The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-27
FRYE DINED IN NEW YORK.
HONORED FOR HIS WORK IN he
HALF or THAT HARBoR.

Future-Our Imports and Exports
should he Carried in Our Own
Ships-Necessity for the Nicaragua
Canal-Win Have to Look out for
Germany.
New York, April Ex-senator William 2.
Frye of Maine, chairman of the commit
tee on commerce. was given dinner to-
night at the Waldorf-Astorla as a testi-
monial for his efforts In obtaining for
New York city the improvements allowed
in the recent river and harbor bill passed
by Congress.
The dinner was given by the Produce
Exchange. Maritime Association of the
Port Of New York, the steamship inter-
ests, Cotton Exchange, Chamber of Com
| merce, Merchants Association. Board of
Trade, Board Of Marine Underwriters. Ma
tional Board of Marine Underwriters. COT
fee Exchange. Metal Exchange and the
Stock Exchange.
Nearly 600 guests sat down at the hf-
teen tables in the grand banquet halI
The room was resplendent with flags and
/ lowers. The guests marched to the ban
quet room at 1850 o'clock. Gov Roosevelt
was chairman.
Gov. Roosevelt held a brief levee lust
before the guests went 20 the dining hall
letter of regret was read from Presi-
dent Mckinley.
When the ice cream was served a STREAM,
OF walters moved about bearing designs of
steam dredges, ocean steamships and
horns of plenty and other emblems of
| prosperity and commerce A chart of the
New York harbor was placed at every
table.
GOV. Roosevelt opened the speaking.
| eulogizng Senator Frye. j. w. Ambrose
tod of the senator's efforts for the i'm
| provement of New York harbor w Bay
ard Cutting and Senator Thomas c. Plat
| paid tributes to the senator from Maine
| The guest of the evening was then intro
| duced. He was loudly greeted. Senator
| Frye said in part;
| MT. President what of our future? Our
success last year is most gratifying. but
| our necessity for foreign markets is GER
| tain to increase. Our wonderful inventive
| genius. the brain power of our working
| men, our present and our prospective ma
| chinery, the sagacity, enterprise and skill
of our manufacturers, all promise still
greater advance. In a few years we shall
| have a population of 100, 900 600 What shall
| this increase do? Farm? Only a small
| percentage; for now we produce enough
for our own, and can supply the necessi-
| ties of Europe, while Europe is steadily
| increasing her agricultural acreage, rem
| dering her dependence upon us less and
| less. 1t is safe to say that sixty millions
| OF our people will, in that time, be de-
pendent upon non-agricultural pursuits.
The commercial war upon which the
world has entered viii become fercer and
| iercer. Germany win be our most dan
gerous rival Germany is our most formi-
| dable pOn1 rnarctal enemy She 10 cLfila.l
in the arts of commerce and mechanics:
/ she is persistent, aggressive. annoying and
| indomitable. / tell you, gentlemen, that
| we have more to fear from Germany than
| from any other nation on earth. But, de-
| spite all her efforts, we will surpass her
! and be more successful than her in the
| contest for prestige in foreign com
merce. Her wages paid are not
one-half of ours. Shall we reduce ours
! to the plane of hers? That might breed
| a discomfort which would endanger the
republic; would certainly reduce the pur-
chasing power OF our people, and stil more
increase the surplus. Shall we run our
| mills on one-third or one-haf time? That
would reduce our purchasing power and
| largely increase the cost of our product.
| l do not believe that our railroads can
reduce freights much unless a new motive
power is found, but our water carriers
can, and probably will Freight ships viii
be increased in carrying capacity and rates
| stll further reduced. Let me Illustrate the
effect of such increased capacity
when the largest frelghter was 1900
| tons the rate across the Atlantic was IS. so a
| ton; when 5000 tons, Sc a ton; when 5000
| tons $3.50 a ton; when 10000 tons $3.50 a
ion. All the necessary facilities for these
deep draught ships must be provided for.
! II was just look into this future which
, compelled me to insist, even to the point
| of obstiuacy, that 100000 should be ex-
| pended in New York harbor, and that our
| ships should find there a channel 1000 feet
wide, with depth of forty feet. and ample
dockage room. l trust, too. that the time
is not far distant when we shall have a
deep waterway from the Great Lakes ia
| the Atlantic ocean, still further increasing
our facilities and decreasing our rates.
Another thing, in my judgment, is inn
peratively required. We should carry In
our own ships, under our own flag. all OF
our imports and exports. We should pay
to our own people the 100000 day we
now pay to foreigners We should make
! of the officers of those ships active, intelli-
gent and interested agents for the discov-
cry of new markets, and the promotion OF
our trade. Suppose to accomplish this II
does cost us 81, 100000 or S100O0,O0o annually
Will not there be ample compensation
Great Britain, Germany and France will
not SURRENDER this carrying trade without
determined conflict, which alone will re-
duce freight rates at least % per cent
The best estimate, and think correct
one, of the amount in tons OF our foreign
commerce. is about 100000. The average
freight rate for the world over is 81 ION
Twenty-Five per cent. reduction on rates
will save to our people s5O,OOO,0OO annually
Consider for a moment another, ana N
my opinion, a most important, aid TO our
foreign commerce. Where is the most
promising field for it in the near futurei
Surely In the Orient. Humboldt, more
than fifty years ago declared that the
commerce of the Pacific would in time
exceed that Of the Atlantic; and what in
telligent man to-day doubts the realiza-
ton ia the near future of what then seem
ed a dream? Do not England, France
Germany, Russia and Italy, by their con
duct, recognize that the prophesy Is 20 be
fulfilled? How shall we secure our share
of this commerce?
THE Suez canal was opened In 1870. Be-
fore that New York was almost as near
the Orient as Liverpool was, but after
Liverpool had the advantage by from