The herald., 1896-11-26

italist of the world and the ocean carrier
of the world. All the nations of the
world except the United States now ad-
NIT ships free and so all of them, even
China and Japan. are increasing their
ocean tonnage faster than we are, But
no nation has opened up every avenue of
chip owning and trading and ship mate
rial even to the coast trade except Eng
land. England is the one great exponent
of freedom in trade and shipping of the
world and reaps the benefits of the pol
icy by controlling the worlds trade.
Those who think that English shipping
is maintained by bountes are complete
ly in error. A few lines of mail steamers
are paid literally for carrying the
mails. Such vessels must be constructed
and manned according to certain rules
and must always be at the disposition of
the government for any use it may de-
sire. Not one per cent of English ship
ping receives any subsidy or favor what
ever. Americans have held on to re-
strictive laws and every once in while
we have tried to overcome the disastrous
effects of this policy by bounties and
SupSlQlCos HSSC ClAoi 10 nave oiiiS iiiNN0
the contemplate weakness of the con-
dition of our ocean commerce the more
plain.
All we have obtained by such bounties
have been scandals of bribery in con-
gress. evasions of the contracts made
and lot of illmanaged and Chinese
manned steamers, and today the Pa
cific mail, in deal with railroad COM
pany, refuses to carry out the plain terms
of its contract and will not touch at
Southern California port. About all
this company does with it's Chinese sail
ors is to send it's boats to the bottom of
the sea.
The folly of our shipping laws is be-
yond belief until an American has him
self studied into the aggregation of stu
pidity which holds us out of the great
ocean carrying trade.
The English navigation laws insure
competent officers, safe boats and good
seamen-nothing more. Freedom is
their watchword. Protection with them
is the protection of shipowners against
their own greed. English shippers must
have English officers, English sailors
and safe ships. Our policy has destroyed
our commerce and our ships and eXter-
minated our seamen. Our officers and
seamen have no protection, nor is there
any system whereby a shipowner can
be safely guaranteed competent officers
and men. The officers and men have no
such guarantee as the English officers
and men have. The shipowner is taxed
where his rival is not. Besides a series
of the most vexatious and antiquated
rules cucumber him. His port charges,
dues and enforced pilotage are outrag
eous. The result is competent American
officers and seamen are scarce articles.
If we had any considerable increase in
our merchant marine it would be hard
to find American officers and men to
man it. There is no adequate system
for providing either officers or men or
of keeping the officers up to the mark
as the annual English examinations do.
We Americans have bucked up against
the laws of trade and of common sense
long enough. Where other countries
grew and prospered under liberalized
trade laws as we had taught them to
prosper under liberalized political and
religious tolerance, we should have been
sensible enough to adopt their success
full policy.
We have more absolutely free trade
under diverse wages conditions and cost
of production amongst our own states
of the Union than any other set of men
have on earth. We thus feel less the
folly of our special privileges and the
resulting trusts and combines of protec-
tion. But when it comes to the open
ocean we meet all upon it's free and open
waters. and error is and must be con-
quered by truth.
Those defying economic law will fail
in conflict with those who accept it and
live by it.
One of the idle suggestions made is
differential duty of ten per cent higher
on all imports in foreign bottoms. The
first effect of this would be to give grain,
cotton, meat and all manufacturing COM
petition in our foreign markets an ad-
vantage over us everywhere. The second
effect would probably be differential du-
ties by foreign countries against us.
This double charge would destroy our
exporting commerce. The remedy for us
is not more medieval trade fines and
obstructions. 1t is not in bribing con-
gressmen for bounties. nor in a CONNER
cial war of differentials. nor in any such
exploded bomb of fallacy.
Our remedy lies in laws that will free
our shipping industry from all its pres
ent handlcaps. All Americans need in
this matter is free, fair field and no IA
vor to any one. We must take the taxes
off ships. While any country frees it's
ships all must do so or suffer loss. The
ocean is free and cannot be taxed. A
country taxes its ships only to tax them
off the ocean, where they must compete
with the untaxed. We must relieve our
shipping of all unnecessary charges
We must make ships free so as to give
shipowners opportunity to do business
with the same capital that his compet-
itor does. If an American desires today
to buy large ocean-going steamer he
confronts a shipbuilding combine or
trust that makes its profits on war ves-
sells. Under these conditions, while q
steamer can be built here as well and as
cheaply as anywhere. the buyer must Nay
at least half more than his competitor
1t of course costs more to make one
ocean steamer alone than one ocean
steamer Of hundred. But our stipyards
can never get orders for one hundred un-
der our laws. The American ocean
half more capital than the ocean trader