344 THE GKOUNDSWELL. 



being robbed every day out of half their earnings by these 

 monopolies. 



Mr. Perry believed the government should do the work, 

 and take charge of it, and then we could elect honest men to 

 take charge of the works. 



Mr. Bishop, of Illinois, 

 wanted present relief. He did 

 not object to being kept &quot;busy 

 as a bee,&quot; but was tired of 

 working fifteen hours a day. 

 If they waited for ship canals 

 there would not be many of 

 them left. He wanted the ex 

 tension of patents to cease, and 

 thought we should have a lower 

 tariff. 



Mr. Lockhardt, of Illinois, was opposed to the govern 

 ment going into the canal-building business. 



Mr. Flagg wanted the government to do whatever it could 

 do better than private parties. The Erie Canal was better 

 managed than the Erie Railroad, and the Michigan Canal 

 was run better than some railroads. The question was, 

 which of the routes would give the most relief for the least 

 money ? There was the Kanawha and the Niagara Canals 

 schemes. Each had its favorite. The Convention should 

 choose something, and then urge it upon Congress. 



Mr. Dixon, of Iowa, argued that water transportation was 

 slow. Railroads could be built and run cheaper than canals. 

 They should bring railroads down to hard pan, and then 

 they would have cheaper transportation. He gave instances 

 of discrimination in Iowa. What we want is immediate relief. 

 On motion, the resolutions and substitutes were referred 

 to the Committee on Resolutions, 



