The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-02-09
TRADE I'm OUR HISTORY.
Commerce Has Been an Important Fac
tor in Developing America.

TRADE I'm UUR nioloNA-
Commerce Has Been an Important Fac
tor in Developing America.
Spanish monarchs were proud Of new
lands and Spanish priests were eager
I'd make converts, but the Spanish mer-
chant. hungry for shorter trade route
to the Far East did more than kings
or priests to urge on the voyages TO
the New World. Later came the
Frenchman, the Dutchman, the Eng
lishman, all eager TO build up CONNER :
cial empires, and TO this day the IN
fiuence OF the trading companies they
formed may be read in history or
heard Of in tradition. In Canada, along
our coasts, on the shores OF the East
Indies. these enterprises were potent.
OF those who did not have shares I'D
these wealthy corporations number
had a negative interest that Is, they
Struggled goods in defiance OF the IA
yored concerns, or in war time shipped
on board privateers and picked up oc.
casional eargoes.
The revolution broke up or rather
suspended lines Of commerce with
Great Britain. but the irregular com
merce with the West Indies was extern
sive. Hardly was the revolution over
before John Ledyard planned an expee-
dition to the northwestern part Of this
continent with a possible control OF
the fur trade Of the world. What pro.
iects entered the head of a man who
had already been a law student, mis-
sionary. a soldier and seaman cannot
be fully told or guessed, but he at
tracted the notice Of Thomas Jefferson
and had he lived twenty years longer
he might have stood in history where
Lewis and Clarke stand to-day. IL rs
not to be forgotten that Ledyard'R
plans for commerce on eastern and
western lines appealed to Jefferson,
and that Miranda's contemplated com
merce with tropical America was for a
time on the tablets Of John Adams and
OF Alexander Hamilton.
Water Borne Trade.
British vessels sailed up southern
rivers, loaded their goods, took on
cargoes OF tobacco and went back to
England 1t is scarcely an exaggera-
ton to say that the great planters Of
tobacco and of cotton were half mer-
chants, and that all of them were more
or less surveyors. The internal inn
provements projected by Calhoun were
for their day far.reaching and Calhoun
was for a time vice president under
Andrew Jackson, who had bought his
merchandise in Philadelphia to carry 1t
in wagons over the mountains out 10
Tennessee Every new road through
the forests, every new vessel that trad
cd along the gulf, every raft that float
cd on the Mississippi was herald for
great commercial routes, while the Erie
canal set the whole country wild with
dreams of expanding trade.
Well known as is the fact that the
Naval academy was not established
until Folks time the Importance of
that fact Is not recognized until one
considers its bearing upon business. OF
the early names of the navy, Paul
Jones. John Barry, Edward Preble,
Charles Stewart and William Balm
bridge were commanders of merchant
vessels. Between the Tripolitan war
and the War Of 1912 large percentage
Of our officers spent a part of their
Naval officers who. Off the Barbary
coast, in the island Of the Mediterra
mean and among the shoals Of the West
Indies, chased or sunk private craft,
were governed by humanity, by pride
and b. patriotism. but alec by the
natural sympathy Of merchants for fell
low merchants whose cargoes were en-
dangered. IL is doubtful II there was
a captain or lieutenant from 1878 70
1880 who could not have conyersed in
diligently on the trade Of the West In
dies, the careoes Of tea and spice and
the whalers Of the Pacific.
Every soldier who fought on the
frontier, which term meant that the
frontier was being pushed backward
toward the western ocean, was anxious
to save the settler from the tomshawk,
brt he knew that the moment civiliza-
lon had fair start commerce would
follow. The navy understood what the
Greek historian meant by saying that
the old-time monarch swept corsairs
from the sea "for the better coming in
to him 81 his revenues John Jacob
Astor's fur trading would be known
an over the world even had Washing
ton Irving not been his press agent.
Berkeley. who said Westward the
course Of empire wends its way" did
not live 20 see the annexation Of
Texas. to hear OF the gold in Caiifor-
MIA. 70 read Benton's speeches and
Freemont's reports. to sympathize With
the poorly rewarded labors Of Asa
whitney and to note the growing IN.
terest IN a highway from ocean to
ocean Fremont. however. lived
throrrh the Civil war TO learn what
railroads did 10 hold the Union to-
rether, and 20 contrast his early jour
news win the ea-y movement 81 later
years All aiorg thc ses6card neH who
remembered lewis and Clark saw
their children eating California fruit
when in 1877 and 1920 cur systtms
Of transportation were menatcd BY
visisnt land. she federal government.
a. jefferson kad -slowed - teeth
Tie urrull'c thsf had % hight for its
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