The Portland daily press., 1888-07-14
AND, MAINE, SATURDAY MORNING, JULY IA, 1883.

to South America were seventeen and half
millions: in 1888 they were forty-two and n
half millions; in 1860 the exports to the West
Indies were twenty-five millions: in 1883
thirty-two millions: These illustrations
showed that our foreign commerce had
grown as never before during that period
Therefore all talk to the effect that it was no
use to try to improve our commerce and our
relations with these countries had no foun-
dati0n in fact.
the line plying between San Francisco,
Australia and New Zealand. Here, he said,
was line receiving a subsidy of $150OO0
from foreign governments. The mail service
over this line was not part Of the. postal
union service. Therefore the United States
government collected between $4,000 and
$47, 200 annually as postage, while 1t paid to
the line $4,000. The government was max
ing twice as much as it paid out. Was not
this an ignoble policy, and beneath the dig
nifty of this nation to use for the purpose Of
money making line sustained by foreign
governments.
Mr.. Oliver, of Indiana, discussed the
amendment in commercial point of view,
advocating it as means of advancing the
business interests of the United States in
the great consuming countries of South
America. South of us lay an empire richer
than the Indies, containing 50,000,000 people
who were inactive and without genius. They
imported annually S500.000,000 worth Of
goods, $450,000000 from Europe, $50, 900, 900
from the United States. St was the part Of
could to enable our people to reach out and
secure this rich market.
Mr.. Buchanan, of New Jersey, commented
on the decline in the merchant marine and
spoke regretfully of the fact that but IA per
cent. of the merchandise which left our ports
for foreign countries was carried in vessels
flying the American flag
Mr. Nelson, OF Minnesota said the argu-
ment that American shipping did not exist
because OF the rebellion, which occurred %
years ago, was to him all stuff and nonsense,
1us and feathers. The trouble was the
government had put the merchant marine in
a straight jacket. 1t has said to people wish
ing to engage their capital in navigating the
nlgh seas, You cannot engage in this enter
p prise unless you buy American vessels"
rms was putting the merchant marine in a
straight jacket. lApplause on the Democrat
ic side:J He referred to the country of his
birth, Norway, as poor country with less
than two million inhabitants, so poor that
she could not subsidize single ship for a
single year, yet with free trade and free
ships she stood next to the United States in
the tonnage Of her commerce. Applause on
the Democratic side.] In every part of the
world could be found Norwegian ships and
tne idea that in this country. with all its
Wealtn, all Its resources, American shipping
could not exist without subsidy to a few
steamship lines, was preposterous.
Mr.. Dockery, of Missouri, made an elabo-
rate argument against the system of subsi-
dies. The pending amendment would be to
discourage the building of additional lines
and enable such poor men as Jay Gould,
Russell Sage and c. p. Huntington to pre-
vent any competition being built up to the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company.
Pending further debate the House at
O'Clock took recess until o'clock.
The House at the evening session passed
"a private pension bills and adjourned.