Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-01-31
DID PROTECTION DRIVE UNITED
STATES COMMERCE FROM
THE SEAS?

|
| To the Editor of the Daily Eagle
At a meeting Of free traders in Phila-
delphia the 9th inst, Congressman w.
c. P. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, said
in his address: ..Twenty-seven years
ago our flag was in every port, now it is
scarcely in any. The trade of Canada.
South America and Mexico, is taken by
other nations and lost to us by this false
system which makes the rich richer but
can be found the tactics and grand
strategy of the true democracy, as well
as the political ''taffy' upon which its
leaders feed gullabie Republicans and
that uncertain and unestimarable eie-
ment called laboring men.
In 1861, just as Mr. Breckenridge S
party was engaged in carrying their car
dinal principles. Personal Liberty,
States Rights. 1.-The perpetuation of
human slavery and tariff for rev.
enue only, to that pitch that threatened
! the destruction of the great country
which it had ruled for twenty-five
years, the.American shipping amount
i ed to tons In the foreign
! trade. 2,496. S94; coast wise trade
! 2.1O4. 54i: whale fisheries 1881: cod
and mackerel fisheries, 1924 OF this
tonnage AGO.. 500 were by SAIL SiI.2ol
by steam. and the grand total was }. 539.-
Sl3 tons being an increase from 20l .oo2
| tons in 1899. 1 have no reliable statistics
to show the tonnage by states for that
wear. but in 1SS5-S6. twenty-seven years
later. when Republican protective meas
ures had sorced the south. in spite OF the
political heresies of the breckenridge.
Davis and others of its free trade leaders,
to conform 10 the laws of civilization
and enlightened social development. the
tonnage by states was: Aiabama, TO-
951: Florida. 39.4S9: Georgia, 30, Sd;
Louisiana, 69952: Maryland. l59.S69:
Mississippi, 1894: North Carolina. H.
906: South Carolina, 4, sos; Texas, S,6l9:
Virginia, 1871.
This is now the total tonnage Of the
states whose people have believed in and
practiced free trade as far as they could,
and opposed protection and home devei-
opment with all their social and politica.
policy, as well as with the sword. Their
Sea-coast lies broadside to the COM
mercial world, stretching from Brazos,
Santiago to Cape Henry. 1t embraces
fine harbors. rich articles of handicraft
and trade: and yet they have no ship
yards. dry docks nor commercial cities
Of note. 1t is no wonder protection has
done but little for them.
The Creator made the land, trees,
seeds, sunshine and the seasons, but
He does not break animals, make
harness, pillow. sow and reap. These
Democratic statesmen not only want us
to give them the corn but they want us
to shell it or drive on Now here are the
states where Republicans rule. believe in
and practice protection. The new Pacific
ern lakes 749. 949. although the country
is very imperfectly developed. The
states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massa-
chusetts, Connecticut, RHODE Island.
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
and Delaware have combined tonnage
of 1858. 647. If there is this enormous
disparity between the free trade and pro-
tective states now what must it have
been in the days of 1861.
But what places us behind Great
Britain in the merchant shipping of the
world little more than forty per cent?
Has not any student of history seen her
enormous and unopposed conguests and
developments of barbarOus and semi
civilized countries since the close of her
great wars in Europe? Does not that
student see that with the oceans between
Great Britain and Australia. China,
India, Africa and the Americas. that
there could have been no question in the
beginning of such distant relations about
the continuous enormous development
of her merchant and martial marine
interests.
1t is also easily seen that when we be-
came a free country our language and
relations so closely identified us with
Great Britain commercially that we must
partake largely of her greatest maritime
development in the proportion of our
ability to do so. Thus at the beginning
of this century we. with OFF wealth of
ship building material and coast facili
ties, having the advantage of the navi-
cation and shipping laws of Great Britain
in our favor, were able to build and sail
vessels profitably, first. in our coastwise
and foreign trade. second. in the foreign
trade of Great Britain and the world
Up to the introduction of steam on the
ocean and the building of iron bulls we
were able to compete with Great Britain
in the shipping industry. This favorable
condition gave us our maritime power at
the breaking out of the civil war. But
the building of steamships and iron hulls
had Just begun to bring about a great
change together with the fact that the |
carrying trade of the world had generally /
found its full supply of bottoms In !
this change shipbuilding was to embrace |
the features of iron working and the !
application Of the new methods of both art /,
and science. In the facilities for this the !
older country with dense population |
and cheap labor had vastly the advant- /
age in her developed iron and coal /
mines: her countless factories and
government Offering subsidies with /
out stint for the rapid Inaugural !
ton of the new steam system. /
Had not the war come upon us 1
and Mr. Breckenridge party aided /
Great Britain with Confederate priva- /
teers in driving half of our merchant /
marine from the seas the above condi- /
tons must soon have put us in nearly 4
the same marine condition we are now I
in. We might have since the war.
under a wise protection. made the neces- i
sary changes for successful COMPETE /
ton to some extent had it not been that I
our enormous Development of internal 1
territory and its resources, made posi- /
Die by even the INADEQUATE protection /
which enabled us so cheaper railway /
iron and build rolling stock. employed +.
our capital and energies in thisdirection. /
In 1851 our total milage of railroads was
81 ,2o6. 1t had been increasing at the 4
rate of about l $50 per cent per annunl
for the previous thirty years.
Ii must also be borne in mind that 4