The New York herald., 1870-05-16
Our Shipping Interests and Commerce-h'o"
Can We Revive Thems

maritime greatness. Ten years ago the ton
nace of the United States exceeded that OF any
other nation. We had over five and half
millions of tons, inclusive Of registered, en-
rolled and licensed steam and sailing vessels.
Now we have less than four millions. This is
a decline of over million and half tons in
less than ten years. The greatest falling off
has been in the tonnage employed in foreign
trade The cause of this is well known. The
terrible civil war which we lately
passed through drove our shipping from
the oceans, and transferred both the
ownership and the carrying trade to
foreigners. But that is not the worst.
We have been going behind relatively to other
maritime nations, and particularly to England,
ever since. Our great maritime and CONNER
cial rival has got long way ahead in the
race. She has not been slow to improve the
advantages given to her by the war, and con-
sidering her resources and facilities for ship
building she will maintain her supremacy un-
less extraordinary and wise measures be
taken to revive our shipping interests.
What can be done, then, to restore our ship
ping and commerce? That is the question,
and no easy one to solve But our shipping
interests can be resuscitated and we may again
take the first rank among maritime nations If
proper measures be adopted We are told, it
is true, that the wages of labor being 80 much
higher here than in Great Britain and other
parts of Europe and the interest of money so
much greater that we cannot compete with
foreign shipbuilders. Then they have the ma
terials for building and all the things that
enter into fitting up and navigating vessels
far cheaper. Nor can it be denied that
in Great Britain, and particularly on the
Clyde, they have attained high degree
of skill in shipbuilding, as well as having
superior advantages in the abundance and
cheapness Of materials and labor. In the
matter of skill in modelling and constructing
vessels we are equal to the British, if not supe-
rior, and there could be no doubt about find
ing within a short time all the skilled
labor necessary for any amount of work.
Nor can Great Britain beat us in the
quality of timber and iron used for
SulpDuuuluS, WuilC we udNc u GAOuouuu JULIUS
over more in quantity. 1t is, then, simply
question of comparative cost in the price of
materials and labor. This we cannot over
come. We cannot bring the wages of Ameri-
can labor, either in preparing the materials
or in putting them together, to the level Of
British labor. Nor can we bring the interest
of money or capital down to what it is in
Eu rope There are so many opportunities
Of employing proftably here, and such
demand for it in the development of this new
country, that money must continue to be more
valuable than abroad. 1t is evident, there
fore, that we cannot compete, under such
unequal conditions, with Great Britain in
shipbuilding.
Committees of Congress have been long and
carefully examining the matter as to how the
tonnage of the country can be increased and
our shipping and commercial interests revived,
and there have been number of propositions
made in and to Congress with view to accom-
plish this object. But the easiest, most prac-
tcal and surest plan seems to be the one that
finds least favor. We mean that of changing
the registry law so as to permit our merchants
and capitalists to buy vessels abroad where
they can get them cheapest and best. II
American merchants were permitted to have
vessels SO purchased nationalized the same as if
they were built here we should soon see vast
increase of our tonnage. 1t would not be
long before we should have splendid steam
ship lines competing with those of England on
the ocean. If even the American built vessels
which changed their national character and
passed into the hands of foreigners during the
war were allowed register again under the
old flag great many might be repurchased
by our citizens, and thus our tonnage be
change of the registry law would damage
or retard shipbuilding here for a time,
if not almost ruin that branch Of in
dustry. 1t might possibly check shipbuilding
here at first, but in the end that interest would
not be damaged, for the increase of our COM
merce would develop new wants and give
more employment in time even to our own
shipyards. Then competition stimulates enter
prise and, with gradual return to the normal
condition Of things as they were before the
war, our mechanics, inventors, iron workers
and shipbulders would soon learn to rival
those of Great Britain. But, after all, the
shipbuilding interest is not the greatest in the
country, and in Importance does not begin to
compare with the interests involved in large
mercantile marine and in the foreign commerce
of the country. The interests of a few ship
builders, of the iroE workers Of Pennsylvania
aud of the lumbermen of Maine, are insignf-
cant compared with those of general COM
merce and the carrying trade To increase
the tonnage Of the country, to bring us up to
our former maritime greatness and to make
the United States the successful rival of Eng
land, throw all other questions and local
interests into the shade. This is the one
supremely important object to be considered.
Among the crude schemes submitted to