The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-10-03

bring success now, II restored. For &c
years after the adoption OF the act pro
hibiting the granting of American reg
iStry To foreign built ships. 20 per cent
OF our foreign commerce was carried
in olir own ships. beca ,ls, the discrinI-
mating duties policy protected our
ships during all of that time. IT. there
fore. that act is responsible FOR our
maritime decay of today. why was il
not also responsible for our maritime
growth and greatness in the beginning
and for :;G years after its adoption?
This pertinent query Democrats have
never attempted to answer. The act
prohibiting the registry of foreign built
ships has no effect upon American
ShipoWninG. 50 long as our Shps aJe
unprotected against foreign cOnpeti-
tiOn. as they now and for Is years have
been. Protection for ou" ships. as be-
fore. would create a demand for them.
and then, and then only, would Ameri-
can shipbuilders benefit. And ii would
be manifrstly unfair to grant protec-
ton to our shiDoWners. whil" at the
same time Withdrawing il from cur
shiDbuilders.
There will be no attraction for Amer
lean capital to enter into competition
with foreign shipuwnars. until free
the land. now pro suerors because Of
protection. Capital and men in the
United States can find better enploy-
ment IN the protected industries Of the
sea. And unit! our ShiOy ard the men
running them az" granted protection
equivalent in every respect to that now
granted hv our laws to those uUon the
land, which are in competition with
foreign industries, we shall never have
a prosperous American merchant nl.l-
l'inc. We have oil seer the benefcent
results Of protection upon the land
where our manufactures in thirty years
grew from less than two to more than
nine billions Of dollars in value. And
yet, during that same period of high
prosperity on land. as q result of pro-
lection. we have seen American ships
in the foreign trade. just from the lack
of the same measure of protection. di-
minish from two and half million to
three-quarters of million tons. and
our proportion of carriage fall from &C
to II per cent. What a contrast be-
tween protection on land and free trade
on sea- 1t is aDDarent that protection
cannot be abandoned upon the land,
without causing great national losses.
1t is even more apparent that the ahan-
dOnment of protection to Iur ShiDs on
the sea has been followed by enormous
national losses. A competent EXPERT
estimates that, in the past thirty years.
we have paid TO foreign shipowners four
and half billions of dollars--enough to
have paid our national debt twice over
We can only restore the carriage of our
commerce to our ships by restoring
protection to our ships. The Re
publican party and its candidate
for the presidency stand for the
restoration of protection to our
ships. And Democracy, If 1t stands
for anything in shipping. stands for
more free trade, more national ship
and larger payments to foreign ship
owners for doing the carrying that AM
orleans can. and should. far better do
for themselves. The issue as to ship
ping. then. between the two great poll
tical parties. stands as follows: Re-
publcan--protection and the retention
in the United States of the nearly $780,
100000 now annually paid to foreign
shiuowners. Observation-Disclosures free
trade. and continuation of the pay
ment of 5000. 100000 in gold to foreign
shipOwners. shiobuilders. and other
foreigners. Rerublicanism means AM
erican prOsperity-Democra means
foreign prosperity. Which shall Am
erican voters choose.