Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1890-03-20

Not a case TOR snbsiay.

Philadelphia Evening Telegraph Top.
The American shipping merchant is
not permitted by the monstrously unjust
Navigation laws of his country to bring
up his own sons to his trade IL an honest,
open manner. No American can 20 into
the foreign shipping trade under his
country's flag. He must sneak in under
foreign Gag. he cannot own the ship
he buys. Re can get no American regis.
try for her; lie can get no protection
for her in case of war. II he buy her in
England, that country can take Der with
out question from an American port, from
under the guns o. an American fort, or
wherever it finds her. Ths American can
pay his money tor her, bat he cannot
carry bis countIy's has CT her, nor can
he call her an American ship, nor call
her even his own. And all this to ''pro-
teot" American builders of ships who
have no existenoe-who, sE builders Of
ocean steamships, are as extinct as the
canoe of the indian that crossed the lakes
q Thousand years ago. Two hundred
millions year are paid by the country
to protect this extinct, non-existert GLASS,
and paid to foreigners who loot our COM
meroe, and for whose benefit we spend
other millions yearly to buoy and light
our ports.
MI. Forbes told the committee that
''the American sailor, the mate, and
everybody else, likes to sail under the
American flag" The United States war
ship the Enterprise sailed into Nsw York
harbor the other day, and its crew was
made up As foliow5:
There were l5T seamen and only 80
Americans among them. Ths captain OF
tho starboard watch was an EnPliahman
the captains Of tha maintops, Greek ana
Dane; of the fOretopS, q Greek and m
Italian; of the afterguard, an American,
Tue ships corporal is Norwegian; the
water. tenders, q German. q Swede, and an
American, the naachlnists are both Amer
leans, the oilers were an Irishnan, an
American, and Dane; the SALTWATER was
Frenehmap; the captain OF the whale
boat an Italian, and the captain OF the gig
German.
In 1861 there were 10000 American
sailors in our merchant marine service,
and we then bad rs per cent Of tue en-
tire commerce of the world. Now we
have less than IA per cent, and that is
chiefly made up of coasters, lake, harbor
and river craft, including ferry tug md
canal boats. Then every American sbir
was chiefly ofIiocred aud manned by
American sailors; now, the race OF native
seamen has disappeared, and even in oul
our navy We have only one American for
i've or six foreigners. The American
man-o'-wats-man disappeared with the
as per cant OF the worlds commerce
which we had in 1861.
Mr.. Forbes is right. American mer.
chants wants no subsidies to enable them
to win back American shipping. They
want nothing but the poor privileges OF
buying their ships There their English,
German, French, Italian, Austrian
Spanish, Dutch, Danish end Swedish
rivals buy theirs, in the cheapest market.
Now, if they do not buy them in the
dearest market, at home, they cannot
own or sail them OF all, under the Nayi-
cation laws of the United State. Il they
buy their ships in the cheapest market
they must he sailed under 8 foreign fag,
under a foreign registry, and remain
forever subject to the taking OF the
country whose flag they carry. The
American Bhipbu.laers compel the coun.
try to poy two hundred millions 2 veal
20 iossiSnera, not that the country may
hsvo ships, but that it mhy have none
and this the besottedly ignorant FarquhSl
sort OF statseman, or eubsiGy-jobber
calls statesman hip