The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-08-14
SUBSIDIZED SHIPS.
WHY AMERICAN CANNOT COMPETE
WITH FOREIGN LINES.


Carry Freights Cheaper Because They
Are Well Paid For Transporting Mails.
New Light on an Old Matter.
Sir Thomas Sutherland, president of
the PeninsuIar and Oriental Steamship
company, in recent report to his stock
holders has contributed some authorl-
tatiye information as to the existence of
British steamship subsidies, which the
free trade papers in this country persist
in claiming have no existence in fact
We quote Sir Thomas:
"There is, know, a section OF the
public who profess to believe that SUBJ
sidy is paid to mail company as sort
of generous gift on the part of the gov
eminent toward the prcprietors Of that
company, that it is paid without any
commensurate service beirg rendered,
and that the company is able to live and
thrive merely on the strength OF being
mail carrier and receiving mail sub
sidy. There can be no greater deluslon,
if indeed that idea is really seriously
entertained in any quarter. We have
been paid during the last ten years
very considerable sum of money, but In
CARRYING out the service involved, which
has been paid for at far lower rate
than that given by foreign governments
for similar services under their flags
the actual carrying out of the contracts
has involved an expenditure by this
company in ten years of something like
$18, 900, 900 or $40, 900, 600 more than
has been received throughout the ten
years from the state.
We are glad to know, authoritatively,
that there is at least one British steam
ship company in actual receipt of "a
subsidy from rhe British government
We hope this point will no longer be
denied by the free traders. But we never
for "a moment supposed, nor do we know
of anybody else who supposed, that the
British government, or any other gov
eminent, was paying subsidies for moth
ing. Of course there is a measure of re-
turn, and that consists in the transpor-
tation of the mails.
But what we do claim and always
have claimed is that the subsidies paid
by the British and other foreign govern
ments to their respective steamship
companies carrying mail matter have
been far larger than the miserable pit
tances doled out to American steam
ships performing similar services for
the American government
The foreign mail steamers start on
their voyages with larger amount of
the expenses of each trip guaranteed
through the mail subsidy than the
American steamships can secure. Our
lines are handicapped in their expense
account to the extent Of the difference
between the subsidies paid by foreign
and American governments. Our lines
are still further handicapped by the
higher wages that are paid to American
officers and crews Therefore the foreign
mail steamers aSn afford to carry freight
at lower rates than American steamers,
thus securing the business, or, if the
freight rate be the same by all lines,
the foreigners can make profit on the
voyage where American steamship COM
panies would have to charge up loss
The risks of the steamshipping business
are pointed out by Sir Thomas Suther-
land as follows: "Who could possibly
have imagined that within these last
ten years the rates of freight would
have fallen to the miserable point at
which we find them today? Who could
possibly have imagined that silver
would today be worth little more than
half what it was worth ten years ago,
thus involving the operations of this
country in a most serious and onerous
charge for loss in exchange? And who
is able to say what may take place
within the next ten years?"
We believe that the foreign mail
steamship companies honestly earn every
penny that is paid them for carrying
mails. We also believe that American
companies earn far more than is paid
them, and we want to see these compen-
sations equalized or if there is to be
any advantage let it be on the American
side. The difficulties of low freight
rates and other things that confront
the P and o. company are equally
pertinent as applied to the Pacific Mail,
Oceanic, Occidental and Oriental lines
that ply between the Pacific coast and
Australia, China and Japan. We have
the fact settled that subsidies are paid
to British steamships for mail transpor-
tation, so now let US get the fact equally
established that the rates paid to Amer
lean steamships for transporting Amer
lean mails shall be ON as liberal scale