Daily Republican., 1879-08-14
A NOTE.
our Iron Ship Building.

tAe s' Republican - II that paper.
eur Iron Ship Building.
Notwithstanding the fact that tho
government gives no subsidies the
building of iron ships in Wilmington
and other places along the Delaware
has made steady and very satisfactory
progress. The cause of the revival Of
this industry is the fact that there is
an increasing demand for iron hull
steamships for the coast trade, and this
being apart Of domestic monopoly cap
italists have no hesitation in embark
ing freely in the construction Of new iron
vessels of all classes and sizes. There
can be no doubt that should this home
monopoly remain undisturbsd for
the ensuing ten years, the prospect
may be considered fair for the use Of
iron steamers in the coasting service be-
coming more general and permanent.
The chief inducements for this change
from wood to iron hulls are the ch cap
ness of iron, the desire Of the leading
railway and iron companies to increase
the consumption Of American iron in
this way, and the superiority Of iron
vessels over wooden ones for sea service.
Should our Wilmington ship builders
with the assistance of John Roach Of
Chester, succeed in rsvolutionizing the
tonnage ofths coast trade they will no
doubt be re warded withconstant employ
ment for all skilled labor residing IN the
cities on the Delaware for a considsra-
BILE number Of years to come. The COM
merce Of the Delaware alone from the
entrance of the Capss to the Falls Of
Trenton is no small item, and it Is con-
stantly increasing, and the fame of tho
ship yards Of Wilmington and Chester
now sclipses that Of the iron ship build
ers on the Clyde, though at first it was
never expected that that consumma.
tion would be reached so soon. The
Philadelphia North American in refer
ring to the fast growing ship building
establishments along the Delaware
river is afraid Of the competition Of the
government, and the only favor it asks
on behalf Of the Delaware ship build
ers is that the building Of iron vessels
for the naval and revenue service may
be given out by contract, instead Of be.
ing done at the various naval stations.
Better and cheaper work can thus be
obtained, and the long standing strug-
gle of naval stations for precedence and
patronage will thus bs easily and
quietly settled. Some important pro-
gress has been made in that way, a
large amount of Government work of
that kind having been done by con-
tract at private shipyards during and
since the war. In this way the Uni.
ted States government without the
adoption of the subsidy system has
given very substantial aid to our ship
building, New York capitalists have
literally invested in Wilmington built
iron steamers for the coast trade, West
India and Pacific service, and so long
as the government grants no tonnage
subsidies, American iron shipbuilding
will continue to increase in the Della
ware river ship yards, and to defy do
mestic rivalry, because here it is nearer
to cheap iron and coal, and hence there
could be no greater mistake than for
any other section Of the country to sup
pose that because the Delaware has all
the facilities for successful iron ship
building that therefore her ship manu-
facturers are demanding subsidies from
the government. If the government
refuses subsidies to so excellent an en-
terprise as the establishment Of the
American steamship line from Philadel
phia to Liverpool, or the projected mail
service line to Brazil, it would hardly
be expected that the shipbui ders on
the Delaware would be made the special
recipients of its bounties. All tn t the
iron shipbuilders Of Wilmington, Ches-
ter and Philadelphia want, is, that the
law regulating the carrying
trade shall be left as it is at present,
and then there will bs no doubt that |
American hult vessels with iron hulls
will soon substitute the old wooden
hulks now lying idle in British waters,
that are sought to be foisted upon
US. The Delaware is the American
Clyde for iron ship building and Will
mington is the headquarters where
most of the iron ships that plough the
waves of the ocean we're built, and Will
nington, Chester and Philadelphia
With their thousands of skilled work.
nen still demand protection to Ameri-
ian shipbuilding interests.
The New Orleans "Times" says that