Year: 1866

posing that from and after the passage thereof
it should not be lawful fox any person or per-
sons, not residents Of this State, to have or to
hold any store, warehouse, shop or any other
place Of business whatever in this city,
such proposition, if not received with shouts Of
laughter, would certainly suggest to the minds
Of honorable members that the honorable mem
Der making it had been entirely misunderstood
By his constituents when they assumed that he
had talent for legislation. Or if the violent
supposition were INDUCED in that the honor
able member really knew what he was
about, and really meant to prohibit
by leN any man from doing business OF any sort
in this city, whose legal residence was not III
the State tie conclusion would probably be
/ that il he was not fool, that then he was


something else; for such proposition must
inevitably be accepted as very foolish II not
dishonest, and very dishonest il not foolish.
There are certainly thousands Of men engaged
in business here, whose residences are beyond
the borders Of the State; merchants living across


the river in New-JerSey; manufacturers whose
legal homes are in NewEngland; owners OF
mines who belong to Pennsylvania dealers III
produce who come from the West; and each
and all of these bring their capital, their mer-
chandse and manufactured goods, their coal
and their iron, their corn, their wheat and their
pork TO the great national market. And ii Is
partly because they do so that this is great
city-the head center OF American trade


Numerous as its resident population is, there are
thousand reasons, economical, commercial and


social. why many who come and stay here much


Of the time TO traffic should not make
| il permanent residence. Perhaps II is de-


srable that they should oitener make this their


home, but, as they do not choose, the next best
thing is that they should make it the head.
quarters of their business, and have among US
shops and stores, and warerooms, and counting
rooms filling TO overflow the great reservoir Of
trade, the channels whereof flow out to the ut
tcrmost parts of the earth. The legislation that
should prohibit it, would strike fatal blow to
the prosperity of NcwYork.


The legislation that would prohibit it even in
part. aims a serious blow at that prosperity. Tie
Bill We alluded 10, two days ago, which forblds
non residents from having stands or stalls in
any of the city markets, is of this character. 1t
takes n great deal of food to supply the wants
of eigh, hundred thousand people; the more
abundant il is the cheaper. and the cheaper il is
the better able are We TO feed and keep in
healthful and happy condition the poorer class
which necessarily makes 50 large proportion
Of great commercial city like this. We should
encourage poduceis to seek this market, not dis
courage them, and the greater the inducements
we can hold ont To them, the better for them
and the better for Us. The smaller the number
Of intermediate persons between the producer
and the consumer, the cheaper and more abund-
ant is the supply Of household marketing, and
it is precisely because the producer and con
sumer are thus brought into proxmate rela-
tons that the market system Of Philadelphia Is
so much better than ours. Any legislation that
separates the farmer and the market gardener
from those in daily need of their products
cheapens their price to those who produce them,
enhances il 10 those who consume them, and
Injuries both. Such a system is detrimental to


the general prosperity Of the city, and Is as
unwise as it would b. to drive other dealers in


merchandise from among Us to markets where


they would receive more liberal welcome.


What we need is not that obstacles should be


thrown in the way of produce coming Ia thl,


market, but that inducements should be held


out TO agricultural and horticultural producers


to seek it, The wretched buildings and still


worse localities TO which houSekecpers must 90


to get their daily food, if they want il at first
| hands, should be changed, as we said the other
day, for spacious aud airy market-p places near
the center Of population, to which coun-
| try people would be- encouraged to
come by room enough To display aud sell
their produce and customers enough to buy II.
Tie street cars would be- less crowded than
now on Saturdays with market.baShets: there
would be less hucksterng of stale and unwholc-


some food from wandering yendcr- and small
retailers in corner groceries, but the poor would
be the gamers in the quality and cheapness OF
what they buy. II the Legislature takes any
action at all upon the condition of our markets,
let il consider the necessities of The people ana
not the interests of a Ring



call Is out for a mass convention IN lcnucs-