The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-10-07

sersssas Disadvantages Suffered When =
Nation Is Compelled to Depend Upon
Foreigners For Vessels to Transport Its
Oversee Commerce.
Maritime states must necessarily carry
ON the commerce of the world. 1t is q
great advantage to any people to have
free access to tho ocean, especially to
have good ports, abundant materials and
high skill for shipbuilding, with apti-
tude for navigation and foreign trade.
The wealth of the world, gathered ev-
erywhere, has accumulated in the hands
Of the navigating and commercial ma
tions. Nothing in the world has so much
power as the modern ship No power in
existence is the superior of sea power.
A maritime state must possess shipping,
or be subordinate to such as do and Of
little or no account in the affairs of ma
tions.
Most maritime peoples appreciate
what God and nature has done for them,
but there are those uniformed and
backward in their craftsmanship. In a
wisely governed maritime state it's COM
meIce is never permitted to abridge tho
liberties, prejudice the rights or impair
the privileges of its own people. More
than. half its foreign trade is always its
own. The preservation of it's safety,
peace,and prosperity, the defense of its
existence and independence Of foreign
influence, control or conquest. The in
crease of its population, wealth and i'm
portance and the full and equal proteo-
ton of the interests and institutions Of
its citizens demand imperatively that
they shall transact their proper share OF
mercantile business, do their fair pro-
portion of the carrying trade and look
to 1t that foreigners, their capital and
their ships take only subordinate part.
In our early history it was our good
fortune thus to have been governed by
wholesome regulations Of trade
1t is the nature of navigation to
pioneer the way for commerce and to
command trade. An American may
freight foreign ship, but the emblem
Of commercial power Is In that ships
flag. The country Of the cargo is not
advertised as the home Of puissant
people. In the transaction the ship car
ries off the glory, and perhaps the most
of the profit. If a good market be
found, her next cargo may belong to
her owner, and the shipless American
may send none. Thus an active and
persistent commerce cannot be conduct
ed by the employment of foreign ship
ping. The merchants who command
the trade of the world own their own
ships. This they must do to control the
markets. 1t is the cargo in hired YES
sci that arrives too late. 1t is the coun-
try that has no vessels whose produc-
tions are carried about from port to
port, bought cheap but sold dear at the
final point of traffic. And it is the ma
tion with vessels to accommodate its
commerce that disposes Of it's exports
direct and gets the best price for them.
AS countries and communities need
merchants so they in turn must have
ships as tools of trade. The shipping Of
o country works for it in every port
and on every voyage The farmer rails
ing grain for export, the miner picking
the precious metals and the manufac-
turer turning out his wares do not serve
their country better than tho ship.
What it can earn goes mostly TO its own
people. What it can save is sure to
come home, and it contributes as no
other interest can to the national de-
Tense i'm time of war. The flag of the
shipowner always tends to become the
flag of the merchant. Owners and mer-
chants of the same flag work together.
Underwriters and shipbuilders power
fully assist. More than 100 trades join
in giving life and power to a nations
navigation and commerce. Freightage
is always collected in cash on landing
of goods. The ship itself is quasi per
son who always pays and never de-
faults. Through her lifetime the owner
is the last creditor to receive his due.
Not the least of a ships merit is the
generous employment furnished by her
building and running. The country Of
shipbuilding materials and skill tends
naturally to become the habitat of ship
ping power.
History teaches that shipbuilding art
is the primary element of potentiality
in navigation. Constant practice gives
this art development and power. A ma
ton DESTROYS of prosperous commerce
must see to it that the material, the
skill and capital Of its own people are
actively concerned in building and run
ming its vessels and in handling its ex-
ports and imports both ut home and
abroad. Only the inferior and dependent
countries can afford to do otherwise,
and all SO helpless as to have no mer-
chants Of their own or no shipping but
what is hired and no shipbuilding of
consequence pay dearly for their back
wardness. They must always export
more value than they import to balance
transportation as we'll as trade; accept
low prices and pay high, since foreign
ers fix values in both cases, and labor
under disadvantages in contending with
poverty and ignorance.
Such are the 80 countries or commu-
mites scattered over the globe who are
now and have long been enriching the