The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-06-26
THE BEoAY OF AMERICAN CON
: 5 NEROE. feg - 50
Extracts iron . Letter from James
- - 6. Blaine. - e-
sWAsH1NercN, D. G., June ls, 1879

WAsHIsercN, d. c., June 1s, 1879.
Brown, H. 3. Cianin, Hssry Hilton, b. q. Arnold.
7. B. fhurber, Mosss Taylor John A. Stewart, New
York City.
1 am honored by your letter inviting me
% address s'the business men OF the CITY
4 New York on the Decay of American
Commerce and the Means for Promoting
It's Revival" The great Importance of the
subject and the high character Of those
who desire its discussion, combine to rem
der your invitation most impressive and
welcome. 1t is with no small regret,
that l feel compelled to decline
it. Public engagements have detained me
here until summer heats have made it in
for me to deliver an address
for you to hear one. am sure
you viii not wish Tor further elaboration
of an excuse at once SO pertinent and con-
elusive -
vert, as briefly as may be, to the important
anc engrossing subject which suggested
your letter No man denies that the car
rying trade of the United States has suffer
ed q decline; that it gives no sign of i'm
provement or revival, and that serious and
permanent loss is thereby inflicted upon
our country. On these points thus stated
there is substantial unauimity of belief
among our people; but when we 60 one
step further, and attempt to state the cause
of the decline. we find wide divergence
Of views; and when by second step we
proceed to discuss the remedy, we encoun-
ter differences so pronounced and so vio-
lent as to involve anger and acrimony.
With no disposition To wrangle oyer this
subject or to arraign any mans theory in
a hostile spirit, l shall submit my own
views on the depression; what produced
it and what will relieve 1t.
In 1857, after commercial struggle
that began when we separated from the
mother country, we stood nearly If not
quite equal to Great Britain in ocean ton
mage. In that year our entire foreign
'tr1dc,export and import amounted to $723,-
600, 900, and Of this total, $50, ,0OO. .O0O, was
carried in American bottoms, and only
$2l3 600 600 in the ships of all other conn-
tries. Tins proportion was not materially
changed in 1851, when the country was
suddenly precipitated into a war whose
magnitude no man could measure. Then
followed series of events beyond the con-
troll of any power, the effect of which was
utterly disastrous to the American carry
ing trade. Nearly seventy thousand sea-
men were Withdrawn from the merchant
service and enlisted in the navy, to main
tain the extended blockade that stretched
from Delaware Bay to the mouth of the
Rio Grande. More than a million tons of
American shipping were Withdrawn from
the peaceful pursuits of commerce to take
partin the blockade and to supply the
of the vast armies that were called to the
defense-of the Union. The gap thus made
by the withdrawal of American ships aud
American scamen from the commerce of
the world was rapidly filled by the alert.
ness and the enterprise Of England, and
Just In PROPORTION 70 our decline in the
carrying trade the activity in British ship
yards was redoubled. Added to the direct
loss Just noted came an indirect one even
more hurtful to us. Eight hundred thou.
sand tons of American shipping, TO- escape
destruction at the hands of hostile cruisers
flying the confederate ensign but built in
British yards and manned by British sail
ors, cancelled their American registry and
sailed under the flags of other nations, and
when worn out their place was supplied
by foreign built ships
As the civil war progressed and the
causes lust named were producing theiI
Increasingly baneful effect on our CONNER
cfal interests, another fact was developed
which proved most adverse 70 rs. Prior
to that period ocean steamships had moi
been formidable as freight carriers. The
marine engine was too heavy; absorbed
too much space; consumed too much coal
The steamers were unrivaled for transport
ing passengers, and for freight having
large vsaae in small space; but they had
not yet entered the general carrying trade
1 for the heavy and bulky articles of com
Fmerce. But Just at this time the screw
was generally substituted for the paddle
and the compound engine was invented tc
take the place of the simple one Iron
thcretofore successfully tried, now became
. general substitute for wood, and hulls
were thus built that would last as long az
the engines. These several changes, with
some minor inventions, increased the car
rying capacity of the steamship beyond all
anticipation. Avery intelligent and en-
terprising owner of British steamships
illustrated TO me the actual difference by
this simple statement: "A steamer of the
old kind, capable of carrying 5000 tons
might sail on voyage SO long that she
would be compelled 70 carry Z, 200 tons ol
|c0al, leaving room fo- only 800 tons ol
freight; whereas one of the new kind, o
same capacity, would make the same voy
Eage and reverse the figures, requiring only
800 tons of coal and carrying 2, 200 tons ol
freight. This was, in short, q total revolu
tion on the sea-almost as great rs the
steamboat had wrought IN the carrying
trade on our rivers, or the railway on land
The palpable result has been that the trade
of the North Atlantic, the greatest high
way. of commerce on the globe. has beer
transferred to the steamship, to say moth
ing of what has been done by the same
agency on ALI lseas and between all CONT
nents. -
;, The close of the war leftus in mos,
discouraging situation commercially. Oul
finances were disordered, prices Of
material were abnormally high, and il
was an idle effort TO attempt competition
with England in any field where oul
expanded paper currency had to contend
with the solidity Of her gold. Our sailinl
vessels received less and less employment
in the carrying of cotton, provisions AND
brcadstuffs to Europe, and we did no
offer any enc ,uragcment for the building
of steamships. Perhaps with the price
of that period success in any event woulC
have been impossible. England meanwhile
feeling her advantage and eager to push il
did not leave her commerce to its owl
development even with all the elements il
her favor, but she, stimulated its growth by
enormous bounties paid to those wht
would build and sail steamships From
the close of our civil war down to the yea
1S77-a period OF twelve years-Grea
Britain to her steamship lines for mai
servece a sum total of $65 ,5S9, ,S43, ,l6, o
and averags of nearly five and hal
millions per annun. With all tn,
advantages accruing to British shippin.
by our disasters in the war, and with thes'
advantages supplemented by the grea
pecuniary aid extended by the British
Government, it was, of course, impossible
for the commercial men of America I,
enter into competition in the building ant
sailing of steamships. Nor could tn
our ships from England have availe'
anything in the contest unless ou
Government was ready to extend as gen
eroSs and continuous aid pecuniarily a
was extended by the Government Of Grea
Britain. aff S'@t8~i
Under the continued operation of cause
thus hastily summarized, the Americas
carrying trade has steadily and rapidi
L Ixr ha sal