Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-02-13
WINDOWS LAST WORDS
THE DRAMATIC SCENE OF THE
..- SECRETARY'S DEATH.
Full Text of the Financicr's Last Rcview
of the National Conditional Concise
Statement Of the Financial Situation.

Statement Of the Financial SituntiOn.
No one of the $50 men in the great !
banqueting hall at Dcmonico's when |
William Window finished his great |
speech on "Our Country's Prosperity |
Dependent Upon Its Instruments of |
Commerce. at the annual dinner of the
New York board of trade and transpor-
tation, will forget the dramatic scene
that followed, when the man who has
once represented u great state in tho |
United States senate and twice stood at
the helm of the treasury department III
critical times fell dying into Secretary
Tracy's arms.
Mr.. WINDOWS name was first on the
list OF speakers, and the Importance OF
the occasion and of the topic had evil
IDENTIFY prompted him to prepare his
remarks with unusual care. His would
have been the principal speech of the
occasion in any event: it proved to be
the only one. 1t was delivered up to its
last word, with vigor and animation.
Mr.. Window spoke of the two chief
Observation-Disclosures of commerce-trans-
portation and money. The magnitude
and prosperity of our domestic COM
mcrcc. he said, was without parallel.
For the accommodation and dcvclopment
! VI OaA AAohlC VI ttuC VIC ItlN DuliU I'd PEI
cent of the railroads of the world We
had more miles of railroad than all Eu-
rope, Asia and Africa combined. Tho
floating tonnage of the United States en-
gagged in the coatwise commerce and on
our lakes and rivers was very far in eX
cess OF that of any other nation. One
or two comparisons would convey some
idea of this Stupendous commerce. The
tonnage which passed through the De-
troit river alone during the 234 days of
navigation in 1889 exceeded by ., 46S. 127
tons the entire British and foreign ton
mage which entered and cleared at Lon
don and Liverpool that Year in the for
eign and coastwise trade.
The freight which passed through the
ST. Mary's Falls in 1890 exceeded by
2.257,s SIG tons the entire tonnage of all
nations which passed through the Suez
canal in 1889. The freight carried on
railroads of the United in 1890 exceeded
BIZ over 36,OOO,OOO tons the aggregate
carried on all the railroads of the united
kingdom, Germany. France and Russia
in 1889.
, In manufactures, agriculture and in
crease of wealth America led the world.
: On the other hand, the foreign carrying
a trade had steadily declined ever since
n
: tonnage dues provided by the first con
n gress were removed. 'sOnce," he said
i, sos per cent of our imports and 80 pei
- cent. of our exports were carried il
n American bottoms, and our merchan
9 marine became the boast Of every either
J.. and the envy of the world. Now, so ia
n as foreign trade is concerned, our ship
8 yards are comparatively silent, and ou
=. flag has almost disappeared from tn
!, high seas. The relative decline in gu
# foreign shipping has been constant an
"a alarming, until in 1889 only l24 pc
o. cent Of our imports and exports was cal
2 ried in American bottoms, being tn
W smallest percentage in any year since tn
a. formation of the government"
y. To remedy this conditinn of things
al resort to the legislation OF 1889 was OF
~ OF question, because treaties with SCI
-, eral foreign countries stood in the wa
w He would recommend that sufficient su
n sides be paid to American ships to e
w. courage their construction and to enab
~ them to hold their own against the TO
~, ~ eign mercantile marine. 1t would CO.
-. money, but it would pay. The foreig
~ commerce of America for the past twel
~ ty-five years amounted to 500, 465, 1874, 92
~, Estimating the cost of transportation /:
-, ~ 10 per cent Of the value Of the good
~ we had an expenditure Of about $4,000
- 600, 900, at least so per cent. OF which
os So. 4OO, 600, OOO-had been paid to foreig
10 shipowners.
~ If we added to this $50, 900, 900 yes
10 paid for passage, we have grand tot'
Nv of So. 900, 900. 900 paid to foreign labo
- and capital during the last quarter of
: century, a sum larger by nearly 5000
~ 900, 900 than the maximum OF our bOnde
~ ~ debt growing out of the late war. Wei
~ " not the benefits which would accru
W from paying these sums to our own pet
- pie worth saving? Suppose that fc
y twenty-five years we had given 5000
10 900 year in aid of our foreign shipping
w and reduced by that amount the pre-
in payments of our bonded debt, should "
~ not have been far better off than we al
Il now? he asked.
NJ The second branch OF the subject wa
- more interesting because OF its immt
~ date Importance. With reference
II money Mr.. Window said: sit is essel
"a. tial to commerce that the currency wit
~ which it is conducted be adapted, bot
os in quantity and quality, to the wants {
of trade as that the vehicles of transpo
" tation should be adapted to their pu
as poses. The ideal financial system wou]
w. be one that should furnish just enoug
as of absolutely sound currency to meet TT
;, legitimate wants of trade. and no NOR
and that should have enough elasticit
20 of volume to adjust itself to the varyin
at necessities of the people l know tn
49, seems difficult of attainment, but b.
~. ~, lieve it is substantially possible. Cou]
nf such circulating medium be secured
;s the gravest commercial disasters whic
Va threaten our future might be avoided
70 These disasters have always come whe
al unusual activity in business has cause
~. an abnormal demand for money-as
Ii the autumn, for the movement of OF
a.. immense crops. There will always
IN great danger at those times under an
lie cast-iron system of currency such as
ho now have. Habit not been for the p
a culiar conditions which enabled tt
~ United States Treasury to disburse ov'
or S775, coo. 600 in about two and ha
no months last autumn, am firmly col
az WINGED that tho stringency in Augu
~. and September would have resulted
ho widespread financial ruin. Like con
e mcrci;,] conditions will frequently occu
I,"' Int it is not ut all probable that tho