The Coconino weekly sun., 1896-05-07
AN IMPORTANT ITEM.
Protection Necessary for the Ocean-Csr.
 rying Trade.

xxOCoCLAOh 4SOCCSooAJ avs sAA~ ~S~-- - rylng Trade.
 The tariff is a great question. So is
 the currency. So is the question of the
 ocean-cawying trade.
 At one time the commercial marine Of
 the United States was the greatest in
 the world. Our ships foated on every
 sea. Our products were taken to all markets. Our shipyards were scenes of great activity. American seamen were
 being trained to man a great navy if the
 people should ever require such an establishment.
 At that time our manufactures had
 not reached the point of development
 they have since attained, yet we found
 the mercantile marine to be a great in- stitution. Now, when the necessity for it is more urgent than ever before in our history, no steps have been taken to revive it, and year after year we con- tinue to pay $15O. 900, 900 or more to own CTS of foreign bottoms for the shipment of our products to market. None of this immense sum comes back. Itis steady drain on the country. It is money that should be kept on this side of the Atlan- tic.
 This must be the judgment of the people when they come to study the question. Then they will see what pro digious losses they have suffered by lis- tening to the democratic cry of No sub- sidy to steamship lines" England built up her great commercial marine by granting subsidies, and to this day, though her fleets cover every sea, that policy is still upheld.
 The American people must go back to it in time. It is the only way by which they can gain their old supremacy on the high seas. Senator Elkins has in- troduced a bill in the upper branch of congress to impose differential duties upon goods brought to this country in American ships. Congressman Sereno Payne has introduced q bill in the lower house to amend the existing law in re- gard to the privileges extended to for eign yachts, so as to prevent American citizens from going abroad and building or buying yachts in England and tken coming back and flying the American flag. The platform adopted by the Maine republicans says of Mir. feed that "he is an earnest friend of Ameri- can shipping and itsreturning to its for mer rank in the world" The New Jer- sey republicans come out with clean cut declaration. At their convention at Trenton they said: I've have al- ways given protection to our shipbuild- CTS. In late years we have neglected to protect our ship-owners. We believe the time has come to return to the policy of Washington and Hamilton, which by discriminating duties in favor of Amer ican bottoms, secured 90 per cent. of OUT carrying trade 10 American ships, and which, if now restored, would again re, vive cur shipping and cause American freights to be paid to Americans"
 In these days when we are building a | great navy and great guns; projecting. Qualifications which will defend the sea. board from modern fleets and otherwise showing that we ehavelemergedf from an national existence, it certain. ly is in order to consider the question of the commercial marine. There is but one practical way to revive that institu. tion-the way that was designed by the fathers of the republic and which gave us control of the carrying trade of the world. That method, like so many otb- er proposals which were made for the and we'll being of the Amer ican people, has been obstinately op- posed by the democratic party with the result that our share in the ocean car rying trade has been steadily dimin- Journal.