
Year ending 3Oth Of June, 1S66.......sI2S 47O 6i6
Year ending 30th of June, 1857 374 943 5o2
Year ending 3Uth OF June, lS6S....... 344 S73 i9S
Thus it appears that notwithstanding the
facts that the increase of our wealth Is unpa-
ralleled, and the natural increase of our popu-
lation is very rapid and that from the 1st of
July, 1865, 10 the lst of December, 1868, about
one million natives OF foreign countries have
sought permanent home in the United States"
our purchases OF foreign commodities are
| steadily diminishing. The sapient deduction
of the Special Commissioner OF the Revenue
from these facts is that We are unable 10 trade
with foreign nations, and that to stimulate
foreign trade we must reduce the wages of our
laborers and diminish the amount of currency
now proftably employed in the development of
our productive power His theory is that "all
commerce is in the nature of barter or eX-
change" and his complaint is that
1--WE have so raised the cost of all domestic
products that exchange in kind with all forei sn
nations is almost i'm apostolic. The majority OF
what foreign nations have to sell us, as already
nations want and we produce cotton and o few
other articles excepted, they can buy elsewhere
no small part for such foreign productions al
we need or viii have, either In the precious
metals or, what is worse, in unduly depreciatet
promises of national payment"
The Commissioners exception OF ''co!ton ant
a few other articles leaves Hamlet out of thu
play and surrenders his whole case, for we cai
raise enough OF the articles he eXcepts, and o
which we have a natural monopoly, to pay 70
every foreign production I'VE must OF viii
have.n
The benefcept results of free labor in tn
former slave States are an agreeable surprs
- to its most sanguine friends. The South
- abundantly rich In mineral and special agr
cultural resources but she is suffering for tn
want of currency 10 develop them. Were sh
adequately supplied with currency, aud tn
season should be q favorable one, her pre-
duction OF cotton, and the few other article
excepted by the Commissioner, would NOR
than double that of 1868, and as other nation
! must have her cotton, tobacco, rice, and othe
semi-tropical productions which they cannc
procure elsewhere, il seems to me that the tru
way to stop the flow of precious metals an
Government bonds is TO stimulate production
by protecting the wages of labor and avoidin
any contraction of the currency. In support c
this view, let me call attention to the fact ths
we send from eighty to one hundred millio
dollars abroad annually for sugar. If capita
lists will lend the planters of Florida Louisiana
and Texas the means to cultivate their suga
fields, they will produce crops that Will save
large percentage of this vast sum to tt
country"
As showed in the former discussion of tn
subject, we bought about forty-ive per cent.
; the entire amount OF railroad iron exported
Great Britain during the first ten months
1868. The Commissioner makes no note of suc
facts as this, but finding some fortunately sit,
ated manufacturers of pig iron guilty OF maxim
profits almost equal TO those merchants an
bankers average, he holds them up to COZ
5. tempt and Tidicule, and wonders-yes, in a
official report sneeringy expresses his surpris
. that they have not petltioned Congress
legislate for the reduction of their profits!
: probably does not know that the high rate
which zig iron is now selling is stlml
article TO an extent that promis
; an early home supply and sue
= competition among our own people as mu
-, inevitably cheaper the price of iron and reduC
r' the profits OF those whose product is now
a. unusual request. 10 proof OF this assertion
~ not only point the Commissioner to the rapi
nv increase of the means of producing pig iron
W Pennsylvania, but appeal to all the gentleme e
~ W on this floor from districts in or near Whlc
~ coal, iron ore, and limestone are found. Dl
:, tricts hitherto unknown TO the iron trade al
SS now producing large quantities of pig.iron: an
oS ! ask gentlemen from New York New Jerse
=" Ohio. Indiana, Southern Illinois, Missouri
W Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, West Virgini
~ Kentucky, Tennessee. North Carolina, an
" furnaces erecting in their States respectivel
ne no than ever were in process of erection at OF
co time before, and whether tbo ose already existil
THE are not in full operation? virginia has no vol
on ar on this floor with which 10 respond to my q
90 peal, but IL is within my knowledge that Pen
Itb Since my IeTnRrES were delivered hay
,af received rom Messrs. McFarlGn. Straight
1"N Co., comm!gsloN InerrnsuIs OF Nav Orlean
ITFn ET n EN | nNvb{ I