The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-03

a trace Of any, with the exception Of the
year 1883, when one steamer OF about
300 gross tons happened In" Yet Ham
burg is the largest distributing seaport on
the continent Of Europe, and the third
largest shipping port in the world, Liver.
pool and New York alone SURPRISING 1t.
The flags Of even third-rate commercial
powers can be seen there
ats import and export trade with the United States
IL largcr by much than that with any other country.
and ono steamship limo alone dispatches, on an aver
age, over three steamers a week tho year around,
carrying passengers to tho United States. while the
same number bring them back from there. Not only
have none OF our steamers participated in the carry
ing trade of this port for years, but of sailing vessels
bearing our nag there were during the year ending
June 80, 1894, hut two; during 1893. lSO4, ana lSOl,
two each, and during 1900 none"
II this is true of n port like Hamburg,
we may judge what is true Of others. The
COMMISSIONS of Navigation's report for
1909 set forth these facts:
"That every bushel OF grain which left New York
last year for Europe was carried under a foreign nas'
"That OF the 90, 328 entries last year otvessels bear
ing the nag OF every nationality other than thu British
at the ports OF Great Britain and ireland the Stars aud
Stripes appeared only TS times, and that OF these. 40
times the nag was borne by four steamships;
"That OF 1888 entries In 1891 dhe latest year for
which figures are at hand OF vessels bearing the nag
of every nationality but tho German at ports OF the
German empire. American merchantmen are not even
separately enumerated, but are classed us part OF
scattering 2s vessels OF 5000 registered tousi
"That of l2,77i entries OF vessels, measuring TO-
6l2, 43s tons. bearing the nag Of every nationality
other than the Italian. which entered the ports of
Italy during 1893, only 81 vessels OF II ,685 tons, with
crews aggregating 463 mon, carried the American flag.
and Of these 13 vessels OF 14.l1+ tons. with crews ag-
~gregating 3i3 men. were pleasure yachts"
Other facts of u like character are col
lected from official sources In the speech of
Mr.. ELKISs. At Bergen, the second port
of Norway, in 1894, out of 1850 vessels,
entered and cleared, only one was Ameri-
can. From 1886 to 1893, a period of nine
years, only fifteen American vessels passed
through the Suez Canal, and four of these
were warships or yachts. In 1896 no fewer
than 3,407 vessels passed through, and not
one was American.
In 1894 the aggregate tonnage entered
and cleared in Great Britain was s0,636,-
900 tons, and Of this only 536,446 tons, or
two.thirds of l per cent, was under our
flag. And yet of 49, ,6G3 tons entered
and cleared in foreign trade at our own
ports, during the same year, 1854 $40
tOIS "aS blitlsh, VI pf pei eht ~ WI
don, that year, 10000 tons out of 14,433,-
$50 were American; at Liverpool, s6,639
out of ~1O,4s9,o7S; at Cardiff, out of TO-
47S,391 there was not a single American
ton. In that same year, 1894, there were
$4,000 entrances and clearances of British
vessels at our ports, while the following
year, out of 1874, entrances and clear
ances in British ports in foreign trade, our
total was only SO.
There are said to be %fifty.three steam
ships running to Sidney in regular lines
from England, France, Germany, and Can
ada, but only two from the United States.
Out of 523 steamers that entered Buenos
Ayres last year, not one was American.
"Out of $500, 900. 600 of foreign products
bought in 1894 by Mexico and Central and
South America, only q per cent. were car
ried on American ships" In that year, of
the voyages made by merchant vessels
between the United States and Europe,
1928 were by European and 252 by
American vessels. Even the tonnage of
our vessels in the West indian and South
American trade is said to have declined
greatly of recent years. OF the ships that
touched at Argentine ports in 1893 only
ipo aS SaAu = ioNS pNNh IL 81
against 3,045 English. Germany's s~eacoast
is far less extensive than ours, but she sur
passes us in shipping in the foreign trade.
Still another statement made by Mr.,
ELKINs is that a few years ago it was
found that So per cent. of the persons en-
ployed in the British merchant marine
were natives of Great Britain. while shortly
after in ours a reckoning showed only 30
per cent. of native born Americans, although
to this we have naturaliZed citizens to add.
"While only "a per cent. of the worlds
shipping is American, British ships carry
about 81 percent. of our foreign commerce"
1t would be easy to multiply such facts +;
but those here cited will sufficiently illus
trate the low state Of our shipping in the
foreign trade. OF late a gain has been
made by the establishment of the
American line, with it's four fine vessels,
New York, Paris, St. Louis, and St. Paul,
under subsidies from Congress; but this
addition caves the general condition OF
our merchant marine still very backward.
Occasionally its condition is brought cf,
f~cctively to mind by some special incident
such as the one already referred to, when
the Navy Department hunted our Atlantic
ports in vain for an American steamer ia
charter for carrying the grain to India, and
finally secured one on the Pacific coast.
The Acquittal In the Searles Case.
In directing the acquittal Of john f.
SEARLEs upon the indictment for contempt
in refusing to answer certain questions pro
pounded to him by the Senate committee
investigating the Sugar Trust scandal, the
court laid down no new rule of law, bui
merely applied the legal doctrines thai
necessarily flow from earlier decisions il
respect to the power of Congress to punisl
witnesses for contempt.
T.. H. TI,,. o,,o IL ,.,on hall 49, ~,