Telegram-herald., 1890-05-15
AMERICAN SHIPPING.
rs sEcAoEscE CURisG T-e PAST
TrRT1 TEAaS


ean oonnsroe fer fifteen years prior %
tie ciFn var TIE Frse-trad=rs zlos With
pride. They delight Ia reooanting The
gro~th d Cur shipping Interests daring
thss period Nothing Is truer than that
American shipping greatly increased
from lsss - lssl-psrtiy under eondi-
tlons already menEsonsd. and partly from
other causes. Our ships swept the seas
far and wide, hunting FOR nlarkets Tor
whAs Se had to sell; and the Isles afar
OF, hearing q our free ports, sold %
them largely and bought little IA return
Many went down % the sea In ships who
had never gone before. Sails and sea
men multiplied, and the gold Of Caifor-
MA, together With the interests Of Amer
lean farmers and manufacturers, paid
Tor the venture. Foreign treights bur
dened the produce Of the one and heavy
inportations checked the enterprise OF
the other.
Their orators note, with indications Of
a deeply wounded national pride, that
our flag has almost disappeared nom the
seas since the enactment of the Morrill,
tariff We're IL not arrant demagoguery,
ir would Do dense ignorance that ascribes
the dscaience u our shipping 70 any
revenue system whatever. Is was the
Southsrn Confederacy that caused the
withdrawal OF the United States mer-
chant marine from salt water. With the
outbreak q hostidtles In 1851, the mi
htia OF the seas were, 70 very great
extent, mustered into the naval service
OF the Federal government. As army
transports. blockadsrs and armed war
craft. their paths Of duty lay thick with
perils Storms. wrecks, cannon shot and
torpedoes caused hundreds Of former
merchantmen 70 adOrn the casualty lists
ot the navy. Those remaining upon the
high seas were pursued and haraSsed by
Confederate privateers.
So vigilaat and persistent were these
patrolnen OF the waters, 50 many were
the vessels destroyed, that such as could
not fnd employment in the service Of
the government were compelled 20 seek
foreign ownership or rot IN idleness at
their wharves. Whilst we were engaged
tooth aud nail in family strife. iron
steamships largely superseded wooden
sail crafts. Answ ering the spirit Of the
age. commerce sought carriage on the
swifter courses OF the ocean. When We
were bending every energy TO the de-
struction Of each other on land and sea,
British shipbuilders were launching yes
sels Of new model and revolutionizing
navigation. Facing the disadvantages
OF a decimated marine. with rivals in
possession who were in the full enjoy
ment OF the latest triumphs of nautical
science, and a sharp competition already
existing among ocean carriers. an invit-
ing held was not presented to American
shipowners.
In surrendering pre-eminence upon the
seas. the enterprise OF the nation became
By no means quiescent. Great industrial
triumphs have been won, and vast inter-
nal enterprises undertaken Railway
lines struck boldly across the continent,
conquering alike the obstacles Of deserts
and mountain ranges. Oceans OF sand
and mountain SHOWS yielded in turn and
made way for the highways OF inland
commerce. Ex-soldiers OF either army,
infused with the spirit Of adventure, met
as friends and as Americans in the Great
West Prairie and woodland were sub
dued with a rapidity never known be
fore. The tide Of empire beat against
the basis Of the Rocky mountains; then,
over and beyond.
Mine and mill, forest and field -four
ished together. herailroad builder null
tiplied ways OF commerce beyond the
dreams OF the shipmaster in the proudest
DAYS Of his power. A system Of Free
trade with each other. in thirty-eight
states and ten territories. comprising an
area equal to all Europe. called for their
best energies. The considerate American
viii find in the free and unfetlered com
msrce between the states and territories
az the lamentations as 1t were-a field
worthy OK has enterprise for years 70
come
Unul We become older as nation
until labor. capital and machinery can
b. owned and operated in our country
a. cheaply "a abroad. our industries viii
need protection against foreign oompeti-
ton. When We conclude that, other
things equal. the American citizen - the
best and most deserving man in the
world. it viii be a good day FOR Va. IL
viii then BE- apparent that Il IA % the
best interests u VA all 90 patronize each
other. The American farmer has the
right 20 feed those who manufacture the
goods he buys. At present ne does It.
II the English operative supplied him
with the goods IL is by no means certain
that the Englishman would purchase
from him in turn. It might easily be
cheaper for the smsncipated serf q
Russia OF the half naked HindOo - rsise
wheat FOR ms bread than for the land
owning American IN 10 so.
In thar case he would sell his manu-
factlred goods to "a and buy his sup
plies from soue other quarter. lesvinS
our farmers q dispose n their surplus
a. oest thev might The great benefit II
Protection is shat If makes the consumer
ard producer nei-hbcrs q each other. It
enables the man who makes cloth or iron
in che Tni-ed states - buy his supplies
CT his neizhhcr It saves largely In re
freight snd -o=t ~ handling heproducts
of either. ard is the true economy.
American manufacturers should supply
American farmers. snd 0ur farmers
should supply our u1anufsctI1Ters We
have rom enough snd work enough for
both. and The experience Il a hundred
pears has proved q - - RE hesf plan
Arguments fsvorins Free-trsde, frse
sess ard 0ren rsarkaos nay sound high