The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-08-14
COMMERCE IS THE
ALLY OF FREEDOM.
Address by U. S. Consul George
w. Bell of Sydney.
DELIVERED IN SAN FRANCISCO.
The Sample Case on Every Voyage of
Discovery Commerce the Index
of the Condition of the People.
Money Needed for Subsidies.

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the subject of an address which Colonel
George w. Bell, United States Consul
to Sydney, delivered before the San
Francisco Chamber of Commerce. He
was frequently applauded and at the
conclusion of the address was rendered
vote of thanks on the motion of r. G.
Sheath. Among those who listened
were ex-President Barillos of Guate-
mala and his suite.
Colonel Bell attributed to commerce
and the commercial spirit the progress
of the world in civilization. This gen.
Grafton was better than any that had
preceded it, because it was the greatest
commercial generation the world had
seen. From Constantine to Gladstone
practically nothing was done for the
amelioration of the masses. From Yes
pasian to Victoria the advance in all
those material matters which improve
the condition of the body of the people
was slight. But in this century and in
this age commerce had brought the
world together and the greatest ad-
vances in civilization had been made.
Commerce has ever been the ally
of freedom said Colonel Bell. Going
back to the commercial cities of Asia
Minor, they were free cities. The golden
age of Greece was the age when she
was supreme in commerce. Rome led
the world when she built roads connect
ing with the provinces she conquered
or stole, and when these roads were de-
stroyed by the incursion of a non
commercial people, Europe went to
sleep for a thousand years.
Venice was the queen of the Adri-
attic and the most enlightened city in
the world when she had 5000 ships and
$4,000 sailors. Genoa was her rival un-
til she lost the spirit of adventurous
commerce and drove Columbus from
her gates.
Commerce has been the inspiration
of discovery. 1t was not conquest that
led to the shores of America. 1t was
not to carry the gospel 1t was to carry
the sample case. 1t was the stimulus
to commerce this discovery gave that
aroused the activity of Europe; for she
had not doubled her population in
thousand years.
'The commerce of a country is the
index of the condition of its people
Tell me what country imports and ex-
houses the people live in and what
kind of clothes they wear The COM
mercial statistics of a country repre-
sent pretty closely the sum total of
an extreme case, Russia with 125, OOO,-
900 has almost exactly the same for
eign commerce that Australia with
10000 people has, and each has 500
newspapers and periodicals. Counting
interstate commerce, we are the great
est commercial people on earth.
I'VE have reached that development
when most people are required in the
transportation and exchange of COM
modities than in their original produc-
ton. Some people have been led to
talk of overproduction. But to my
thought there can be no overproduction
of any good thing until all Gods chill
dren have all they want The trouble
is not that too much has been produced
but that transportation and exchange
have not kept pace always and in all
directions with production. What we
need is more perfect commerce, better
distribution. We need not fear over
production, for our wants grow faster
than our ability to supply them. That
is what distinguishes us primarily from
the animal and in another way from
The savage. The desire is both natural
and universal to seek to get the best
possible living with the least DOSSibIe