The Portland daily press., 1895-03-19
AM ERICA'S MARKET.
How the Democra Is are Restri citing Those
Won Abroad by Republican Effort
Speaker Powers and Ex-Minister Thorn

At the Portland Club last evening,
supper was given to Speaker Powers ST
the Maine Legislature and Hon. W. W.
Thomas, ex-Minister to Sweden. In the
course of the speaking the subject OF
American markets abroad was brought
up by Mr.. Thomas, who spoke in part as
follow
Mr.. President and Gentlemen of the
Portland Club:
II is the good old Swedish custom, at
ter one has been entertained at ban
quet to shake hands with his entertain
ers and say, Tack for maten"-" Thanks
for the food.n
cannot shake hands with all of you
at-thls moment--you are too many for
that-but | can, and do most heartily,
| say-Iack for maten; and not only that,
| but thanks also for the kind feelings
and good fellowship which accompany
this festiyity, and which bid me gem
erous Portland welcome home to my
native city.
| 1t is true that much that is useful may
be learned, and much that is pleasant
may be enjoyed in a residence abroad,
but surely the pleasantest part of all for
eign travel is the returning home again
the warm welcome, the kindly shake
of the hand, the genial smile of the
friends of our boyhood.
| And | am sure we Portland boys all
know and feel this;-however far we
may wander, however grand or instruc-
| tive may be the sights we see, there is
after all no city like our beautiful city
| by the sea, no ford like our Casco bay,
no islands like those that dot the coast
of hundred harbored Maine, and no
friends like the ola friends, who stroll
l wit M
and with US gaze upon the boundless
ocean and the external hills.
But, gentlemen, ! must not forget
that the Portland Club is political or
ganization, and that perhaps word on
politics might not be out Of place this
evening. 1 presume you are al familiar .iaa
with the phrase the markets OF the
world" You do not hear this phrase
quite so often now, as you did some
years ago-duriug the last presidential
campaign for instance. 1t was one OF the
favorite shibboleths of the Democratic
party. How Democrat would swell
with pride and patriotism as he spoke of
"the markets Of the world" Why, you
seemed to see America stretching forth
her hands and Selling the worlds mar
kets in her grasp, as the Democratic ora
tor uttered fhis charmed expression:
| And all that wasnecessary TO achieve
| this magnificent result was to put the
Democratic party in power. Then 1t
would at once so regulate the tariff and
our foreign relations that the markets of
| the world would be ours :fp
| Well, the American people took the
| Democratic party at its word. They gave
1t the Presidency and both Houses of
Congress. But how has the Democracy
| kept its word?
can give you the result in one, counr
| try-the foreign country with which l
am most famillar-thc kingdom of Swe-
den.
Now as long as we in the United States
elected Repu blican Presidents and sent
Republican ministers and consuls to
| Sweden, SO long did Sweden keep wide
open her ports for the entry, entirely free
of all duty, of American pork and bread
stuffs. So long too did American trade
with Sweden grow and prosper, until we
sold to Sweden pork and breastuffs to
valne Of 100000 annually.
Such was the favorable condition of
our trade with Sweden while Arthur
was President, and when l was minister
at Stockholm for the first time.
In 1885 Cleveland became President on
his first term. He sent Democrat to
represent us at Stockholm, and during
the oumbency of the Democratic min
lister, Sweden imposed duties on our pork
and breadstuffs as follows, viz: On
wheat and maize duty of 81 cents
|
duty of S1.15 a barrel; on pork, the
very heavy duty of 1886 barrel.
Weighed down with such onerous duties
as these American exports to Sweden
naturally and inevitably suffered seri-
Gus decline.
Well, in 1889, Ben Harrison became
President. | had the honor of being sent
back to my old post in the Northlands,
and it will ever be matter of satisfac
tion to me that while American Minis
ter at Stockholm, Sweden reduced her
duties on our wheat, maize and pork one
half, and her duties on onr flour and
meal nearly one half. Under these light
er duties American trade with Sweden
| fiourished anew.
But in the mysterious dispensation of
Divine Providence Mr.. Cleveland was
| elected Il second time to the Presidency.
He sent out another Democat to Stock
holm. This new Democratic minister
entered upon his duties last May. The
Swedish Riksdag OF Congress met the
January following-last January-and is
still in session. I have just received ad-
vices from Sweden that the Committee
| of Ways and Means have reported a bill
to the Swedish Congress which increases
by nearly or quite three-fold the duties
on American breadstuffs which existed
when | left Sweden. Furthermore / am
informed that a decided majority of the
great increase in duties, and that the bill
| will surely become law.
So that it is question of but few
days when Sweden will impose a duty of
S1.00 barrel, ssor SO a ton, Oh our wheat
and maize, and sta a barrel on our
flour and meal. Under such extreme
duties as these our tarde with Sweden in
breadstuffs will be broken up and de-
stroyed.
And Sweden presents by no means an
isolated case. Several other European
countries are raising barriers against the
| importation of American meats and live
stock, while the markets of Cuba and
the South American Republics, which
had already been opened to American
products on specially advantageous
terms by treaties of reciprocity negotiat-
ed under the last Republican admins
tration, are cow being closed against us,
and promising commerce with these
countries is strangled IA its infancy.
In fact, Democratic Incompetence
suffers American industry to be assailed
both from within and without. The
home market for American products is
diminished by admitting foreign goods
at lower duties to disastrous competi-
tion with our own, while the foreign