Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-10-09


from America to Europe that ca
ried the first chest of tea from Chin
to England. Then came the wa
and the facts connected insolubl
with the war. But what party
what policy, what class of ruler
controlled the welfare of the peopl
Of this country when American So
premacy upon the sea rose to il
great height? From 1910 to 1876
what party kept the American fla
in triumph and Whitened every Sc
with the commerce of the Ameri
can people as the carriers of tn
worlds industry? Ineed not nam
the party. 1t was that in who's
cause / stand here tonight. 1t wa
that party into whose hands tn,
American people shortly again arr
to deliver their deStinieS and theil
/ welfare with full confidence that i
viii be borne again in triumph anC
in happiness to the place for which
nature and Providence designed it
The honorable senator said thai
from 1860 to 1880 there had been Z
visible and terrible and sad decline
in the transporting power of Amer.
lean commerce and that the Ameri.
can flag had well-nigh ceased to
float upon the ocean wave. Well il
is true. / grieve to say it is true
that to-day we have less than 20 per
cent. of that transportation when
before we had 80 per cent. What
has brought it to pass +? There have
been new laws enacted. There has
been a new spirit abroad in our
country. There have been events
for which | do not propose to hold
one party or another answerable,
but the fact remains, nevertheless.
The years of sunshine, success and
prosperity of American commerce
were under democratic rule and the
twenty years of cloud and depres-
sion have been under the rule of this
immaculate party called republican.
do not intend to deal with half
truths on this subject. The war of
1861 found American commerce at
the head of the list. We did carry
so per cent. of the worlds COM
merce, and, please God, under dem
ocratic rule we will carry it again.
But this sad, deplorable, unhappy
war between our countrymen fell
out. Great Britain was in the rear.
Supplies of forest ship-timber she
had none. Necessity, which is the
mother of invention, turned her to
the use of another material, and
iron instead of wood became the
ship-building material of commerce.
To-day it is admitted that for nine
tenths of the oceans commerce iron
is preferable to wood, being, by a
strange paradox, more buoyant than
wood, and Of course Infinitely more
enduring. So England, spurred by
the necessities of her people, in-
vented in advance of tkEa country
or of other countries the substitution
of iron for wood. This was a great
change, and, like all great changes,
slow in its progress and mighty in
its results. We Jagged behind; we
could not help it. We had not the
same spur as Great Britain, because
the providence of God had given to
our people unlimited supplies of
timber for the building of ships; but
although slow to catch we were
quick to follow, and the enterprise,
the energy, the skill, the brain
power and the ability of the Amer
ican mechanic soon put him in the
race, and soon, when disencum-
bered from false laws of tariff, is
bound to triumph and to conquer.
We are only little behind in this
and day by day we are
overhauling our competitors, and |
the self-instruction of the American |
is teaching how labor |
shall be aided, the muscle by the !
brain, and thought and intelligence |
become the greatmotors and control |
lers of human affairs in that depart |
ment as they will be in all others.
l do not propose tonight to fatigue |
you with my considerations and re-
fiections upon the great subject of
restoring the commercial flag of
America to that supremacy we all |
intend it shall have. / only will |
say that in my opinion the reason
why we have been impeded in our |
race is the atrOcious and foolish Sys-
tenn OF war taxes in time of peace
and the tariff system that binds up |
the arms, the legs, the feet, the fin
gers, the very tongues of American
people in their affairs. Adjust our
tariff system to that fair basis that /
shall bring revenue to support the
affairs of our government and there
by relieve us from the necessity of
direct taxation; give us that reve-
nue. which in being raised makes
the barrier which is called prOtec-
ton not for the sake of protecting
class but as a result protecting all
glasses; adjust this system upon
the basis OF reason and Justice, that
our treasury may be filled, that our
may be employed, and
that no branch of our trade and in
1Gstry shall be throttled and ham,
pered by a silly tax which, like the
log in the mangeF, can neither eat
the straw nor let the OK have it.
cannot review the silly utterances
not to speak disrespectfully) which
came so trippingly from the tongue
IF your senior senator week ago.
have heard the apothegm that
lothing was quite SO false as fact
except a figure. The meaning, l |.
AXE it, of that was that false facts
ind false figures are the most delus
we of imaginable things. Next to
1 false fact is false influence. Can
t be that men shall consider it pos=
,jble to treat tho duties upon impor-
ed merchandise entered at this
port of New York for the use of the
whole country, as the subscriptions
his locality to the treasury of the
nation? And yet this absurdity
was gravely urged before merchants
md bankers and Intelligent men,
Who pays the tax on imported
goods !? Do you suppose that when
he silk that makes my wife's dress
comes into New Yo k and pays the
iuty, that you pay it? DO you
suppose that the tax levied by tariff
avs upon any species of merchan-
lise introduced here, because it
comes here for convenience is paid
1ere? ? I should be insulting your
and wasting your time
o pursue such poor topic further.
can only express my amazement !
hat any gentleman distinguished
or intelligence and advanced to
high position should SO trifle with
he patience of his hearers and the
aspect which it seems to me he
lught to wish the American peopel
o show him. Then the great argu-
nent of the republican party is still
urther advanced-and what sad
argument it is THAT for some rea-
ION, inscrutable to my intelligence
IS | think it will be to yours, some
secret and strange cause, the pros +,
)eritV of the people of the states