Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1891-03-05
WINDOW S LAST Nv ORDS
THE DRAMATIC SCENE or THE.
sEcRETARY,s DEATH.

sEcRETARY's DEATH.
Ful1 Text or the Financier,s Last Review
or the National Conditional Concise
Statement Of the EInaacIal Situation.
No one Of the $50 men In the great
banQueting hall at Delmonico's when
William Window finished his great
speech on stOur Gountry's Prosperity
Dependent Upon It's instruments Of
Commerce, at the annual dinner of the
New Yark board OF trade and transpor-
tation, will forget the dramatic scene
that followed, when the man who has
once represented great state In the
United States senate and twice stood at
the helm of the treasury department In
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. It was delivered, up to its
last word, with vigor and animation.
Mr.. Window spoke of the two chief
instrumentalities of commerce trans
portation and money. The magnitude
and prosperity of our domestic COM
merce, he said, was without parallel.
For the accommodation and development
OF our home traac we had built As per
cent. of the i.liroads of the world We
had more miles of railroad than all Eu-
rope, Asia and Africa combined. The
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 2,46S, 127
tons the entire British and foreign tom
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, S76 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
by over $4,000, 900 tons the aggregate
carried on all the railroads of the united
kingdom, Germany, France and Russia
in 1889.
In manufactures, agriculture ana fr-
crease of wealth America led the world
On the other hand, the foreign carrying
trade had steadily declined ever since,
In 1928 the discriminating duties and
tonnage dues provided by the first con-
gress were removed. "Once," he said,
500 per cent. Of our imports and 80 per
cent. Of our exports were carried IN
American bottoms, and our merchant
marine became the boast of every citizen
and the envy of the world. Now, so far
as foreign trade is concerned, our ship
yards are comparatively silent, and our
flag has almost disappeared from the
high seas. The relative decline in our
foreign shipping has been constant and
alarming, until in 1889 only 1914 per
cent. of our imports and exports was car
ried in American bottoms, being the
smallest percentage In any year since the
formation Of the government"
To remedy this conditinn of things a
resort to the legislation of 1889 was out
CO question, because treaties with sew
eral foreign countries stood In the way.
He would recommend that sufficient sub
sides be paid to American ships to en-
courage their construction and to enable
eign mercantile marine. 1t would cost
money, but it would pay. The foreign
commerce of America for the past TWEEN
ty-five years amounted to 500, 465, 124, 920.
Estimating the cost of transportation al
10 per cent. of the value of the goods,
we had an expenditure Of about S3,000,.
600, 600, at least 80 per cent. Of which
SO, 400, O0O, O00-had been paid to foreign
shipowners
If we added to this $50, O0O, 900 year
paid for passage, we have grand tota
Of SO, 600, goo. 900 paid to foreign labor
and capital during the last quarter of 9
century, a sum larger by nearly $500,
600, 600 than the maximum of our bonded
debt growing out of the late war. Were
not the benefits which would accrue
from paying these sums to our own PEG
pie worth saving? Suppose that fol
twenty-five years we had given SIS, 0O0,.
600 year in aid of our foreign shipping
and reduced by that amount the pre-
payments of our bonded debt, should we
not have been far better off than we art
now? he asked.
The second branch of the subject wa:
more interesting because of its imme
date importance. With reference tc
money Mr.. Window said: sit is essen
tial to commerce that the currency with
which it is conducted be adapted, botl
in quantity and quality, to the wants O.
trade as that the vehicles of transpor
tation should be adapted to their pur
poses. The ideal financial system woult
be one that should furnish just enough
OF absolutely sound currency to meet thu
legitimate wants of trade, and no more
and that should have enough elasticit.
of volume to adjust itself to the varyint
necessities of the people / know thi
seems difficult of attainment, but be
lieve 1t Is substantially possible. Coult
such o circulating medium be secured
the gravest commercial disasters which
threaten our future might be avoided
These disasters have always come whel
unusual activity in business has causes
an abnormal demand for money--as II
the autumn, for the movement of OF
immense crops. There will always b.
great danger at those times under an.
cast-iron system Of currency such as w
now have Had 1t not been for the pc
culiar conditions which enabled tn
United States treasury to disburse owe
$4,000, 900 in about two and hal
months last autumn, am firmly con
WINGED that the stringency in Angus
and September would have resulted Il
widespread financial ruin. Like com
mercial conditions will frequently occur
but it is not at all probable that the
can be encountered and their conse
auences averted by like action of tn
government; nor is 1t desirable that sue
power should be lodged with the secre
+ 49, - &.ann nxpps i