The Portland daily press., 1888-02-13

/ believe that the honest hands, soiled
though they be with shoe backing or the
SCOT OF the anvil or the cinders of the ma
chine shop will wash clean, while the shriv
elled, dried up, starved and famished nature
of the other never can be swelled out TO its
fulness again. Applause Therefore let
us put from among us that foolish idea. Are
there any superiors to your boys ound about
here? Have there been for the last fifteen
wears? Why, you can't get your horse shod
in the city of Portland, in more than two IN
stances by native American citizen: II
you want a house plastered you mnst hlre q
foreigner TO do it. If you want cellar wall
laid or chimney built, with three or four
honorable exceptions, you must employ
foreign born gentleman to do 1t. And az the
same time the sons of gentlemen IKE you
who have preceded, you and the sons Of
some of us are actually unable to earn tne
price of an honest days labor and you know
1t. Now, something is wrong at homei
something is wrong in your schools: 1t Is
that sort of tOmf0olery that is depicting
American manhood and Is a hindrance TO
Amererican manufactures In city when
must become manufacturing city OF perish
from the earth.
1t has been my rule and custpm since
have been anIemployer in this city to give
preference, for the purpose OF learning a
trade, to graduate Of the Portland High
School. But how often do you suppose
can get boy to come into my establishment
to learn trade? They want elerkshlp
every time, but whenever we find one VINO
has the moral courage to break away, from
thss accursed idea that it Is dishonoraDle TO
do mechanical work, why, he makes fore
| man every time, and why shouldn't he?
The next question is how shall we become
a manufacturing city. will tell you how
other cities have become manufacturing cit
les. They have had babies, lots OF them,
and when they had them they have taken
care Of them. | mean baby industries. You
have among you today young men VINO are
afIrn fad fort tr.-fo. fraA ara1 a n1Q
chants and bankers Of the city Of Portland
Will give some encouragement to these men,
encourage them TO start, encourage them 10
hang on and help them to pursue their way,
why, God bless you gentlemen | can start
you forty In forty months and thirty-hye OF
| them will succeed, and that Is better than
| your investments will do in the West. Start
them small and help them to grow. l verify
believe had such course been undertaken
in good earnest when | arrived in Portland
that today the centre Of Portland would
have been where l hope it will be twenty
years from now, far TO the westward OF the
nne Maine Central depot. [Applause.l
Gentlemen will say at once what sort Oh
things shall we go to making. Well, 1t IS
good fortune to Portland that no large cor
poration has got possession Of it. We. have
in Portland large number OF Small INDUS
tries, not much encouraged, scme prosperous
but not many Of them very much known. l
believe the citizens of Portland do not take
pains enough to know what Is going. on In
their midst. / say begin in every. direction
and manufacture everything that is wanted
in the country at large. Do not cOnfine tine
manufacture to anything or any one corpora
tion. Corporations for the purpose Of build
ing and controlling railroads are well enough
in their places At the present time they are
becoming gigantic mOnopOlles, and It VIII De
come the duty Of all good citizens IN the 1u-
ture TO see to 1t that the State, the only power
which now has left to ii any control, shall
exercise a wise and discreet regulating power
over the m0nOplies now forming as well as
those already formed.
] think l have thrown out all the hints
that / am able to in so short time and
| enough II acted upon and carried out 10
| make Portland more Of manufacturing city
| than she has been heretofore in my time.
| [Applause.]
| Vice President Vinsl0p:
We have with us tonight member Of our
Board of Trade and an ex-president of the
board who is largely interested in the we'll
| fare Of Portland and will now call upon
| Mr.. Woodbury. S. Dana.
SPEECH OF W. S. DANA.
Mr.. President and Fellol0 Merchants:
would make an excuse If it was not so
common to make one land so common that
they do not amount to much. In attempting
to say anything here tonight 1 must depend
as lut Sudhclo says uPOl AhoPh"eADA Va
the moment, and it must be in a
conversational way. My friend Shaw
has given me text upon which to say
few words. He has referred to the past as
in some measure not to be considered or
looked upon as the present, and yet he has
| said that there are lessons to be drawn from
| the past, and it is upon that point that wish
| to speak. These dinners, these pleasant
gatherings, and these well adapted speeches
| are excellent in their way. They are agree
| able and instructive as far as they go, but
they do not go far enough for success unless
something else is accomplished. In going
back some fifty-two or three years ago, when
| | was fifteen years of age, clerk in green
baize jacket and oyeralls, and, comparing
| those days with the present. would try and
avoid taking the ground so often taken by
men in advanced life. that the past is better
| than the present. But still there are some
| things connected with past enterprises and
the history of Portland that impress me
very much, and often present themselves to
me in my longing desire for the present pros
ent prosperity of my native city.
When / came back here in 1885, business
matters were very much depressed. Soon
after that, what was known as the land spec
ulation collapsed, the bubble burst and car
ried with it destruction, failure and depres-
| sion. not only throughout the State, but es-
| pecially in Portland. The result was that
| our young men began to feel that there was
| no opportunity for them for success In the
| future and many of them left for other
| parts Of the country. The nrst moVement
| that was made here to give us courage aud
strength, and might say the turning point
| of the prosperity of Portland for it has had
| its effect ever since, was that in 1916 the
Grand Trunk Railroad received its charter
am reminded of the men we had In those
| days, most of them passed away and 10 many
| of you strangers. | remember such men as
| John A. Poor, to whom think we are more
| indebted for that enterprise than anyone
| else, for it was his indomitable energy and
| perseverance that gave us courage ana sue
| cess. 1t was sustained also by such men as
| st. John Smith, Judge Preble, J0hn Is.
/ Brown, and in later days it received the as
| sistance as well as other enterprises OF the
| Springs and Rensselaer, Cram. IL Is rather
| amusing to look back upon those days OF the
| movement in regard to the Grand Trunk.
| am often reminded of the speeches then
| made by those men. Some made by the
| Younger men were most enthusiastic. re-
member one made in Old City Hall IN when
| il was represented that by building the
| Grand Trunk road the time would come
| when we should see not only this portion OF
/ the harbOr, but the Cape Elizabeth shore
| lined with vessels from every port IN the
| world. The enthusiasm was so great that II
Il
| chase silk dress in Boston because Boston
| was opposed to the movement in Portland.
| mention this to show that not only the men
/ of wealth and influence combined in those
| days for any enterprise for the advance
/ ment of Portland, but that 1t ran through
| all classes even to the ladies.
| This enterprise led to others, and out OF II
| grew many operations, some OF them sue
/ cessful and some unsuccessful, but which
| gave a start to Portland, and please remem-
| Der that our population then was not more
| than three-ffths Of what 1t is today. l refer
| to this as a suggestion to our younger men
| who have moved into Portland and are now
/ connected with and interested in its present
| and future prosperity as to whether there Is
| the same energy and the same effort Tor sue
| cess at the present time that there was In
| those days. 1t is natural that should feel
| after fifty years of business life that am In
| a measure passing away from an active busi-
| ness life There Is no sentiment about 1t,
| and do not speak Of it simply to use words,
| but feel it when / say that II Is one OF the
| longing desires of my heart TO see our
| Young men come forward as they did in those
| days and take their part in these enterprises.
| They must not look to certain individuals
altogether they must look to tfeir own et-
| forts. 1t Is the combination Of all in city
the size of Portland which gives success and
/ trust that instead of our being satisfied
! with these gatherings, simply with ali that Is
-. a ~. tab Ahl