Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-02-12
WILLIAM WINDOW.
His Last Speech to the New
York Board of Trade.
A srATESMAN'S FINAL WORDS.

Early association with the charter
members of your board, and full sym
pathy with the objects and purposes OF
its organization. make this an occasion
of peculiar interest to me. The country
owes you a debt of gratitude for what
you have done in the interests of better
and cheaper transportation. Fifteen
wears ago. when your board was organ
lied and entered upon its work, our IA
cilities for the interchange of products
were quite inadequate, and freight
charges were more than double what
they are now. Improvements made by
the transportation companies themselves
have been very satisfactory, but though
much has been accomplished in the
cheapening of rates, much more remains
to be done. If l might be allowed to
suggest, parenthetically, another very
desirable improvement, it would be that
more water be put into our harbors and
canals, and less in our railroad stocks.
am to speak briefly of the instru-
ments of commerce in their relation to
the wealth and prosperity of our coun-
try. The subject is very broad, and my
time very limited. | shall therefore
confine my remarks to the two chief in
strumentalities of ommerce-transpor
| tation and money. BY the former COM
modities change places, and by the lat
ter they exchange owners Even as to
these must content myself with the bare
statement of few facts and deductions.
A nations wealth and prosperity are
/ usually in proportion to the extent and
success of its commerce, and commerce
itself is dependent upon the adequacy
and adaptation of these two essential
instruments. The history of all civil
lied countries attests the fact that the
nation best equipped in these respects
rapidly becomes the most powerful, the
richest and the most prosperous.
Domestic Commerce.
Our own. country is no exception to
this rule. No nation has ever fostered
more literally or protected more care
fully its internal and coastwise trade
than we have done, and the resultant
magnitude and prosperity of our do
mestic commerce is, believe, without
parallel in the history of the world. For
the accommodation and development of
our home trade we have built 40 per cent.
of all the railroads of the world. We
have more miles of railroad than all
Europe, Asia and Africa combined. The
floating tonnage of the United States
engaged in coastwise commerce and on
our lakes and rivers is very far in excess
of that of any other nation. One or
two comparisons will convey some idea
of this stupendous commerce. The ton
mage which passed through the Detroit
river alone during the 234 days of navi-
cation in 1899 exceeded by ? 2,46S, 1877 tons
the entire British and foreign tonnage
which entered and cleared at London
and Liverpool that year in the foreign
and coastwise trade.
The freight which passed through the
st. Mary's Falls canal in 1890 exceeded by
2, ,257 ,S76 tons the entire tonnage of all
nations which passed through the Suez
canal in 1899. The freight carried on
railroads of the United States in 1890
exceeded by over $4,000 600 tons the as
gregate carried on all the railroads of
the United Kingdom, Germany, France
and Russia in 1889. Commodities are
interchanged among our own people
with greater facility and at cheaper
rates distance being censidered) than in
any other country on earth.
The increase of national wealth and
prosperity, largely due to this system of
protection to our home markets and do
mestic trade, and to the generous de-
velopment of these instrumentalities of
commerce, has become the marvel of the
world. Take few comparisons, based
upon the United States census of 1880
and upon figures furnished by Mr.. Null
hall, the English statistician. In manu-
factures we exceeded Great Britain in
1880 by 81, ,579 $40, 191, France by 81, 49,
000, 900, and Germany by $2,305, ,000, 900.
In products of agriculture we excelled
Great Britain by 81, ,425, ,000, 900, France
by s625, 600, 600 and Germany by $685.
000, COO
Our earnings or income for 1880 from
commerce, agriculture, mining, manu-
factures. the carrying trade and bank
ing exceeded those of Great Britain from
the same sources by 81 ,250, ,000, 900,
France by s., ,395, ,000,0 900, and Germany
by g, 775, 900, 900. Our increase of wealth
from 1870 to 1880 as compared with that
of other nations was: United States,
S13, ,573, ,4S1 ,493; Great Britain, $780,
100000; France, $1,475, 900, 900; Ger
many, $3,625, ,000, 900.
In 1880 our home markets consumed
about SO, 900, ,OO0, 900 worth of our own
products, an amount equal to the entire
accumulated wealth of Spain, three
times the increase of wealth in Great
Britain for ten years, and seven times
the increase of France for the same
period. Our home markets that year
absorbed five times as much of our man.
ufactured products as Great Britain ex-
ported of hers to all the markets of the
world. Of course | do not claim that
all this marvellous development of
wealth is due to railroads and ships, but
without them it would certainly have
been impossible. But for these instru-
mentalities of commerce, the ricn farms
of the west and south, and even of the
middle states, would have slumbered in
primeval silence, and the myriads of
shops and factories would never have
existed Were the ship and the railroad
withdrawn business would be paralyzed
and desolation would reign supreme
over more than half of our broad do
main.
Foreign Commerce.
Contrast these grand results of our
literally developed domestic commerce,
operating upon our protected industries,
with the present shameful condition of
our foreign carrying trade, which has
not only been sadly neglected, but some
times treated with actual hostility by
the government. There was a time
when we stood first among the nations
In shipbuilding, and Great Britain alone
excelled us in ocean tonnage. Once 95
per cent. of our imports and 80 per cent
of our exports were carried in American
bottoms, and our merchant marine be-
came the boast of every citizen and the
envy of the world.
Now, SO far as foreign trade is con-
cerned, our shipyards are comparatively
silent, and our flag has almost disap-
peared from the high seas. The relative
decline in our foraiOn sbiprinr hos haa,,