Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-04-13
Mr.. Dingley on Shipping and Our
Foreign Trade.

DECLINE OF AMERICAN SHIPPING.
Mr.. Chairman, the gentleman from Mis-
souri, Mr.. Dockery] intima ted, as has been
frequently charged on this floor and else
where, that when the Democratic party went
out of power in 1860 they left prosperous
and increasing merchant marine: and that
whatever decline has come to this important
interest is due to the burdens imposed on our
shipping by the republican party.
Inasmuch as there are smaller national
charges on American vessels to-day than in
1860, / take il for granted that what the gen.
tlemsn meant was that the tariff policy of the
democratic party prior to the war had fos'
tered our shipping, and the protective policy
Of the republican party had brought ruin up
on it,
| regard it so important to keep the discus
sion Of the shipping question out of the tariff
vortex and the partisan ruf, that | desire to
make it clear to the committee and the House
that the tariff has had nothing at all to do
with the decline of any branch CT our ner
chant marine.
If were disposed to treat this subject in
the narrow wav in which those do who charge
that the tariff has driven our shipping from
the ocean, could very easily show that the
division of our merchant marine which has
has steadily grown until to day it is three
times as large "a the British coastwise marine
and five times large as the home fleet of
anv other nation, and that this has come not
outstanding the rapid increase of railroad
competition And could also show that the
division OF our merchant marine, to wit, that
engaged in the foreign carrying trade, which
has not been protected since 1850, when the
United States admitted British shipping to
free participation in this trade on equal terms
with our vessels, has steadily declined since
1856. And the friends of protection might
argue with much force from this state of facts
that the decline of our shipping in the for
eign trade, in which it has been cOntending
with British competition on freetrade basis,
simply shows what would come to all our
manufacturing industries if we should apply
free trade to them
But the subject is too important to be dis
missed either with this partisan protection
argument or the partisan anti protection ar
gument which nv friend from Missouri has
employed And desire to show him and all
others who are inclined to dismiss this sub
jet with the remark that orr shipping in the
foreign trade prospered under the revenue
tariffs Of 1916 and 1857. and that tariff taxa
ton since 1861 has driven it from the ocean,
the charge The conclusive proof OF
the proundlessness of the charge Is found
in the fact that the decline of our for,
eign carrying trade commenced about 1856
and that the annual decline from 1856 &c
1861, inclusive, under the revenue tariff and
democratic administrations, was as great rs
the annual decline since the war. under the
protective tariff and republican admini.tra
tons. When | stated this fact incidentally
in the general debate, the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Adams denied it, as he saw
that if it was so then the point he WAS making
that the republican policy was responsible
tor the loss of our foreign carving trade, had
nothing to stand upon. | invite him, there
fore. as well as the gentleman from Nilsson
ri, and also the gentleman from Virgins
(Mr. Tucker who, at the Boston merchant
dinner, a few months ago, dwelt so touching
" on the ruin wrought to our shipping by
our protective tariff, to look at the officia
| figures of the decline of our foreign carrying
trade, which are found in the report of the
bureau of statistics on the commerce of tbt
! United States. which have here.
| 1t will be seen by this report that in 1855
100 per cent of all our exports and imports
were carried in American vessels In thu
same year also, five hundred and seven yes
sells of the class used in the foreign trade
were built in the United States. This wa.
| the high-water mark of our shipping in tn
! foreign trade-the discovery of gold in Cali
| forna and the Crimean war having postponed
a decline which otherwise would have mani
| Tested itself few wears earlier. The decline
: in our foreign carrying trade and the decline
| in ship-buildng for this trade began in 1855 =
sc, and this decline went steadily on frou
year to wear.
/ In 1857 there were only three hundred an,
/ nine vessels built for the foreign trade ant
in 1859 only one hundred and seventeen. Tn,
/ total of our tonnage in the for ign trade
which had increased ~ per cent per annun
up to 1855, was nearly stationary from 1856
to 1861 in spite of the fact that our export
and imports largely increased during this pc
Rod. This increase was seized upon by for
eiyn vessels. In 1861 only 661 per cent o
our exports and imports were carried b,
American vessels. In six years tn
decline of our foreign carrying trade was
/ per cent, or ID per cent per annum.
! In 1861 came the civil war and the confed
/ crate cruisers, which in four years swept NOR,
than one-third of our shipping in the foreigl
! trade from the ocean either bv destruction o.
! transfer to foreign registers to escaps capture
! During these four years our foreign carving
| trade declined 80 per cent, loss which an
sure my friend from Missouri will not charg,
| to the protective tariff or to the republican
party
| In 1865. the year the war ended only ~.
per cent of our exports and imports were
carried in American vessels. The decline
of our foreign carrying trade has gone OF
since. but not quite as rapidly as before tn,
war. In 1885 791 per cent. Of our export.
and imports were carried in foreign vessels
81 per cent BY rail. and only l4s per cent
I bv American vessels. In twenty years, there
fore. since the close of the war the decline il
the American carrying trade has been almos
l3 per cent. or three ttths of | per cent, pei
annum, against decline of ID per cent. pei
an :um before the war. The tonnage of tn,
American vessels in the foreign trade is near
ly as large rs in 1865 but foreign vessel
have come IN and seized upon the large
increase of our exports and imports.
! The fact, therefore, should be conceded OF
all sides that our foreign carving trade begaf
to decline in 1856 under a revenue tariff ant
democratic administration, and that the de
cline between 1856 and 1861 was even great
er than the annual decline since the war un.
der protective tariff.
It has been charged that the duties Levied
by the existing tariff on ship-bu;lding mate
rial make il more difficult to build vessels il
competition with British builders than woulC
have been the case under the tariff of 1916
Tables of the duties on iron are published IL
show how seriously the present tariff tails OF
ship-building materials.
! | should be pleased to see an enlargement
of the list of free materials for ship-buidin!
n Al.