Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-20

1t does not need that they shall take the
form OF a treaty. They need not be SUBJ
mitted for the concurrence of the state.
1t only needs that we, having made our
offer, shall receive their offer in return
and when they have made up an accept
able schedule of articles produced by us
that. shall have free access to their
ports, proclamation by the president
closes the whole business.
Already one treaty with that young
est Of South American republics, the
great republic of Brazil, has been nego-
tiated and proclaimed. l think, with
out disclosing any executive secrets, /
may tell you that the arrangement with
Brazil is not likely to abide lonesome
ness much longer.
"Others are to follow, and as result
of these trade arrangements, the pro-
ducts of the United States--our meats,
our breadstuffs and certain lines of man
ufactured goods, are to find free or fa-
vored access to the ports of many of
these South and Central American
states. All the states will share in these
benefits. We have had some analyses
made OF the manifests of some of our
steamers now sailing to South American
ports, and in single steamer it was
found that twenty-five of our states con-
tributed to the cargo.
SUBSIDIZED STEAMSHIPS.
"But we shall need something more !;
we shall need American steamships to
carry American goods to these ports.
The last congress passed bill appro-
priating about 81 800, 900, and authoriz-
ing the postmaster-general to contract
with steamship companies for period,
not exceeding ten years, for carrying
United States mails. The foreign
mail service is the only mail service
out of which the government has been
making net profit. We do not make a
profit out of the overland service. There
is an annual deficiency, which my good
friend, the postmaster-general, has been
trying very hard to reduce or wipe out.
The theory of our mail service is that it
is for the people; that we are not to
make profit out OF it; that we are to
give them as cheap postage as possible.
We are many of us looking forward to
the time when we shall have one-cent
postage in this country. We have been
so close and penurious in dealing with
our ships in carrying foreign mails
that we have actually made rev.
epues out of that business, not
having spent for it what we have re-
ceived from it. Now we propose to
change the policy, and make more lib
eral contracts with American lines car
rying American mails. Some one may
say we ought not to 60 into this busi-
ness; that it is subsidy. But, my
friends, every other great nation OF the
world has been doing 1t, and is doing it
today. Great Britain aud France have
built up their great steamship lines by
government aid, and it seems to me our
attitude with reference to that is aptly
protected by an illustration mentioned
the other day. i x-sss
MODERN BUSINESS METHODS.
''In the olden time no wholesale mer-
chant sent out travelling men to solicit
custom, but he stood in his own store
and waited for his customers; but pres
emily some enterprising merchant began
to send out men with their samples to
seek trade to save the country buyer the
cost of trip to New York or Philadel-
phia, until finally that practice became
universal, and these active, intelligent
travelling men are scurrying this coun-
try over, pushing and soliciting in thier
several lines of business. Now imagine
some conservative merchant in New
York saying to himself: All this is
wrong; trade ought to come to me- If
he should refuse to adopt these modern
methods what would be the result? He
must adopt the new methods or 60 out
of business.
"We have been refusing to adopt the
universal method of our competitors in
commerce to stimulate their shipping
interests, and have gone out of the busi-
ness. Encouraged by what your spokes-
man has said tonight, l venture to de-
clare that / am in favor of going into
the business again, and when it is re-
established l hope Galveston will be in
partnership.
THE MERCHANT MARINE.
st has been the careful study of the
postmaster-general, in preparing to exc
cute the law TO which l have referred, to
see how much increase in routes and
ships we could secure by it. We have
said to the few existing American lines :
You must not treat this appropriation
as plate of soup to be divided and con-
sumed. You must give us new lines,
new ships, increased trips and
new ports of CALL Already
the steamship lines are looking
over routes to see what they can do with
the law, increasing their tonnage and in
establishing new lines.
The appropriation for this law is for
one year only. What the future is to be,
must depend upon the deliberate judg-
ment of the people. If during my term
of Office they shall strike down law
that l believe to be beneficial, or de-
stroy it's energy by withholding appro-
priations, shall bow to their will, but
| shall feel great disappointment If we
do not make this an era for the revival
of American commerce. l do much
want that the time shall come
when our citizens, living
in temporary exile in foreign
ports, shall now and then see steaming
into these distant ports fine modern
man-of-war flying the United States
flag, with the best made guns on deck
and brave American crew on the fore
castle. Iwant, also, that in these ports,
so long unfamiliar with the American
flag, there shall again be found our
steamships and our sailing vessels, fly
ing the flag that we all love, and carry
ing from our shores the products that
these men of toll have brough at to them,
to exchange for the products of other
climes.
THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
IT think we should add to all this, if
happily, it is likely to be accomplished
by individual effort. the early comnle-