The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-11-18

the British admiralty, in SUCH manner
that they could be made serviceable for
mail purposes in case of9need. 1t may
be here remarked that 1t is one of the
conditions of mail subsidy in all
European countries that the ships re-
ceiving it shall be utilized whenever re-
| CURED by their governments in time OF
war, but it is generally understood that
| this applies &c their use as transports.
In this case, however, which had moth
ing whatever to do with mail con-
tracts, certain stipulations were made
by the admiralty alone. In considera-
ton of the willingness of the owners Of
the ships to sacrifice considerable room
to suitably locate the machinery, and
to provide extra fastenings, they were
allowed 100000 ($50,00O each annually
so long as hey were held in readiness
for the navy. 1t turned out to be an
unsatisfactory bargain for the ships,
and the government now finds it diff
ficult to make the same terms with any
more of them.
When the City of New York and the
City of Paris, became, as has been
noted, practically American, this sub
Yertion in their case was, of course,
forfeited. 1 say partially American, be-
cause they are only allowed to carry
our flag across the ocean, and are pro-
trade under penalty Of seizure. This
process of the naturalization was in
this wise:
The subsidy bill referred to, had been
passed under Harrison's administration
and still later under that regime. the
Inman line found a tool for it's purposes
IN the person of Bourke Cochran, q
representative from New York. He
introduced a bill in the House to this
% Mot af RI
and the City of Paris should be given
SUCH American registers as have been
described, thus emitting each of them
TO subsidy of 81 dollars per mile on
every outward trip to England, pro-
Yided their owners would agree to build
ten similar ships in American shipyards
which, of course, would be American
to all intents and purposes, and would
each receive the same amount. The
bill was passed without much difficulty,
for the ''nigger in the fence" was not
at first discovered. Even many of the
advocates of free ships voted for it
with the idea that it would provide
an entering wedge" for the repeal of
the navigation laws. and the New York
Evening Post, a staunch advocate of
free ships, was SO infatuated that it
championed the bill with this view.
Thus far their anticipations have not
action was simply a. large bonus to the
steamship company, and to the build
er of the two ships, Of which the st.
Louis is the first-a man who, next to
the late John Roach has more to
answer for than any other, for the
continued decadence of our commercial
marine, for it has been his dictum all
along that no American should own a
ship under his own flag unless he paid
to him and to his fellows a price that
would preclude him from engaging in
the business.
This is the result of the scheme; each
of these ships can easily make at least
S150000 annually in subsidies. It will
be seen that this is for each 100000
more than the City of New York
and the City of Paris got under the
English flag. The new ships, too, will
each get $150,000 annually. I have the
authority of an eminent Scotch ship
building firm for saying that 'he will
agree to duplicate them for % pen cent
less than their Philadelphia cost, and
we will make a lot of money at that"
But that extra % per cent can well be
paid by the steamship company to Mr.
Cr7mp, in consideration of the enormous
subsidies they get, and of the extra
5000, 900 they obtain by the transfer to
our f1ag of the two British ships.
Unquestionably, the St Louis and her
mate will be fine ships. Mr.. Cramp has
shown his ability when he had almost
unlimited funds at command to build
ships for the navy unsurpassed by those
of any other nation. He can, doubtless,
succeed as we'll i'm building merchant
ships under similar conditions. But this
great annual expense of 100000 in
order to run four ships for the COM
bined purpose of gratifying our national
pride and of filling the pockets Of the
Inman line and of Mr.. Cramp will go
but very little way towards rehabili-
tating our merchant service, and if it
should be continued in that ratio for
every ship any man wishes Mr.. Cramp
to build for him, it would bankrupt the
national treasury.
JOHN GOODMAN.