The daily gazette., 1878-08-30
Remedies for Depression
SUGGESTIONS BEFORE THE CON
GRESSIONAL LABOR COM
MITTEE
AN EX-PARK COMMISSIONER WHO BE-
LIEVES THAT THE GOVERNMENT
SHOULD DISCOURAGE FOREIGN
IMMIGRATION- JOHN ROACH
IN SIJIppIrII

L1EVES THAT THE GOVERNMENT
SHOULD DISCOURAGE FOREIGN
IMMIGRATION- JOHN ROACH
ON sHIPBUILDING
At the opening of the session of the
Congressional Labor Committee yester-
day Mr.. Hewitt called attention to the
value of many brief and pointed commu-
nications sent to the Committee. As an
| illustration, he read one that suggested
that much distress is caused by the stat
ue of limitations running too long. An
other brief letter, from Woburn, Massa-
chusetts, said that laborers can now get
as much food and clothing for a days
labor as they could in 1869. Mr. Hewitt
announced that abstracts of these letters
would be published in the printed re-
| cord of the evidence.
Charles Willis Elliott, now of Ne
braska, formerly of Boston, and once
Park Commissioner in New York, ad-
kdressed the Committee on the extent,
| causes, and remedy of the present de-
preston. He believed that the progress
| of machinery has caused over-produc-
| ton, and that as remedy the Govern
ment ought to discourage the immigra-
tion of foreign cheap labor, and to redis
| tribute surplus labor and assist it TO 60
| on the land. The Government should
prevent all further absorption of public
| land except for actual settlers. Mr..
Hewitt asked him whether he was in
| favor of restricting the hours of labor SO
that he could not work more than a
given number of hours per day, and
whether Mr.. Elliott could prevent his
J brain from working Mr.. Elliott replied
| that he could, and that he did it every
day. Mr.. Hewitt said he would like to
get the receipt for that, and Mr.. Elliott
retorted that he thought it would be a
very beneficial thing for Mr.. Hewitt TO
| do. Mr. Elliott cited the vast extent of
the power now exercised by Govern
ment as an indication of what might be
done for the relief of the unemployed by
a slight stretch of authority, if upon in
vestigaton it should be found to be de-
lsirable. Then Mr.. Elliott passed TO the
discussion of the credit system. He cal
led attention to the fact that in nine
years, from 1864 to 1873, railroads had
been built creating debts on which we
had to pay interest OF SbO O,0OO,OO0, mainly
to England.
| Mr. Hewitt remarked that about $780,
600, 900 of these bends paid no interest,
and he desired to know how ii could
damage us to get these railroads for moth
ing.
| Mr.. Elliott continued to argue that the
construction of so manv useless railroads
llau Dten Il udHldBt' nc coHCiudeu py
| advising Government control of the
railroads He was SO frequently in-
terrupted by the members of the
| Committee that it became quite a
formula with him to say, "Shall l go on,
sir?" and it caused an excited German in
the audience to eXclaim alt seems TO
me we have been listening to comedy
founded ON the mlseries OF OF the people,
and the Committee is playing the part of
the minstrels."
John Roach, the shipbuilder, gave his
views of the situation. He began with a
| brief review of his own career from The
time when he worked for 81 60 day TO
the present when he employees 1000 men.
He found the chief cause OF the present
Trouble in the extravaganza occaSloned
by the war. Men of enterprise have
lsutfered until the workingmen are ike
an army without a General. Mr.. Roach
took exception to the statement by Mr
Chas. III. Marshall that the present cost
of building a wooden ship in this coun-
trv is S6O per ton. He declared that the
highest price he had known to he paid
was $40 per ton. The rate has been as
low ms S37 per ton or 40 per cent lower
than Mr.. Marshall's estimate. Mr.. Roach
also took exception TO Mr.. Marshalfs
statement in regard to the nayiSat OIL
laws. and lie defended them as wise and
beneficial, AS TO the waning OF Ameri-
can commerce, he denied that 1t was due
In the lack of enterprise and skill of our
mechani cs. saving that it was mainly ow-
INC to the withdrawal of ,879, 800 tons OF
shinning from under our flag on account
of the war. From 1871 10 the present
time there we're builtin his works thirty
seven steamships, of an aggregate tom
mage of 81 900. =.
Of these 20,510 tons were Tor the Tor
eign trade. The ships cost Slo,Ooo,9oO, OF OF
w6ich $4,000 900 was for labor, and 5O0O
persons have been kept permanently EN-
nloyed, directly and indirectly. Although
IN 1870 there was not shipyard ln the
country capable of building Il thousand
ron shin, and scarcely more skilled Ia
horers than would be required fol one
establishment, there are now five estah-
lTshments. and all the skilled labor that
liz r.uuired for IRON shipbuild'n He
raad n letter from Glasgow asking him TO
compete for the building OF an IRON snip,
and informed the Committee that he Is
now nrepared to build iron ships as good
as those built ON the Clyde, and at com
nating prices. He spoke OF the condi-
Hon af our trade with Brazil, to which
we have paid $40 900, 900 per annliln, when
| at the same time many OF our goods
could only reach Brazil through GreaC
Rritain. and we had no means OF getuns
the trade of Brazil because we had no
steam communication with that country.
IL related his experience in trying TO get
contract to build ships for Brazil; he
had built two ships and had offered them
for mil service, but he was thwarted hy
the English company offering 10 90 lhe