Graham guardian., 1899-01-20
OUR MARITIME WEAKNESS.

l. Our weakness as martini
: power" says the Commissioner G
Navigation in his annual repor
for 1898, "lies in the unimportan
/ position we hold in transatlantic
, and transpacific trade *
Conditions of competition on tht
Atlantic and on the PacIfc differ
in many essential respects" y x !
Where the trade is greatest ou1
shipping is least; where the carry
ing pays the highest freights, there
American ships are almost un-
known; in the trade adapted to
small vessels, there our ships are
seen in larger number; but in the
whole of the foreign trade of the
world American ships are, relative.
iy speaking, conspicuous by their
absence.
Discussing the subject of our
maritime weakness in greater de
tail, our Commissioner of Naviga-
ton points out:
THE aggregate tonnage of
American vessels entered and clear.
ed at ports Of the United States
from and for Europe in 1897 was
only 899,08l tons, while foreign
vessels aggregated 23,014,0 ,093 tons,
the share in the trade under the
American flag being less than 4
per cent. Navigation be.
tween the United States and Eu.
rope cannot, moreover, be intel
ligently considered by itself. The
entries of foreign vessels from Eu-
rope amounted to 10,490,468 tons,
while the clearances of foreign yes,
sells for Europe amounted to l2,.
528,625 tons. Thus over 100000
tons of foreign shipping entered
the United States from some other
continent. took on cargo and then
returned to Europe"
1t is q well.known fact that Eu-
'opc sells to South and Central
american countries more than
hree-quarters of all that the lat. !
er buy from abroad; on the other \
and, fully two-thirds Of all that is
XpOrted from thos countries comes
o US. 1t IS believed that if Ameri 4
an ships did our foreign carrying !
heir would be readjustment in :
ur South, Central American and Z
Vest Indian trade that is now so :
bic to the United States. Z
here is no reason why we should 8
OF sell our nnighbors to the south 3
f us as much in value as we buy ofI y
nem; we produce the same kinds .
things that that they buy, and \
hrs is the market in which they :
spoSc Of their surplus products. .
hey, as well as ourselves, would y
, delighted to 5ecure more intl- Y
ate relations with the United Y
.ates. y
In our trade with Europe the Y
eat foreign steamship lines are Y
ell intrenched. There are sever y
lines in our trade with Northern
urope which have tonnage
eater than the entire tonnage
lder the flag in the navy Of the n,
nited States. The greatest lines su
the world serd their finest ships r
the Atlantic ports Of the Unit III
States. 1t will be hard, if not ~ ~
possible, to supplant these lines oy
th American lines of American dc
Fps. Ir truth, what we may ex. tn
ct, if we legisate wisely, will "a
to secure goodly share of the no
crease in our European trade tn
, shall do well, for a half q cen.
ry to come, to do that mnch. ne
Our great Immediate chance, an
wever, is upon the Pacific. The W., w.
mmerce that will float upon that trs
can does not yet exist; it will be We
pidly created and as as rapidly gr
pand under the stimulus ofcheap I'D
rates, sure and soon fo,
be offered between our Pacific mi
rts and the Orient, Here is ITS
lere wise and astule statesman an
.p will show itself; it is here that /"
can build up great and u
werful American merchant mar ia,
, while we are building up a ari
later commerce, Letus not lose OF
'oint upon the Pacific, and there nS, nS
much of promise for a great wi
rine and u great commerce up del
the Pacific, with large profits. col
nat we can do there quickly we NoI