The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-11
The Cash udlue
Of The Shipyard

L
The effort to be made at the coming
session of congress to build up the Amerl-
can merchant marine gives special time
lincss to Mr.. Lewis NiNon's striking DEM
onstratiOn, in the North American Re
view, Of the commercial value OF snip
yards to the nation that fosters them.
The chief example which he cites in sup
port OF h-s view is, of course, England;
for her ships now carry more than sew
cn-tcnths of the worlds oCean-bornc COM
medce, while "thG earnings OF her COM
mercial fleet, including the accessories OF
banking, insurance ana commission, eN-
coed $SOl,0OOOOO a year, net cash. ana
of this amount our own country con-
tributes the prodigous amount, in round
numbers, ''of S3O0OO 900, or about three
hfths Of our whole national revenue"
That the shipyard is the foundation of
sea power, in the military sense, cannot
be disputed; but it is clear from the fore
going figures that it is high time for con-
gress to consider its bearing also on ma
tional wealth.
The long struggle for sea domination
in which England was engaged from 100
to 1915, now against one power ana now
against many powers, which ended in her
triumph, was conducted in the face of
many obstacles. TO begin with, she did
not grow even the timber she needed for
her ships. OF her principal shipbuilding
materials her own soil produced in 1874
less than one-third, and in 1915 less than
one-eShth." Two big vessels, built at
Chatham and Deptford, that fought at
Trafalgar, had hardly a stick of English
timber in them. Yet though she bought
timber everywhere, and carried 1t to her
yards, England never bought foreign
ships for her navy. She went further,
throwing obstacles in the way Of their
purchase by foreign merchants, and alb
OH nv ba
| East India company, over which the gov
! crnment had a certain control. At the be-
! ginning of the present century, British
! ship owners, according to Mr.. Nixon,
/ We're paying at the rate OF $50 per ton for
/ English-built ships made of imported tim
bCr, when they could buy American-built
s@ips Of equal or better quality for $50
| to S55 per ton. Impelled by motives Of
| personal gain they naturally sought to
| remove the obstacles to buying foreign
! ships; but the country clung to it's time
| honored policy, and determined to MAIN
| tain home shipbuilding at any cost The
| triumph of that policy We see today. our
| own S3OOOo),OOO a year is an expensive
tribute paid to it,
! OF course the great change which re-
| licved the strain thus imposed on Eng
| lands shipbuilding was the change from
| wood to IRON as the material employed.
| That gave her an enormous advantage, as
| thereafter she produced her own material
| instead Of importing it. Then came, dur
| ing our civil war, the wreck of the Amer
ican ocean-boIne merchant marine which
had been her most formidable rival for
| the worlds carrying trade, the cruisers
which her dryioCks furnished to the Con-
| federacY greatly contributing to that
| wreck. Stlll further, when, after the civil
| war, our national energy found its out
let largely in developing railways
throushout th9 country, and opening the
| continents resources, England continued
busily her own plans OF developing a
great system Of sea transportation all
| over the globe, her insular restriction, on
the one hand, and her numerous and vast
colonial possessions, on the other, invit-
ing her to that task.
| o
It was perhaps natural that after the
crippling of our merchant marine by the
| war, we should seek the more tempting
path of land development; but Mr.. Nix
on suggests that the practical result il
lnat "the money that English bankers
have loaned us to build our railways
with is the money that we have paid Ia
English shipowners for carrying our
freight and passengers" Just after the
war, in 1867, we paid them Sll2, 600 600
last year we paid them 5000, 900 900. The
average for the thirty years is said ia
be a little over $500 600 900, which would
make the prodigious sum of &c. 900, 900, ,OOC
passing to their pockets. In 1890, or a
few years before, there were signs of a
change. Germany and our own country
had begun to augment their war fleets
by building their own vessels, and also
planned the extension of their merchant
marines. At first, after the long neglect
we had to use some foreign material In
our war vessels, but soon congress de
clared that only home material should
be employed. Then we began to furnish
| subsidies TO a few ocean-going steamers