Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1899-07-29

must be of a superior quality, and the
demand for American manufacturers
began to increase and is increasing
with each day, until hundreds of our
factories are now running night ana
day, and business in the United States
was never in a more prosperous con-
dit1on than it is on the 21st day OF
June. 1899.
It has been said by a great Ameri-
can writer that trade follows the
flag" Our war with Spain has placed
our flag upon the islands of the Pa
cific, directly in the natural track be-
tween the Pacific coast of the United
States and Japan and China, and as we
contemplate our growing commerce
with these old nations we are remind
ed of the prophetic statement made at
the completion of the first continuous
line of railroad between the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans, by the joining Of
the Union and Central Pacific rail-
roads, more than thirty years ago, by
that prophet of his time, Thomas H.
Benton, who, standing on the summit
Of the Rocky Mountains and pointing
toward the Pacific ocean, said: There
is the East; there is India" Mr..
President, since the meeting at Lake
George, four years ago, the fortunes
of war have placed the United States
in the front rank among the powers
Of the world, and we can no more shi-k
the responsibility which these events
have brought on us as a nation, than
we can shirk our responsibility as prt-
Vate citizens.
There are some who seem to think
that we might get along without trade
with China, and that it is new fam
gled notion that Chinese trade can es-
pecially benefit the United States.
Commerce with China is much older
than many suppose, for it began 115
years ago, the first vessel sailing from
New York on Washington's birthday,
in the year 1774. This vessel returned
to New York May II, IT'S. The sue
cess of the venture was such as to war
rant its repetition, and from that day
to this, trade between the United
States and China has continued with
now greater in Importance and valr-e
than that of any other nation trading
with China, with the single exception
of Great Britain. If we are to continue
as one Of the great nations of the
world, we can hardly afford to ignore
a country that comprises one-twelfth
of the land area and nearly one-fourth
of the population of the globe.
The influence of the press, particu-
larry in this country, is immense, and
it is growing year by year, and with
reasonable cooperation and reciproc-
ity between the press, the transporta-
ton companies and the commercial
and industrial interests of the country,
there can be no doubt about our SUI
premacy.
At times there have been periods Of
legislation adverse to the great trans
portation interests of the country, al
most invariably the result of a misun-
derstanding of the real situation, and
the hasty legislation of such times has
usually been repealed upon the sober
second thought of the people, for in the
language of our great Lincoln: you
can fool all the people some Of the
time, some Of the people all the time,
but you can't fool all the people all
the time" There are still some people
who fear that consultations, especial
1y of transportation companies, will
result disastrously to the general in
terests of the country. There is one
example to which 1 wish to call your
attention, and which, 1 think, each Of
you will appreciate. Forty-seven years
ago, there was issued an annual pass
over the Central Line of Railroads, be-
t-een Buffalo and Boston, and by the
Peoples Line of Steamboats, to New
York; this pass bearing the following
signatures on the b ok thereof: Eze-
kiel c. Mcintosh, President. Albany
and Schenectady R. r. Co.; Erastus
Corning, President, Utica and Science
tady r. R. Co.; John Wilkinson, Presi-
dent, Syracuse and Utica R. R. Co.;
Henry B. Gibson, President, Rochester
and Syracuse R. r. Co.; Joseph Field,
President, Buffalo and Rochester R. r.
Co.; William H. Swift, President, Yves
tern R. R. Co.; Isaac Newton, Peoples
Line Steamboats,; Job Collamer. Wa
tertown & Rome R. r. Co.
Mr. E. D. Worcester, Secretary of the
New York Central, says he rode on a
ticket of this kind from Albany to Bos-
ton in the summer of 1852, and he re-
members distinctly the signature OF
each of these Presidents What would
you think if in preparing to attend
your annual meeting you had to write
to eight different persons to secure
transportation from New York to Nj
agara Falls? am sure you appreciate
the fact that it does not require eight
letters to secure such transportation.
nor does it require seven changes of
cars TO make the journey as it did in
1852.