Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1897-05-29
GATH'S INTERVIEW
WITH SENATOR ELKINS.

to say that which no sane man would
utter, by emitting explanatory pas
sages and culling out sentences, which,
with their context omitted, put him
in the position of demanding reduc-
ton Of wages when, in fact, his idea
was to show how wages would not be
reduced. The Senator claims, and we
think justly, that he did not express
himself as reported, or at least that
the arrangement Of paragraphs is such
that the ideas intended to be conveyed
are not made clear.
The subject considered was the re-
lation between capital and labor, es-
/ pecially with reference to the coal
trade and shipping After referring
to the bankrupt condition Of railroads,
the ruinous rates given by roads in
the hands Of receivers, the low price
at which coal is placed on the market,
and showing that mine-owners have
no profit, also the wages paid in for
eign countries; he said if present con-
ditions continue, wages must go
down; that legislation enacted for the
purpose OF curbing the Standard Oil
Company had been applied to rail-
roads, and that even protective
tariff on coal could not now avail.
After stating the situation as it is
and the remedies proposed to correct
the evil, he went on to demonstrate
that it is absolutely necessary to re-
gain our lost ocean carrying trade in
order to effectively compete with for
eign nations. Reference was made
TO the low price of farm products, to
the decline of American shipping, to
| the vast sums of money that are an
nually paid to foreign ship-owners, to
the immense amount expended abroad
/ for goods which we should produce
ourselves, to the prosperous condition
of foreign nations, to English sub
sides, to German bounties, to the
low wages of India, China, Japan and
South American countries and made
it perfectly clear that we must devise
some method of protection not now
in vogue, or else our people must
come down to the level of those coun-
tries-live as they live, eat what they
eat and wear what they wear. The
picture is not pleasant to behold, but
unless something is done that is the
inevitable result.
He gave remedy and we. quote
from his interview:
"Out of almost $500, 600, 900 of our
imported goods the foreigner brings
six-sevenths. Out of $758, 900, 600 of
our exports the foreigner carries all
but one twelfth, or 5000, 600, 600.
Both ways, we carry of our cargoes
$40, 600, 600. the foreigner 81, 49,
900, 900. We have a smaller
foreign trade than Canada or Jamaica.
Out of sixty corporations or lines of
steamships from New York, only sew
en- are American lines.
THE British have SO per cent of
the carrying trade of the world; in
IS4S they had only SO per cent of it.
England builds million tons ship
ping a year. In the last thirty-two
years we have paid English ships So,
600, 900 for carrying our own mails.
England, since 1900, has paid $780,
900, 900 subsidies to her shipping
In 1928 we made treaty with England
withdrawing the discrimination I'M
der which we had built up our ship
ping. In the previous forty years we
had carried 90 per cent of our own
commerce. In 1880 we put tax on
foreign shipping to protect our own;
in 1915 we began to reduce it, and
maritime reciprocity, or free trade in
carrying, has desolated our foreign
bound marine. From IS45 to 1883
we gave some subsidies, when imme-
diately England increased hers. Pro-
lection to our shipping, discrimina-
ton, is step we ought again to
take
THE maritime part OF America,
from Baltimore to Canada, including
Canada, has had continuous prosper
ity without coal, agriculture or ex-
tensive railroads. England herself
has let her agriculture go. Germany
has kept it up by bounties. The ex-
tensive continents of Australia and
India are merely dependencies OF
British commercial capital. The ma
tive owners of the soil are poor or
precariously supported. Our own
agriculture, pursued at close profit.
swells the income of British shipping.
Our railroads are poor and British
shipping is rich The vocations OF
the sea today constitute the best hope
of the American unemployed. We
shall presently find party politics
troubled with this question. Our
maritime interests with foreign peo-
pie must be picked up after an inter
\ e Il.