Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1897-06-03
OUR FLAG ON THE SEA.

says, it must be felt as a national
disgrace that the grain to be sent
from the United States to India,
for the relief nf the sufferers
from the famine, must be carried
in foreign vessels, because there
are no American vessels that can
be employed in this service. The
American flag has been taxed off
the sea.
The universal desire for the
revival of our merchant marine
is not only amatter of sentiment;
it is a matter of businesses. At
pre- eut nearly all our foreign
commerce is done in foreign
ships and a large part of the
value of all our exports is absor-
bed in the payment of ocean
freights. Everybody admits that
this ought not to be, that Amer~
leans should have steamship lines
of their own, So that we should
not have to pay foreigners for
carrying our goods to market
and even for carrying our charts
able gifts abroad. But when an
American proposes to establish
a steamship line. Congress tells
him that he shall not. except en-
conditions that n practically
prohibitory.
The requirement that only
ships built in America shall fly
the American flag is intended, of
course, to encourage shipbuild-
ing at home. It would be justif>
able if it did so. But this protec~
ton, in effect, has protected the
industry out of existence.
Whether or not we can or should
build modern steamships here as
advantageously as they can be
built in England, the fact is that
very few are built--the great
American liners being in many
ways exceptional-and Will, we
are waiting for our ship builo-
ing to revive, the foreigners
have monopolized the trade.
Whatever the conditions now,
it is admitted that in the earlier
development of iron ship build~
ing, our excessive tariff charges
were in effect probibitory, and
the English builders were thus
given such a start that we have
not been able to catch up with
them. And just at the period of
transition we lost a great part of
our old merchant marine by its
transfer to foreign flags during
the civil war. Yet u laws for
bid the transfer of foreign ships
to our flag.
During the discussion 10 the
Senate upon the Indian famine
relief. Senator Morgan-who is
occasionally right-proposed to
permit such a transfer for this
occasion. Senator Frye denouns
ced this proposition as a
scheme" of New York ship.
Owners to establish an American
line of steamers at a low cost,
and the proposition was voted
down. Now the establishment of
American lines OF steamers is
precisely what everybody pros
fesses to want. The reason such
lines are not established is their
great cost, and while it might be
wrong to give exceptional advan-
tages to a single firm, it is not
quite reasonable to treat a plan
for obtaining an American re-
gister as a reprehensible scheme.
Such a transfer would not be
really to the advantage Of the
owners. From our navigation
laws, our scale of prices and
wages and in various other ways.
an American steamer completes
at a disadvantage with the Euro
pean in the same traffic, aud uns
less the first cost can be reduced
there is no inducement to seek
an American register. Moreover,
the American owner al have no
foreign partner nor employ any
foreign capital, though he may
invest his own capital in foreign
ships, and thus the whole
pollcy tends persistently to keep
our flag off the sea.
Even the International Steam
ship Company had to start its
American line with two foreigns
built steamers, admitted to e.
gistry by special act OF Congress,
before it could order other
steamers to be built on the Dela>
ware. 1t is likely that other lines
could be started in the same way
and would lead to like results,
but it will be very diff cult to get
them started otherwise. There
is a fine patriotic sentiment in
the idea of American ships for
American trade, but steamers
can neither he built nor operated
upon patriotism alone.