Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-08-29
The opening wedge to south and oentra

WILMINGTON, THURSDAY, AUG. 20.
The opening wedge to South and Central
American commerce must be lines Of
American built and manned steam
ships, assisted by bounty OF such
pay for carrying the malls MS Will enable
them to compete with the subsidized lines
Of other countries.
Any system to be devised for the revival
OF our shipping must be az American sys-
tenn OF commerce and navigation, original
and adapted to our institutions. II should
not be copy OF any foreign nations
policy. as the constitutions are different
here from what they are abroad. mere
imitation or the blind following OF others
might be found impracticable.
We clip these extracts from the editor-
ial columns of the New York Marine
Journal, of to-dsy's date. BY what
species Of ratiocination they can be made
70 harmonic we leave to their sponsor to
sipher out. They seem to convey diane
tsically opposed advios--frst, that we
should follow the example OF other coun.
tries, and secondly, that we shouldn't.
But it is chiefly to the expression "sub.
sidized lines" that we wish to direct at
tention again. OF course this will be
taken chiefly by the average reader as
eferring to the mercantile marine Of
Great Britain, and equally Of course
Che Marine journal knows that Great
Britain has never appropriated one dollar
for the purpose of aiding in the con-
struction or employment of q British
ship. France has done SO, and IN
proftably, but England never. What
Great Britain has done is to free her
ommeree and free her ships; that is the
Nhole secret of her commercial pre-
dominance. The three million dollars
or so that she pays annually, to the
lowest bidders for carrying her ocean
mails, is bat drop in the bucket. 1t is
payment Of which only A per cent of
her mercantile marine rsaps the benefit;
the remaining Sc per cent does not come
infor any share in this appropriation The
share Of the new Teutonic, the largest
steamer that floats, we are told by the
Murine Journal, is $4,000 per year.
"The subsidy annually paid the Teutonic
Is SIS, OO0," is the way the Murine Jour
nal puts it. Even suppose 1t were
subsidy, it would not amount to more
than few hundred dollars for each
round trip made by this magnificent
steamer; wnich might perhaps suffice to
pay for the oil that lubrieates her machin.
cry. We pay our railways sl5 900, 900
per year for thu very same ssryios-oar-
rying the mails--but we don't call it q
subsidy.
In 1887 Great Britain paid for this
ocean mail service, which protect;onists
persist in miscHlling subsidy, SO, 2O6,-
1861. In the same year France paid to
her shipping $5,152,3Ss. In 1887 Great
Britain had 1857 steamers of over 100
tons burthon; France had 46s.
To recap:tulste what the GAZETTE
has said before; II, ss the protectionists
claim, Great Britain has been paying
subsidies since 1880, and at the rate of
more than S., 100000 per year from 1850
to 1856, how was 1t that the United
States in 1856 did 75.3 per cent OF orr
commerce il American vessels, and In
1887 only 1873 per cent? The answer is
simply that in 1856, when we had no war
tariff, we could compete with the world
in building ships and, with free raw ma
terisls, we could sell cur finished prod
ucts in competition with Great Britain
in the markets Of the world. As Con,
gresham Raynor has so we'll said:
England Is the Mistress OF the seas be
cause she has freed her commerce uut
freed her SHIPS; that ia the truth and vi
know IL. We have en-aved them both
and wa nave toundsred the best equipped
aud hsetest rv!ee that sailed the ocean II
its day. We have enslaved the ship iron
keelson 10 truck from the wlte IN her STAY
to the brass in her tatlrail log she Is slave
We have euslaveG her cargo, because iron
the moment an American vessel touches a
foreign port, high and prohihitlve dutle
proclaim to the nations Of the earth that
pirates tribute IL 10 be- levied upon he
freight ard mat we give no quarter to tn
commerce Of mankind.
There IL az American system f'tor III
revival OF our shipping" and the Marin
Journal will see it ia time. Give az fire.
ships and free raw materials and we CO
beat the world With free wool to.dny
even though dependent on Great Bri:ai
for our carrying trade, We could &c.
American daunals in London and Berlir
just as With free hides we are seudin
American leather by the millions of do
lars into markets we could nottoueh wit
the taxed hides of 1872.
-