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ºr "ÚUK COUNTRY: .
ITS PRESENT and its FUTURE PROSPERITY.
<º.
It has become a trite saying, that Peace hath her victories no less renowned
than War. The United States being now at peace with all mankind, and being in
the midst of great prosperity, the occasion has seemed to me appropriate for a discus-
sion of some of those greater problems of statesmanship, the correct solution of which
may tend to give to our government the honored place it should occupy among the .
nations of the earth, and firmly secure to the generations who shall come after us
the blessings we now enjoy.
It is with such a feeling that I beg to suggest that among others, the following
subjects should receive the careful consideration of the present Congress, viz.:
Our Foreign Commerce,
. The Inter-Oceanic Canal, Our Navy,
Owr Coast Defenses, The Improvement of the Mississippi River,
including an adequate System of Levees,
Polygamy in the Territories, Public Schools,
The Revision of the Tariff,
And a Modification of the Internal Revenue Laws.
s
I do not propose to discuss these subjects at length in of transportation to and from our ports in our own vessels
this communication, but to make a few suggestions on has fallen off one per cent. in the fiscal year 1881, as com-
each. - pared with that of 1880.”
- FOREIGN COMMERCE. During the years of the late war our foreign commerce
. . . . . . . . . . . was swept from the ocean. Since the close of the war but
‘. . . . . . . . . ‘. . ** nations of little progress has been made in recovering our former
** º . . . . . . . " " ' nosition. The question now is, what can be done in that
#'ake &m/.4mena o” . . . ^ The question of subsidizing steamship lines
. . . . . 3. . . . is... he attention of Congress for many years past.
'*.
subsidy has come to mean in this country, a
º, *- DAVID M. RICHARDSON, ibution, a payment of money by the Govern-
- receiving an adequate return therefor. It is
** , , ‘. • * - led a steal. The word has become obnoxious
ºs DETROIT, MICH. can people, and it is time it was dropped
"... it. ... ?" w
- “... " ,
"...v., vºw question of mail transportation in steamships to
#777,102,114 in Ioreign vessels. Of the combined imports e 3- g tº
foreign ports is under consideration.
and exports of merchandise, 16 per cent only of the total
value was convi ' in American vessels; and the amount The future growth and development of this country is
*&




... º.º.º.º. .
- * - * -
- *
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tº DAVID M BICHARDSON,
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" ... ". . . DETROIT, MICH.

3, 2 C, @ / º .
(P/2. "GUR COUNTRY
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! . U U TV. O O
ITS PRESENT AND Its FUTURE PROSPERITY.
It has become a trite saying, that Peace hath her victories no less renowned
than War. The United States being now at peace with all mankind, and being in
the midst of great prosperity, the occasion has seemed to me appropriate for a discus-
sion of some of those greater problems of statesmanship, the correct solution of which
may tend to give to Our government the honored place it should occupy among the .
nations of the earth, and firmly secure to the generations who shall come after us
the blessings we now enjoy.
It is with such a feeling that I beg to suggest that among others, the following
subjects should receive the careful consideration of the present Congress, viz.:
Our Foreign Commerce, ©
. The Inter-Oceanic Canal, Our Navy,
Owr Coast Defenses, The Improvement of the Mississippi River,
including an adequate System of Levees,
Polygamy in the Territories, Public Schools,
The Revision of the Tariff,
And a Modification of the Internal Revenue Laws.
I do not propose to discuss these subjects at length in of transportation to and from our ports in our own vessels
this communication, but to make a few suggestions on has fallen off one per cent. in the fiscal year 1881, as com-
each. pared with that of 1880.”
- FOREIGN COMMERCE. During the years of the late war our foreign commerce
~ * * - was swept from the ocean. Since the close of the war but

Foreign Commerce is considered among the nations of
:e earth an element of strength and of profit. The
mount of this traffic enjoyed by the United States is
mazingly small, as will be seen by the following statement.
the Secretary of the Treasury in his last report: “Of the
ºrchandise brought in at seaboard, lake and river ports
ring the year, an amount of the value of $133,631,146,
3 imported in American vessels, and $491,840,269 in
>ign. Of the exports of merchandise an amount of
value of $116,955,324 was shipped in American, and
• 17,162,714 in foreign vessels. Of the combined imports
and exports of merchandise, 16 per cent, only of the total
value was conv * in American vessels; and the amount
* .
little progress has been made in recovering our former
position. The question now is, what can be done in that
direction? The question of subsidizing steamship lines
has received the attention of Congress for many years past.
The word subsidy has come to mean in this country, a
sort of a contribution, a payment of money by the Govern-
ment without receiving an adequate return therefor. It is
sometimes called a steal. The word has become obnoxious
to the American people, and it is time it was dropped
when the question of mail transportation in steamships to
foreign ports is under consideration.
The future growth and development of this country is
*
*
(2)
largely involved in the question of our foreign commerce.
Our inland commerce by rail and by water is in a high
state of advancement; but, alas for our foreign commerce;
what can be done for it?
The time has come when the Government should adopt
a new policy relative to the transportation of United
States mail to foreign countries.
system to adopt is as follows, viz:
Congress should provide by the necessary legislation * . . º
g p y y leg world are gravitating more nearly to the same plane of
values. Labor, too, is destined to undergo the same inevit-
that the United States mails shall be carried in Amer-
ican bottoms under the United States flag—the steamships
to be commanded by citizens of the United States—to all
the leading commercial centers of the civilized world:
The contracts to be let for a term of ten, twelve or fifteen
years to the lowest responsible bidders, the Government
reserving the right to increase the service at discretion with
said contracting parties by giving due notice; the Govern-
it will without doubt reach 100,000,000. If this vast
population, together with all the enginery of production,
is to be kept employed, foreign markets for a large per-
centage of the productions of the country must be sought
out, and there is no time to be lost in laying and carrying
into execution plans to meet a condition of things which is
e sure to come.
In my judgment the wise
I am not unmindful of the fact that in this age of tele-
graphs, telephones and rapid transit, the markets of the
able changes—not that the labor of this country will speed-
ily recede to the price of that of the more densely populated
countries, but that as the modern forms of Christian civil-
ment to determine as to the size and class of ships to be so
employed ; payment for such mail service to be made
quarterly.
I am aware that to carry out a broad and comprehen-
ization shall be extended to those countries, labor will
enhance in value in like proportion. &
We may negotiate treaties to restrain the influx of foreign
population—especially the Chinese—yet they will come.
The Christian missionary is abroad, and wherever he goes
the principles of the brotherhood of mankind are taught.
These embrace the right of man to emigrate to better his
sive system of mail service will require an outlay of
large sums of money yearly. The question is, will it pay 2
I answer in the affirmative; I think it will pay,+possibly
not in the first decade, but in the second and for all time
thereafter.
The time has come for this nation to lay aside the
narrow policy that was adapted to its prosperity during
the earlier years of its existence, including a high protective
tariff, and prepare to enter the markets of the world, not
only with its agricultural products, but with its manu-
factures and the products of its mines. Regular and fre-
quent mail service, including a comprehensive money order
system to facilitate exchanges, are indispensable in estab-
lishing and maintaining foreign traffic. The benefits to
be derived from a broad and comprehensive system of mail
service are incalculable.
ports will feel that they are doing business through and
with their own people. The flag itself furnishes protection
and gives confidence and security to shippers.
people shall not immigrate to our shores?
*.
The shippers of goods to foreign
condition. We ourselves are the descendants of immi-
grants. . Therefore wherein exists the right of one nation
to say to the overcrowded population of another, your
The facts are,
the right does not exist except as to criminals and paupers,
and possibly as a measure of self-defense to protect the
welfare of our own people and to avert impending danger
to our institutions.
There is but one practical course left open for this
nation to pursue, and that is to meet this great influx of
population as they land on our shores, with the spelling-
book in one hand and the Bible in the other, and teach
them to become God-fearing and law-abiding citizens.
I have discussed this question more at length than I
intended, but its breadth and magnitude are so vast I could
hardly say less and say anything.
I am clearly of the opinion that to invest $15,000,000
- : annually—and more if necessary—in carrying into oper-
With our present population of over 50,000,000, aug.
mented annually by the natural increase and the enor-
mous immigration that is pouring in upon us, which
will be largely increased as the years roll on, by the
close of the present decade the population will number at
least 68,000,000, and by the close of the present century
ation the plan herein set forth would be a wise and pru.
dent investment for the Government to make ; that our in-
creased commerce with foreign countries would repay the
expenditure and a large percentage of interest thereon be-
fore the close of the present century. * *he same time the
expense would be scarcely felt, as ‘’ would largely
( 3 )
be expended among our own people in the construction
and equipment of ships for the same service.
A mail service once established as herein contemplated,
our foreign representatives could facilitate immensely the
building up and establishing a profitable trade in the
countries to which they are accredited by gathering mar-
country. I am aware that this is done at the present
time to some extent, but as yet it avails but little.
We must bring the foreign markets to our very doors
by regular and frequent mail service, and by rapid and
cheap transportation, and by a reliable and inexpensive
money order system. The present is an auspicious time
to inaugurate and carry into operation this great and far-
reaching enterprise.
locality shall have been determined upon. The cost of
making the necessary surveys to determine as to the prac-
ticability of constructing the canal would not be large.
Negotiations for the purchase of the right of way could
progress while the surveys were being made. Ample terri-
tory should be secured not only for the construction of
l *
ket statistics in those countries for publication in this the canal but also for its defense.
In view of the fact that at no distant day Mexico and
the Central American States are likely to become absorbed
by the United States, not by conquest but by their own
volition, the necessary territory for the construction and
To carry this plan into operation would be far more
beneficial to American commerce and American industries
than the famous Navigation Laws were to the commercial
and manufacturing industries of England, which were
enacted by the Long Parliament, so called, in 1651.
There is paid anuually about $100,000,000 for the trans-
portation of American exports to foreign countries.
this large sum American ships receive only sixteen per
cent., while the balance is paid to foreign ship-owners.
Wise legislation will soon change this order of things, and
American products will be carried to market in American
ships, and this country will share in the profits of this
great traffic. The importance of recovering our former
estimated.
INTER-OCEANIC CANAL.
A glance at the topography of the Western Hemisphere
is all that is needed to convince the most skeptical of the
defense of the canal could be had at a moderate cost. If
the canal is to be constructed, it should be of ample
capacity to pass readily the largest class of ships that are
likely to navigate the ocean.
Doubtless the right of way and the cost of constructing
such a water-way would not be less than $300,000,000.
Such a canal as is herein contemplated, once an accom-
plished fact, would be a good investment for the United
States at two or even three times the amount herein stated,
as the United States would then bold the key to the com-
Of
merce of the world. The Commerce of Eastern Asia and
Western Europe, as well as that of our own country and
South America, would seek a passage through the proposed
canal, the route being so much shorter, safer and cheaper.
The advantage thus secured would endure for all time.
This work once entered upon and prosecuted vigorously
doubtless could be completed before the close of the present
| * . * * *
century or within the next twenty or twenty-five years.
position in the foreign carrying trade cannot well be over-
Foreign nations should be permitted to share in the
benefits of the canal when completed, for such reasonable
great innportance of a water-way to connect the two great
OC68. In S.
This is no new question, but it is one in which the
United States has a vital Interest, and one in which every
consideration as may be agreed upon under treaty stipu- .
lations.
It is true that this is a vast undertaking, but I believe
the United States are equal to the task and cannot afford
to permit the proposed canal to pass under the control of
one or more foreign powers. That it is sure to do so unless
this Government assumes its construction and control there
is but little reason to doubt.
commercial nation of the globe has a greater or less interest.
The United States being the most deeply interested in
this important question should, in my judgment, assume
the responsibility of constructing the canal, provided after
a careful survey shall have been made it is deemed practi-
cable, and provided further that the right of way can be
secured by purchase or treaty when the most advantageous
OUR NAVY.
The Navy of this country, since the close of the late war,
has been permitted to waste away until it is hardly worthy
of the name it bears, when compared with that of England
and other European States. It is true that thus far we
(4 )
have escaped all harm from foreign or domestic foes, but
is it safe or wise to rely wholly upon our past good fortune
for our security in the future? War may be very remote,
yet it may be very near. Prudence would seem to dic-
tate, now that we have largely recovered from the desola-
tions and burdens of taxation occasioned by the late war,
and while the country is prosperous and our revenues are
ample, that we should put ourselves in a condition to meet
any emergency that may be likely to arise.
our extended coasts on the Atlantic, Pacific and the Gulf
and our foreign interests and the foreign commerce we
now have, and what we may hope to recover by wise and
In view of
comprehensive legislation, it would seem to be only com-
mon prudence and wise foresight to provide a Navy ade-
quate to successfully resist the combined attack of any
forces that are likely to be concentrated against us. To
do less than this would seem to be an act of supineness too
hazardous and too perilous to contemplate.
OUR COAST DEFENSES.
Under modern methods and systems of warfare coast
defences may to some extent have fallen into disuse; at
the same time it cannot be regarded as wise and prudent
to abandon them altogether. The old system of fortifica-
tions doubtless have had their days as a means of adequate
defence, but because the old systems have become super-
annuated and of no practical utility, is it wise or pru-
dent to flatter ourselves that diplomacy will forever here-
after supply the place of coast defenses and of navies?
Such a policy would evince a weakness not unlike a far- -
mer who expects to reap an abundant harvest without
plowing or sowing his fields. A great Commercial Nation
eannot afford to act upon the theory that, whereas we
are now at peace with all Nations and peoples of the earth,
therefore, there will be no more war, and therefore, no fur-
ther need of coast defenses or navies.
The facts are, the ambition and passions of men remain
substantially unchanged from age to age.
may arise in the near future which may bring down upon
Emergencies
this Nation the anathemas of the combined Nations of
Europe.
In the present condition of our coast defenses
and of our Navy are we prepared to meet so formidable a-
foe
we not to put ourselves in such a condition of defense that
we may successfully cope with, and banish from our shores
any forces which may combine against us?
Can we adequately defend ourselves? If not, ought
I believe I do not over-state the case when I say that
to-day we are the most exposed of any Nation of moment
on the earth; that there are ships of war now afloat,
capable of entering any harbor on our coasts and of
destroying our seaports, and the United States would be
at this time powerless to defend itself. If this be true, is it
wise or prudent to continue in this defenseless condition?
Does it become us as a Nation to remain thus exposed?
It would seem to be the part of wisdom in peace to
prepare for war; to construct adequate defenses along
our coasts—the best that modern science and engin-
eering skill can provide—at whatever cost it may be. To
do less may be an act of supineness which may cost us too
dearly. Grave responsibilities relative to these and
kindred matters rest upon the law-making power of a
great commercial Nation which they cannot afford to
ignore, and certainly which they cannot escape from or
evade. Ample resources are at the command of the law-
making power of this Nation to provide adequate coast
defenses and an adequate Navy. Shall it be done?
THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,
There has been much discussion and some practical
work done in the direction of suitably improving this
great water-way for the benefit of the commerce that seeks
an outlet to the sea.
The most noticeable of these improvements is the
successful construction of the jetties at the mouth of the
Mississippi, where a uniform depth of 26 feet of water has
been obtained, and there seems to be no doubt but that
this depth will be increased rather than diminished by
the action of the water. -
Many thanks and all honor to Captain Eads and to the
Congress that had the wisdom to make the necessary
appropriation to carry into operation and to successfully
complete this great public improvement. The largest
class of ocean steamers and of merchant ships can now
pass to and from the port of New Orleans without obstruc-
tion or hindrance.
This great and important work, so auspicously com-
menced, should be carried forward, and the river so
improved that there shall be established a water-way at a
depth of 14 feet from New Orleans to St. Louis. There
should be included in these improvements an adequate
system of levees to protect the alluvial lands of the great
( )
5
:
Mississippi Valley from being flooded and thereby ren-
dered practically useless so far as agriculture is concerned.
The Mississippi River once improved to the depth herein
named, cheap transportation would be secured for the vast
agricultural products seeking an outlet via New Orleans,
and the alluvial lands so reciaimed would add at no
the country. The upper Mississippi should be adequately
In the first place, let us consider what is involved in
this question, that we may be better prepared to deal with
it.
First, there are about 200,000 polygamists; of this num-
ber it is estimated that there are 70,000 children born in
a social revolution.
improved to Minneapolis, also a canal constructed from a
point at or near Rock Island to Lake Michigan at or near band and father in plural wedlock.
Chicago, of ample capacity to accommodate the commerce
that may seek an outlet in that direction. The cost
of these improvements might possibly reach $60,000,000.
reward the country for the investment there is no manner
of doubt.
It is doubtlessly true that the great South-west would
e & plural wedlock, so called. To these children and to the
distant day immensely to the cotton and sugar product of
mothers who bore them the abolition of polygamy means
These mothers and their children are
to become absolved or freed from all allegiance to the hus-
What is to become of
the Federal law comes in and severs
them when
the relation of husband and wife, of father and chil-
share more largely of the benefits of these improvements
than the more Northerly or Easterly portions of the
country.
If the South-west is rendered more prosperous by these
improvements the other portions of the country will share
of such prosperity.
POLY GAMY.
r ge dren, though the relation be of plural wedlock 2
That the advantages to be derived from them would amply is to care for, and become responsible, for the support of
Who
these unfortunate mothers and children? This is a question
of great moment, and demands and must receive careful
and humane consideration from the Government. In a
word, they should become the wards of the Government.
The care and maintenance of these mothers and children
once solved and fairly settled on a wise and humane basis,
all other questions connected with the abolition of poly-
gamy may be regarded of easy solution.
Let us consider brieflv where the responsibility rests
for the unfortunate condition of these mothers and for the
children born in plural wedlock.
This abomination has grown to dangerous proportions,
and is now so firmly established in the Great Salt Lake
valley that it defies the Federal authorities and disregards
the laws of the United States. It now holds the balance of
power in the Territory of Utah, and if not checked will
soon control Nevada, Montana and Wyoming. The Mor-
mons now number about 200,000; the yearly accessions to
their numbers from all portions of the world are astonish-
ishingly great. The conflict between polygamists and
non-polygamists in this country is no less irrepressible
than was the question of freedom and slavery. We must
choose the one or the other; the two systems cannot peace-
fully exist on this continent.
If polygamy is to be suppressed by the authority of the
United States (and there is no other power that can sup-
press it), there is no time to be lost in securing the enact-
ment of such broad, humane and comprehensive laws as
shall prove effective in crushing it out.
I venture a few suggestions as to the legislation required
to prove effective and succeessful in this matter:
This system of polygamy originated in this country
under the name of Mormonism, within the memory of
many now living. It first concentrated its followers at
Nauvoo, Illinois, under the leadership of Joseph Smith.
The first temple to Mormonism was built there. They
were driven from Nauvoo in the year 1842; they took up
their line of march for the Great Salt Laká valley. When
they left Nauvoo they were much distracted and broken up.
The Government at that time with the slightest effort could
have exterminated polygamy, but that opportunity was
allowed to pass unimproved. The Government not only neg-
lected to crush it out at that time, but it has since made poly-
gamy honorable by appointing the chief polygamist Gov-
ernor of the Territory of Utah and by admitting polygamists
to the halls of Congress. The Government is itself respon-
sible for the condition of things in Utah and the adjacent
territories. Had it performed its duty forty years ago, this
abomination would not to-day be a disturbing element in
our social and political structure.
This question should now be squarely met and solved
by the present generation. The method which to my mind
(6)
will prove the most humane and successful, and on the
whole the cheapest, is for the mothers who have borne
children in plural wedlock and the children born in plural
wedlock to become the wards of the Government, to be
provided for at the expense of the Government until the
children so born shall have arrived at their majority and
the mothers shall have settled again in single wedlock or
shall have passed away by death. These unfortunate
women and children may be provided for on farms to be
furnished by the Government, or in communities which
may engage in the various departments of manufactures,
or the Government may furnish them homes in the farm-
ing districts in severalty and grant a pension to each
mother with children dependent upon her. Doubtless this
last method would be the most practicable and the easiest
and cheapest solution of the social problem.
These children should have the benefit of a common
school education at the expense of the Government. In
the case of orphan children born in plural wedlock, the
Government should provide State public schools, embrac-
ing a system of cottage homes conveniently located on a
farm provided for the purpose, similar to the State Public
School of Michigan, which has been in successful operation
for some years past as a home for indigent orphan children
of the State.
The children born in plural wedlock should inherit the
name of their fathers respectively as fully as though they
had been born in single wedlock.
The Government should make ample and liberal pro-
vision for these mothers and children, in advance of the time
when the law shall come in and sever the relations which
now exist, so that when they shall have become absolved
or freed from the husbands and fathers in plural wedlock
they shall pass directly under the guardianship of the
Government, and be provided for and protected by it,
under the provisions herein contemplated. Much suffering
on the part of these unfortunate mothers and children will
be obviated by so doing.
It will not do for the Government to leave these
mothers and children unprovided for and unprotected;
such an act on the part of the Government would be bar-
barous in the extreme and a disgrace to the Christian
name, and to the civilization of the age in which we live.
The legislation necessary to the suppression of polyg-
amy is a matter about which men will widely differ. It
seems to me the wisest plan to adopt is to abolish the
present Territorial Government and place the manage-
ment of the affairs of the Territory in the hands of a
commission of twelve or fifteen good, true and competent
men, under the direction of such laws as Congress shall
provide.
Stringent legislation which shall provide severe punish-
ment for the indulgence in polygamous practices should
be enacted. Ample military force should be provided to
sustain the commission in the enforcement of law. The
President should be authorized to proclaim martial law in
any district in the Territories where polygamy is prac-
ticed, and where the civil authorities are powerless to
enforce the laws.
If it is contemplated that these people will submit
without resistance to surrender their polygamous prac-
tices it is a delusion. They will resist to the utmost
unless the commission is sustained and supported by ample
military power to stamp out any incipient rebellion.
The details of this work must in the main be left to the
wisdom and discretion of the commission appointed to
execute the laws Congress may provide.
That it will cost large sums of money to provide for the
wards of the Government and to enforce the laws neces-
sary to suppress the abomination, there is no doubt, but
it should be done at whatever cost of treasure. Should
the cost not exceed $10,000,000 annually for the next
ten or fifteen years we may esteem ourselves fortunate.
The revenues of the Government are ample to provide
whatever shall be needed.
This is the question of the hour, and the American
people demand at the hands of the law-making power such
legislation as shall prove effectual in the suppression of
the entire system of polygamy in all the Territories.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Statistics of the late census furnish unmistakable
evidence of a condition of illiteracy in some portions of
our country, which is much to be deplored; in fact it is
alarming when we contemplate the logical sequence of
this condition of things. Ignorance as a rule begets vice,
crime and revolution. Good government is impossible
where ignorance predominates, and more especially in a
representative and elective Nation like ours. A Govern-
ment of the people, by the people, for the people, to be
enduring, must rest upon the intelligence and moral
(7)
worth of the people. These premises admitted—and no
one will attempt to deny them—it becomes a question of
of great moment as to the duty and power of the Govern-
ment to remedy the conditions of ignorance and illiter-
acy herein referred to. A Nation in self-preservation raises
armies and equips navies to repel an invading foe or
to suppress a rebellion. Nothing more imperils and
endangers the stability and perpetuity of Government
than ignorance and the vice and crime which follow in
its train. Therefore, if the national life is worth pre-
serving, it is eminently fitting and proper for the Govern-
ment to provide in advance against a condition of things
which, if permitted to develop, and to extend uninterrupt-
edly, would sap the very foundations of the Government,
and ultimately destroy it.
The ignorance which pervades a great mass of the
population of this country is a standing menace to the
stability and perpetuity of the Government. This state-
ment cannot be successfully controverted ; the late census
establishes this fact beyond all controversy. What, then,
is the plain duty of the Government in the premises? It
must provide a remedy against the evils which threaten it.
This can be successfully accomplished only in one way, and
that is by educating the masses at the expense of the
public Treasury wherever it is necessary to do so: to
expend public moneys in this direction is just as legiti-
mate as it is to expend money to raise and equip armies
and navies to repel an invading foe or to suppress a
rebellion.
Ignorance is a foe, more insiduous and more subtle
than any and all other dangers combined that now
threaten the stability of our institutions. Therefore, it is
the plain duty of the law-making power of this Nation
to enact such laws and make such appropriations from the
public Treasury as shall furnish school accommodations
to all persons of school age between six and sixteen years
inclusive, and to make the attendance upon the public
schools so established compulsory for a period of not less
than six months of each year, unless perhaps excused
by competent authority where the labor of such children
is necessary for the support of the aged and indigent.
It may be urged that a large portion so appropriated
would be expended in the Southern States. If it is most
needed there then it should certainly be expended there.
There should be no sectional strife or preferences in this
matter. Every true American is proud of the fact that
we stand to-day an undivided Nation—one flag, one com-
mon interest and one common destiny. The education of
the rising generation without distinction of sex, race or
color is a matter of great national importance, to the end
that every citizen shall be prepared to perform well and
intelligently his duty in a wise use of the franchise con-
ferred upon him.
The expenditure by the Federal Government of $15,-
000,000 annually, or more if needed for the purposes
herein stated, must be regarded by all prudent men as a
wise and judicious use of the public moneys.
It may be claimed that for the Government to enter the
field to secure to the rising generation a common school
education in the several States and Territories would be a
step toward the centralization of more and greater power in
the general Government. While this may or may not be
true it certainly is the most direct, simple and inexpensive
method that can possibly be adopted to establish on a
firm and enduring basis the institutions we all cherish so
dearly, a free government by the people; the grandest
inheritance ever vouchsafed to man.
We have now arrived at a period when the conditions
of the country are most favorable for the Government to
enter upon this great and all-important work.
There is no political strife on sectional animosity.
We are more closely allied to-day in feeling and in interests
than at any time before in the history of our country.
We should know no North, no South, no East and no
West in this undertaking, but one country working
together for one common good to all.
Again, the revenues of the Government are in a con-
dition to warrant the expenditure of whatever money may
be necessary to expend from year to year in this direction,
and the country is enjoying a high degree of prosperity.
Another important factor that should not be overlooked
in this connection is the very large and constantly increasing
foreign emigration that is coming to our shores each success-
ive year. These foreigners soon become our peers at the bal-
lot box. An educational qualification should determine as to
their fitness to wisely exercise political power in a free gov-
ernment. Since there is no educational standard interposed
for the adult population as to their fitness to use wisely
the elective franchise, it is all the more important that the
rising generation should receive a common school educa-
tion in the common English branches. The machinery
(8)
for carrying out this great and important undertaking can
wisely be left for Congress to provide.
Doubtless the several State governments whose people
should receive substantial aid from the Government in
support of its public schools would so modify their statutes
as to work in harmony with any system that may be pro-
vided by Congress.
The constitutional power of Congress to establish an
educational standard as a condition to the exercise of the
elective franchise in the election of members of Congress
and of presidential electors cannot be questioned, and the
sooner such conditions are provided the better for the
country.
Intelligence and moral worth are the great bulwarks of
free institutions and a free government. Whatever will
strengthen and perpetuate these should not be omitted.
article or fabric.
try with bankruptcy, repudiation and ruin.
the two great armies had been disbanded and the
Government had ceased to disburse these large sums, this
heavy taxation rested with crushing weight upon the
industries of the country. Under Mr. Johnson's adminis-
tration the manner of enforcing the revenue laws became
in many portions of the country exceedingly obnoxious
and offensive as well as tyrannical. The tax upon the same
materials was not infrequently repeated three, four and
five times before it reached its completion in the finished
This heavy taxation and the offen-
well-nigh
sive and barbarous methods of enforcing
the revenue laws, had created universal dissatisfaction
in all parts of the country; in fact it threatened the coun-
No people on
earth, be they ever so loyal, could long endure such a
drain upon their resources. In the fall of 1866 there was
organized in the City of Detroit, a manufacturers' Associa-
tion for self-protection against the offensive and unjust
manner of enforcing the revenue laws.
THE TARIFE AND REVENUE LAWS.
The revision of the tariff has received much attention
from Congress for several sessions; it has been widely
discussed through the public press, but as yet no com-
tuon ground of agreement has been reached.
While I do not propose to enter the broad field of tariff
discussion, I desire to make a few suggestions that may be
of some practical benefit in settling the great questions of
providing ample revenue for the support of the Govern.
ment in all of its departments and for carrying forward to
successful completion the great enterprises which it now
seems expedient for it to enter upon. There was collected
during the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1881, from cus-
toms $198,159,676.02; internal revenue, $135,264,385,51;
public lands, $2,201,863.17; miscellaneous sources, $25,-
Total, $360,782,292,57. Total expenditures
for the same period, $260,712,887.59, leaving a balance to l
apply toward the payment ofpublic debt or other purposes
156,367.87.
of $103,069,409.98.
Under the blanket revenue laws enacted in 1864, which
imposed a tax on every industry in the land except that
of agriculture, there was raised in 1866, $310,120,448.13,
and from customs for the same period $179,046,651.58.
During the war, when the Government was in the market
to buy a large percentage of the products of the
country and was disbursing about $2,000,000 daily, the
country could bear this enormous taxation, but after
In December of
the same year the undersigned was made chairman of a
committee on internal taxation as imposed by the Govern-
ment. Early in January, 1867, I proceeded to Washing-
ton for the purpose of making a careful examination of our
own system of revenue, and the systems that had been
adopted by the leading governments of Europe.
The departinents obligingly placed at my disposal
abundant information on the subject of revenue. Having
made a timorough and careful investigation of the systems
of revenue as applied in this country and by the leading
nations of Europe, a report was prepared relieving all the
industries of the country producing necessaries of life from
all taxation for internal revenue purposes. Careful com-
parison and investigation revealed the fact that the
sources of revenue, including customs, could be reduced to
ten which would be reliable, and from which ample
revenue could be derived to meet the requirements of the
Government, including the sinking fund.
Accordingly a report was prepared on this basis which
i provided for the repeal of the taxes imposed upon all
industries producing the necessaries of life, including
the tax on sugar and cotton and the obnoxious income
tax. The report provided for an increase of fifty per cent.
on what was then known as specific taxes, from which there
was collected in 1866, $18,000,000; from this source it was
proposed to raise $27,000,000; this tax was payable
annually.
The Committee submitted its report to the Association of
(9)
Detroit, March 7, 1867. The sweeping reduction of taxes pro-
posed in the report seemed to the Association imcompatible
with safety to the revenues of the Government. After full
discussion the report was referred back to the committee
where it slumbered until the 18th of October of the same
year, when it was again considered by the Association
and unanimously adopted without the change of a figure.
A committee was then appointed with power to call a
National convention of manufacturers at such time and
place as should be deemed expedient, after consulting with
the leading manufacturers of the country. Copies of the
report having been distributed freely throughout the
country, the proposition to call a National convention
met with universal approval.
A convention was called to meet in the city of Cleve-
y -
land, Ohio, Cn the 18th and 19th of December, 1867.
Twenty-four States responded, the attendance was large
and was estimated to represent over $400,000,000 of capital
invested in manufacturing industries.
After the convention was organized a committee of
two from each State represented was appointed to whom
all motions, resolutions and reports relative to the reduc-
tion of taxes, should be referred.
After full discussions by the committee of the various
plans proposed for the reduction of taxes the report of the
Detroit Association was adopted by the committee with
but three dissenting votes. The committee reported its
action to the convention. After a full and detailed
explanation of the report presented by the committee and
full discussion of the same, the report was adopted without
the change of a figure, with but six dissenting votes.
A committee of leading manufacturers was then appointed
to lay the report before Congress with a request that
prompt action should be had in the reduction of taxes.
On the 22d of January following a large convention of
New England and Eastern manufacturers was held at
Worcester, Mass., at which the report adopted at Cleveland
was unanimously adopted without the change of a figure.
A committee was also appointed to lay the report before
Congress and to ask prompt action in the repeal of taxes.
Within sixteen months from the time the report was
was submitted to the Detroit Association all the taxes
upon all the industries of the country producing the
necessaries of life (except one or two minor industries),
including the tax on sugar and cotton, had been repealed.
The relief afforded by this great reduction of taxes at
and take the chances, and they did it.
ience of the past.
abundant crops for the past few years, and the country is
that time, produced, as it were, a rebound from a condi-
tion of deep depression and grave apprehension to one
of great activity and unexampled prosperity throughout
the country. Had a debt paying era ensued instead of
a debt contracting era, the calamities which came upon
the country in 1873 and continued for six years would
have been avoided. But the American idea seems to be
to go it strong and go it fast and go as long as you can
It is much to be
desired that this Nation shall learn wisdom from past
experience, and that our people will adopt the rule to pay
as they go, and thereby avoid a repetition of the exper-
Happily we have been favored with
now enjoying a period of unprecedented prosperity.
I have always been in favor of a protective tariff and
am now, but I am not clear that excessive protection is in
the long run the best thing for the domestic manufact-
urer.
A wise and judicious modification of the tariff seems to
be a pressing necessity for the general welfare and pros-
perity of the manufacturing industries of the country.
The advocates of a high tariff from which may be col-
lected all or nearly all the revenues necessary for the
support of the Government, and a corresponding reduc-
tion of internal revenue taxes, seem to have closed their
eyes to the fact that excessive protection tends to enhance
the cost of the domestic manufactures, and that such
increased cost will diminish or preclude the possibility of
exporting any surplus products the country may have.
Forty years ago a high protective tariff seemed to be a
necessity, happily that period has passed.
For the most part the manufacturing industries have
reached a point where they can successfully compete with
the same class of goods produced in foreign countries;
there are exceptions to this rule but they are becoming
less year by year. As I have heretofore stated, this Nation
has now reached a point when it should prepare to take a
position among the manufacturing nations and compete
successfully with them in the markets of the world. This
cannot be done under a high protective tariff; to fail to
revise and reduce our tariff is to limit the market of
American manufactures to our own country.
If we would become permanently prosperous, the manu-
facturing industries of the country must gravitate to a
plane of cost of production that will enable our surplus
(10)
products to be put upon foreign markets at a margin of The amount of National Bank notes outstand.
profit.
Our population is now over 50,000,000. There was
added by immigration in 1881, 719,000, besides the natural
increase.
year by year.
natural increase of population, must find employment on
the farm or in the factory, Therefore, in process of time,
the value of labor in all civilized countries will gravitate
to nearly the same plane and the products of labor will in
like manner gravitate to nearly the same market value.
When this period shall arrive protective tariff legislation
will disappear from our statute books. I think I hazard
nothing in the prediction that a century hence protective
tariff legislation for revenue purposes will not be found
among the statutes of any Nation.
Therefore, in a revision of the tariff it would seem wise
to diminish rather than
derived therefrom, which will preclude any material
reduction in internal revenue taxes. Possibly it would be
a act of simple justice to repeal the bank tax, as the bonds
now hypothecated to secure the circulation of the National
banks now draw but 3% to 4 per cent. interest instead of
five or six per cent. as heretofore.
Taxation for internal revenue purposes is compara-
tively light. It cannot be regarded burdensome, as it is
now applied for the most part to luxuries and not to the
necessaries of life.
Tariff duties should always be specific whenever prac-
tical to avoid the temptation to fraud by under valuation.
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS,
The exports for the year ending June 30th, 1881, were
$902,377,346. The imports for the same period were
$642,664,628. Showing the balance of trade in favor of
the United States to be for the period above named
$259,712,718.
The imports of gold over exports for the same period
was about $62,000,000.
increase the revenues to be
$361,014,786
-- 346,681,016
ing at this time is - - - - - - -
Government notes or greenbacks - - -
Total currency circulation - - - - $707,695,802
Estimated gold and silver coin and bullion in the
The immigration to this country will largely increase country, $750,000,000, which, if reduced to coin, would
These new comers, together with the
give the country a circulating medium based on specie of
over $1,450,000,000 or over $29 per capita, which is a
larger circulation per capita based on specie than has ever
been enjoyed by any Nation in the history of the world
with one exception.
Our National Banks afford the safest and the best
system of banking ever enjoyed by any nation in the
history of the world. 'Twenty years' experience has
demonstrated the facts above stated, and it should not now
be disturbed. The benefits the country has derived from
it cannot be estimated. To abolish it, would bring upon
the country financial ruin. The financial condition of the
country is all a prosperous people could ask. The
National debt has been reduced to a point where it does
not embarass the business of the country or impair its
credit, in fact no country in the world enjoys a higher
or a better credit at home and abroad than the United
States.
The country is now in a condition where it can wisely
and prudently appropriate annually at least sixty per
cent. of its surplus revenues to the enterprises herein dis-
cussed. It should here be stated and distinctly understood
that in entering upon these various enterprises there is no
drain upon the resources of the country except the diver-
sion of whatever labor may be required to carry them
forward to successful completion. The money so appro-
priated would for the most part be expended within our
own borders, the labor thus employed would be fed and
clothed from our own farms and factories, and all the
implements and materials used would be furnished by
this country.
The small amount of tax paid by each inhabitant of
the country and so expended would never be felt, yet in
a period of twenty years these undertakings may be
pushed forward to successful completion.
The annual gold product of this country is about
$36,500,000.
100,000. Thus it will be seen that the increase of gold
600,000, less the amount used for manufacturing purposes,
The annual silver product about $42,-
The expenditure of one dollar per annum for each in-
habitant of the United States for a period of twenty years
- will successfully establish mail transportation in American
and silver for the period above named was about $140,-
ships with every leading commercial center in the civilized
world, and thereby establish a foreign market for the sur-
(11)
plus products of the country, and also recover at least
seventy-five per cent. of the carrying trade to and from
this country and a large percentage of the foreign com-
merce now carried on outside of our own country.
On the present valuation of the foreign commerce of
for a nation to perform and not for individuals to under-
take.
The construction of adequate coast defenses and the
equipment of a navy are the legitimate current expenses
of the Government, and should be treated as such; no
this country, it would bring to the carrying trade of this
country full $75,000,000 annually which is now being
paid to foreign ship owners for carrying American pro-
ducts to foreign markets; and as the producing power of
this country shall increase, the reward will be correspond-
ingly greater year by year.
The development of our foreign commerce in the man-
ner herein provided, and the markets secured for our pro-
ducts, would become in a few years the source of vast and
fully equipped for prompt and aggressive warfare.
un told wealth to the country.
The average expenditure of $15,000,000 annually for a
period of twelve or fifteen years will accomplish for the
foreign commerce and for the industries of the country all
that is contemplated herein.
the advantages to be derived therefrom are too remote to
warrant this generation in expending any money thereon;
the same objection would be equally forcible at any future
period. It is not only the duty of a nation to provide
for the present generation, but
future. We are to-day reaping bountiful blessings from
the wise foresight of those who have gone before us; we
should be equally faithful to plan and to build wisely for
the generations that are to come after us. The expend-
iture of $15,000,000 annually for the next twenty years,
if so much shall be needed to secure the right of way and to
construct this great water-way between the two oceans,
would hardly be felt by this nation and would be a lasting
estimate of the expenditures required for these purposes
is necessary.
Our coast defenses should be brought to the highest
possible perfection.
Our navy should be made adequate to protect the
national interest and the nation's honor at home and
abroad. It should not be second to that of any other power.
If we would enjoy peace and tranquility we must be
The improvement of the Mississippi River has received
much attention; the necessity therefor is brought closely
home to every one by the oft repeated overflows which
inflict such distressing losses upon the people as have been
it should make all . . . * * * *
c 2 e nipin canal to connect the waters of said river near Rock
reasonable provision for the prosperity and welfare of the
e g º sº experienced almost from wear to year.
Relative to the inter-oceanic canal it may be urged that p y y
A system of levees
should be constructed adequate to protect those rich and
fertile districts from devastation by oft repeated floods.
For the purpose of commerce it should be made adequate
to meet the requirements thereof, and may properly include
the Upper Mississippi and the construction of the Hen-
Island with the waters of Lake Michigan at or near
Chicago. The expenditure of $5,000,000 annually for ten
or twelve years would accomplish this important work.
Whatever expenditure may be necessaly to suppress
the social evil of bigamy and polygamy in the most
humane and effectual manner should be made; the cause
of humanity and the nation's honor are involved in this
benefit to commerce of other nations that shall secure the
right to use it by treaty stipulations.
Doubtless the most practical and feasible route is via
Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River. The successful
completion of this great water-way upon a plan commen-
surate with the requirements of the commerce of the world
seeking a passage through it would be an achievement
worthy of the age in which we live.
sent favorable opportunity may prove a national calamity
the magnitude of which cannot now be fully estimated.
The present is a most auspicious period in which to enter
upon this great and important undertaking. It is a work
To neglect the pre- .
be intelligently cast.
question.
Since free institutions and a free government have for
their foundation the ballot in the hands of a free people,
it is a question of greatest moment that the ballot should
This can be successfully accom-
plished in no way except through a well organized public
school system throughout all the States and Territories,
and where aid is needed from the public treasury to estab-
lish and support these schools it should be forthcoming.
The expenditure of $15,000,000 annually, or more if neces-
sary, to the end that every vote shall be intelligently cast
is a legitimate outlay to preserve the life of the nation.
Attendance upon school for a period of six or eight
UNIVER
5
3901
months annually during the school age from six to
sixteen, should be made compulsory throughout the
United States. In this way only can the dangers which
ignorance and vice now threaten to our institutions be
averted.
The expenditure of $60,000,000 annually, or more if
necessary, to carry forward to successful completion these
great enterprises would not embarrass the industries of the
country, but, on the contrary, would greatly benefit them.
When we consider the vast resources of agriculture, of
gold and silver mines, of coal and iron, of copper and
petroleum, and the vast productive power of the manufac-
turing industries of the country, the expenditure proposed
would scarcely be felt.
The rapid reduction of the national debt has been
extremely gratifying, and has established a national
credit of which we may well be proud, but the necessity
for further rapid reduction does not exist.
The present revenues of the Government will provide
for the expenditure herein named and leave an annual
balance of $40,000,000 to apply to the further reduction
of the national debt.
Let us take a retrospect of the past fifty years and see
what has been accomplished. The national domain has
been greatly extended; State after State has taken its place
in our Union, others are now asking admission. The
population in 1830 was 12,866,020; in 1880 50,155,783,
SITY OF MICHIGAN
O7468 13
|
32
ful completion of the undertakings herein advocated, there
would be no unnecessary delay in entering upon them, and
no lack of means to push them forward to successful com-
pletion. The benefits herein contemplated would not be
limited to this generation or to the next, but would extend
for ages to come.
Labor, the great producing power of the Nation, is
equal to the undertakings.
Labor brings from the mines, the forests, and the fields,
the hidden treasures thereof. It fashions and prepares
them for the uses of men. Labor moves the lever that
puts in motion the hidden forces of nature that moves the
machinery of the world. Labor purifies the fountains and
channels of human life. Without labor there is neither
accumulation nor progress; therefore, all honor to honest,
faithful and intelligent labor. A government should
plan wisely for the welfare of its labor, in so doing it plans
wisely for itself.
Wise, broad and comprehensive legislation that shall
place this Nation in the front rank in the carrying trade
of the world, and shall open foreign markets to receive
the surplus products of the country; that shall construct
the great water-way to connect the two great oceans, and
shall thereby place in the hands of this Nation the key to
the commerce of the world; that shall construct adequate
coast defenses, and place at the command of this Nation a
navy second to that of no other power; that shall set adequate
bounds to the waters of the great Mississippi River beyond
which its waters shall not pass, and shall so improve it as
3 -ind by the close of the present century it will be over
* Rºuſo,000,000.
it in the past fifty years over 100,000 miles of railroad
to accommodate well the commerce that seeks an outlet
upon its bosom; that shall suppress the great crime
and social evil of polygamy; that shall establish a
* iš sº tº structed and equipped at a cost of over
$6,000,000,000. State after State has been populated and
is now teeming with a varied industry and with untold
wealth.
The question of freedom and slavery has been settled
at a fearful cost of blood and treasure, but it is settled for
all time. With these vast and rapidly increasing
resources, and with almost unlimited powers of production,
supplemented by the inventive genius of the people, the
undertakings herein proposed seem to be wise and
expedient.
If the country could rise to a clear comprehension of
the magnitude of the benefits to be derived from a success-
system of common school education upon a basis so broad
and so deep that the ballot in the hands of coming genera-
tions shall be intelligently cast and honestly counted,
will erect a monument of true statesmanship more endur-
ing than granite rocks. In so doing it will establish the
Nation on foundations that shall endure.
A wise and prudent government forecasts the future
and provides accordingly.
Very respectfully,
DAVID M. RICHARDSON.
DETROIT, Mich., March 28th, 1882.