Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-28
A sILuRIAN NATIONAL POLICY.


The alarums of war, if they shall
serve no other purpose, are at least use
full in causing to be reviewed certain
features OF our national policy. For in
stance, no vessel can engage in the coast
ing trade of the United States unless it
has an American registry. 1t cannot
get an American registry unless it has
been built in the United States. 1t has
been supposed that this iron-clad law is
in the interest of American shipbuild-
ers. This may be SO, to certain ex-
tent. but the prosperity of shipbuilders
even is wrapped up in that OF the coun-
try at large. Political economists have
asserted that the decadence of the
American marine is due to the heavy
taxes on everything that enters into the
building of ship in the shipyards of
the United States, from bolt and bar
to tenpenny nail. The Parsee mer-
chant, in the New York World, about
decade ago, proved this proposition with
the force of mathematical demonstra
ton. And still we maintained
our absurd tariff and our
still more absurd navigation laws. To
disinterested observer it would really
look as if the United States by it's laws,
had aimed to cross-saw and hamstring
the premier republic of the world--a
sort of national suicide, in which two
agencies of self-destruction were in
volved, the morphia of excessive i'm
posts and the prussic acid of Chinese
exclusiveness as to foreign shipbuilders.
Why should not the United States be
permitted to have war vessels built in
the shipyards of the Clyde, in Scotland.
or in those of Toulon, and Brest, and
Havre, in France? Today the republic
of Chile is anxiously looking for the APP
pearance of the Captain Pratt and the
Presidente Pinto from French shipyards.
| WHY should not the United States be
allowed to expedite her armaments by
paying out some of her abundant cash
to foreign shipwrights?
| So much for the nation. Why should
not the adventurous American merchant
be allowed to pay out his money for
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American register? Our laws in this re-
gard are unenlightened and B9otian in
their stupidity.
If the Chileans had waited until they
could build vessel of war, or of the
merchant marine, miserable fiasco
would have resulted. They can build
nothing. When officers of the Ameri-
can navy speak respectfully of the
Chilean naval armaments, they are SIM
ply commencing the enterprise which
went to foreign shipyards and bought
the marine products of foreign talent
and enterprise.
When Italy wants navy, when Tur-
KEY wants navy, when Chile wants a
navy, they simply go to the best ship
yards in the world whether in England
or in France, and bargain and pay for
what they want!
Why should not the United States do
the same, while its own shipbuilding
plants are maturing? 1t would be hard
to give plausible reason why we should
not supplement our present deficiencies
by the well equipped navy yards of peo-
pies with whom we are at peace.
Why should not our merchant marine
be recruited from the skill and resources
of foreign shipbuilders 1t would be
hard to give reasonable negative an
swer to the demand of an American
ship-owner, who has bought his vessel
abroad, and who demands an American
register for it. Why should not this
enterprising man be allowed to augment
our merchant marine, and carry his
American patriotism into his COM
mercial transactions?
And echo answers. "Why?"
1t is all very well, when our ship
yards have been multiplied, our scant
shipbuilders increased four-fold, oui
} building facilities indefinitely expanded
and our old time swsy over the ocean
resumed, to revive these exclusive regu-
lations. But, as the case stands to-day
, we appear to have adopted policy as
silly as it is exclusive, and as danger