Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-04-02
LETTER FROM ST. PAUL.

TO the Editor OF the Alexandria Gazette:
ST. PAUL, Min, Mar. 30.-As though
this Congress had not already sufficient,
ly exploited it's utter incapacity and
stultifed its intelligence by its recent
galloping and headlong haste to en-
danger the peace and compromise the
dignity of the United States, at the sim
lister suggestion of a third term" pres
idential schemer, by appropriating the
public money and authority for him to
appointia commission to discharge the
function of Congress in Washington un-
der their very noses, and that, too,
without even q decent moments de.
liberation, or preference to the commit
tee of foreign relations of either House.
A Mr.. HeatDole, a member of Congress
from Minnesota, has now proposed that
this same President of a discredited and
expiring administration shall be en-
powered to appoint nine of his own Sc
lection to be commission, to Suggest,
advise and aid' Congress, composed of
four or five hundred chosen and sal
aried representative Statesmen, to leg
islate upon the financial pol
icy and conduct of the country.
Alas alas "Ill favors the land, to
Fastening ills prey; :" and while artful
demagogues and self-seeking partisaus
Of special interests and aims are per-
verting the powers of the government,
the people-the so-called sovereign
people-are paralyzed with apathy and
indifference, and blinded with the glare
of the cunning devices to divert and be
dazzle their sight.
Now, too, turning our gaze from this
sad picture of our national decadenee
at home, let the people of the country
wake up to see and consider-not the
mere loss of the actual and relative
commercial supremacy of the United
States, under the pure and patriotic
administrations of former days-but the
absolute and almost total decay of the
foreign commerce and shipping inter-
ests of the country, as set forth in en
article in the March (1S96) number
of the North american Review en-.
titled, Americas Interest in East
ern Asia" by Hon. John Bar
rett, United States Minister to Siam
If all the newspapers in the Unite d
States would print that article, instead
of defacing and degrading their COL
umns with vulgar cartoons and notices
of prize fights and football brutalitits 8
TO which, am proud to say, the AL
EXANDRIA GAZETTE is notable excep.
tion) they would greatly serve the
honor and the interests of the country.
The eastern coast of Asia, extending
1000 miles and inhabited by 100000
600 of busy and progressive people, is
just opposite to our Pacific shore, and
is 5000 miles nearer to our Pacific sea-
ports than to those of Europe; and yet,
to that complexion Commercially
have we come, in these latter days of
Incompetent and incontinent stateman-
ship.
''Ipto the ports of Japan-just over
the sea from California, Oregon and
Washington--there entered in 1894 only
80 steamers flying the stars and strips,
along with 1,220 British and German.
In 1894 2,S44 merchant steamers enter
ed the port of Shanghai, not one of
which was American" Out of 24S
trading steamers winch entered tue
port of Neuchsng not one was Ameri-
can! Of 645 which entered Tientsin;
and 1,031 which entered Cheefoo; and
l .493 which entered Chinkiang; and
294 which entered Foochow; and 2, $50
which entered Canton, not one of all
this enormous number of foreign steam
trading vessels was American Out
of S22 which entered Annoy only were
American. Not one Of the SIT merchant
vessels that entered the busy port of
Bangkok in 1895 carried the American
flag. The once proud supremacy Of our
mercantile and naval marine in all the
waters of the world is gone, and the
fag of our country is no longer the
emblem of progress and power.
T. T. FAUNTLERoY.