The San Francisco call., 1899-09-05
EUROPEAN SUBSIDIES FOR SHIPPING
IA R. CHAMBERLAIN. United States Com
missioner OF Navigation, directs public at

| | missioner OF Navigation, directs public at
tenton once more the advantage given the
commercial marine OF European nations by the lib
eral subsidies granted them, ostensiby for carrying
mail but really Tor the purpose OF enabling them to
extend the trade OF their various countries. The
theme is an old and every argument relating to
it has been gone over time and again, but until our
Government has been impelled to profit by the les
son it teaches it can never be repeated too often.
According TO Mr. Chamberlain the most important
Of these postal contracts this time those OF Great
Britain Germany France, Italy and Austria Hungary
Tor mail service to the eastern coast OF Asia, China,
Japan, Cochin-China. etc. These FIVE nations spend
annually $45oo,ooo for their mail lines to the east
for its Asatic mails in 1897 paid $4,000 American
steamships and $4,000 to foreign steamships.
That this sum expended annually in the name of
postal contracts is not designed for the purpose OF
advancing mail facilities much for that OF pro-
noting commerce is made clear by Mr.. Chamberlain
demonstration that il rapid mail service desired
it could be better obtained by promoting steamship
lines and from American ports, the route across
this continent is the quickest by which mail between
Europe and China can be carried On that point ne
SAYS: The establishment OF a fortn ghty American
service from San Francisco to Shanghai will bring
Berlin and Paris, to mention British ports
within twenty-eight or twenty-nine days OF Shanghai
and under favorable but extraordinary conditions
within twenty-seven days. while the best British
achievement and best German promise by subsidized
routes is thirty-two days and the average is
thirty-three or thirty four
AS matter OF fact the pretense that subsidies
granted to shipping are designed for mail facilities
no longer kept up by any nation except Great Brit
aim, and there deceives nobody As the Com
missioner says: The Pennsuar and Oriental North
German Lloyd, Messageries Maritimes Societa
Navigazione Itaiana and Lloyd Austriaco companies
are now backed up literally by their respective Gov
ernmcnts a means OF promoting trade, and
peciay export trade in manufactured goods OF Great
Britain, Germany France Italy and Austria Hun
gary with China and Japan. There is effort at
concealng this fact in the reports OF the companies
every year and there is nothing dscredtable about
it to conceal.
The nation whose ships can most cheaply carry
abroad the goods which foreign markets demand will
obtain the trade of those markets The industries of
that nation will consequently be profitable and flour
ishng while those of other nations lag for lack o;
ability to sell their products At one time Great
Britain, by having almost monopoly OF the carry
ing trade of the ocean, became something like the
industrial center OF the world and did enormous
percentage OF its manufacturing By sagacious sys-
TENS OF protection other nations built up manufac-
turing industries OF their own which in time produced
output greater than the local demand called for
Then the French and the Germans began by subsi-
died ships to promote their foreign trade with the
result that Great Britain now finds them active com
pettors in all parts of the world
The United States have reached point where for
egn trade is necessary for the extension of their Wig
orous industries An American merchant marine
paying the high wages OF American labor in ship
yards and on shipboard cannot compete against the
subsidized ships OF other nations. 1t is time there
fore. for Government to learn the lesson the ex
perience OF other countries has taught With lib
era policy OF governmental aid to American shipping
industries there would be no need to undertake wars
and conquests for the sake Of commercial expansion