The Portland daily press., 1883-01-20

his consistency to be anxious about transporting
goods ourselves when somebody else can do 1t
at less rate fail to apprehend.
But will tell you why in my judgment it is
desirable Tor us to have commerce. 1t is be-
cause we are not combination of traders: it
Is because we are a nation; and we must fit
ourselves as nation for the contingencies of
life. Among these contingencies is war. Ey.
cry nation must be prepared for war. Not as
my friend from Georgia Mr.. Hammond saws
with ornaments, for, as he said moment be-
fore In the self-same speech, those very arma-
ments are liable to precipitate war. But every
nation must be prepared to get ready for war
This is to be accomplished not by having an
enormous navy, but by having the capability
OF building an enormous navy promptly when
required. Here you have the protection which
the gentleman from Georgia wants, with an
absence OF the danger he deplores, and which
L oeplore with him. believe with him that
the only blessed time for this world will be
when the sword is beaten into the ploughshare
and the spear into the pruning hook, and there
shall be war on earth no more. But we must
take mankind as we find Them we must take
the world as it is; we must keep ourselves in
such position that we may be ready to repel
nations that attack u.s. That is the reason we
need commerce; that is why we need to have
sailors and ships.
But perhaps some one will say, "Why not
buy your ships already made?" The answer
10 that is that when we need war-ships ii NAV
be at the moment we are at war with the yerv
nation from which we have been buyjng orr
snlps We must have sAip-yards; we must have
plants in those ship-y ards; we must so encour-
age shlp-building that when war comes we
snail De ready and equipped within ourselves.
Let me illustrate the question still further in
the line OF the remarks of the gentleman from
Georgia Mr.. Hammond. He says that the
oeutn Quilt the Merrimac, which ran into and
overtnrew our Heet: That may be true; &C
cept his statement for the purposes of this ar
gument, but they only did that in a single in
stance. Had they possessed within their bor-
ders the capabiity of furnishing the munitions
OF war, L am very much afraid that this House
would have not been adorned BY the presence
OF my friend from Georgia.
The doctrine am at this moment arguing is
put forth In the latest history of tho Southern
States. the author of which declares that amono
the disadvantages which those States had to
eon.enu agalnsl IN Inc late war was that when
the munitions of war which they bought abroad
were exhausted and Gordon of ships surronnd
ed their ports and the Northern armies SWING
across their country, they were beaten because
they mad not the materials for manufacturing
'n9 Articles suitable Tor carving on the war.
say-and 1t is no discredit to them to saw
that smaller number of people, less brave
IMAM they, have maintained their indanen
dence against greater odds than they had to
meet, and 1t was because they were sufficient
e anto themselves. In the North we had manu-
features of all kinds; we were ready to make
munitions OF war; we could do it; our people
lost not moment of employment. The war
rather increased than limited our manufac-
lures and our prosperity. 1 say that the very
example which my friend from Georoia nre.
SCENTS IS an argument on our side. We ought
to be in condition to build our own war vas.
sels We. VOC
What is this proposition for free ships? IT.
initiates against every proper principle, Free
snlpe! why, sir, is there anything else that is
admitted into this country free of duty? If NOT
one other manufactured thing is admitted free
OF duty, why should ships be SO admitted9 The
difficulty with the shipping trade TO-DAY is
That citizens OF the United States can make
more money In some other business Now, if
you want commerce yen must paw for ill., Won
must pay for starting it, you must paw to nut il
on Its feet That costs something Gentlemen
ought either to be willing to step nm and nav
what IS necessary to start this business. or else
they ought forever to hold their peace abouu il
Let them not clamor one moment that we must
nave commerce, and the next moment say.
we will never consent to paw the price for
IL. DO not demand thing and then refuse
the indispensable means of securing that thing.
what is this bill? 1t is very simple Ii re-
NO moves from wooden ships certain onerous du-
Ties, ike the three months extra wages in for
eign ports; and when perfected by the amend
ments 1t will give builders of iron ships draw
back which will enat le them to build shins in
this country, and compete with the ships buiIt
In England. But the nations interest is in
'o-ehag IL WILL CduS6 10 Do Dullt SllDVar0a
we'll equipped that if we should ever he in
danger OF war we shall have the means Of
Dulldlng SHIPS at once As matter of mere
economy it is cheaper to-day to give to these
snlp-nnilders this necessary drawback to en-
able them to make good ships than IL ia tn hnild
vast navy and keep it Oh the seas. To so en-
courage iron-ship building in this country that
we may order navy when we require it is
greater economy than to build a navy and keen
II ailost ior the indefinite number of years dur
ing which we shall never want it,
These considerations are general, refrain
from going any more into particulars: but do
1eel that this question ought to be understood
upon proper basis II ought to be under.
stood that we are adopting these measures as a
nation, not as an agglomeration of traders. We
are doing 1t as people. We are doing it pri-
marlly as matter of money-making, aitbongh
we believe hat when American ingenuity ia
fairly directed toward this end, and American
manufactures duly encouraged, we shall after
proper period be able to compete pari passu
with the nations of the world.
Two days later, the House still being en-
gagged in consideration of the Shipping bill,
Mr.. Reed, in response to the pea for free
ships made by Mr., Townsend of Illinois. said:
l do not purpose to take the present valuable
Time to answer the speech which has just been
made. could have answered that speech any
time the last six years, and I apprehend
snail have the opportunity to answer it any
time the next two years. [Laughterl. And
making that speech must be of advantage, or
else IL would not be made. Only cannot
quite understand why it should be made on
this particular subject, to which it seems to
have no special reference. Renewed laugh
teri
1 ventured to say to the House the other day
few words on what seemed to be the real
point OF this matter; that is, if we are endeay-
oring to revive our shipping as a mere trading
power, we are, upon the principles of the gen.
tlemen on the ether sde making q decided
mistake; for there has no scheme been pro-
vided, there has no method been named.
whereby we shall have our transportation per-
formed by us at cheaper rate than that it is
performed at now.
The project for free ships to my mind, opens
nothing whatever ia the way of cheapness of
transportation. Free British ships owned by
cheaply as British ships owned by Americans.
There is nothing, then, to be gained from a
traders point of view. Can there anything be
gained from national point of view? While
we talk about our flag floating and our flag
fading from the sea, that is matter of septi-
ment; but is there any American sentiment
raised by an American flag floating over
monument of British labor? fail to see it,
fail then to see any reason for free ships.
What reason then is to be given for ships
built by American shipyards? Because there
by we are putting ourselves in position as
nation to protect ourselves against attacks
from outside. That is the only excuse-our
nationality-we can give for attempting to in
terfere with commerce st all. Otherwise we
should allow it to ne regulated by the general
laws which regulate it now.
But the gentlemen on the other side and
the gentlemen on this side differ only on one
point. They all agree we have to pay for our
| commerce If we have it, but they are willing
to pay for it by throwing up the system of pre-
lection and by bringing the wages of American
laborers down to level with the wages of the
foreign laborer. For my part am not willing
to pay that price for commerce. For my part
am not willing to pay that price to have our
FLAG float on the high Reas hAliAva our nrag