The Portland daily press., 1891-10-15
PRICE 81 A YEAR. WHEN PAID IN ADVANCE 81.

| tAhIQq
Wnlcn your next governor, Mr. Allan nrk
llshed the other day show the eontrs,,ap pho- ~
yond carp or bubble. Mr. Lyman ,sSo ~,
into ts ~ IIsg & Ifade ior everything which comes
that goes out has to admit both lower prices
and higher wages.
One Of the stock charges which have rung
out from the mouth OF every Democratic
orator since have been Ia public life has
oeenthat though manufacturers might be
prosperous and railroads successful the
poor farmer sat on his desOlate hearth
ground 70 powder by the dreadful tariff.
Dut Snly tne other day the New York Post,
which can never be accused OF faith In pro
lection, made full examination of this ques-
tOn 10 New Englend farming town, and
lts taoles show that on an average the farm
er got ~ per cent, more for his product and
pa. paaa ~ per cent less for all he bought, ex-
eept the time Of his farm laborers. When
you turn to the farm laborer the same tables
| snow Lnat he got SO per cent. more for his
lao0r than In 1858. This Increase OF the pay
OF iarm laoorers shows the value Of dlversi-
ned Industry. While there has not been
the same increase mall trades, yet that in-
crease conclusively shows a general Increase
all along the line.
asked friend the other day, who had a
printing establishment as long ago as 1857.
what he paid for labor then and now. He
replied, $50 then, $1,000 now. This In
Boston VIII make printers smile. They
would make the comparison much more
otdIbuuk. lul3 Is n brtuo not directly hUccs-
ed by the tariff, but represents as well as any
other the rise In wages, for rise In wages
must be all along the line. Whenever there
are higher wages men will come and compete
for them and bring on general level, and
that level is higher than the old in the pro-
portion which the higher wage business
bears to all the business. / don't mean that
skilled men viii get the same wages as the
unskilled, for they never will. Brain comes
into the account as much as muscle. But
take one business with another, there has
been fifty per cent OF Increase since 1857. At
the same time expenses for farm products In
the farming towns have increased but twen-
ty-nine per cent, and other expenses have
gone of more than twenty per cent. Wheth-
er this means tariff nr not, IL certainly means
prosperity. But says your governor, look at
our deserted farms; see how our commerce
has flown from the seas. Now on that de-
serted farm question do give me your atten-
tlon. want your attention because the truth
Is not always easy to see, while foOlishness
cries about on the house-tops. Why does a
man desert one OF these farms9 Is 1t TO go
to a worse place? IL must be to 20 TO a bet
ter one. Why Is IL chat nobody goes to take
the deserted farm? Mustn't It be because
nobody thinks he can better himself by so
doing? This farm then Is deserted and re-
mains deserted, because men can do better
elsewhere. Now either that farm has dete-
| rlorated from the old days OF II has not. IL
i has deteriorated, then that may account
for It's desertion without regard to the pros
/ perity OF the country. III the farm has not
deteriOrated, then this country has become
so prosperous that men can do better every
| where than when the farm used to be oceu-
| pied. 1t Is only the ole familiar case Of a
man leaving what used TO be good business
for better. and II nobody takes up tbe old
business IL shows that all business Is better.
The subject Of our commerce and It's being
driven from the sea has so much sentiment
clustering about 1t that Is not easy 10 bring
1t IN the test Of good sense. But IL we want
TO md the truth we had better put aside more
partizanship and try to fud out the cause
mere railing accusation leads 10 very little.
lt is true that our foreign marine has dwin-
died from two million and half OF tons In
1861 to less than million today. This Is not
matter Tor 0ntcrY. IL Is matter for ex-
animation. To begin with l suppose our
ships must make as much money as the ships
OF foreign nations, for our captains must be
as bright as any, TheT can certainly make
no more. Why Is II then that our ships d.
minish and theirs increase? 1t cannot be
that our country has been t0ttering to Its
fall and that tie decay o foreign shipping
has been the decay OF the country. Surely it
will not do to say that Of the very period
when our progress has been the aSLOnish-
ment OF all nations. That cannot be said OF
the thirty years during which we have
doubled our population. quadrupled our
wealth and built up a distracted and dis
ordered congeries OF states into the greatest
empire OF the world. Even partizan passion
won't dare to come out into the open and say
| cOntented with the profits they get and our
/ people are not. But the foreigner would not
/ be eontented with the profits Of the sea II he
could DO better ashore. On the other hand
| our people would be c0ntented with the sea
proht II the shore profits were not better. In
other words, the foreigner stays In the bust
| ness because he cannot DO better ashore and
our people go out OF 1t because they can do
1 better ashore.
| IL the free traders are right when they say
tnat Tree trade will make us even more pros
porous ashore than we are now then OBJ
yiousiy Tree trade will not help our shipping.
III on the other hand free trade will reduce
our prosperity on shore to the level Of our
prosperity at sea 1t would seem to be paying
too Dig price for foreign commerce.. The
fav0rite idea that our foreign commerce has
diminished became under protection our ex-
ports and imports have diminished, cannot
be true because neither the exports nor i'm
ports have diminished. In 1855 when our
foreign tonnage was two and one-third
millions, almost at Its highest point, our ex-
ports and imports were only 536 millions and
now the same exports and imports ara 1735
millions. Clearly 1t Is not the amount OF our
exports and imp0rts that regulate our foreign
tonnage but the relative value Of the busi-
ness. Ought we then to abandon our foreign
shipping? According to political economy
as taught In the colleges, suppose we ought
Why should we care what flag floats over the
transportation Of things when we care
nothing about the flag which floats over the
place where the things are made. Is trans
p0rtatiOn OF shoe more sacred than the
making Of 1t? But by the political economy
which ls taught in the affairs Of life we ought
not to abandon our foreign shipping. Con-
sidered as a business by itself IL may not pay
but as auxiliary to one other business 1t may
pay. Selling goods Is not merely question
OF cheapness. 1t Is also question OF facilI-
ties OF easy COMMUNICATION Of use and want;
and OF hundred other things. When SEQ
great corporations In this untry maintain
Ing directly or Indirectly steamship lines
which pay 10 dividend simply because their
general business requires ", have always
felt that this nation might take a lesson and
help our shipping In the furtherance OF our
general business. We Republicans have
always been ready to aid our shipping: The
only remedy Democracy ever offered Is 10
dismantle our ship yards and buy our ships
abroad. III we cannot run the ships TO
profit which we already have how shall We
run those we buy?
There are plenty Of other topics to discuss
but | will not present them tonight. / wish
to close with a tew practical sugge. ti0ns.
Ever since have been Ia public life the
Democracy have been clamOring for revision
OF the tariff. There has never been a m0m-
ent Of time when they we're ready to leave
the business Of the country free from their
attacks. We have revised the tariff twice
under their clamor and they seemiwOrse and
more unhappy than ever before. Every
man who hears me knows that no tariff for
revenue only Is possible without the greatest
possible change In this country. Its senti-
ment and In its houses Of legislation. How
would II do to try short period Of not re-
vislng the tariff?
Ii the Democracy would give less Of its
time to prophecy. which never gets fulfilled.
and more time to observation OF what Is be-
fore their faces, this country would have
more peace and their orators would do more
real service to the people.