OCR Text |
Show Some fruits of Protecton. Fiom 1S01 to the present day, save and except the four mournful years 16H3 to 1807, this country has had the policy of adequate protection to American industries. At the close of the period of inadequate protection the nation had a bankrupt Treasury; today the Treasury Is overflowing. over-flowing. At the close of tho period of Inadequate protection the Government, which, as usual under that kind of legislation, had been run- 1 ' j1 i i . nlnglnto debt and so'lost Its credit among men that found Itself unable to borrow monoy In sufficient quantities to mcctjts needs, though it offered 8, 10,yca 12 per cent for the money;today It can borrow all the money tjiat it wants at the rate of 2 percent, and Its bonds Issued at that rate stand at .a premium in the market places of the world. Under a Protective policy this nation fought the greatest war In the history of the world, a war which left tho Southern section of tho country prostrate and bankrupt, a war which took from the productive industries of tho Northern section of the country more than a million of Its sturdiest sons and devoted de-voted four years of their time to destruction de-struction Instead of construction; a war which used up all of the enormous enor-mous Income of the Government for four years, amounting to more than a thousand millions of dollars, and yet left us with a debt of nearly three thousand millions of dollars. Upon that debt wc have paid more than eighteen hundred millions of the principal and nearly three thousand millions of dollars of interest. As an expression of our gratitude to those who saved the Union we have paid out In pensions more than three thousand thou-sand millions of dollars and arc now paying about a hundred and forty million dollars a year. Hut, notwithstanding these enormous enor-mous losses In population and In wealth caused by this war, our population popu-lation has Increased from a little over thirty millions In 1860 to more than eighty millions at the present hour. Our wealth has Increased from sixteen six-teen billions in 1800 to more than ninety-four billions In 1000, or from an average of $513 per capita In 1700 to $1,235 per capita in 1000. That is, our wealth has increased more than twice as fast as our population. Our savlngsbank deposits have increased from $140,277,504 In 1800 to $2,035,201,-875, $2,035,201,-875, or from an average of $4.75 per capita In 18(10 to $30.52 per capita in 1003. That is our savlngsbank deposits de-posits (the best Index of the condition of working men) have Increased nearly nine times as fast as our population. |