Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-29
FRANCES SORE FINGERS.
BURNT eY TOO MUCH POOLING
WITH SUBSIDIES.
How They worked-Enormous Bounties
which Resuited In Discoursgingly Small
Returns-An Artificial Stimulus which
Unfortunately Failed to Stimulate.

which Resulted In Discourasingly Small
Retums-An Artificial stimulus which
Unfortunately Failed to Stimulate.
The oldest freak in the craftsmanship
of the time is the proposal Of the high
protectionists in congress TO revive Amer
ican shipping by means of subsidies at
the same time that they continue to dis
courage foreign trade by means Of the
massive tariff wall, and pass Mckinley
customs bills, which treat importers as if
they were enemies Of the country.
II the thing they are attempting could
be done at all, it would not perhaps be
an unwise measure to pay millions in
order to put life into our ocean commerce.
The subsidy idea presents many attrac-
lions when looked at merely as theory;
but it always looks much less attractive
after il has been tried.
Ii behooves us TO be students OF mar
kets rather than of maxims, and to take
the practical view gained by actual ex-
perience of our own or of others. 1t
will be well to consider the result of the
most recent and most gigantic subsidy
experiment of the ten years Just past.
That experiment was made by France,
and France burnt her fingers
In 1881 the Freach became alarmed at
the decay Of their chipping interests.
During the previous ten years they had
seen the number of new ships built in
France, or bought abroad and entered as
French vessels, fall off nearly one-half.
They had seen their total tonnage fall off
more than one hundred and fifty thou
sand tons in ten years. They had seen in
1879 that only % per cent. of the ton
mage Of vessels entering and leaving
French ports were sailed under the three
colored flag that every Frenchman loves.
All this was most humiliating 1t
wounded the national pride. Something
must be done-if our citizens will not buy
or make ships and pay the bills out of
their own pockets, why we must reach
deep down into the national pocket and
help them to foot their bills. Perhaps,
too, some OF the wise men of France made
use OF ready made, cheap argument
that we hear from some of our so called
wise men: The money will be kept in the
country when we pay it to our own be-
loved Frenchmen, and so who is hurt?
We take it in taxes and pay it to the ship
makers and shipowners, they pay it to
their workmen, the workmen paw it to
the butchers and grocers and other
tradesmen. And so we keep the money
all the time swinging round the circle.
nobody hurt, and France has her fine
new ships blowing all seas and enriching
her people with the goods of every cline
1t was pleasant vision, and appealed
most temptingly to the bright Gallo
imagination. And 50 the lawmakers
got together" and passed a law which
should send the flag OF la belle France
into the harbors Of all lands
a law was passed giving bounties not
only for the building but also for the
sailing of vessels. All wooden ships Of
less than 200 tons should receive 50 ton
when built. Those above 200 tons should
have 81. As iron ships are much more
efficient in the contest for supremacy on
the high seas these should have Sl2 a
ton, and further bounty of S1.20 should
be paid on the machinery put into these
ships; and the government must help
also to pay for the renewal of boilers as
they are used up-about eighty cents en-
every hundredweight.
So much, then. for the building. But
these ships may not sail as much or on
50 long voyages as they ought.
Very well; then we will pay them for
sailing, too. For every voyage to for
eign countries we VIII pay our fine new
ships thirty cents ton for every 200
miles sailed during the first year, and
after that one cent less per ton every
year.
Now it does look as If the thing ought
to go. We have buoyed up our ship on
all sides with subsidies-she certainly
viii float
Well, float she did-for a while
Now let us look at a few figures to see
how she kept on floating. In 1881
things had reached their lowest ebb;
France had vessels with a total tonnage
of 914, 1873. The next year our beautiful
subsidy scheme begins to tell-there is a
gain of IS "a. tons, and the government
cheerfully puts its hand into its pockets
and pays down 50, 1919 900. In 1888 an
other gain Of 2O,662 tons. That did not
show up 30 well as was hoped. How
ever, as the ships constructed last year
have made some easy voyages, we are
having navigation at least, and SO gov
eminent pays down this time 81, 2S4 900.
Next year government begins to smile
again; we have added 80, $50 tons more
TO our tonnage, and there have been
longer voyages than ever. Government
looks more cheerful, and relieves the
treasury of S2,614, 600. A big sum this
time, but we have added ships and have
made long cruises, and we can afford to
pay for such good things.
The year 1885 ends, and government
calculates-tonnage this year, 80, GA less
than last year. How is that? Have we
not built 16, 200 tons ourselves this year
and bought 1851 tons from abroad?
True; but French ships have now be-
come too numerous. The old owners,
who were making money before the day
OF subsidies, now complain that they
cannot get cargoes, and so can declare
no dividends. Hence some of these ships
without subsidies must be sold, driven to
the wall by subsidy fed ships, which can
afford to carry freight more cheaply.
The next year the tonnage falls off
1000 and the year following 10000, gov
eminent meanwhile paying an average
subsidy of g, 000. 600, for there are still
long voyages, and ships are still being
= built and bought to gain subsidies. Our
old ships are leaving US in still greater
numbers in this year 1887. This year we
bought and made 10000 tons, and yet
TIE total tonnage is 10000 less than last
year. That means that sc, 0G0 tons have
left US in single year. And in this year
1887 our tonnage is actually less than it
was in 1892 And government has paid