The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-21

/
States aud the Subsidy Jobs-rne True
Policy Of the Government.
| The application of the Pacific Mail Steani-
ship Company for an increased subsidy from
the government, which is now being so per-
tinaciously urged upon Congress, is only the
the event Of its success, will follow closely in
its wake. According to our Washington adj
vices there is good prospect of the over
throw of all these schemes TO obtain the
peoples money under the false pretence of fos-
tering the shipping interests OF the country;
but past experience teaches us that the persons
interested in them are sturdy lobbyists who will
neglect no means to accomplish their object,
and it is therefore incumbent upon the oppo-
nents of the subsidy policy to be vigilant and
unceasng in their efforts to defeat the pioneer
movement. In the particular case of the Pa
cific Mail Company there is neither reason nor
justice in its attempt to transfer a large
amount Of money from the public treasury
into its own Golfers II has not been shown
that such aid, even if justidabe, is a neces-
sity, and there Is every reason TO believe that
II granted by Congress it would mainly find
It's way into the pockets Of the lobby and the
ring, and would not be applied to the Legitimate
purposes Of the company. The Pacific Mail
service ought to be not only self-sustaining
but remunerative, and before any demand can
be justly made upon the country for assistance
IL should at least be shown that the affairs Of
10 bova xyio md
cally administered Now, 1t is well known
that the sidewheel boats of that line are the
most extravaganza that sail the ocean. Side
wheel steamers are discarded on the Atlantic.
The Scotia is the only one Of that description
now running between Europe and America,
and II is notorious that she is kept more as
show than for profit, as she does not pay
her expenses. Iron propellers can alone be
made profitable ocean boats, and the longer the
voyage the more important, and, indeed, i'm
perative, becomes the saving Of fuel and the
economy Of space secured by this class Of
steamers. The boats of the Pacific Mail line
are safe and fine steamships, but they are not
such rs the company would have built II
guided by experience and prudence and it is
not proper that the people who have no inter-
est in the service should be called upon to re-
imburse the corporation for its errors and
rscklessness of management. There is every
reason, therefore, on the simple merits of the
case, why the application of the company for
an increased and heavy subsidy should be
promptly rejected by Congress, and the people
will not be disposed, in these days of reform,
to regard with favor or without suspicion
those representatives who are found advocat-
ing and supporting the unjustifable job.
Apart from these abstract considerations,
the country is rapidly becoming convinced
that the policy of the government in regard
to our shipping interests is radically wrong
and is innicting serious injury upon the ma
ton. In his last annual report the Secretary
Of the Treasury commented in forcble Ian
guage on the loss of our commerce conse-
quent upon the decline of our shipping inter-
ests. He showed from the returns OF the last
fiscal year that the ocean commerce of the
United States is rapidly passing into the
| hands of foreign merchants and shipbuilders,
| and that we lose one hundred million dollars
annually in the returns for freights and
passengers, the great bulk of which
is transmitted directly abroad 'The history
of the loss of our commerce" says Secretary
Boutwell,, ''renders it certain that without
some efficient action on the part Of the govern
| ment the entire foreign trade of the country
| will soon pass into the hands of our rivals.
| The monopoly Of the trade between the United
States and Europe by foreign merchants and
shipbuilders carries with it the monopoly Of
shipbuilding for the entire world, and as
q consequence the Atlantic trade, the
trade of the Pacific and the seas ad-
jacent thereto will be carried on in
English built steamers" This picture is
strongly, but not extravagantly, colored
But to what causes are these disastrous
effects attributable The acts of the Anglo
Confederate privateers during the war of the
rebellion, of course, dealt a terrible blow to
from the seas, and the carrying trade of the
world, for which we were fast becoming sue
cessful competitors with England, passed
wholly into the hands Of foreigners. But nine
years have elapsed since the war closed !;
other interests that had been Frustrated dur
ing our struggle for national existence have
been revived, and are again strong
and flourishing The States have re-
turned to producliveness and prosperity /;
the country is rich; the ational debt
is being decreased at a rate that astonisbes
ourselves as well as foreigners, and the de-
struction and desolation of war have entirely
passed away. Why is it that our shipping in
terests alone show no revival, but rather
droop and decline more and more year after
year, until, as Secretary Boutwell, says, IL be-
comes almost certain that "the entire foreign