The San Francisco call., 1899-09-04
STRON c ARGUMENT
FOR SUBSIDY BILL
How Other Nations Aid
Shipping.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

CALL HEADQUARTERS, WELLING-
TON HOTEL, WASHINGTON. Sept s.
Commissioner of Navigation Chamberlain
finds in the mail subsidies granted to the
steamship lines by the European coun-
tries strong arguments in favor of like
liberal treatment for American shipping
In a statement which he has prepared on
this subject he says:
The most important contracts at this time
those of Great Britain Germany France
italy and Austria Hungary for mail serv-
Ice to the eastern coast of Asia, China
Japan Cochin China, etc. These five nations
spend annually s4,ot0,0O foi their mail lines to
the east coast of Asia. Tke United States it
may be added for its Asatic mails in 1897 paid
s23, 000 to American steamships and S14 600 to
foreign steamships. This sum of 81 500 900 is
purpose OF sending mails from London, Berlin
Paris, Marseilles, Vienna, Trieste and Brindisi
in the shortest possible time to Hongkong
Shanghai, kiaochau and Yokohama The time
made by subsidized foreign steamships on this
route is not the shortest practicable by an aver
age OF about five days.
The British Peninsular and Oriental line
agrees TO carry the mail under its latest con-
tract from Brindisi, Italy. to Shanghai in 1876
express train. with its Channel connections
takes the mail from Londan to Brindisi in
forty-four hours, making the mail time from
London to Shanghai in $50 hours or thirty five
days. The best time the company does is 10
cover the distance in thirty-two or thrty-three
days, and its lines are faster than those of any
other the route. Under its new contract the
North German Lloyd undertakes TO carry mails
from Berlin to Shanghai in thirty-two days.
Mails are now brought across the Atlantic to
New York in nine days from Berlin. and IN
eight days from Paris. Seven days is not a
low limit at the present time for mail steam
ships from Liverpool TO New York. Any letter
ought to reach San Francisco from Berlin or
Paris within thirteen and half days and let
ters doubtless do cover that distance in shorter
time. The distance from San Francisco 10
Shanghai by way of Yokohama is 5709 nautical
miles.
The establishment Of fortnightly American
service from San Francisco to Shanghai will
bring Berlin and Paris. not to mention British
ports, within twenty-eight or twenty-nine days
of Shanghai. and under favorable but not ex-
traordinary conditions within twenty-seven
days, while the best British achievement and
best German promise by subsidized routes is
now thirty-two davs. and the average is thirty
three thirty-four
If quick mails between capitals of Western
Europe and China and Japan were all that was
to -do be ooa accomplished by the expenditure of
time and money could be saved by the develop'
ment of the American route
Whatever may have been the fact in the
recent past, there is very little substance in
the notion that at present the large subsi-
dies to foreign lines to Asia are for the quick
in the claim that they are not necessary
political purpose.
In point of fact. the Peninsular and Oriental.
North German Lloyd. Messageries Marit,nes
Societa Navigazone ItaliAna and Lloyd Aus
triaco companies are now backed up literally
by their respective governments as a means
Of promoting trade, and especially export trade
in manufactured goods of Great Britain Ger
many, France, Italy and Austrio- Hungary
with China and Japan. There is no effort at
concealing this fact in the reports of the com
panies Gvery year. and there is nothing dis
creditable about 1t to conceal
It will not be dtscreditable for the United
States to adopt the same policy. Whether It
will be profitable or not depends on the balance
of value to the country of the trade to be
acquired and the investment necessary to OBJ
tain It,
To the government which makes these for
eisn contracts they mean the carriage of mails
and increase of national prestige; to the manu-
facturers and labor OF the country they mean
increased opportunities for commerce; to shin
owners they are a comfortable addition to the
receipts and an opportunity for the employ
ment of capital, and to shinbuilders they af-
ford better chance to build ships To the
United States these foreign contracts must
seem very sagacious means of obtaining ma