Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-06-29
TIE NAVY AND THE MERCHANT NJ /.
RINE

A French author observes NAVAL
power depends on three things, each Of
(which is indispensable to the vitality Of
1.-The navy. These three things are ma
"terial wealth, an active and progressive
" industry, and hardy and enterprising
" sea-faring population. The third element
" of strength can only exist where the mer
chant navy is iourishing and vigorous. ="
There is no room for doubt as to the ma
terial wealth of this country. and though
American industry is seriously hampered
by the tariff, still it is active and progress
i've. But where is the hardy and enter
"prising sea-faring population, and where
is the " fourishing and vigorous merchant
navy" We have no longer either the
one or the other. The merciless tariff has
already destroyed our merchant navy. and
our once magnificent sea-faring population
has been driven from the ocean, and has
gone into other occupations. When the
war of 1912 occurred, we were able to send
to sea navy which, though numerically
small, was composed of as perfect material
in all respects as ever sailed and fought.
Our frigates were models both Of construc-
ton, seamanship and discipline. We
manned them with American sailors who
were the peers in every respect of English
veterans, and that little navy conquered
for itself imperishable fame. But then we
had a splendid merchant marine as a
nursery for our seamen, and the Navy
Yards had not then become the spoils OF
political warfare. Now we have lost the
means for recruiting a navy. The
American merchant marine has sunk into
insignifcance, and at the same time it has
acquired so bad reputation for cruelty
and ll.tyeatment that American seamen Of
worth refuse to ship in it, and go abroad tc
earn their living. What remains of our
merchant shipping is manned by hetero.
geneous crowd of half.trained foreigners Of
dozen different kinds. 1t has ceased
to possess any distinctive national air.
The American merchant seaman who in
1850 was one of the smartest sailormen
in the world, has either gone to
work on shore, or changed his colors. We
have no longer any source from which to
draw the men for navy, even supposing
we had navy to man. But the dearth OF
men threatens to render futile the plan
which is now recommended as the best we
can adopt. 1t is said that we need not
spend any money upon ponderous iron.
clads; that what we should want in the
event of war would be a number of swift,
light-built, heavy. armed vessels, where
with to scour the seas and destroy the
enemy's commerce. But for such a
service we should require the very best
class of seamep, and where should we pro.
cure them? We have ceased to breed
them, and such class of men cannot be i'm
provised on an emergency. 1t has been
TSCeHtly CalCulAteu tiat ILlSiduu LAS sea
faring population of 500, 900, upon which
she can draw for her navy in time of war,
while there are already 200 merchant
steamers available for cruisers, having
been constructed with special view te
that end, in addition to her navy, which i:
the most numerous and powerful in the
world. Now the very serious drawback tc
American naval opera tions which we have
pointed out is largely, if not entirely, the
work of the tariff. 1t is due to that instru.
ment that we have no longer merchant ma.
rine, and consequently that we have nc
longer anursery for American seamen. Yet
the advocates of that most mischievous sys.
tenn have the folly or impudence to con.
tend that it is patriotic measure, and in
the interests of American supremacy and
progress. The dismal truth is that it has
annihilsted our naval power utterly that
it has all but destroyed our foreign trade
and that in doing these things it has de.
prived us of the means of defending our.
selves and injuring an enemy, in the event
of war.