Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1870-03-18

A1NAN Nu8ifAfE&a Uli
ireedom as near perfect as can be foun,
anywhere While less than half doze,
B'ltis b corsairs were sweeping our commerc
Rom every sea, this eiiy sent one continue
stream OF cannon. shot and shell-yes. an,
heroic men-to save the nation life from
the greatest danger which ever has, OF eve
can threaten it, And while our com mmercia
marine sunk under its few and not yer,
formidable assailants, this busy hive of la
Dor and industry sent you the means O.
utterly destroying the mightiest armies, ex
eept our own, which ever waged war Oui
blockade was maintained alone b. the Goa
shipped from the whArves Of PhiIadellhin
% our naval vessels at their stations. The
battle Of Gettysburg prevented the destrue
OF the anthracite coal mines. It also pre-
yeated the destruction of our blockade.
And that eroEnibg victory was won because
10 some parts of our country productive in.
dastry enabled us 10 place great armies IN
the field, and to supply them with the ma.
serial of war. To-day the inadequate pro
section given to it prevents universal bank
ruDtcy and national shame. Adequate pro
lection will secure to US everything which
this Government needs.
As the means of national welfare. assault
defense aud mainteuance, contrast the
two, and, seemingly, sntagonistic interests
OF commerce and production and | shall
not shrink from a candid examination of
their relative importance to our country in
either peace or war.
And viii go further. / am content, by
this comparison, to test this whole question.
| insist that the policy of protection is the
true policy to apply for securing the devel
npment Of every source of wealth, commerce
included. By this wise policy the farmer
puts in his pockets as a profit the freight
be must now pay to bring his crops TO mark.
ct, for the workshops springing up all over
the country, under this policy of protection.
brings the market to bis barn door. The
transporter, losing this source Of income.
finds it more than made good BY the abund
ant freiRhtsge pouring from thousands OF
distant workshops in every part of the coun-
try, seeking the seaboard and a foreign
market. And here, too, when our artizanS
attain higher skin, our machinery reaches
perfection. and our ability to produce Is fos-
tered, you viii End the reliable foundation
for commerce which, ike that of Great
Britain, since she developed her coal, will
be aggressive and enduring. The working
man will tiud his subsistence cheapened b,
transferring his dwelling to the teemiue
farm lands from which be must be fed. BE-
he where he may. The churches, schools
and benevolent institutions flourish when
the masses who earn their bread by labor
are fuily employed, eheaply fed and well
paid. The revenues of the country are GER
tain and generous then; and indeed, bu>i-
ness, in all its ramifcations, prospers when
labor is prosperous The capital of ever,
nation is its labor When this is well and
proftably invested, all goes well. When
labor languisbes, all perish together in
common ruin
These petitioners come before you asking
10 light thing. There is no selfshness In
their prayer; they know they cannot be 10
jured by competition, but they see clearly
that the department Of labor 10 which they
are engaged underlies development and hap
piness They see that the high state OF
which marks the surrounding re
gion of their coal fields is iraceable to coal.
They are not confined in their request BY
State lines or BY local jealousy they point
out the way TO make every country as pros
rerous as the favored locality in which they
live, and they simply ask you to adopt pa
tional policy which shall benefit every part
IF the country. IF the coal of Great Bri
tian and Of Pennsylvania has been the basis
nt sound prosperity, we ouly ask you to do
that which makes other States possessing the
same blessing equally or more prosperous
Render useful to their future Development
and happiness the 100000 square miles OF
coal which underlies nearly every State in
the Union, and so use the benefits Touch-
saied TO our people rather than spurn them
I now close with this imperfect reference
to the Ijeet | have alluded to with hope
that it will commend itself to the minds OF
and when these great interests are
assailed, that a candid and conscientious irl-
qujry viii be maze by each about the justice
and propriety Of crippling our DOW growing
and producers for the benefit
Of nation which, having attained high per
fiction in machinery, almost crushing pow
er in capital, and degraded the wages Of
labor to point bordering on starvation, now
seeks by free trade to make of us only Gus
toner for her workshops and helpless de-
pendent on her Cor the necessities of life and
the comforts of civilization,
The petition, on motion OF General Cam
eron was referred to the Committee on Fl
nanees.
WHAT PIANOS ARE MADE oF.-How