The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-02-02
THE PR ESS.
FRIDAY MORNING, FEB. 2, 1872,
American Ship Building.
SPEECH OF HON. EUGENE HALE.

SPEECH OF HON. EUGENE HALE.
MR.. SPEAKER: Before addressing tn,
House Il ask the Clerk to read the bill upor
which am to speak. 1t is the same as the
one introduced by me last March, and theI
referred at my request to the Committee Oh
Commerce, and was again introduced by me
on Monday last, when moved the previous
question.
The Clerk read the bill, which is as follows
A bill to relieve American-built steamers and
vessels from imp ,rt duties laid upon m material,
and articles entering into their construction,
| repair and use.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep
resentdtiues Of the United States of An,erica I,
Congress assembled. That all import duties
hereafter collected on materials entering into
the construction of vessels and steamers built
in the United States shall be returned to the
builders thereof, under regulations to be estab-
llshed tor such purpose by the Secretary of the
Treasury; and all articles of foreign product
needed for subsistence on American vessels and
steamers engaged in foreign trade, or in the use
or repair of American vessels and steamers,
may be withdrawn from bonded warehouses
| free of dnty.
Mr.. Hale. The measure introduced by me,
and on which seek direct vote of this
House, is very important, and at first blush
complaint might be made because have
brought it here on the call of the States with
out submitting it to the Investigation of a
committee. Several reasons have moved me.
First, the Importance of the subject. Dur
ing the last ten years we have legislated for al
most every industrial interest in the country
American commerce and American ship
building alone have received no help at the
hands OF Congress; yet in magnitude they ex-
ceed any other. The employment given in
the building # ships and the money earned
~ Af cl,i, H.
Ject, 50 far as magnitude goes, in the first
rank.
Secondly, the decline and prostration of
this interest is undisputed. We have but lit
| tie left of the carrying trade of the world,
which, twelve years ago, we bid fair to mo-
nopolize. Our ship-yards are silent. The
earnings OF American vessels engaged in for
eign trade in 1869 were S37, ,S4S, 303 less than
in 1861, and the decrease in the last three
years has been yet more alarming In 1860
there were employed in ship-building in the
various ship-yards in this country about thir-
ty thousand mechanics. These men had
spent years in learning their trade, and had
learned it well, and were proud of it and of
the work of their hands. Thousands of them
have been obliged to turn their attention to
branches of industry new to them, and to
seek employment in other vocations The
transient stimulus which certain kinds of
building, received during the years of the war
through the building of ships for the Govern
ment directly, or to take the place of those
that had been sold to the Government, has
long since ceased to be felt. / turn to the
figures upon this subject, not only to show
how falling interest was for the moment
sustained by this unnatural source of supply,
but to show how inevitably the Government
turned to our American ship-builders at work
in private yards, in its hour of peril by sea as
well as by land, and how promptly and well
that appeal was answered. What am about
to quote also shows the dependence of the
Government upon the merchant marine for
its seamen. The chief of tonnage in the
Treasury Department. in his official report
made to the Secretary of the Treasury, and by
him transmitted to Congress, one year ago,
makes the following statements:
During the war of the rebellion the value of
vessels built in the navyyards was $12, ,756, ,606,
and in private establishments $50, ,461, ,755, or
seventy per cent. of the ship-building was done
in private establishments. Two marine engines
only were built in the navy-yards, (both of
which were built at the Washington navy-yard
whereas there were IT'S built outside 1t also
appears that eghty-four and a half per cent. of
the entire work of building vessels and engines
for the Navy Department was done at private
establishments In addition to the vessels thus
supplied to the Navy Department, 343 were
either built for or purchased by the War De-
partment, (all built at private establishments
WuOSc bOtdi IOuIdgc Was lUU,OoO VOQS, anu ag-
gregate value was SO, ,3g7, ,125 besides, ,5O3 YES
sells were chartered as Government transports.
The tonnage of the United States Navy in 1865,
built in the navy-yards before or dnring the
war, amounted to 2S0, ,517 tons, whereas the to-
tai force added from the merchant marine DUR
ing the war amounted to ,175 1872 tons, or four
hundred and nineteen per cent, of the entire
marine force built by the Government. The value
of work done for the Navy during the late war in
the building of vessels and marine engines
amounted to S64, 81, ,778, of which eighty per
C mt. was done at private establishments Be
sides, all the vessels built by the War Depart
ment during the war were built at private es-
Establishments"
The Secretary's report adds further:
''But the Government is no less dependent
upon the merchant for seamen than for ships
In 1861 the forces of the Navy embraced but
1900 men to meet the necessities OF the war
which number had increased to 81, 500 in 1865
Beside which, there were employed by the War
Department y, 1000 seamen upon transports,
making the total marine forces 755OO men, or
about ten times the force employed in 1861 1t
seems to be impossible for the Government,
under an economical admins tration of the
Navy Department, to maintain in time of peace,
the skilled labor, the requisite machinery, or
the ships necessary to meet the possible ext
gencies of war. The education of constant la
Dor is necessary in order to maintain in any
country large force of mechanics skilled in
the manufacture of ships and marine engines.
ordinary demands of prosperous merchant
marine. The naval architects and mechanics
employed in our navy-yards have acquired their
practical education at private establishments"
Thirdly, the consideration of the subject is
not new to mems minds. The American
shlp-builder has not been so obtrusive in his
complaints, and has not besieged Congress
after the fashion of certain suffering inter-
ests," that have clamored for more protection
whenever the discussion of tariff bill has
come up in Congress, He has been a modest
sufferer" when compared with the iron and
coal-men of Pennsylvania, the copper and
salt-men of Michigan, the broken-down Onon-
daga salt-men, the proprietors of the Besse-
mer-steel patent, or the manufacturers of
Massachusetts and Connecticut All these
industries, taking advantage of the anti-Brit-
ish sentiment which was so general and so
strong during the late war, have been upheld
and protected by legislation, while my friend
and constituent, the Maine wooden-ship
builder. has been told to mind his own bust
ness, and make 1t profitable if he could, and
has seen his trade die out under this frown
of the Government. Still, the ruin brought
upon this great interest has very largely at
tracted public attention, and there are few
men who have their country's prosperity at
heart who have not given thought to the sub
ject. The press of the country has discussed
it. Innumerable essays and pamphlets have
been published, some OF which have, sup
pose, been read. Members of Congress have
interested themselves in the matter. 1t has
been subject of discussion on this floor at
every session for the last six years. During
the whole of the Forty-First Congress there
was special committee upon the ''decline of
our navigation interests at the head of
which was my colleague, Mr.. LYNCH who
gave much valuable time to its duties, and
who in a very able report and in able speech
es upon this floor, enforced. the merits of a
bill for relief which he reported from the COM
mittee, and which ought to have passed this
House, but did not. The President sent a
special message to the last Congress calling
for favorable action, showing that he had
studied the subject, and saw the necessity
for relief. l may assume, then, that the
country demands some legislation.
Fourthly, the bill have introduced is brief
and simple in its provisions. 1t provides for
a rebate of all duties ON materials entering
into the construction, repair, and use of
American-built vessels, whether wood, COM
posite, or iron, and that all stores needed in
their use may be taken from bonded ware
houses free of duty. 1t presents a simple
question, upon which / think every member
ofthis House must have an opinion formed
believe the remedy proposed will be to a
great degree effectual. It is comprehensive,
applying to all kinds Of vessels. My own con-
stituents are more Immediately interested in
wooden-ship building. Before the war we
built for the whole world, and the world has
| yet need for us. There are regions of open
| ing commerce in the far East where just such