The Saint Paul globe., 1897-10-01

amounted to s1,7s6, S,sOs. Ocean trans
portation is the cheapest of all. and it
is probably about $75,OOo,OOO that is
paid for the carriage of our exports
and imports Even that is a snug sum,
and if it could be earned by owners CT
ships of this country it goes without
saying that the owners would be better
off and, indirectly, the country would
be benefited.
Whatever other causes operated to
take away the carrying trade, that,
prior to the war, was in the hands Of
Americans to the extent of Is per cent,
two have been potential in preventing
them from regaining it. The first is
the substitution of iron and steel hulls
for wooden ones and steam for sails,
and the taxes imposed on iron and
steel imports te protect domestic max
ers that have put it out Of the power
of our ship builders to build iron or
steel vessels as cheaply as they were
built where the material was untaXed.
The enhanced cost obliged a higher
freight charge than the cheaper built
vessels made, and the first efforts to
reconstruct our merchant marine OH
the new lines were abandoned. The
other obstruction to the creation of
merchant marine to sail under our flag
and carry our register was the proTl
sion absolutely denying American reg
lister to any vessel not of domestic
build thus denying to Americans the
right of buying vessels where they
could get them the cheapest and sail
ing them under our flag This was done
to force the construction of vessels in
our own ship yards, with the result that
none are built there nor have been for
years, except those intended for the
coastwise trade.
But there has been for all the years
of the ascendancy of the policy of Gre
ating industries and stimulating them
a strong element that has been urging
government assistance. Large subSl-
dies were paid until their stencil be-
duty on imports carried in domestic
bottoms was adopted, but practically
abandoned when it was found that 1t
would seriously complicate our rela-
tions with foreign nations Treaties
and conventions exempted the vessels
of almost every nation from subsection
to this additional charge. Recently
there has been a revival of this move
ton pledged the party to it. Elkins
introduced a bill that would redeem the
pledge, but it was defeated, and then he
slipped in section %. Republican pa
pers are discussing the topic, some of
them growing quite pathetic over the
'loss,'' as they call it, of this large sum
every year. rs not that sum worth
saving?" they ask, as if we gave it
away and got nothing for it; the same
idea Blaine had when he said we
dropped $40,0000G0 year into Cubs"
because we bought of that island that
much in excess of what we sold there
NOW lHGI0 Is d NSIy ecioS eli4o o1iIiPAO
way of getting back our merchant ma
rine without the payment of a dollar
of subsidy either directly or indirectly
Merely allow any citizen of the United
States to get register for any vessel he
may own, regardless Of whether he had
it built here or bought it in some foreign
ship yard. Congress set the precedent
in the special act granting American
register to the City of Paris and the
City of New York, foreign built vessels
owned by Americans. There is now a
large amount Of American capital in
vested in these ocean lines, in some a
controlling interest; but the boats can
not fly the American flag over Ameri-
can property because our law denies
the privilege if the boat is foreign built.
Let's have done with this namby-pam-
byism about fostering our ship indus
try by subsidies and discriminating
duties, and leave American citizens
free to buy them where they will. This
is a simple remedy and a natural one.