The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-11-07

How Our Commerce Can be Enormously Increased
Free Trade In Steamships Congress
Must Revise the Navigation Laws.
-
Utica, N Y, Oct. 10, 1878
To Hon. Erastus Brooks, OF the Democratic state
Central Committee -
NV Dear sir-l regret am not able to take an
active part In the pending canvass, for II Is one
which concerns IN an unusual degree the puDhc
welfare. The questions which now agitate the
nnbllo mind tou oh the interests of labor and com
meroe and bear upol the comfort and happiness
ofAmerican homes, In this State the issues are
unlike those which have been discussed at the
late elections elsewhere Both Of the great parties
agree In their resolutions about the currency Oh
the country, As all Of our citizens are not In ac'
cord with them with regard to this, and 1t is
EubIect proper to discuss at our public meetings,
vet there are other grave questions which call Tor
our earnest consideration, As my reasons for a
returp TO specie payments have been given to the
nublo IN Official form, az well as In public speech
"a will repeat them. do not believe we can
have good currency that not redeemable In
coin. But while bad currency will harm trade
and industry and q good currency will help them,
util Il IA true that II cannot Of itself make wealth
and prosperity. These must grow out OF the in'
dustry which produces and the commerce which
exchanges what we make for what we want. We
mnst not let the currency question throw into the
shade other vital things. We must answer the
Eager questions of men in trouble They wish to
know when they will get relief and how2 They
will get this when we have enough to sell and
when we can sell H. This gives relief at once
even II we had no currency to make more easy
the work of buying and selling, Now we have
enough to SELL aud should have more II we could
hnd the markets. The question Of the day, then
is what we can do to sell what we have, and can
produce2 The answer to that will serve all our
troubles; will make labor glad, give comfort to
our homes and give life and hope to every form
of industry,
EVIL OF TAXING COMMERCE.
When we look over the field Of commerce we
dnd that other people want what we have. Some
need our food, some what Is made by our factories,
others our farm TOOLS and that long list of articles
which have just taken so many premiums at the
Worlds Fair at Paris, because they were better
than those made elsewhere II we could meet
these wants our whole country would rejoice in
It's prosperity When we are asked, Why is this
not done? we are forced to say because our govern.
ment wont let 1t be done, It's laws stand in the
wav. The party which has been in power so
many years will not change these laws when ap.
pealed to. 1t has swept our carrying trade from
the ocean so that we cannot send, as We once did,
what we make into every harbOr ofthe earth. By
our laws those who built American vessels have
the right as against all the world to make those
used upon more than twenty thousand miles of
our ocean coast and upon our internal lakes and
rivers All are content that they should have
this great field of industry to themselves. But our
laws 20 farther and say that no American mer.
chant shall buy a shin to be used upon the great
free oceans ofthe world fit is built outside of our
territories He is told that such ship, although
owned by one of our own citizens shall not have
the protection of the American flag, As we are
not able tn b1td the iron steamships now used as
cheaply as they are made elsewhere our mer-
chants cannot compete with those Of other coun.
tries Our flag once found in the most remote
harbors ard Seen more than that of all other
peoples is disappearing from the great ocean
highways Whoever will trace the effects of this
upon the labor and trade Of the United States will
find that more than any other cause 1t checks the
return of prosperity. It stops the sale Of what we
have and what we can make to meet the wants of
other people. We have proof Of how much harm
any tax upon trade can do
HOW THE CANAL TRADE WAS INJURED.
Ia 1870 New York had tolls upon the lines Of its
canals which made all pay six cents upon every
bushel OF wheat which the men from the West
sought to sell In our markets. so that they could
buy what they wanted of our merchants, meehan-
les and manufacturers This tax turned away
trade to Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. 1t
crushed out the business upon our canals. This
not only brought ruin upon $4,000 of our people
who were engaged in 1t but stopped the building
Of boats and hurt our mechanics, and took away
from our farmers q market for provisions &C. In
this way the loss was great, but 1t was a small |
part Of the evil. These charges kept large stores
Of grain from going to the markets. As they were
not sold the money was not received by the farm
era. nor by them spent with the merchants, me- |
chanicS and manufacturers Of this State This tax |
made blight upon hundred forms Of industry |
which at first view did not seem in any way re-
lated to It. In spite Of strong opposition and in
the face Of the condemnation Of low tolls by the |
Republican State Convention In 1870 this tax on |
trade was cut down one half 1t is due to many |
Republicans TO say that they upheld the action Of |
the Democratic Canal Board in this matter. These |
tolls have been put down from time to time until |
they are less than one cent per bushel, and all |
parties now see the wisdom Of this action. To |
make II clear how 1t helped not only the Stste
but the whole country, we see that wheat has been
carried from Chicago to New York this year in |
some cases for less than seven cents per bushelOr
a little more than the .ax we put upon 1t before |
1870. Yet this season there was more grain sent |
from the West than at any other time in the his |
tory OF the country. We should expect therefore, |
that that the prices for carrying 1t would be high
and If there had been no canals and boatmen the |
charges would have been such that gre at quant |
Ties OF grain would have been kept out of market |
The railroads would have made more money by |
carrying less at higher prices. There are more /
than five thousand boats upon our canals-tOo |
many TO be brought into a compact to keep up |
prices. Hence our people had the benefit of free |
competition. The rest is shown by the following
statement = In the year ending July 81, 1877 the
exports from our country amounted in value to |
S6Ol 100000. They will exceed this in the year
ending July, 1873. OF this vast sum, exceeding
o. ,2OO, ,OdO 900, nearly the whole was made up of
farm products, The great profit of carrying these
tApOIS tOIOes the Ocehu WcIe gwen Dy ouE pOlCy
10 strangers. American e!chauts we're cut off
by our laws
ADVANTAGE OF CHEAP TRANSPORTATION.
The city papers now tell us Of reviving trade
because we have sent to Europe so much grain,
cheese, pork and other provisions, &c , and that
our exports are some three hundred millions more
than our imports The money for this has gone to
the farmers Of the nounfrv To meet their wants
the merchants are buying goods; manufacturers
and mechanics will soon be called upon for what
they make their stocks Of Woollen and cotton
goods Of shoes, Of farm implements Of all kinds,
Observing machines &C., will be In demand. They