Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-01-02
OUR SHIPPING INTERESTx.
American vessels Must he Put On An
Equality with Foreign Ships.

The report OF Mr.. Z. b. Morton. commissioner OF
navigation, Is compendium OF Information relat-
Ing TO the shipping not only OF the United states
but OF the world II shows that the business a.
one, perhaps more than any other, governed BY
the competitor OF all nations and says that unless
the American ship In foreign ports, or In our own
can lake cargo as cheaply or more cheaply than
the English, Norwegian German, OF spanish
vessel the merchandise Will be transported by the
foreign vessels The commissioner sets forth I'm
detail the various aids and advantages enjoyed
by the shipping OF other nations, and con-
cludes that IL Is impossible without "A
change OF the present conditions, for our naviga-
uon 10 regain Its lost supremacy In the foreign
trade He says that our vessels must be put on an
equality with foreign ships, or they must be grad
sides are paid by spain, Italy, Germany, France,
&C, and British vessels have been and are aided
under one guise or another. The report alludes 70
South American trade, which naturally belongs 10
THIS country, but IL Is almost monopolizeI by Eu-
ropean ships
WITH REGARD TO THE coAsTISG TRADE
the commissioner says that the case IL different,
and the shipping employed amounting TO 3 900, :
2sS tons, without Including many craft not docu-
mented, Is reasonably prosperous, especially upon
the lakes where the coastwise trade Is developing
rapidly, the increase In the American tonnage
there during the year ended June 30. 1857, being
2, ,l6l tons. The gain upon the Pacific coast was
8, Eol tons, and IL was about the same on the
western rivers
u
States is 4l0o si4 tons IL being distributed fol-
lows: Atlantic and Guif, 2.6ss,279; Paclnc coast,
3,6 445; northern Lakes, so3 III; western rivers,
321 ,405.
THE FOREIGN dorSG REGISTERED TONNAGE
Is LOIS, ,562 tons
THE COMMISSIONER RECOMMENDS
that the coasting trade be relieved OF its burdens
as TO pilotage fees, and that Congress should
abolish the compulsory features OF the state laws
imposing pilotage half pilotage or license fees on
1oas'hf @sS he Sessd,s n5iorm 50 that the prac5ce
He speaks OF the impoicy OF local taxation OF
sels- An amendment or the laws relating 70 ton
mage tax Is recommended, 80 that steam vessels
may pay on the same relative capacity Is sailing
vessels.
To prevent duplication OF names OF vessels of the
United States he recommends that names OF new
vessels be submitted TO tine Bureau OF Navigation,
where an alphabetical list of all vessels oI the
United states is kept, and where it could be at
once determined whether the name proposed
would be duplicate OF Others already In use.
The Commissioner expresses himself strongly IN
favor OF a naval reserve and concludes his report
with a drart or a bill enUodying his Ideas OF the
legislation required this ana other points CALI
Ing ior prompt action by Congress.
The Veterans Of 1912.
SENATOR HKARsTs BILL TO INCREASE THEIR PEN
sIONS-
senator Hearst has prepared and will introduce
soon after the reassembling OF Congress a bill to
Increase the pensions the soldiers OF the war of
1872 from s. to s25 per month. In support or the
bill the senator will submit statistics collected by
him showing that while the number OF veterans Of
that war is only lO69, the number
OF WIDOWS of soldiers or 1872 Is IL S3l. This lis
counted Tor On tle theory tnat the veterans ate,
the war had ended and wnen they had passed the
meridian OF lie married young women. he nee
the large number OF surviving widows. In 1873 the
pensions paid 10 veterans OF lsl2 amounted TO
$2,000,0O0, while for the current year IL Will
reach only SIO5,000. Ia ye years, at tnat rate OF
mortality, but lew OF them VIII 0e alive, and oen-
!. II
and as it includes only Droken-down Old soldiers,
the penslon ought to be increased.