Evening journal., 1888-12-22
steamer Linea and Farmers.

Tariff League Bulletin.
The Iron and Steel Trades Journal says
"a Steamship line has just been estab-
lished between Genoa and Batavia. The
Italian Government has undertaken to
assist the line with a subvention fl2, 900
per annum."
Italy, besides paying a bounty per 1000
miles sailed, has been for some time
assisting" steamer lines. One Of the
first of these lines from Genoa to the
mouth of the Rio de la Plata, and there
are now six companies running lines
from Italy and dispatching 10 large
st ,amers per month to South America.
The influence of the prompt and regular
communication afforded by these steamers
on the export trade of Italy was Incl
IDENTIFY noticed in an address delivered last
MAY before the New York Chamber OF
Commerce by Edw lrd A. Hopkins on
"the Argentine Republic, and Conterml
nous Countries, which contains partial
statement of the exports for various
countries to the Argentine Republic,
showing that in 13 articles Italy exceeds
the United States in its sales to that
country. Our farmers, who are urged to
believe that any proposition to subdislze
steamer lines is a scheme to take money
out of their pockets, and that they have
no interest in or merchant marine will
note that -four and cheese are two OF
those articles, dried and preserved fruits
and vegetables are three more, and that
meats is another. Italy sent Of these six
enumerated articles $451, All worth, we
sent $5, 100 worth. That is strictly agri-
cultural produce, Italy furnished nearly
| 100 times as much as the United States.
| The greatest disparity was in cheese; we
| furnished cheese to the value of 500, and
Italy to the value Of $3.50, 500. Free
traders with the disregard of veracity,
which characterize their utterances will
Immediately say "If we do not buy. OF
course we cannot sell" and propose that
our farmers should curtail their profit from
wool growing, in order to increase their
sales OF cheese. But the value of our i'm.
ports from the Argentine Republic for
the five years ending with 1887 has been
$23, 753, 1856, and the value of our exports
to that country for the same time has
been $23 69l ,665, showing that we sold
about as much as we bought.
England, which for twenty years sub
sdized the Royal Mail steamers with an
annual subvention Of $1,2l1, 100, Of
course, leads other countries in the value
of it's exports, as it does in the number
of its steamers visiting the mouth of the
Rio de la Plata And Mr.. Hopkins re
lates as an evidence of the effectiveness
of frequent, prompt and regular mai
communication in increasing trade that
for the ten years before the commence
ment Of those subsidies the exports t.
Brazil from England had been stationary
but under the influence Of the steamer
lines, the exports doubled in four years
it taking our trade without subsidie
thirteen years TO make the same advance
In spite of experience, which is no
i singular when the Argentine Republi
. offered a subsidy of 800, 900 to an Amer
can steamer line if our government
, would do it's part. our present admins
tration ignored the offer and allowed tn
. prize to 90 to an English company ,whic
means that the labor Of ship building, .
well as the profits of ship owning will &
. to that country Italy ON the other han
Notwithstanding her inherited poverty
!. can raise $50, 600 per annum to extend {
I. TO create a commerce with Batavia.
/ looks as if there could be but few fre
i traders or mugwumps in Italy.
Foreign influence has for some tin
i, been too strong in this country to allo
us to subsidize steamer lines We pa
h last year $500 to foreign steam
lines for carrying our mails to Europ
= this prize was great enough to justi
. the North Atlantic Steamer Pool in pu
+. ting one Of their men on the Democrat
= National Committee And one Of tho
i companies is understood TO have late
4 retained our most prominent Mugwun
politician Of foreign extraction as {
rector of the company, doubtless, tn
he may explain to Congressman al
others the futility of subsidies as a mea
: of extending commerce and their inju
ious effects on the self-reliance of a gre
. people.