The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-12-20

the farmers to rise up In the great Agri
cultural Congress, and say "Stopl
henceforth let the public lands and th'
proceeds thereof be applied to the agri
cultural interests, not of States and sec
tions, or of monopohsts but of the Who'll.
country; and among other things, le
them be ueed for the encouragement o.
certain great national highways BY
which and through which Congress may
regulate commerce among the several
States, and SO relieve way freights and
agricultural transportion of the unequal
taxation under which they now labor
and are now oppressed. The only sure
way for the Government to secure itseli
and the public against such impositions
| In the future, and of regulating railroad
commerce between the States, is to pro.
vide certain national Gnes-both by wa
ter and rail-between this valley and
the sea. Let them be independent OF
all other lines, and managed, not in the
interest of ''rings," speculators or cor
porations, but OF the public. Let the
tolls on them be sufficient to keep them
in repair Let them be so ordered and
equipped as to satisfy the demands OF
trade, meet the requirements of the
agricultural interest, and
PROMOTE THE GENERAL wELFARg IN
PEACE,
! while IN war they will enable the Gov
eminent to meet the exigencies OF mill
tary necessity and make sure the COM
mon defense. - lar ntt
The General Government can, ii you
In your Congress will say the word, give
all the encouragement necessary for the
construction of such works. and that,
too, without any increase of your taxes
whatsoever. ~
What is there in the condition of the
country to make large navy and a
greater army more necessary now than
they were before the war? The ship
ping engaged IN the foreign trade is not
SO much now as it was then. The In
dians are not so numerous. The out
posts are not 50 difficult of access, neith-
er are the frontier lines to be guarded
as long now as they were then, and the
yeomanry of the country consists not OF
raw militia as then, but largely of vet
Grams In war; and yet venture to say
that there are few who hear me that will
of the army now is far greater than it
WIS before the war. 1t ought to be
less.
Now, then, suppose the expenditures
of the army and navy had been reduced
to ante-bellum proportions, here would
have been a saving of $s640, 600, 600 which
might have. been applied to the con-
struction of those highways. Suppose it
had been applied, you would have had
something to show for it, whereas now
you have nothing. You would have
had two inland water routes between
the great valley and the Atlantic, each
wholly within our own borders, and as
available in war as in peace and you
would have had the beginning of a sys-
tenn of national railways with multiple
tracks and branches between the great
centers reproduction in one section and
those of export and consumption IN the
other, which would regulate commerce
in peace, provide for the common de-
fense in war, and as highways for COM
merce be almost as valuable as the Mis-
sissippi River itself.
Remember, that when you get these
water lines III the shape Of
A SHIP CANAL
between the James River and the Ka-
nawha, and between the Tennessee and
the Coosa and the Ocmulgee down to
the sea in Georgia, all toll free, except
for maintenance and repair; that when
you get two or three national trunk
lines of railway to cross the Alleghanies
aud branch out at both ends, each with
double or multiple tracks to such places
as Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Richmand and other sea-
ports at one end, while on the other the
radiating stems lead off to Chicago, st.
Louis, Louisville, Memphis, etc., you
will be able to deliver your produce on
board ship at one third, and even less,
of present rates.
If instead of looking into the past we
look to the future, then in reducing the
army and navy to the stdttf quo ante
bcll,B,, we may assume a saving which,
with the public land fund, will amount
to not less than $40, 000, 900 year.
Something like this sum being useless
ly expended upon things that contribute
nothing to the wealth of the country, 1t
might be most advantageoIisly and ben
eficially devoted to these works.
You permit your representatives IN
Congress to vote millions, annually, for
the encouragement and protection OF
foreign commerce by sea. But you do
not require tIrem to vote anything for 1T
by land. Besides the navy, which L
have already told You about, there are
lighthouses, the coast survey, and the
consular system they absorb millions.
Now, let us inquire what is the value
of this commerce in american vessels,
ON account of which so many millions
are annually expended. Its total value
for the last year was s343, $40, ,3lS. Why
even the tolls paid to the railroads ex-
ceed that by nearly third (SIll,O5o,-
632 7! and the total value OF the COM !
merce over them-according to Poor,
who is held as the best authority Is no
less than fifteen thousand millions of
dollars year, or more than forty times
as much as your foreign commerce, and
vet Congress does everything for one,
nothing for the other.
: Surely you will move your Represen-
tatives there 10 reconsider and act III
this matter.
Among the Herculean labors that de
yolye upon truly National Agricultu-
raj Congress is the strangling of these |
monster raonopolies, and the rescuing OF
the industries of the land from these
odious tariffs. The adoption of this
plan will give it strength for that.
Your Captain Bent suggested the inn
of the Mississippi as fit
subiect to come before your Congress. |
/ agree with him. There is no industry |
in the land that is more dependent |
than agriculture upon river navigation. |
Agricultural produce is the basis of
river commerce.
The admiralty jurisdiction Of the
Government extends to river and lateral
waters alike, and inland navigation de-
serves as much of the fostering care of
Congress as coast navigation, and you
farmers must look to it also.
The Nex Postal Telegraph Scheme.
OF the new postal telegraph scheme,
the Express, in its money article this
afternoon. says: cit viii be revived,
but in shape somewhat different from
that presented during the previous ses-
sion. The new scheme viii be COM
pany with $50, ,00O, 900 capital, to con-
struct an entire new line throughout the
United States. 1t IS stated that this
III IL +I,a r,obf of Uav from /