Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-05-26
SENATOR FRYE
Interviewed on Prospects OF
the Shipping Bill.
Congress Expected Early Adjournment
Makes Its Passage Doubtful.
Foreigners See Grave Danger 10 This Bill for
Their Shipping.

looks, he says, for the early passage OF
the bill at the next session without Il
doubt.
Foreigners, 1 find" continued Sen
ator Frye, seem quite wrought up
over the danger of foreign shipping
that turks in the bill. Apparently tney
dread the competition of large meet
of new American ships. In very re-
cent issue of the Financial Times, OF
London, l find confirmation OF one OF
the strong arguments of the friends of
this measure"
Asked to state more specifically to
what he alluded in the article in the
London Financial Times, the Senator
found the paper and read from its
opening paragraph as follows:
THE title of the article is Trans
atlantic Shipping and the War 1t
begins this way:
1.-The war in South Africa has had
a more serious effect upon the transat-
lantic than any other class of ocean
tonnage, for the simple reason that
the majority of the vessels employed
for the purposes of transport have been
taken from this route; the North At
lantic steamers as a rule being large,
powerful and reasonably swift craft.
admirably adapted for this species of
government service
Mote" said the Senator, ''the next
two sentences, with attention.
THE natural effect of their with
dtawal has been to cripple the oppor
tunities afforded of sending freight to
and from America, and to raise
freights. 1t has also brought to the
mind of Americans the dependence of
their country on Europe, and especially
upon England, for the development of
their export trade, and incidentally it
has strengthened the ship subsidy bill
which Is now before Congress-
Few Of our people realize that three
quarters of all our exports go to Eu
rope, and that two-thrds of our entire
foreign trade is with Europe. Our de-
pendence on foreign tonnage, especial
~ British tonnage, emphasizes the
weakness and danger of our foreign
trade, so long as it's chief commercial
and maritime rival is its largest car
rier. / will quote few more of the
statements made by the London FL
nancial Times as being timely and true:
1.-The question whether merchandise
bhdii vi Sildli llOl Dt StHl dpl Odu lIOlll
the United States is determined to
quite a considerable extent by the
price asked for sending it abroad. and
when this is exceptionally high it
must in many cases trench so far up
on possible profits as to make such
shipments unattractive. BY having this
barrier raised around our frontier, our
trade must suffer to some extent, and
the advocates of bounties to American
shipping have not been slow to make
as much as they possibly can of the
situation. Senator Frye, in a report
which he has made on the ship sub
sidy bill, says that the present condl-
ton of affairs indicates the fmprudence
of being dependent upon England for
transportation facilities, since when
England becomes involved in a foreign
war, America suffers through lack of
its accustomed transport facilities for
trade. Obviously the broader and more
general the ownership Of merchant tom
mage becomes the better it will be for
all commercial nations (apart from
English shipoWners) since they will
have. so to speak, two or more strings
to their bow
or course continued Senator Frye
the Financial Times cannot approve
our plan of aiding American ships in
competition with the subsidized and
bountied foreign ships engaged in our
foreign carrying. 1t would rather have
us try to build up our marine by buy
ing our ships in Great Britain. and let
ting them shift for themselves without
government aid after that.
What l regard as Of most import
ance in connection with the question
is the essential truth that a rise in
freights accompanies the withdrawal
Of any considerable portion of the ton
mage upon which we are dependent for
our foreign carrying a situation much
emphasized at the present moment
There is another side to this truth
that is deserving of our thought, and
1t is that the addition of large
amount of new tonnage is sure to cor
respondingly reduce freights. The ship
ping bill is providing for a large in
crease in tonnage thus automatically
provides for a reduction in ocean
freights. Through this natural law
the American people will receive back
in reduced freights much more-fully
three times as much. as l see it-than
the government will pay out in aiding
in the establishment of our shipping
in the foreign trade.
This reduction in freights will slim
ulatc our people to export larger guam
titles of the things not now possible
because the high freights leave no mar
gin of profit for the producers. From
this II is easy to trace to the passage
of the shipping bill not only steady and
profitable employment in our shipyards
and in every industry contributory to
shpbuilding, but in the increase of
production in lines of industry where
full-time employment is now impossib' @
because the present ocean freights
render expectation Improbable.
THE passage of the shipping bill will
have a stimulating effect upon almost
every industry in the land. besides
which the production of the ships and
the men employed thereon may serve
the necessities of the nation in time
OF great national danger-always pos
sible-in which emergency the service
rendered will be infinitely above and
beyond any cost to the country result
ing from aiding in the establishment
and the temporary partial mainten-
nnce of an American merchant ma
rine."