The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1869-10-16
CAN NEITmER BUY Non SELL.

The above caption indicates precise
ly the predica.nent of American ship
owners. The laws of Congress on the
ship building and ship owning interest,
like many of the above laws of that
body, may be fairly said to prevent the
buying or building of ships, The
reasons for this are not Obvious. Those
onerous laws for the collection of high
tariffs are made to foster monopohes.
That, at least, is their affect. An eff
fectual prohibition, in the shape of
tariff, is placed upon many articles of
foreign manufacture, compelling the
consumer to purchase of the home
manufacturer, whose prices he must
give since he is not allowed to buy
elsewhere. That is al plain enough.
One reason of these laws can be seen
from their effect. Even a bad reason
is better than no reason ut all. Now
why do we put such an exhorbitant
tariff upon articles used in building
steamships as to render it useless to
try to build them in America, since we
cannot compete with the English?
Since Congress cannot make a monop-
oily of the high seas, why should it at
tempt to kill our ship building here by
taxing its material? This tax adds to
the cost Of our ships. 1t makes the
investment IN them larger than that
in foreign ships, whose invested, cap
ital, being less, can always be worked
at lower rates. Not having the facil-
tiles for producing this material of as
good a quality and rs cheaply rs Eng
land, and not being permitted to
buy there, the effect of our laws IS to
give monopoly IN this branch to
England, and thus to crush a busines
that would afford occupation for many
thousand men and secure TO our own
people the advantages of the carrying
trade. An enactment more injurious
to American interests or one more
benefcient to those of Great Britain
cannot be easily imagined.
Nor IS this all. The American Ship
Owners Association recently held a
meeting in New York, and from the
facts set forth through the agitation of
the question By this Association, it
seems that American vessels were
pretty generally sold to foreigners du-
ring the war. The large proportion
of t,ese sales were merely nominal and
to pr tect theyessels from capture and
obstruction at the hands of rebel priya-
sers. Congress now refuses to allow
tDse vessels 70 be again registered as
American vessels. The objection is
on-so statcd-that grows out oi
''N,tional Pride" What national
prize has to do with the material In
terets' of the country IS not quite
clea5 The terror which the .1lqJanao
az otLer vessels had inspired wa.
rely quite enough to Justify the trans
.ferof these vessels to neutral parties.
Tie kind of pride that subserves the
Interests Of other nations, while it de
lstloys that of its own, is the most in
conparably absurd and foolish of an,
tn / has ever cursed the world. AND
yet that IS precisely the sort of prid
that says you shall not recover your
selves from the injury brought upol
you by the war-gThe war gaze to Eng
land the valuable interests that be
longed to our ship owners, and so ia
as Congress can regulate the matter
are determined that England shal
keep them.
It IS not to be wondered at that th,
Springfield Republican, in discussin,
these facts, should say that this ques
ton ''is good example of the folly @
the protective theory carried to ex
cess"