, 1872-12-05
STEAMSHIP SUBSIDIES,

STEAMSHIP SUBSIDIES.
The Secretary Of the Treasury, in his report, !
discusses the decline Of American shipping en- |
gagged in the foreign trade, and recommends, as
a means Of restoring it, that the business pe
subsidized by annual payments from the Nation
al Treasury. The Secretary states that, Of the
carrying trade in 1860, II per cent WAS done in
American veasels while, in 1872, with vastly in
creased trade, the share performed by American
vessels WAS only % per cent. The annual earn
ingB OF this trade are estimated at 500, 900,
OF which less than one-third is received by
American vessels. The rise in the price Of iron
and the advance in the rates Of wages in Europe,
he admits, have had the effect Of placing this
country nearer an equality with others in the
matter OF sbip-building, but he insists that, in
order to secure the commerce OF the Pacifc
Ocean and the South Atlantic, the Government
should establish and maintain lines Of steam
ships.
To rightly understand this question, it is
proper to state how we obtained an ascendancy
in the carrying trade, how ne lost it, and why it
business. Prior to 1856, the United States fur
nished not only all the vessels owned at home,
but built largely for foreign countries. It was
customary to have American-built vessels for
sale in British ports, and purchasers from all
parts Of Europe went to those ports to purchase.
The close of the Crimean war released from
Government use an imnenae number of vessels
that had been used as transports including q
large number Of steamers. This Was the
first serious check given to the building
of ocean-going wooden sailing vesgels. Steamers
came in demand, and, after few years, the use
Of iron began to supersede wood in the con-
struction of steamships. Iron has now taken
the place Of wood, and steam has superseded the
sail. This WIS not accomplished in day. The
Rebellion, Of course, interfered with our ship
building for general trade, and when that war
Has over we had placed such taxes upon ali tho
materials that enter into ship-buildlng, that it
was found impossible to build wooden ships
either to be owned at home or to be sold abroad.
Nor was the condition Of the United States
any better in the matter of iron. II is true that
no country in the world is blessed with greater
supply of iron and coal than ours. Our iron is
better adapted for p-building than any found
elsewhere It has those qualities which secure
to greater strength to given weight than ID
found in foreign iron. Even with some disad-
vantage in the cost Of labor, our ship~buildcrs
could have entered into successful competition
in building iron steamships for American md
foreign use, but the Governm ent had placed up
on the iron such an enormous tax, that building
iron ships in this country WAS practically pro-
hibited by Law.
The United States has thus not only taxed
ship-building out Of existence, and closed the
shops and FORCES for the manufacture Of ma
! chiuer7 which we're once the wonder and admira-
ton Of the world, but it has also absolutely pro-
hibited the importation Of ships, OF their manu-
facture abroad for our own citizens. We can
neither build nor buy steamship to be engaged
| in the foreign trade. As time and casualty re-
duce the number of American-built vessels, so
does the percentage Of American vessels en-
gagged in the carrying trade decline. An Ameri-
can citizen, wishing to start line Of steamships
between the United States and Brazil, must put
then, under the Brazilian flag. If he desire
to run steamships between the United
| States and any part Of Great Britain, or
France, or Spain, though he may own them
wholly, he is prohibited by law from placing
them under the American flag; they must be
enrolled as British, French, OF Spanish vessels.
Having virtually closed our ship-yard shy law,
and having prohibited the purchase Of foreign
built ships, it is very easy to understand why it
| is that each year the proportion Of American
| vessels engaged in that trade should grow less.
When the cause Of our falling off in.the carrying
trade is so unmistakably known aud admitted,
and when it is equally known and admitted
that the removal Of the cause would
transfer to the American. flag the greater
pa1t Of that trade, it would seem that the easiest
and most certain way to accomplish the result
would be to remove the cause. This could be
done BY either or both Of two modes: /. By tht
repeal of all laws which prohibit American
register to fora;0n-built vezaa1s. q. Bv the 1a