The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-12-20
THE SUBSIDY BILL.

There is prospect that the Steamship
Subsidy Bill may become law, though this
is the short session. The committee has
agreed upon the details, and the friends of
the bill rather than have it fail will prob
ably refrain from jeopardizing it by insist
ing on amendments. What the country
wants is to place our mercantile marine on
an equal footing with the mercantile marine
Of Great Britain, France and Germany, and
it is not particularly concerned about the
way 1t Is done, II it is done. Whether the
old idea of calling subsidy an allowance
for carrying the mails, or the new idea of
calling it subsidy, conditioned upon the
right of the Government to press the vessels
receiving it into its service in case Of war is
best, people are not concerned TO inquire.
What they wans is that inducements shall
be held out 10 place steamers on the berth
betN cen American ports and foreign ports.
Now. on the question whether the United
States would be benefited as whole, by
new development of our mercantile marine,
such as would follow the passage of the Sub
sidy Bill, we. in San Francisco, are in po-
sition TO judge. This is the only great
American seaport facing the Pacific. 1t is
from this port that foreign nations on the
Pacific should naturally receive the goods
should send their surplus produce. Propin-
guilty ought to insure this result. But, in
fact, our trade with these nations is far less
than that of Great Britain. For instance
according TO latest returns, Peru imports
$3.50, 900 from the United States and S., 49,
000 fl ON England, and ships $4,000 to this
country against S7,9S1 600 to England. Chile
imports S5,240.G00 from the United States
against $50, 46S.oo0 from England, aud ex-
ports 50 45o COO to the United States against
about SIS. C00,0G0 TO England. China imports
merchandise inyoiced at sc, 500, 900 taels from
England and 5, l45,o00 from this country
She exports goods worth 16, zoe, COO taeis to
England and s, 962, eco TO this country. Japan
sends more merchandise 10 this country than
to England, as the English have never been
consumers of Japan tea, but she imports
SIS, Geo worth of goods from England as
against S5,675. 600 from this country.
Opponents Of subsidy bills account for the
inferior position of Americans in these
foreign countries by stating that our manu-
facturers do not care to make the goods
these foreigners want, nor to sell them ON
the long credits they require. But it is EVIL
dent that these are secondary causes. The
main cause Of the difference is the fact that
in every foreign port England has four
steamers to our ore and owing to the sub
sides granted by the British Government
the British vessels can afford to underbid
Us in freights. People ship their produce in
the vessels which sail oftenest and charge
least for freight They buy their goods from
tie nations with which they are in closest
commercial intercourse. Ii we had as many
vessels at Valparaiso as the English have,
and they charged the same price for freight
as the English steamers charge, we should
get larger share of the foreign trade of
Chile, because San Francisco is nearer Val
paraiso than Liverpool is. And the multi
plication OF our merchant steamers in the
port of Yokohoma would have the same
effect on the foreign trade Of Japan.
Twenty years ago there was no steamship
line between Venezuela and the United
States and our commerce with that republic
was only So, 100000 out of total of So, Co.,
eco. A few years ago a steamship line was
laid on from New York and now the Ameri-
can share of Venezuelan foreign trade
amounts TO S13.O00.0OO nearly one-half of
the whole