Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-10-19

running a hard race for mercantile SUI
premacy in those days. There is some
thing in the pride of a people which
makes commerce fascinating, for it lays
the world under contribution, and brings
the treasures of other clmes to our
doors:
"Let India boast her palms; nor envy we
The weeping amber, nor the spicy tree,
While by our oaks these precious loads are
borne,
And realms commanded which those trees
adorn."
Since Pope wrote these lines the oak has
been replaced by iron, and this change
caused America to lose position as a ship
building nation. The reason of this is
not far to seek. Protection has so raised
the price of iron and other materials for
shipbuilding, that steamship costs 30
per cent more to build in America than it
does in England. There is economy in
large ocean steamers as regards the crew.
small steamer of 300 tons requires one
sailor for every 20 tons, while steamer
of 900 tons needs only one sailor for
Al tons. The natural tendency, there
fore, is to make ocean steamers large,
and already they are 1000 tons and up
wards. Suppose steamship of this size
costs 100000 in England, if built in
America its cost would be fl3O,OOO. This
difference is caused by protection, and it
has practically swept the commercial flag
of the stars and stripes from the ocean.
There are numerous passenger and cargo
steamers belonging to the United States
built of wood, to carry on the coasting
trade from which foreign countries are
absolutely shut out by navigation laws.
Altogether there are only 200 mercantile
iron and screw steamers of considerable
size under the American flag, used for
the coasting and Pacific trade. They
have been all built since 1872, chiefly in
the Delaware river, and l do not think
any of them cross the Atlantic. We
build as many steamships in one year as
America has taken fifteen years to OBJ
tain. Let ME quote the manifesto of the
League which now cries out for bounties
on American shipping:
:" Thus England's marine today is tri-
umphant on every sea. and ours success
full in none except in our coasting trade,
wisely covered by protection.
"And so the daughters of protection,
like those of the horse-leech, again shout,
Give, give. in the form of bounties.
The league met in Boston while was
, there in October last. The bounty asked
was an annual subsidy of two millions of
pounds, and this meeting was held in 1887
in the same Boston which in 1775 threw
the tea into the harbor because the Eng
l fish Parliament had put small duty
r upon it. But Boston is tolerant of opin-
ion, for it allowed me to deliver free
trade speech at a dinner of the CONNER
cial club, and gave me warm welcome.
B.. Protection, when it finds large rent
I in any particular industry, tries to mend
it out of the same material. The process
is always the same-alw AVS mending. al
[ ways destroying. 1t is as if a man, hav-
!, ing hole in his coat, cuts piece out OF
h his vest to repair it, and finding that un.
slightly takes Il piece of his trousers to
mend the vest. In process of time
h by round of these operations, the
e garments become rags, and the max.
tuucsS VI pIOlcCllOu Is seen through
them. The fair traders admit these anon
allies in American protection, but point
t to the prosperity and surplus of the ma.
a tional revenue, and boast that there are
=. no trade depressions like those in oul
= own country. | will show you presently
V that this surplus is great EVIL and as tC
Il American depressions they occur stimuli
q taneously with our own, and of late
:, years they have been more severe. There
y have been twelve series of marked de
y pressions of trade in this century, aut
e America has felt them all, and since 1885,
q synchronally with our own. The de
=, preston of 1882, which still partially pre-
u walls, but shows distinct signs of ending
II acted severely in America, for the otficia
t record says that in 1885 no less thar
8 100000 working people were out OF
employment. Applied to our own pop
= ulation this would give a proportion o.
e 100000 unemployed in this country
e which would be ludicrous exaggeratiol
!. of our troubles in that year."
=, To be continued.