Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1883-01-22
THE SHIPPING BILL.

THE SHIRRlNG BILL.
Congress, the house at least, has
after a long and weary discussion
passed the shipping bill, which is in
tended to SO favor the ship builders
as to make it possible for them to
compete with England and other
countries in the making of ocean
steamships and other vessels. This
measure it is hoped by many will not
only make it profitable to manufac--
ture iron ships on the Delaware, and
wooden vessels in Maine, but make
it paying business for the people of
this country to engage in the ocean
carrying trade. We notice that Gen.
Grout made a brief speech on the
bill in which he had the audacity to
say to the friends of the measure that
the much-desired result could not be
accomplished by the measure propos-
ed, and that the causes which had
lost to America her trade, and bust
ness on the ocean were other than
free-ships and duties on the materials
of which they were built. Gen Grout
said:
This will never be as the result of leg
islation such as is proposed by this bill,
in which ship-building is to be granted
special favors at the expense 'of weaker
and humber interests, at the expense of
internal thrift and independence in fact,
granted heavy subsidies from out the
public Treasury.
A permanent place in ocean traffic will
be reached by American ships when our
internal resources have become so devel-
Oped and our accumulated wealth so
great as to fairly exceed the necessities
of our domestic trade. Then will our
surplus capital make itself felt upon the
ocean; will build ships and go aboard,
perhaps seeking investment in foreign
lands, as English capital is to-day in
every quarter Of the globe, particularly
in this country. Abundant American
capital on every hand and consequent
low rate of interest is the best subsidy
the American people can furnish Ameri-
can shipping. But American capital just
now, instead of looking out upon the
for Investment iS tnrnn6 ba
great seaboard cities, where it is most to
be found back into the new states and
the territories of the Union and there
finds ready investment at 10, 10 and 20
per cent. per annum. So long as money
can find investment at this high rate upon
| the land it will never venture out upon
the ocean.
But wait till the West have built their
| school-houses and churches, till the farm
er owns his farm and the merchant his
| goods; wait till his capital comes back
again to the Eastern lender with usury ;
wait till this empire in the West is devel-
oped, till she has built her telegraph lines
and railroads and begins to lay the wealth
of her prairie products into the lap OF
the seaboard cities, and then American
money will be found willing to build
| American ships. Then will be realized
the fond dream of the advocates of this
bill-a powerful American merchant ma
rine securely holding the trident of the
deep.
The General gave his objections to
several of the details of the bill, after
which he said:
For one, sir, cannot vote for a meas
ure which contains SO many remarkable
provisions for the benefit of single
great moneyed interest, every one Of
which is in derogation of the rights eth
er of some class of our citizens or OF
some humber industrial interest.
should be glad to see a revival of Ameri
cbn shipping-should at least be glad tt
see our American products carried in oul
own ships. hope / am able to appre
ciate the pride which the American citi
zen must feel as he steps aboard an ocear
steamer bound for some foreign port tt
be able to go under his own flag-tha
pride which the American merchant mus
feel to be able to send his merchandise il
an American bottom, over which extenC
the jurisdiction of American laws; bu
this poor equivalent for those inqHali
ties in which the American masses woult
be compelled to pay for privilege
which from the very nature of thing
could be enjoyed only by the few. Mr.
Speaker, l now withdraw the amend
ment.
We notice that several papers, il
commenting on this bill, look at tn
matter in the same light that the rep
poconfotiyo Of fbic I;cfr,ot Jooo