Little Falls weekly transcript., 1895-02-15
AMERICAN SHIPPING.
LEGISLATION AFFECTING THE MER'
CHANT MARINE EXPLAINED.
Tho Recent Attack Upon the ''StaEs and
Stripes" by the National Administration
Will Affect All American Interests.
Proper Policy to Adopt.

Stripes" by the National Administrator
VIII Affect All American Interests.
Proper Policy to Adopt.
The free ship advocates, being vigor-
ously impelled to their work by the Brit
fish shipyard owners, continue to urge
the doctrines Of Commissioner Eugene
Tyler Chamberlain, the young flop on the
fence newspaper man whose experience
in American marine was acquired by
watching the canalboats cruising up and
down the Hudson river, as described by
the Albany Evening Journal. Let us
glance back at the history Of American
merchant vessels, and we will then be
able to appreciate better the profound
wisdom of the teaching of Canalboat
Captain Eugene Tyler Chamberlain.
During the first congress Of the United
States, in 1889, laws were enacted that
Disseminated in favor Of American
built ships, and goods which were i'm
ported therein paid 10 per cent less duty
than goods imported in foreign ships,
but this resulted in such remark
able increase in the number Of Amerl'
can ships that the revenues Of the gov.
ernment fell off, and it was found nec'
essary to change the law so that the
goods imported in American ships paid
the regular rate Of duty, but the goods
imported in foreign ships paid an addi'
tional 10 per cent Of customs tariff. This
had the same effect-namely, to main
tain the American merchant marine and
also to restore the revenue to the re-
quirements Of the government.
After the war of 1919 the United
States agreed to discontinue this dis
crimination, and from that date the
American merchant marine began to de.
cline, although not rapidly, until iron
ships took the place of wooden vessels
before our iron and steel industries were
developed. The discrimination now is
against the United States through the
lower wages paid to foreign sailors and
the subsidies granted by different for
eign governments to their steamship
owners With these two factors against
us we cannot compete for transoceanic
transportation
The treaty made after the war Of 1919,
whereby we agreed to stop discriminate
ing against freight brought in foreign
bottoms, was binding four years 1t was
continued for another ten years by the
convention of Oct 20, 1918, and it was
again continued indefinitely by the coll
vention and renewal Of Aug. 6, 1927
The second article of this convention,
however, provides that either of the con-
tracing parties can, at the expiration OF
the ten years, which was after Oct 20,
1923, annul the convention by giving IL
months notice.
It is therefore possible for congress
now to give that notice and to annul the
existing treaty, which could be made to
expire early in 1896. The proper policy
to adopt would then be to levy upon for
eign goods imported into the United
States under foreign flags, no matter Of
what nationality, an addition Of 10 per
cent over and above the existing rates of
customs duties. This will compensate
American shipowners for the higher
wages which they pay to American sail
ors, for the greater cost Of loading and
discharging their vessels and for the
subsidies Of bounties that are paid to
fore! gn steamship owners
The adoption of this policy will agaiL
build up the American merchant marine
as it did hundred years ago, and in
every section Of the globe the stars and
stripes will be found flying upon vessels
laden with cargoes Of commerce that are
being carried in ships built in American
shipSards by American labor, Of Amer.
lean iron and Of American steel.