Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1875-10-16

carrying, and hold control OF our trans-
Atlantic mails, and these conditions
underlie aud are the basis of foreign
commerce. In 1872, bya. combination,
they advanced the freight rate on grain
to 50 cents per busheL Previous to
1861, the average Of freight rate for 20
yeass, had been 10 ITO cents per bushsl,
frequently falling as low as 7 and 8
cents; but this was in the days of sail
ing ships, when our own regulated the
freight price. 1t is an established fact
that grain can be carried, by properly
constructed iron steamships 8, 900 miles,
for ten cents per bushel, and at that
rate pay a profit to the carrier of 335
per cent. Now to ianalyze and trace
the effect of this, take these steam
lines of New York only. There are 10
companies: they own in the aggregate
174 steamships, having in all COM
bined SIG, 074 tons, and cost, at the
average rate, of such steamships in
Europe, 1914 100000 To them main
ly were paid in 1879, the freight and
passage money amounts, which in
that year reached $131 1854, 931. (See
House report No. 345, page 9, of 43d
Congress, LIST SESSION.. This excess of
20 cents per bushel, which this COM
bination took by extortion, by way Of
regulating our foreign commerce."
amounted to $S7 1886. 62O. This amount
was taken from our farmers, planters
and working people. This amount,
too, is within six per cent. of the cost
of these one hundred and seventy-fou
steamers. and shows that by Congress
failing to use the granted power of the
Constitution, to regulate foreign COM
merce," in the practical manner in
tended by the trainers of that instru-
ment, they have permitted, and permit,
foreigners TO come in and levy indi-
rect taxes upon our people to an amount
equal in each year to the building of
fleets of iron Steamships sufficient to
hold us always in subsection, unless q
more intelligent class of men shall be
sent to that Congress, who will check
such ruinous waste of our peoples
wealth. .q ....
The great commerce of England is
based mainly upon our products. It
is from our cotton her looms are sup
piled, and from our lands her food sup
plies are drawn. In 1851, when our in
ternai war checked our ocean enter
prise, Engiand's iron ship work first as
ruined magnitude. In that year her
shir-building amounted to about s27,-
900, 600; with steady increase in each
year, it had in twelve years amounted
to 1852, 900 900, and in the last re-
ported year QS73) it was 500, 1000, 900,
nearly the sum drawn from us by ex-
cess in freights the year previous, as
already shown. At the average rate
for skilled and unskilled labor engaged
in this ship-building work, this ninety
six millions of dollars of ships, gave
employment in 1873 directly, to $780,
600 men, and as it is law of social
science, acknowledged by all writer's,
that each man regularly employed gives
employment to six more, il follows,
that this ship-work gave direct and in
direct employment to 1,o5G 600 men;
and this is about the number of our
working people now idle, and who have
been for nearly three years almost at
the point of starvation, for want of en-
ployment. But mere employment to
this number of people, was the least of
the effect that this ship-building had
upon the British Empire, the COM
merce of which exports and imports)
amounting in 1860, to 81, 666, 72s,-
Ola, was carried by the ships produced
PIP to 1870 to the amount of 50 $50, 23s-
75O and as the increase in ship-build-
ing from 1870 to 1873 was still greater
than at any previous time, so was the
ratio of her commerce in proportion,
amounting in 1873 to s4,646, csc, 125,
an amount unprecedented in the worlds
history. Yet with all the elements in
our hands, and mostly produced from
our soil, our Legislative apathy and ig-
norance has been SO great as to chain
our commerce down, keeping it, when
valued at the gold rate of 1860, at very
nearly the same amount il was in that
year, and deducting the profits Of the
ocean carrying trade, far less remuner-
alive than IL these was at that f;mo =,