The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-04-23


ed on the platform and was greeted witt
enthusiastic applause.
After the applause had subsided General
| Waui ster ped forward, and in a gracefu
and eloquent speech, babe the presiden
welcome to the city.
HARRIsoN's SPEECH.
President Harrison responded as follows
Ny fellow either s: We close tonight 4
whole week Of travels, q whole week o
handsbakipg whole week of talking
have before me ten thousand
miles for hand shaking and speaking and
am not, by reason of what this week has
brought me, in voice to contend with this
fine but rather strong breeze which pours
in upon us tonight, aud yet it comes to me
along with this fragrance of your welcome
1t comes with the softness, refreshment
and grace which has mpanied
all my intercourse with the
people of Texas. The magnificent and
cordIal demonstration which you have
made in our honor today will always re-
main bright and pleasant picture IN my
memory. | am glad to have been able TO
rest my eyes upon the city of Galveston.
am glad to have been able to traverse its
harbQr and look upon that liberal
work which liberal and united govern
| ment has inaugurated for your benefit and
! for the benefit of the nortil v est. 1 always
believed that it vas one of the undisputed
| functions OF the general government to
make these great waterways and these har-
| bors into which our ships shall come to re-
| ceive the tribute of rail and river safe, COM
| modious and easy of access.
have believed that this miuistering care
should extend to our whole country and
was therefore glad that We adopted policy
with reference to this work which | insisted
upon III Il public message that the appro-
ShnnIH hp rot q TO- 70 MI
and prompt completion of the work
that has been in&uguratfd. In the past
he Government has undertaken too many
things at once. and its annual appropriations
have been so inadequate that the work of
the engineer was much retarded and even
seriously damaged in the interval while
thew were waiting for other appropriations
1t is a better policy that when once
work has been determined to be of
national significance the appropriation
should be suffi lent to bring it speedily and
without rest TO completion. am glad that
the scheme of the engineer tor giving deep
water to Galveston is thus to be pro secuted.
have said that some of our South Atlantic
and Gulf ports occunied most favorable
position towards the new commerce
towards which we are reaching
out our hands, and which is reaching out
its hands to us. | am an economist in the
sense that would not waste single dollar
of the public money, but | am not an
economist in the sense that | would leave
uncompleted or suffer to lag any
great work behind which was the
common interests of our country.
We are great enough and rich enough to
reach forward 10 grander conceptions than
have the pinched minds of some of our
statesmen in the past. If you are content
am not that the nations of Europe shall
absorb yearly the entire commerce of this
and our sister republic that lies south of us.
1t is naturally in a large majority
ours, ours by neighborhood, ours by near
ness Of access, ours by that sympathy
that combines the hemisphere without
kingdom. The inauguration of the pan
American congress, or more properly the
American conference, the happy conduct of
that meeting, the wise and comprehensive
measures which are suggested by the fra
ternal and kindly spirit that was
manifested by our southern neighbors
has stimulated an interest in them
for larger intercourse of commerce and
friendship. The provisions of the bill
passed at the last session looking to the
reciprocity of trade not only met with my
official approval when l signed the BILL
but met with my official approval before
eral provision is that we have
placed upon or free list sugar, tea, coffee
and hides and have said to those nations
from whom we receive these great staples,
give us something free, give us your pro-
duct in exchange or we will reim-
pose those duties" The law leaves it
wholly with the executive to negotiate these
arrangements. 1t does not need that it
should take the form of a treaty. 1t does
not need to be submitted to the concurrence
of senate, for 1t has already received the
concurrence of congress. 1t only needs
that we having made our offer shall ne
gotiate with them and receive
their offers. When we have made
up the schedule of articles
produced by us we shall in exchange have
free access to their ports, and proclama.
ton by the president closes the whole bus.
mess Already one treaty with that pre-
ci0us and newest of the South American
republics, the Great Brazil has been ne
gotiated and proclaimed. l think
without disclosing any executive
secret. l may tell you that that
arrangement with Brazil is not to be lone
some much longer Others are to follow,
and as result of this the products of the
United States, our meats, our breadstuffs
certain lines of manufactured goods, are
finding free access to the ports of many of
those south and Central American states.
All of the states share in these benefits We
have had analyses made of the manifests of
our steamers, now sailing To South Ameri-
can ports and single steamer was found
where twenty five of our states contributed
her cargo. But we shall need some
thing more. We shall need Mexican
steamship to carry American goods
to thee pCrts. The last
congress passed bill appropriating about
81, $50, 0OO, authorizing the postmaster gen.
eral to contract with steamship companies
fer the carrying of the United States mail.
NV fellow citizens, the foreign mail service
is the only mail service out of which the
Government has been making net profit.
We did not make profit out of our last SER
| vice. There is an annual deficiency, which
my good friend here has been trying to re-.
duce or wipe out. The theory of our mail
| service is that it is for the people. We are
not to make profit out of them, but we
areto give them as cheap postage as
possible with the revenues that
| are derived, and we are many
of the United States looking forward for
the time when we shall have one cent post
age in this country. Wehave been so close
| in dealing with our ships carrying the for
eign mail that we have actually made reve-
nue. out of that business, not having spent
for it what we received from it.
Now we propose to change that