New-York tribune., 1886-06-05
LIE EREE SIP HUMB UG.


debate with THE TRIBUNE must not insist on
false premises. As an argument i'll favor of
free ships it boldly stated that it cost 80 per
cent more to build a modern steamship in
America than in Great Britain. If that were
true, its advocacy of free ships might have
some basis of reason. But it is wholly errone-
ous and we corrected it. The World returns to
its free shin pleas but carefully abstains from
acknowledging what was a fundamental and
all-important mistake. a steamship may bc built
in America at about II per cent more than pre-
ciselv the same vessel would cost on the Clyde.
The difference between II and 30 per cent in
the cost of IA fleet of merchant vessels is a
difference of about 81 100000. million OF
dollars, we may venture to suggest, Is great
deal of money, and as an item OF expense in
such an enterprise it would make all the differ
ence in the world.
Now If our contemporary will forget for a
moment the fact that it is Democratic organ
bound to support the fallacies of that chaotic
party, which nurses many conflicting theO
ries and impossible policies as to have made
itself merely party OF obstruction, we will
give it some nuts to crack in this free ship
business If the privilege of buying British
carrier, We might be disposed to look at it with
favor. But the cost of running an American
line of steamers is SO much heavier than the
British owners expense, that under existing
circumstances there could be no competition
even if the Americans vessels were a free gift
to him. in few years he would discover that
his expenses had amounted to as much as his
British rivals expenses and first cost put to-
gether This fact is a mere matter of arithmc-
tic, and is not disputed by persons who might
venture their money in such an enterprise if the
free ship bill became a law.
1t may pertinently be asked, therefore, how
they expect to make their inv cstment profit
able. They propose. having obtained SO much
concession on the cost Of the plant, to get the
free ship bill repealed as to shut out others
from the advantage they have secured, and to
ask the same Government aid that all American
steamship lines are now requiring-liberal mail
contracts. They will join forces with all other
lines and demand liberal shipping laws, and
against their heads the Holmanic crowd of
scarecrow economists will hurl their denuncia-
tory javelins with as much vigor as they now
display in blackguarding the Pacific Mail and
the Cuban and South American lines.
1t is because we do not believe in according
privileges to a few the advantages of which are
not shared by all that We oppose the free ship
bill. 1t would operate in taking several mill
ions of dollars out of the pockets of American
wOrkingmen TO be spent on British labor, aud
benefit only the capitalists who want to save
that extra - per cent, hoping and expect
ing at the same time to obtain that other and
supremely necessary legislation which only
will enable them to compete with their foreign
rivals on the ocean.
The trade of America is what we desire to
benefit and develop, the aid of ship builders
and ship-Owners being only one of the incidents
of the general Improvement of things. In our
scheme for the revival of American shipping
We are looking after the interests of the whole
commercial world of America, not of this or
that class Its advantage will be only part of
the common advantage. For this reason we
ale not particularly concerned to SEQ fleets of
transatlantic steamers as yet. Our commerce
goes to Europe, not well enough, but far better
than it goes elsewhere. The boundless trade
of South and Central America, of Australia and
the Orient, is the primary prize of American
That is where to begin the res
toration Of our supremacy the seas. Let us
bring the hundreds of millions of commerce
here that offers itself to us from those develop
ing lands. Having done that. having got back
the balance of trade that is now heavily to our
debit in those countries taken in hard com
from our ports and transferred by them to Eng
land, France and Germany, where they buy
tho transatlantic routes. The country is wax