The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1888-12-14
Our National Humiliation.

The skeleton in Uncle Sans closet
of which all The world has view, h
the decay Of our mercantile marine, q
far as regards the foreign carrying
trade. The coas wise trade is absolute
ly secured American vessels by the pro-
hibitioa OF foreign shipping engaging
IN it. But our foreign carrying trade
is open TO the competition of the world
Some figures 10 the treasury report oi
Secretary FsirchiId on this subject are
interesting, tut decidedly humiliating
TO our national pride. especially when
we recall the times Yankee ship and q
Yankee crew carried American com
merce and enterprise to the uttermost
parts of the earth. and dotted the seas
with the stars and stripes. Hearken
to the eloquence of 6gures.
Going back little over 80 years we
fnd that in 1856 in round numbers our
total foreign commerce, imports and ex-
ports. was S641 600 900. of which 1882,
$50 600 Tss carried IN American vessels
aud S159 $50. 900 was in foreign vessels.
Over serenity JiUe per cent. was car
ried In American vessels.
In 1888 our foreign commerce had
increased TO 81, ,365. 900. 900, or more
than double since 1856. But OF this
Outr KlJO.COO- WV
WAS carried in American vessels, con-
siderably less than one-half the amount
carried in 1856, while the amount on
foreign vessels was 81 .420. 600 600 in
1888 against S159, $50, 900 in 1856.
In 1856, 75 per cent. was carried in
American vessels ana % in foreign.
In 1888, the aggregate of our foreign
com mmerce having more than doubled,
but 13t per cent. was in American
vessels and S6t in foreign.
The proportion in American vessels
in 1888 was the smallest on record,
while the aggregate OF our foreign car
rying trade, stated in values. was only
exceeded by the four years ending in
1888, pariod when our grain and pro-
vision exports realized such al enor-
nous volume. OF the 134 per cent.
last year of our share Of our own trade,
one-half was carried In steam vessels.
Even in war times. when the Confed-
crate AIabamas were raiGiDg the seas,
the proportion of our foreign trade in
American vessels ranged from 80 peT
cent. in 1862 to "a per cent. in 1866.
After the war there was recovery un-
til 1871, when decline set in, which
has steadily continued. 50 that our pro-
portion has dwIndied from 81 per cent.
IN tndt year 10 10t IN 1880
The pruti,s on our foreign carrying
trade sre estimated at hundred mill
ions of dollars. OF which American
shippers $50, 500, 900. Then the shame
OF the situation. Our dag has virtually
disappeared from the ocean.
Not entirely but very largely this hu-
initiating decline in the world g greatest
field OF enterprise is due to our tariff
policy, and to the doctrine of protec-
tio1, run TO the ridiculous extreme of
the absolute prohibition o. tie purchase
of foreign vessels for our own trade by
American shippers. The Chinese wall
doctrine finds in our foreign commerce
its full fruition. We neither build
ships for the trade or permit our ship
pers to buy vessels abroad. There is
nothing ike standing by a principle IL
~ does burn your house down. That is
what our people are doing.
Germany adopted q very different
principle when its commerce began to
expand with the creation of the German
empire at the time of the Franco Ger
man war. Ii said to its shippers, buy
vessels where you can buy them cheap
est, and sail them under the protection
OF the imperial flag. Iron and steel
steamers built on the Clyde for the
German companies soon commenced to
divide with Great Britain and France
the carrying trade of the world and
this, in turn, has stimulated ship build
ing on the German coast Germany Is
a protectionist country. but it does not
stand by the principle to the extreme OF
folly TO which the American protection.
ist is devored.
We only know one thing to compare
with this in economic idiocy. That is
taxing our manufacturers on raw ma
rerials not produced or insufficiently
produced N this country. thus blocking
manufacturing enterprise and opening
our markets to the foreign manufact-
ured product. which we could turn ont
from our workshops, II our producers
were put on an equality with those OF
England, Germany, France and Bel
GUM, as TO the raw material. That is
the wool question in a nutshell.-Pitts,
burg Post.