The Portland daily press., 1895-01-31
AMERICAN SHIPPING.
The Causes of the Loss of Commercial
Supremacy by the United States, and the
Remedy.
To the Editor of the PRESS:

To the Editor of the PRESS:
The United States, with its thousands
of miles Of ocean and inland sea, coast,
indented with the finest and safest har-
bors in the world, is, Notwithstanding
it's immense domain between the two
oceans, essentially maritime nation ID
every sense of the word. In 1889 Ameri-
cans built ships one third cheaper than
foreign shiphuilders did. Notwithstand-
ing we had SO much cheaper ships we
carried less than % per cent. of our for
eign commerce. The higher cost of run
ming American ships enabled foreigners to
successfully compete. Then Congress
passed law compelling foreign ships to
pay six times greater tonnage tax be-
sides imposing higher duy upon imports
in foreign than in American bottoms.
Thus protected, American ships in 1884
carried IS. of American commerce, at
which time general ten per cent. high
er duty was levied upon imports in for
eign than in American ships, and there
after, until the war of 1912 American
ships carried an average of go per cent,
of American commerce. This average,
under the protection of these discrim1-
Mating duties, held good up to 1928, when
all protection to our shipping in the Tor
cign trade was withdrawn. Owing to
the great abundance of the best material
furnished by our forests, we still built
cheaper and far better ships than oll
foreign competitors up to the sos, from
which date American ships gradually
lost ground in competition with the
dearer built, but cheaper maintained
foreign ships, until in 1856 our ships car
| ried but 74.5 per cent. of our foreign
| commerce; and in 1861, with our ship
ping engaged in the foreign carrying
trade aggregating 2, 494, 1874 tons, Ameri
can ships carried but 66 per cent. OF thu
foreign commerce of the United States
| The civil war practically destroyed oul
ocean carrying trade, for In 1900 Dut q
per cent. of our foreign commerce wal
| carried in American bottoms, and toda!
| our share of the ocean carrying trade Il
! hut about IA per cent And now let IL
| look back and seek for the cause OF Ghl
great decline in an industry SO vital.
necessary to the welfare and progress O
| this whole nation.
The first navigation Law passed III
1889, by those patriots who LAID the foun
| dations of the nation, and who fully ap
| preciated the Importance OF transportln
our own commerce INCUR own vessels
Disseminated in favor of American ship
by providing that all goods imported u
them should pay 10 per cent. less dut
than if imported in foreign ships. Thl
was soon altered on account OF the dis
astrous effect on the government reve
nues, so that while the importations il
American ships paid the full duty thos
in foreign ships paid ~ per cent. aad1
j tional. The discriminating pr1ncipl
| was unchanged, and in twenty-five year
so built up the American marine that il
the war of 1912, England was reluctant
compelled to admit our supremacy
| Though after that war, outwitted j
! diplomacy, we agreed by treaty to dis
continue this wise system, our merchan
marine had obtained such start that
, aided by the cheapness of constructio
due 10 our vast forests and the skill c
our shipbuilders and mariners, 1T nc
only held it's own. but continued to II
crease and flourish, and, with the Mex
can war, thu Irish famines, the dlsco'
, ery of gold in California and Australia
and the Crimean war, all in rapid SUI
cession, making great demand Tor snip:
it reached it's zenith of prosperity in th
decade before the civil war. when 80 pc
cent. OF our foreign commerce was ca
ried in our own vessels.
In these days the American cllppt
, ship beat the world in beauty and syn
metry of model, combining great carr.
ing capacity with the most essenti;
qualities of speed and safety. And I
{ nobler race of men ever lived than tho!
who commanded them, brave and hard
sailors, handling their lofty spared an
beautiful vessels, alike in summer Sc;
5 and wintry gales with equal skill
3 Navigators who unerringly across tt
? trackless waters made any port in al
: sea, themselves their own merchant
9 buying and selling cargoes and makir
: charters, for no cable or telegraph co
: nected them with the counting room
t their owner at home, sthose model
Vikings were class of men no count
t can afford to exterminate and who
: deeds will be remembered as long as
+ mast head remains from which to fly t.
9 country's flag.
e Then, in 1861, came the war, al