Morning journal and courier., 1884-03-10
Against Free ShippIng-The Majority

Against Free Sh1PpIng-The Majority
 Report of the House Committee.
 WASHINGTON, March 9.-The majority of House Committee on Shipping have submit jed an adverse report on Representative Findlay's bill to admit foreign built ships free of duty, saying the admission of foreign built ships would obviously be 8 serious in justice to our shipbuilders in view of the fact that neither the existing tariff nor any proposed tariff legislation admits any other completed manufacture, involving SO much skilled labor, without the payment of at least thirty per cent. duty. Unquestionably if the free ship policy should obtain foot ing under the limited plan proposed by the bill it would be but 8 short time before it amended so ss to include the coasting trade. It is expected to induce business men to invest the requisite capital to successfully es- tablish and maintain iron shipyards in this country to an extent sufficient to meet our requirements for vessels of the best type in peace and war, it is necessary to give them to unders tand that they are not to be met at the beginning of their enterprise with the free open competition of the well established shipyards on the Clyde. Those owners will be sure to put forth special efforts to break down, in it's infancy, an industry in this country which might prove in five or ten years a troublesome competi- tor. Adopting the policy of admitting foreign built ships, the report says, would not materially increase the tonnage of the American merchant marine, because ship building and shipowning so linked together that the one interest rises and falls with the other, and because the chief obsta- cles to a revival of our foreign carrying trade is not the first cost of an American vessel, but the difficulty of profitable sailing after it is built. The report further says that the most serious objection to the free ship policy in the United States is that it's inevitable ten dency would be to prevent the successful maintenance of such extensive shipyards as are essential to build war vessels and trans- ports for offensive and defensive purposes. l and thus to deprive the nation of an indispensable means of defense. In conclusion the majority of the committee | sav- "When Congress shall provide for as | reasonable mail pay to American steamship l lines in the foreign trade as 1t cheerfully
 grants to coastwise steamers as a simple act | of justice, then, and not till then, we shall l | increase, our iron shipyards multiply, our naval reserve for the war enlarge and our | trade with South American and other coun- tries, with which we have no direct commu-
 nication, develop"
 l The Reduced Letter POstage-A Great Falling or I'm the Use of Postal Cards.
 WASHINGTON, March 9.-Third Assistant | Postmaster General Hagen will to morrow
 send to the Speaker of the House letter in which he will state that since July the issue of postal cards has decreased to such an ex- tent that he feels justified in requesting the | Appropriation committee to strike $35 GOO from the estimate originally submitted for
 the manufac ure of postal cards: The
 amount originally asked for was $26s, 900. During number of months this year the
 demand for postage stamps has increased IS per cent over last year and the demand for | stamped envelopes has increased % per cent. | over last year. From these figures Mir. Hagen does not anticipate larger deficiency | than that mentioned in his estimate and the Postofics department, he thinks, by next
 July may enter sgain upon self sustaining
 or paying process.