, 1870-05-28
SATURDAY, MAY Is, 1870.
sap-BunDERs vs., wAdoH-MAKERs.


Mr.. Allison's motion to lay on the table
the bill "To sovive and encourage Amea~
can shipping" was defeated by Gl majority,
This indicates that the bill is likely to pass
the House. It becomes important, there
fore, to know exactly what it proposes.
It proposes to take from the public Treas
urs, and pay to the builder Of 8 vessel in
tended to be employed in ocean trans
portation, q sum of money equal to
the amount Of duty levied upon the
materials entering into its construction.
The argument by which this plan is do
Tended ia, that unless the ships are built,
the materials viii not be used, and, it the
materials are not used, the government will
not derive any revenue from them there
fore, the government loses nothing; and,
although the ahip-builders receive some
thing, nobody pays it,
This is very pretty theory. Let us Bee
how it VIII work if applied to American in
dustry generally, instead Of being confnod
to single class, There are numerous
manufacturers Of wagons. plowa, agricul-
tural machinery, mining machinery, etc,
in Chicago, and other Western towns, who
use iron and steel, lumber, copper, cordage,
cnnras ETC., upon which they pay taxes in
the form Of import duties. If they were al
lowed to draw from the Treasury sum of
money equa1 to the amount Of the duties,
they could sell thar wagons, plowa, quartz
MILLS, ETC., at about half the present prices.
This reduction in price would increase the
demand for their manufactures very greatly,
aad afford employment to larger number
OF men.
Now, applying the ship-building argu-
1nent to the wagon-makers. plow-makera,
etc, We shall ind that there is the same
reason fol refunding tho ta1es to the latter
as TO the former. Tho ship builders say
that. under present circumstances, their
business is restricted to supplying vessels
for the coasting trade, where the Law gives
them a monopoly, and where, accordingly,
merchants can pay them high price,
whereas they desire to build ships for the
foreign trade; TINT is, they desire to build
more shipa- The makers of wagonsandpiows
may say that, under the present circunstan-
ces, they can make these important utensils
Only for those who can pay high price for
them, and that they would like to make
few hundred thousand for persons who can
not now buy them at all Inasmach as the
government gets no revenue from mateti-
ais not imported, and since the materials
for the manufacture Of this extra number
OF wagons and plowB viii not be used un-
less the articles are demanded, it stands to
reason that the government loses nothing
by allowing the proposed drawback Ex-
tend this argument to all branches of in
dustry, and we come to the Same result,
VIZ, that the government can afford to lose
the revenue on any article not now imported
but which certain individuals would be glad
to import, If they could do so without
paying duties. Why the ship-bui1ders
of Maine should be seleetad
IS specially privileged class to import
goods duty free, while taxes are imposed
upon all other clssses, passes our compre-
henaion. We venture to say that no such
partial and one sided arrangement can long
continue The men who drive wagons and
hold ploEs will not allow it to continue.
"A <AAAA - a t04- A4 LILIES A3SEEA-
uents upon the labor Of the people. 10
exempt ship-builders from the payment Of
fases which other people are obliged to
pay, is 10 create IN unjust discrimination.
1t is no answer to say that the ship-builder
eannot pay his taxes, and, therefore, he
must have special appropriation or dis
pensation in his favor If the Maine ship
builders cannot pay their taxes, let them
go into some other business where they
can- Or let the system of mutual robbery
which has wrought MI this mischief to the
Maine shiprbnildeEs be changed We are
IN favor Of such q change They, OF at
least their representatives, are not. But
let It never be said that the enaigrant who
wends his way westward to reclaim the
wilderness and the desert is taxed from
so to 100 per cent on his wagon
and his plow, while the man who builds or
sails ship is taxed nothing.
Not long since, the representatives of tho
two largest shipping and ahip-owning houses
in America (Grinuell, Mintu1n l. Co. and
c. H Marshall & Co, of New York;, in-
formed member of the Committee On the
Decline of American Commerce that they
wanted no bill passed for their special in-
terest; that they would scorn to come be-
fore Congress asking aims; that they were
opposed to the committees bill as short
sighted measure, productive only of
aH-fee1ing and sectional strife; that
they would be glad to sec some
measure passed reducing taxes On
a1on, steel copper, cordage, canvas,
etc, provided it should apply to the whole
country, and not to a particular class; bnt
nnt1 then, they preferred to take their
chances with the rest This position was
entirely incomprehensib1e to the Maine in-
tellect, where the idea Of feeding ont of
your owu pan and leaving your neighbors'
porndge alone, is esteemed altogether Wis
ionary and uutenable.