The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-07-19
Tho Necessity for an Extra Session Of
Consress-Our Carrying Trade at stake.

Tho Necessity for an Extra Session Of
Consress-Our Carrying Trade at stake.
Our stupid, benighted, unpatriotic Congress
ran away home to their constituencies to look
after their next election and revel in the con-
vivial receptions awaiting them. They had
bought tickets for the railroad. Many Of them
had, perhaps, arranged for serenades and
suppers in the little towns and villages wherein
they are the dis nsis0res--the small big men,
who are great only in proportion as their
constituencies are narrow-minded. They did
not want to miss these festive scenes. These
men, having no spark Of patriotism In that
portion of them where their souls are supposed
to repose. and not possessing any conception
of the dignity of tho country for which they
were elected to leglslate, nor seeing Its great
interests in any intelligent nght-this mean
and motley crew of jobbers and peculators
deserted their posts at most important
moment, when the President, seeing that
serious crisis had arrived for American COM
merce, that the shipping interest had grand
opening presented to it and tho carrying trade
Of the country might be revived, requested
them respectfully, by special message, 70
remain In session long enough to pass such
laws as would restore to our merchant marine
the status 1t had unfortunately lost during
our war. A law permitting foreign vessels
to hoist the American flag would have
covered the seas with ships bearing the Stars
and Stripes 20 long almost banished. Ameri-
can companies would become proprietors Of
foreign lines then protected by our flag, and
the carrying trade Of Europe and America,
which is now blocked up by the war in various
ports, would be opened at once to vessels
carrying the American flag. But this Congress
Of ours-surely the stupidest body that ever
attempted to legislate for great nation in
crisis like the present-did not see the wisdom
Of President Grants suggestion. They did not
realize what he sagaoiously observed, that the
opportunity of all opportunities to retrieve past
errors Of legislation, and place our shipping
interests in finer condition than they ever
were, had arrived, and that Congress should
not adjourn without securing the result.
There is nothing left for the President now
but to call an extra session of Congress. He
may give the members thirty days grace to
visit their homes and set the logs rolling for
another elections but the whole country
demands Of President Grant, almost with one
voice, that he shall call Congress together for
the purpose of enacting such laws, in view of
the extraordinary state of affairs in Europe,
as will give American shipping and the Ameri-
can flag an opportunity to resume their former
position on the seas. The indications
are that Great Britain win soon cease
to be q neutral Power. In this event the
United States will have the broad margin of
the ocean for the carrying trade to herself II
Is lamentable fact that we are not in posi-
lion to assume that place. Our merchant
marine is miserably small. It has been
allowed by Infamous laws to dwindie down
almost to nothing. We cannot carry our own
in American bottoms; and yet
now the splendid opportunity offers to carry
the commerce Of all Europe as well as our
own. Let us have law enabling foreign
ships to carry the American flag, and in one
week after Its PRONUNCIATION the ocean will be
dotted with iron steamers carrying the Stars
and Stripes at their peak, Let us look at the
list of foreign iron built steamers now afoat
Let us glance at their locations and their ton
mage, as we will group them in the accompany
ing table, and we shall see what splendid
feet we would have on the ocean, carrying the
products of the two continents in spite of war
and turmoil and hostile alliances. Every one
Of them-twenty-eig fine iron vessels, mea-
surfing total tonnage Of "a, 1876 tons-would be
topping the waves Of the Atlantic under the
American flag as soon as the news reached
them that Congress had authorized them to
carry the ensign Of the republic and guaran-
teed them security under t:--