New-York tribune., 1897-01-30

hut thev must agree TO do the work themselves.
This warning from the yacht-owning sIue Oh NV .ne
case is meant for the great shpbullding yarus,
which have been hitherto bending every energy
of their equipment to the perfection OF havaI
type and Of fast moving ocean hhe s'eaiv' an
that shall rival the best in the world New,
York has numbers Of Yacht designers whose skill
in that particular line knows no superior any
where, and there are shipyards. 100, "i.nn ~, Nv
confines of Greater New-York. or very near Dy,
thoroughly manned for high class work. ana YET
all the yachts of large tonnage have, WIN rahe n
exception come from English or Scottsh ha.us; ,
This Is in part doubtless due To the uhset,,eu
condition Of the shipbuilding industry as appned
particularly to the larger side or tne cas- anS ~
which in inverse ratio affects the constructor ol
palatial craft intended purely for pleasure. LEWIS
Nixon a we'll known shipbuilder or New iorh
City, may be quoted on this point with sale,y
and profit to the art he so ably represents III III
THE Engineering Magazine, discusshs '''o
case. he Recently said: ,, .,o
The promise in American shipbuilding az tne
commercial end is by no means secure. - ~ ~,
than one shipyard in the United States coud De
n aned which is amply capable or meetlng 'ne
whole probable commercial demand Tor new
ships for the next ten years under EXISTING 0no
ditions, so far seagoing snipS OF, say, 80 80,
TONS register and upward are concerned, exclus-
i've of course. of the lakes. This assertion lIlas
sarte men not intimately familiar win ine soar
of the industry, but every shipbuiider VIII ao'ep'
| It as the plainest Of truisms ,.;aor
"It may be inferred from this that cohs'ue'
| the shpbuilding industry in America over,
| vcloped from the commercial point or view Such
inference would be wrong. The existing state
Of development to facilities Is no more 'i.I.i,
| has been required-I might say forceu-py smI
| demands of the Navy 1t is therefore. norman
! and necessary. Hence the fault II any, Is no' %
in overdevelopmen Of shipbuilding facillties' On
the contrary. it in the underdevelop,nens -,
| commercial demand: ahl that underdevelopneht
is due to causes which can be removed only y!
betterment Of the National policy IN the oirec'
| ton of the merchant marine r
''It must be borne in mind hat we are ueahS
so far as the ocean carrying trade is cohCeIncu
with the fostered. encouraged or subsidized fher
! chant marines of England. France, Germany unu
Japan and to a less but still troublesome extern
with those Of the Scandinavian States ana iioi-
! land whose cheaper labor and cheaper ,aIe
amount in the competition to more than Houel
ate subsidy In this strife the American mer
| chant marine is confronted with the problems
| of high wages and costly fare, without comPeii-
| sating conditions Of any kind. A so-caiieu SUI
sidy law is In force. but II is so restricted III its
| apnlication that but two steamship INES can ue'
rive any assistance from it, and even TINS assis'
| ance becomes pitiful when compared with the op'
! structiVe conditions that they have 70 surHouh. i.
| In a word, the state of the American merchan'