The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-08
Report OF MIR.
Chamberlain.
MERCHANT MARINE,
Recommendations Of Gage
Supported by Facts.

w dSnlnglOn, Dec. I.--Ine annual re-
port of Navigation Commissioner
Chamberlain is devoted mainly to sta
tistics and facts in support of the pro-
ject for the creation of the American
merchant marine recommended by Sec
rotary Gage
Excluding the great lakes, practical
ly shut off by Niagara Falls from for
eign competition, the tonnage of vessels
entered and cleared at seaports of the
United States in foreign trade for 1891
comprised 7,24S.625 tons American, and
81, 632, 419 tons foreign shipping If a
line be drawn everywhere 1900 nautical
miles distant from our seacoast, trade
between foreign ports inside that zone
and the United States comprised 7,l79
969 tons American, and 5.213, 1913 tons
foreign shipping. In oversee n2Viga-
ton to foreign ports more than 1900
miles distant, American shipping
amounted to only ZOOS 656 tons com
pared with 27.419,026 tons foreign.
Only three practical courses, at the
present time, are open to the United
States We may retain our laws UNI
changed, ignore national navigation,
and continue to rely on vessels under
foreign flags for the transportation of
our exports and imports. We may per-
nit foreign-built vessels to register
under the American flag, ship crews
abroad and increase national naviga-
ton. We may extend direct government
aid to vessels built in the United
States, and thus increase national navi-
cation and national shipbuilding.
The last named of these three courses
is suggested to a very great extent by
our new relations to the rest of the
world, which expects the United States
to become a maritime power. For the
first time we now hold and shall doubt
less permanently hold, inhabited terri
tory beyond the limit of the North
American continent, If all that such
possession involved We're the physical
force to keep those domains against all
millions every year to the army and
navy would be sufficient. The flag OF
the United States should be more than
the token of conquest by superior
strength.
Our maritime position must CORE
spond to our pretensions, and to attain
this result American shipyards and
American ships must be increased, and
reasonable contributions from the
treasury toward this result should not
be begrudged. Nations and individuals
that dissent from the general theory of
aid to private enterprise
concede or political grounds an eXcep-
ton in favor of shipbuilding and nayi-
cation.
Largely through Indifference, we have
lost the share in transatlantic naviga-
ton which was once ours. The grow
ing trade of the Pacific is rapidly Slip
ping away from us. Excluding Hawaii.
entries and clearances from Asia and
Oceania at ports of the United States
in 1880 amounted to 23S,96O tons, Amer
lean shipping, and in 1897 to only 221,-
43S tons while foreign shipping in
creased from 49, 42 tons to 924,720. For
eign nations are now skilfully following
the policy of government aid to de-
velop navigation in the Pacific. Tow
ard steamship lines to the east coast
of Asia alone, Great Britain, last year,
$3.50 0O France. $1.21700O
Germany, $3.50, COO; Spain GS97r, $416,-
600; Russia. 100000, Austria, $3O6 600
and Italy, S277 900. The United States
paid only $40, 600 to American lines to
Asia at regular mail rates. We have
deluded ourselves into the belief that
the Pacific trade will become ours with
out taking ordinary precautions to
meet competition.
The act of 1891 was designed to secure
the largest and quickest steamships in
the world for the American service on
the Atlantic. Marine construction, how
ever, has already advanced beyond size
and speed contemplated when that act
was passed. 1t has proved Inadequate
for the Pacific. It's maximum raise for
that trade are $3.50 per nautical mile
onward for a 16-knot steamship. The
British government pays $3.50 to the
Peninsular and Oriental and So. 40 to the
Canadian Pacific lines; the German
government, $2.54 to 4-knot vessels of
the North German Lloyd and the
French government $39S to the Mesa
geries Maritimes for the equivalent or
an inferior service to Asia. Spain i'm
posed annual charges of $3.50, 900 on
Cuba, 1925 900 on Porto Rico and $4,000
on the Philippines for steam communi-
cation and herself contributed 81 600. =
600 more for that purpose This Spanish
total is about double the entire sup
port the United States gave to Ameri-
can steamships in 1897. The obligations
we have assumed by taking Porto Rico
and the Philippines, anneXing Hawaii.
ana governing Cuba, thus require us to
make larger appropgta lions for the
merchant marine OF to confess our
weakness by abandoning navigation to
Great Britain, Germany, France and
Japan.
A relaxation of the registry laws was
necessary to establish our transact
lantic line, and a similar relaxation is
now necessary to lWat conditions on
the Pacific. 1t is proposed that for
eign- built vessels be admitted to Amer
lean registry on condition that euui-
valent tonnage be built in the United