The record-union., 1896-08-21
ssWHERE ARE THEIR STARS AND
STRIPESs1 s1

Mr.. Tom Watson, Populist nominee
for the Vice Presidency, is out in a
second protest against the candidacy of
Arthur Sewall, Mr.. Bryan's half-run
ming mate The point Mr. Watson now
seeks to make is that Mr.. SewalI is at
the head of a movement to return the
country to a policy adopted at the in
eeption of the republic and continued
until the year 1898, when it was aban-
doned simply and only because our
interests were then strong enough to
stand alone, as we then had 80 per
cent. of the foreign commerce of the
country on American bottoms.
That conserved American ship-build-
ing, developed American sailors, pro-
NOTED every interest related to ship
ping, and gave us independence in the
merchant marine. But foreign nations
with cheap labor. and the prestige of
powerful navies in every sea, soon
stripped us of our advantage, and to-
day pretty nearly all American foreign
commerce is carried on foreign bot
toms. q.
The Republican National Convention
at st. Louis declared emphatically for
return to the old policy, which is pref
erence Of American ships by a lower
tariff schedule for imports carried on
American bottoms. This discrimina-
ton takes no money out Of the treas
ury as do bounties. 1t puts money into
the treasury and benefits every worker,
producer and skilled mechanic in all
the land.
But this policy Mr.. Tom Watson de-
nounces as Infamous as damnable, and
IN the interest Of New England ship
yards, "for which all the people will be
taxed" He roars Justify on this key.
and uses some very naughty and in
delicate language in expressing his
hostility to the conservation of the
American merchant marine.
Not long ago a lad who has patriotic
fever IN his blood by heredity, was
taken to San Francisco and through
the shipping In the harbor The father
tells the story. Said he: "If Jack
asked me once he did twenty times
when I pointed out ships ladened with
or that had discharged foreign goods,
But where are their stars and stripes,
fstherP Why don't they fly the flag,
father9'"
That lad asked wiser than he knew,
and that father failed to answer for
shame what he should have told his
son, They do not fly the flag, my boy,
because the policy of the nation has
made 1t we'll nigh impossible for an
American skipper TO bring goods to us
from q foreign port In competition with
the foreigners. That policy has rem
dered American ship p-building rather a
tradition than q fact. We hire these
foreign ships to do our carrying for us.
and actually pay them premium to do
it, while our merchant marine rots in
the stocks"
But Mr.. Tom Watson is SO bitterly
~RRS~A ~ RA01~%NtoiA ebcIA lAC QEGIEIS d
cheap man for his neighbor, as the
price Of a cheap foreign article that in
seven cases out of ten he could just as
well do without or course Mr..
Sewall Is not the logical and consistent
running mate of Mr.. Bryan. He is in
the wrong harness. but he is the nomi-
nee, the deliberate choice of the rule or
ruin Bryan faction, and everything
goes" Mr.. Sewall along with the rest.
The party simply shuts it's eyes to
facts of the present, and with finan-
cial idea as a bit between its teeth, is
rushing on to certain defeat In Novem-
Der. Mr.. Sewall will, however, escape
the wreck. He has the luck to be tied
hard and fast by his own binding to
the plank In the Republican platform
that patriotically reads:
I'VE favor restoring the early Ameri-
can policy Of discriminating duties fox