Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-06-26
THE REGENERATION Of AMERICAN SHIPPING.

we laVOr restoring the early American
policy of discriminating duties for the
upbuilding of our merchant marine and
the protection of our shipping in the for
eign carrying trade.-St. Louis Repub-
lioan National Platform.
The object of protection is to build up
the home market, the function of recipro-
city is to extend our foreign trade and the
mission of American merchant ships is
to carry our products wherever purchas'
ers can be found. The Republican party
is pledged to the maintenance of these
principles.
AS we have never been been able to
understand why any party should oppose
protection and reciprocity, so we cannot
find any reason why any good citizen can
oppose the creation of merchant
marine sufficient to meet all our necessi-
ties. The fathers of the republic with
only small fraction of our present coast
line saw the pressing need of American
ships, manned by American sailors.
The selfish and tyrannieal policy of
England prevented the building of Ameri-
can vessels, the result of this was that
with the exception of the daring exploits
of Jones, Barry and a few others, the
entire revolutionary war was fought on
land and England held disputed control
Of ha io old mo i'm thot Vn N
nation can be truly independent and have
and maintain navy and merchant ma.
rine that does not build it's own ships"
Acting on this sagacious principle our
early statesmen enacted laws, fostering
the building of American vessels and
granting a bounty on American built
ships.
In 1889, 1t was provided that none but
American built vessels should fly the
American flag. This law is still in force.
Additional protection was granted to
American ship owners and ship builders
by an act approved July 4, 1894. This
act provided for the increase of duties on
goods, wares and merchandise imported
in vessels not of the United States. Sec
ton of this act is as follows:
That an addition of 10 per cent shall
be made to the several rates of duties
above specified and imposed in respect
to all goods, wares, and merchandise
which, after the said last day of June
instant, shall be imported in ships not Of
the United States.
The results of these laws was gratify-
ing in the extreme. From 1889 to 1900
the carrying of our imports in American
ships increased from III to so per cent
and of our exports from 30 to SO per
cent, British commerce declining in
proportion. Then came the war of 1912
and for the first time since England had
wrested the sovereignty of the seas from
the Dutch, she was matched and over
matched by American sailors. Perry's
victory on Lake Erie, McDonoughs' de-
struction of the British feet on Lake
Cham plain, our numerous brilliant ex-
ploits from the North Pacific to the irish
sea and the capture or sinking Of 1900
English merchantmen taught Great
Britain that the claim of being arbiter of
the sea was thing Of the past.
Ia 1927 the London Times said: "The
shipping interest, the cradle of our navy,
is half ruined. Our commercial monopoly
no longer exists. American seamen have
engrosssd en- important branch of our
carrying trade to the East Indies. The
starry flag is conspicuous on every sea
and will soon defy our thunder" And
just then when 'our share of the carry
ing trade of the world was about as great
as England's'D Democratic marplot re-
pealed the laws which had raised our com
merce to such splendid prosperity, gave
it sudden check which needed only the
raids of British built privateers to almost
utterly destroy this gratifying state of
affairs which existed for over 80 years.
Moreover, later on, through Democratic
legislation, and confederate cruisers, our
merchant marine was swept from the
seas and has been in deplorable condi-
ton ever since.
The Elkins bill now pending in the
United States senate, has for it's object
the rebuilding and regeneration of Ameri-
can shipping and proposes to re.enact
the old law which imposed a duty of 10
per cent in addition to the duties imposed
by law on all goods imported in vessels
not of the United States. As like causes
produce like effects 80 will such law pro.
duce the same results which the laws we
have cited produced 100 years ago.