The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-10-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.

WASHINGTON LETTER.
The convention season in Washington
has been brilliantly opened by the
National Bankers Association. More
than three thousand bankers were in the
city last week. They were entertained
by the local bankers aud every effort was
made to impress them with the fact that
they were in their fathers house, the
homestead of common country. 1t is
not usual even i'll Washington to see a
convention of such magn tude and with
the outward show of so much prosperity.
Many of the delegates were accompanied
by the ladies of their family and the hotel
Hobbies were thronged with substantial
looking men and handsome and elegantly
gowned women. Besides this convention
the Pan American Medical and Sanitary
convention has been holding its sessions;
the Chicago Press Club composed of
journalists, novelists, poets, historians,
and philosophers made flying visit to
the city and the football diplomats from
Harvard, Yale and Princeton held pour
parler with The President, the object of
which was to abate or humanize the strife
on the foot ball battle field. The Presi-
dent having made peace between Russia
and Japan is encouraged to believe that
he may be able to pacify these college
wars but it must be confessed that the
public is even less sanguine of his success
here than it was with reference to his
interference at Portsmouth. Nevertheless
there are many who believe Roosevelt
capable de tout:
~
The Bankers convention has given op-
portnnity to Secretary Shaw and ex-
Assistant Vanderlip aud many Others to
utter in speeches some interesting and
even startling statements, with reference
to the material growth of the United
States. There is perhaps no other man
in the country so capable of epitomizing
National prosperity and poetizing statis-
tics as Secretary Shaw. He concluded
his remarkable address with these words :
I'VE occupy the best position OH the
map. We have the most convenient form
of money in the world. We speak the
language of commerce. Our farms pro-
duce more than the farms of any other
country. Our mines yield gold literally
by the carload, silver by the train loads
and there is unloaded on the shores of a
single Commonwealth more iron ore than
any other country produces. Our forests
yield one hundred million feet of lumber
every day of the calendar year. Onr fac
tories turn out more finished product,
than all the factories of Great Britain and
Germany combined by more than three
thousand millions every twelve months.
We transport this matchless product Of
farm and factory, forest and mine, from
the interior to the sea at one third what
similar service costs anywhere else be-
meath the skies. We carry it from point
to point along the coast in better vessels,
On quicker time, and at cheaper rates
than others. But at our coast line we
are brought to an abrupt halt. Here we
are no longer independent. Our foreign
commerce is four times as large as forty
years ago, but we carry in our own ships
only one-third as many gross tons as forty
years ago. We have protected and en-
couraged every interest but our merchant
marine, and every protected interest has
flourished. We have every facility for
international commerce except inter-
national merchants, International bank
ers, and an international merchant
marine. Shall we not have these? lam
not urging ship subsidies. lam speaking
of results not methods. If we will but
take advantage of our opportunities we
will send these products of farm and fac
tory under every sky and into every port,
aud make our financial centers the clear
ing houses of at least fraction of the
worlds trade.
~
There Is strong probability that a
ship subsidy bill or its equivalent will be