Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-11-03
The Eloquent Speech Of a Patriotic States
man al the Great New York Meeting.

The EIcuuent Speech Of a Patriotic States
man at the Great New York Meeting.
Ex-President Harrison addressed an i'm
mense Republican meeting in Carnegie Mu-
sic hall, New York city, Wednesday eve
ming of this week. He made lengthy and
very able speech, which was received by
the vast audience with remarkable enthu-
siasm. He spoke on state, city and ma
tional issues, ard presented arguments in
favor of the election of a Republican for
governor in the Empire state and Repub-
licsn Congress that could not be touched or
met by Dsmocracy's best debaters. The
work of the present administration of city
affairs was sharply and justly criticised, and
he contrasted with great force Morton and
Hill. The one, he said, represented all
that was pure in politics; the other all that
was bad. On the tariff question and the
wreck and ruin the Democratic govern
ment has brought upon this country, he
spoke most eloquently and received long
rounds of tremendous applause. His en-
dorsement of Levi p. Morton, of his
character and services as public man
was most admirably put. We have space
for only so much of this elaborate
and statesmanlike speech of the ex-Presi-
dent as relates to our foreign policy, our
need of steamship lines. and the advan-
tages we were reapipg from our Reciprocity
treaties, which have just been struck down
by Cleveland's administration and the
Democratic Congress:
UNDER DISADVANTAGES.
1--WE are under not a few disadvantages
in this strife with the markets of the world.
We are not colonizing nation. England,
France, Germany, Italy are engaged now
10 mad stroggle to take up every part of
the earth that is not already in the posses
sion of one of the great powers. They
have carved up Africa and Asia and are seiz-
ing the islands of the sea-(avoice "They
can't get us."(-and establishing their
armed hosts and their governors and their
steamship communications with such places,
and iG gives them an advantage.
1--WE are not on equal terms. We can
not enter into this ruthless struggle, to seize
the lands of other people. Thank God,
American diplomacy has always been q
sentimental diplomacy (applause) and every
one of the young South American republics
struggling towards us has found cheer
and a helping hand from this great Repub-
lie. (Applause.) We do not push our
commerce upon unwilling people at the
bayonet's point. We do not fire our cotton
and our wooden and our opium from the
mouths Of great guns. We are at disad-
vantage. We are not colonizing nation.
Indeed, it has been thought improper even
to take up an island or two daughter, y and,
not only commercial island that was i'm
portant, but one that occupied military
and naval position of great strategic in
terest and necessity to the United States.
applause and cheers.)
WITHOUT STEAMSHIP LINES.
"Then again. in this contest for the COM
merce of the world we are without steam
ship lines. Our communications, our naval
marine, have not been re-established yet,
and until we get great steamship lines ply
ing steadily and regularly and swiftly to
these countries with which we would trade,
we cannot compete with the nations that
have. So long as it remains true that a
man or merchandise must go from Rio to
Liverpool in order to get to New York, we
are not in good position for competition.
fApplause).
.sAnd then again, these fields have been
largely occupied. We should come in as a
new trading nation in many branches of
commerce into many of them. Already
English and German and French and other
agents have sought out the peculiar demands
of these countries and have adapted their
products to sale there. Already they
have established banking Institutions, so
that exchange is easy between these foreign
ports and London. That has not yet been
done, though l hope it may be, and New
York may stand in such relation to many
of these great South American countries.
So that we are in too much of a hurry, |
think, to take down our fences. Gap
plause.)
"But that is not all. There is good rea-
son to believe that this excuse for these
tariff reforms is not wholly sincere, for, my
countrymen, we had already, under section
three of the tariff law of 1890 known as the
reciprocity section (applause) we had al
ready secured the most advantageous COM
mercial arrangements with many of the
great South and Central American coun-
tries, with Cuba and Porto Rico, and even
with Germany itself. (Applause)
RECIPROCITY.
owe had secured terms that gave us the
markets of Cuba for American breadstuffs
end provisions and for an unimportant line
of manufactured products upon terms no
other nation in the world could enjoy, and
that gave us practically the control of the
trade. We had even found Germany's in
terest, she being large exporter of beet
sugar to the United States, was such as to
induce that great empire to make favor
able arrangement with us as to the intro
duction of American products into Germany
in exchange for free sugar in the United
States. (Applause.) This had cost US
nothing. We had given to American house
holds free sugar. A notable item of dimn-
ished cost in the household of the poor,
free sugar; and we have not reduced the
wages Of single American workman. We
had got it without cost, save as the pubic
treasury surrendered the revenues.
"How was this regarded abroad? The
Democratic platform of 1892 called it a
sham reciprocity. How was it looked upon
in England The London Chamber of
Commerce memorialized the government to
appoint a commission to devise some method
to counteract what they called this Ameri-
n;,t 40 (ApplousaA Tho