Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 January 1886 — MAL-ADMINISTRATION. [ARTICLE]

MAL-ADMINISTRATION.

Indianapolis Sentinel: As the time approaches for the Administration to meet and deal with great National measures it becomes constantly more apparent that it will be competent to the duty. Th numerous great public interests which have been during twentylive years past wholly neglected by the party in power are one after another coming into view, and will soon be bearing down heavily upon the Government for appropriate practical treatment. The last great measure consummated, or claimed to have been consummated by the Republican party, was the resumption of specie payments.— Since that event seven years have intervened and two National campaigns have occurred. Yet during that long period, and notwithstanding the powerful inducement for offering new and popular issues, not a single new measure of great National importance has been accomplished or attempted, or even proposed by the Rep blican party. The fertility of that party seems to have been utterly exhausted by its past performances. The leaders seem, after th dr period of prolific political fecundity, to have reached the point of utter sterility of statesmenship. What is most remarkable is that many of them fully realize their predicament, and do not hesitate to admit it. For the last ten years nothing has been more common than declarations by prominent Republicans that their party had accomplished its mission, and propositions to disband it. It was urged that its work was immortal; that it was incompetent for future achievements, and that having served in full ail the purposes of its existence, it should depart with dignity, rather than perish in querulous servility, or rot with the gangrene of corruption. Let the causes be what they may the fact is certain, and easy of proof, that many subjects of overshadowing importance were, by the Republican party, during its ascendancy, neglected, ignored, and suppressed. To enumerate all these subjects would require more space than this col mu affords; but a few fair examples will illustrate the whole. We have selected four-

1. First, and pe haps most important of the neglected subj cts, is that of our maratime in erests. At the beginning of the war we had the largest, best and most valuable fleet of merchant ships that traversed the ocean. It was manned by 20,000 sturdy, well paid American sailors. It sailed on every sea, and touched t>t every port in the known world. It participated heavily in the carrying trade of other nations, and it carried substantially all of our own commerce. We built our own ships. Our north-eastern coast was studded with great shipyards, employing 30,000 skilled mechanics at profitable wages. We mo”e than supplied our home demand, and built thousands of ships for sale to foreigners. Ship-building and sea-faring combined, formed the principal source of our National wealth, and maintained for us through several decades an unparalleled public prosperity. We were in the very zenith of our maratime glory, just before the Republican party succeeded to power. And there it terminated. It is heart-sickening to compare that period of maratime splendor with this era of our utter insignificance on the sea. Our splendid shipyards ’• ave disappeared. Our host of gallant sailors have gone like an army of spectres. Our noble merchant fleet has vanquished like a flight of sea birds on the wing. Our commerce, roughly unshipped, years ago took refuge in foreign vessels. We have ho ships. It is almost literally true that our flag, which once gleamed over every billow, is never seen in a foreign port. All rhe commerce of the

woil.l, including our own, except a contemptible fraction, is carri d by foreign ships. Wc are no longer esteemed as even a respectable factor of the world’s work on the ocean. We pay in gold to foreigners for carrying our freights, our mails, and our passengers $200,000,000 every vear. We have ignominiously abandoned the sea to other Nations. This terrible National loss, this shocking National degradation and. humiliation, all occurred under Republican ascendancy. Our glorious marine perished pleading for aid, but received only willful and stubborn neglect. It must and will be revived and the sea reclaimed. 2. A second interest which has been persistently neglected is the navy. Ou. will never again be invaded by enemies. Our future wars will be on the sea and not on the land. Our future disasters will consist in the wreck and capture of our ocean commerce, the blockade and ruin of our harbors, and the bombardment and destruction of the cities on our coasts. Wars’ future triumphs are to be less i» killing men than m the capture and destruction of property. . Our coast line is the longest in the world, embracing three sides of a continent, bordering on both the oceans, fronting all the continents and facing every Nation. It is studded with magnificent cities, notched with splendid harbors and fringed around with swarming fleets, bearing the noblest commerce in the world.— Yet this long coast, with its countlessmillions and billions of wealth, is utterly defenseless. We have NO NAVY. Out of the ever troubled conditions of international affairs war may leap forth at any moment like an unexpected flash of lightning. None can say when the mighty navy of some of the other great Nations may not be found in battle array off the golden rim of our shore. Such an aggressor would find no foe to resist its approach. Not even a respectable squ'dron would confront it. It would find our harbors all open, our cities all fatally exposed, and our commerce a helpless and an easy prey. Before we could lift a hand in self-defense we might be subjected to inconceivable disaster, or, what is far worse, to most abject humiliation. We are the only great Nation in the world without a navy. The war of the rebellion bequeathed to us a war fleet of fair construction and at least respectable size, but that, with six of our nine great navy-yards, has perished from neglect. No duty of the Government has ever been plainer or more urgent than the construction and maintenance of our influence in international ass drs, as well as to the protection and defense of our commerce and our coast. Ceaseless warning and appeal avail nothing in this behalf while Republicans held power. — This is another great national necessity which received only total neglect. 3. A third is our coast defense. Every argument for a navy might be repeated in behalf of agpermanent and powerful system of fortifications around our coast. On this subject little ean be added to the wise and timely utterances of Mr. Tilden. He says: “The elaborate and costly fortifications which were constructed with the greatest engineering skill, are now practically useless. They are not capable of resisting the attacks of modern artillery. The range of the best modern artillery has oecome so extended that our present fortifications, designed' io protect the harbor of New York, where two-thirds of the import trade, and more than one-half of the export trade of the whole United States is carried on, are too near to the great populations of Nsw York City, Jersey City and Brooklyn to be of any value as a protection. To provide effectual defense would be the work of years. It would take much time to construct permanent fortification A small provision of the beet modern

guns would take several years.— Neither of these works can be extemporized in the presence of emergent danger. A million of soldiers with the best equipments on the heights surrounding the harbor of New York, in our present state of preparation, or rather in our total want of preparation, would be powerless to resist a small sqnadron of war steamers. This state of things is discreditable to our f resight and to our prudence. The best guarantee against aggression, the assuranc a that our diplomacy will be successful and pacific, and that our lights and honor will be respected bvthe other Nations, is in a situation to vindicate our dion and interests. While we may afford to be defiant in the means of offense, we can not afford to be defenseless.”

Yet we are utterly defenseless. And though, since the rebellion, we have been repeatedly menaceci with foreign war, this transcendent du.y of self-protection has been recklessly, if not criminally, neglected and ignored. . 4. A fourth is our commercial relations with the other American Nations. Between us and Mexico there is but a river. Central and South America front with us on the same great gulf. They are all our close neighbors, while from a 1 the other Nations they are separated by oceans thousands of miles in width. Those countries produce for export exactly such commodities as we most need, and are compelled to import. Hence reciprocal ommercial relations between ourselves and them, encouraging unobstructed exchange oi commodities is favored no less by geographical proximity than by the nature of the respective productions of those countries and our. own. Last year the imports into Mexico, Central and South America and the West Indies amounted to $475,000,000. These imports consisted chiefly of machinery, agricultural implements, manufactured goods, ready-made clothing and breadstuffs. With all these articles we have long been heavily overstocked, and could have supplied them more cheaply than any other country; and, had our trade relations with th se countries beeu on a natural footing, we should Lave supplied nearly the whole of that demand. As it was we contributed to that mass of'imports only $77,000,000. All the balance was supplied by distant Europe.— The same year our imports from those countries amounted to $168,000,000. The balance of trade against us was $91,000,000. This heavy balance, which should have been paid in trade, was paid in gold. And so it is every year. Our gold constantly flowing out, while our productions, which should go in its place, remain to glut the markets and perpetuate our industrial depression. Meantime we have idly looked on while the rich trade of our nearest neighbor is absorbed aud carried away from our very doors by other countries. Naturally that vast trade is ours. It has persistently sought us, but under Republican rule we have ignoiantly and stubbornly ignored its overtures. It should and must be reclaimed. The tide of gold must again be turned homeward, and the welcoming markets of our neighbors reopened to outflowing commerce. This vast annual loss and sacrifice, so long permitted by Republican negligence, must be speedily and permanently remedied. For want of space we must pause here. The list of neglected interests is far from being exhausted, and will soon be resumed. 1 «<•» Married —January 3d, 1886, in Rensselaer, Indiana, by Rev. Peter Hinds, Sherman A. Havens, formerly of Shelpy county, this State, and Miss Eslela U. Conira. Mr. H. informs us that he will at an early date engage in the saloon business, north end of town, near the depot.

The Express office is now ed up stairs in McCoy’s bank bun ing.