The New York herald., 1875-12-25
An American Transatlantic Steamship
Company.

The decline of our mercantile marine Is
one of those painful topics which it has been
the fashion to discuss with q good deal of re-
gret and but little hope Thousands of
Americans visit Europe yearly, making the
Atlantic trip on steamers carrying the Eng
lish. German or French flag Doubtless
many of them would prefer to take pas
sage under the Stars and Stripes,
but although they are the wealthiest
of our citizens we have heard of little
beyond their desires. Our laws, which are
Chinese in this respect, refuse Ameri-
can register to foreign built vessels, and as,
up to very lately labor and material were SO
much cheaper on the Clyde and the Mersey
than with us, American capital shrank from
the attempt Of building ocean steamers to
compete with those built abroad. 1t would
be improbable. and that settled it. But
these conditions have changed. Iron is
now low enough in price, and wages
Of mechanics and laborers sufficiently
reduced to make the building Of ocean steam
ers profitable. The vast drain upon our
commerce for freightage and passenger fares
paid into the Golfers of foreign corpora
tions makes it a necessity as soon as it is a
possibility to stop this financial TRANSMISSION
and let our money circulate in American
veins. The very trade which the provision
ing and fitting of such vessels, if American,
would bring, is at present poured into the
laps Of Liverpool, Glasgow, Bremen and
Hayre
1t is now proposed to build here a line Of
ton, engines, fittings and speed shall have
no superiors in the transatlantic trade. Sub
sides are out Of the question they are pre-
MUM on commercial sloth as well as bur
den on the country for the benefit Of q class
Hence the money must come from
those Immediately interested in ocean
freightage and from those who are willing
to assist really national undertaking at a
fair rate of profit. 1t is contemplated to
raise the capital by subscription
in shares Of one hundred dollars
each, par value, 80 as to put it
crate means as well as capitalists. We
wish the project every success. Outside
Of the commercial advantages which are
things Of the present there is another which
thoughtful Americans will not overlook.
This is well emphasized in the following
from Postmaster JEWELS report touching
the conveyance of our ocean malls
s'The great bulk Of our mails for Europe is
carried by steamers under foreign flags, sail
ing from the port of New York. As a matter
Of national pride, as an aid to the revenue of
American commerce and as means of sup
plying an efficient steam marine available
for immediate use by the government in case
Of war; provision should be made for the
transportation of our mails on important
ocean routes in steamships oficered and
manned by our own citizens and sailing
under our own flag.
The want Of such line is severely felt.
Its further non-existence would be a shame
70 American enterprise, and we believe that,
carried forward as we have indicated, the
project cannot fail to attract the favorable at
tention Of all patriotic and liberal minded
Americans, who thus can serve their country
while safely investing their spare funds.