The Portland daily press., 1872-05-27

This is the way in which leading Demo-
Gratis and Democratic papers speak of the eff
forts of our Maine Congressman to retain in
the pending tariff bill the very moderate meas
ure for the relief of shipbuilding:
All the wise men of the East embraced in
the Maine delegation in both Houses were be-
fore the Senate Finance Committee for an hour
or two Wednesday, endeavoring to secure the
retention of their little arrangement for the
benefit of the Maine lumber dealers which
they dignity by the name of measure for the
revival of American commerce. This benef-
cent section of the bill allows materials for
building and stores for running an American
ship to come in free, with the privilege of two
months coastwise trading in a year On no
account however will either branch of Congress
consent that American citizens may buy ships
abroad and bring in entire what the Maine in
terests think should come in piecemeal. oaf
The Democratic press of the country is ex-
tremely fond of ''the decline of American
commerce as means of denouncing the
opposition. But the above is fair specimen
of the spirit in which it meets the most rea-
sonable and the least radical proposition to
remedy the evil it deplores Like the Swiss
beggars whom the hideous goitre gives an ex-
cuse for their profession, Democrats would
not willingly have the country saved from an
affliction which is one of the means of en-
ablng them to support a precarious and dis
honorable political existence So the mo-
ment anything is about to be done for the
shipbuilders, the whole Conservative camp is
in motion and every Democrat is on the alert.
Good heavens what would Pillsbury, Cliff
ford, Kimball, Bradbury and our other eloquent
campaign speakers do. if, pointing a solemn
finger toward the seacoast, they were not able
to lament in voice tremulous with emotion
the decadence Of the ship-yards ?-if they
could not apostrophize Bath, Richmond,
Thomaston, Stockton and all the other old
shipbuilding centres, exclaiming, ''Behold the
desolation wrought by twelve sad years of
Radical misrule'? Accordingly the Democrat
ic Congressman eagerly join the opponents of
every measure of relief and Mr.. Cox is ready
at moments notice to offer his s'amend-
ment'' so modifying the propositions offered
by our Congressman as to make them propo-
sitions to stimulate British by completely
extinguishing American shipbuilding. By
such tactics the faithful and protracted efforts
of the Representatives of our maritime dis
tricts have been defeated. And now, when
these Representatives have secured the active
aid of the entire delegation and a plan for
partial relief has been incorporated into bill
that has passed the House, we find Demo
cratic papers sneering at the whole matter
and striving to stop its progress in the Senate.
Whether their efforts will be successful or not
we do not know at the tine of this writing,
but we mean that Maine shpbuilders shall
know how their claims are regarded in the
ranks of the Democratic leaders, 1t is bad
enough to have the measures for the revival
OF one OF the chief branches of American in
dustry characterized as ga little arrangement
for the benefit of the Maine lumber dealers,'
but the assertion is so idiotic that it has little
weight But the lament over the refusal of
Congress to admit foreign vessels to American
registry, and over Names disinclination to
see what little shipbuilding she can still do
taken from her, is too impudent to be patient
ly borne. 'EPiecemealr Is there no differ
ence, then, from the Democratic point of
view, between policy that favors the impor-
tation on favorable terms Of such foreign ma
terial as must be used by our worl1men in
building ships and policy that throws the
workmen completely out of employment and
banishes shipbuilding forever from our shores?
There is certainly difference from Maine
voters point of view, as will be clearly seen
next September.