The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-01-04
Adding Insult to Injury

suggested 10y the failure OF the third
Stockton shipbulding firm, has drawn
from the Prog. Age, instead Of express
sion7 of sorrow at the decay of Maine
/ great industry. Il TRADE of abuse towards
the unfortunate victims OF a mistaken
government policy. In every other quar-
ter there have been manifestations of sym
pathy with the partners composing these
hrmS, who are among the most upright
and intelligent men in Maine. They will
have the satisfaction of knowing thai in
its unJusttiable course, the Age represents
no one but itself, and is entirely true to it,
characteristics. After stating that the
rebels destroyed ships in the war which
We have repeatedly stated, could be re-
placed in a single year by Maine builders.
the Age says
But what Is the special trouble AT stockton
lhree shphulldlng firms, the journal saws
nave fmlsd. But what tailed them For wears
past, they have b-en building vessels, over
there. cheaper than any body else could build
them. They have forced the business; several
oi ihem having little or no capital except what
they borrowed al a high rate Of interest ard
their failure does not surprise careful bus;aess
men. one OF those firms we hear evpenl ed
$4,000 TO build tide mil which has NOT paid
It's running expenses. Because men who have
neither capital nor business foresight fail in
vessel building, we don't see that the govern
ment is to blame.
Il should be understood at the outset
that Stockton Is one ol those towns that
sprang up as a direct result OF the former
liberal and fostering principle Of the GOV
eminent towards the shipping interest. 1t
has no considerable trade or manutac-
lures or other sources of wealth than
that which its hardy and enterprising sons
ind in traffic upon the ocean. To that
they have beer bred, and understand it
thoroughly When the enormous duties
and taXati0ns OF the administration in
creased the cost of ships to such an extent
that they could no longer he built with
profit, and when the sailing of ships by
reason Of its enormous cost. left no mar
gin oi returns-it was as though the
hitherto fruitful earth should Weld to the
farmer no crops, and that seedtime and
harvest should utterly fail Hoping against
nope, refusing to believe that a policy so
insane conld continue, that the party in
power must see It's errOr-these men have
endeavored to keep their business alive.
ready TO enlarge it when better times
should come Although repeatedly and
Solemnly promised relief by the radical
party OF Maine, the shipping interest of
the State is to-day more PROSTATE than
ever The mistake of these builders has
been that they trUsted in the statesn1a1ashiD
end sense b justice Of He repuJlicaa
party and kept along till money and
business have been sacrificed, and bank
ruptcv realized For their ruin the party
in power is directly and Immediately re-
sponsible
Fortunately we are not LETT to conjecture
AS to the knowledge and opinions which
American 5hipbuilders have of the source
OF this ruin. Their testimony IS mat
ter OF record, III government documents
and elsewhere. What that testimony is
the following extracts will show
Mr.. Hincken one OF the n. Y. Shipowners Associa.
| only know by what our ship-builders say
that, if they had the materials duty free, thew
would compete with the cheaper labor on the
other side; but they could not compete with
/ d m
/ England allows drawbacks on everything that
enters into the construction Of ships and 7
know that she does upon ship stores If / take
a cask Of sugar out of the custom house in this
| city. il will cost i've or SIX dollars for custom.
house fees besides the duty, whereas in England
such stores are admitted free Of duty and of
( fees; so that this operates very much against
American navigation interests. There is no
provision for so provisioning ships under our
revenue laws.
John Hayden. Shpowner of Bath,
| If the disabilities that were now IMPOSED uu.
on American shipping, and which prevented
the building of ships in this country as chean as
they could be built in other countries, were re.
moved, the hip-building trade would be reyiy.
ed in very short time, and ships would be
built in this country as cheapy as in any other
country.
n G. Echborn, Prest. of Me. Shipowners Associa.
ton
A ship now costs sixty or seventy dollars a
ton built In this country, whereas in the Prov
| nces it only costs forty-fve or fifty dollars a
ton, and the two ships when afloat were brou ght
! into competition with each other.
! He asked that the ship-buding trade be uu-
fettered, and that 1t have the opportunity to use
iron and coal and wood and all other materials
| as cheaply as II can procure them and there
| would then be no fear Of foreign competition,
and there would be. in Il time of national peril,
a fleet and sailors ready to defend the country
Francis Cobb, Shipowner OF Rockland
| l think that if we had reduction of the
| duties on all the materials going into the con-
| struction Of ships, whether the materials be
| American or foreign, and if we could also be
/ freed from the taxation on ships, as is the case
! | understand, in other countries, we could then
| afford TO build our ships in this country and to
| compete with any other nation. / do not be-
| lieve that there is any more ingenuity in Glas-
| gov or any other ship-building place than there
is in this country; nor do believe that there is
| any more energy among the foreigners than
among Americans. l think that if we are put
upon the same footing we will be able to COM
pete on the ocean with the rest of the world.
! A. A. Low, Shpowner of New York.
! In regard to all other internal pursuits, we
adhere to the policy of protection; but in refer
| ence to shlp-buldlng, we adhere at present to
one of oppression. We protect all other indus
tries at the expense of commerce.
Mr.. Poillon, shipbuilder and Owner ofN.Y.
tie thought that all that the ship-buildng in
/ c7C VI tnc CUuHtfy required was q QfaWDack
OF duties on all the materials that enter into the
construction of ships, particularly of the duties
on iron, copper, and cordage. The duty on
copper at present was prohibitory duty, pre-
venting any importation of copper, and com
pclling American ship-builders to paw some
seven or eight cents per pound for copper more
than the English ship-builders paid. The duties
on iron, he believed, were from thirty to thirty
five per cent, operating to that extent against
the American ship-building interests. As to
| oil no
paid more than the English. yet he thought thai
the superior skill of the American mechanics
more than Offset the difference in wages.
Mr.. Opdyke, Merchant and Shipowner of N. Y.
The American people have more aptitude fol
maritime commerce than any other people in
the world, and all that they want is an open
field and fair Competition TO win that supre
macy. mean by the Supremacy of the sea-
that we should have larger maritime com
merce than any nation in the world