The Portland daily press., 1892-07-05
Mr.. FRYE AT WOODSTOCK.
An dependence Day Grafton ON the
American Ship.

Uhs ~ WOODS OONs
An dependence Day Grafton ON the
American Ship.
PUTNAM, Conn.,, July 4.-Today Henry
G. Bowen of the New York Independent.
gave his 22d annual literary festival in
Roseland park, Woodstock. An audience
of abo ut 5000 people enjoyed the occas-
ion. Hon. Charles A. Russell, Senator
Platt of Connecticut, Hon. Thomas j.
Morgan, Secretary Tracy, Senator Frye,
and Col. Elliot Shepard were the speak
ers. Mr.. Frye's subject was theI eIAmeri-
can ship, and in the course of his speech
referring to the depression of the Ameri-
can shipping industry, he said:
assert that not protection, but the
entire absence of it, has wrought the ru-
in of this most important national indus
try, and believe that this is susceptible
of demonstration. The wonderful ca
reer of England illustrates it. To attain
her present position upon the ocean she
pursued persistently a most remarkable
protective policy. She permitted the
importation of bulky articles in British
engage in her domestic trade, and per-
mitted no transportation of merchandise
from one British colony to another in
| foreign vessels; allowed no imports into
any British possession by foreign vessels
except those belonging to the country of
growth, production or manufacture and
then only when three-fourths of the
crews were citizens of the same country.
She allowed no vessel to receive British
registry except those built in her own
dominions, entirely owned, officered and
three fourths manned by her subjects,
and never opened her registry to foreign
built ships until 1S49, a change of policy
then necessary. She could not possibly
supply her own shipping; timber had be-
come exceedingly scarce and very ex-
pensiye, while iron had hardly become
factor in the problem. She then
bought some of our ships; found shortly
that the experiment of iron ships was
success; at once devoted her entire atten-
ton to building them. From then to now
she has encouraged iron shipbuilding,
compelled all of her subsidized lines to
build steamers of iron or steel, rebuilt
her navy of the same materials, very
largely in private yards, to induce the es-
tablishment of great shipyards and their
maintenance. She never opened up her
coastwise trade until she knew that no
nation could obtain any share of it in
competition with her; until she believed
that we in response would open ours and
she, with her immense advantages, could
successfully compete for it.
In 1885 England inaugurated her subsi-
dy policy for the establishment and main
tenance of great steam lines on all the
important routes of ocean traffic, and has
paid out over $3.50, 900. 900 to carry it out.
She has commenced by paying about
100000, gradually increased, until in
1854 the annual expenditure was S., ,95O,-
900. Her payments decreased during
our Civil War. She then feared no com
petition of ours; but soon after it's
close, when we were making an
effort to recover lost ground by the
act OF February, 1857, granting subsidies
to the Pacific Mail, they at once increased
until the year 1870, when they amounted
to $9,107,741. Finding that our effort
was only a spasm, the gradully reduced,
until in 1889, the last year for which I
have the report, she paid $3,21O,434
The first American steamer put on the
route between New York and Liverpool,
was the Omitted States" built in 1S47;
she made one round trip. The Cunard
company being then heavily subsidized,
could and did reduce freights from eight
pounds to four.
In 1888 the first British steamer crossed
the Atlantic to our ports. In 1889 the
Cunard line commenced regular service.
England gave it an annual subsidy of
$425, 900. In 1850 this subsidy was in
creased to $3.50, 900, then to $735, 900, then
in 1852 it was made $S5O,OOO.
The Collins line subsidized by us,
was put on to this route in
I'm iI.,t4 10
to increase her subsidy to the Cunard
Line for the sole purpose of driving off
our line. The competition reduced
freights so per cent, and in eight years
we ended the subsidy and the Collins
Line died.
The steamers of the Peninsula and
Oriental Steamship Company receive as
subsidy $1.26 nautical mile, besides
mail pay to India and Australia. To es-
tablish lines to the West Indies, Brazil.
the River Plate Country and the west
coast of South America, Great Britain
paid the Royal Mail Steam Packet Com
pany s., $500, 900 annually.
Now do not propose to argue to intel
ligent men that England, in the payment
of these enormous annual sums, had in
view the encouraging of her
merchant marine, rather than the car
rying of her mails. The sums paid,
the manner of paying, conclusively prove
it to any mind open to conviction. Since
the Crimean war England has seen the
necessity of naval reserve, and is pay
ing now annually to large number. of
fleet passenger steamers from S35, 900 to
$780, 900 each, besides mail pay What
has been the result of this prohibition,
protection and encouragement of Eng
land? She built in 1889 So per cent of
all the vessels launched in the world that
year. She owns today over one-half of
the tonnage and nearly one half of the
81, 900 steam and sailing ships of the