The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-11-19
SH'PBuND|NG INTEREST.
STATEMENT or TONNAGE AND
NUMBER OF VESSELS.
Annual Report of comraissiorcr of
Savisufios Rerftes Increase sf
Americas shipping and Cali. At
t<affon 20 Proposed Subsidy EIiis.


fscai year has 5s~an the n1ae. prosperous
period known "a American shipping f-r
some years Returns for ths earreut nz-
caf year Promise an even more eat'-fac-
tory conIifinr.
For the flrst time since me eivsl war The
documented tonnage or the rnited States
exceeds 5.vp.o0o gross TONS. On Juns ~.
isvD, American doeumentst ioiiEase co.n-
pri@ed z5.sx3 vessels Of s.lst. $40 gross tons.
an Increase Of zo.ega tors over the pr,s-
vionx year. Our maximum tonnage was
szsg. So tons IN 1881. our shipping, the re-
port adds In 1851 was iarge- than France
and Germany and nearly equaied the
British empires American vessels are
almost wholly confined 20 the ccasting
I trade. which employed hast year f.xsslts
tons. or more than the total tonnaga ~
Germany and France.
British shipping now amounts to 14Sl.-
90 gross tons
Our tonnage In the foreign tra3e was
only sfs. 10 tons and carried this year
only per cent. CT our exports AMI I'm
ports. century ago American shipping
registered for foreign trade vas aspsI
tons. while this tonnage now. in tEe tfir-
teen original states, amounts to 81 %.
tons.
The report says that. for serious COM
petition with foreign nations In the ocean
carrying trade. we nrs practically re-
stricted 20 " registered Steamships ~ over
LOO tons. sgEregsting 30. z2s tons. Single
foreign steamship corporations own
greater tonnage. Japan has . ocean
steamships OF over 3osD tons. Aggregate
ing IN. 900 tons Besides these steamships
we have rs registered sauare-rigged sail
vessels over i,s0 tons each. for the deep
sea trade More than half OF these are
over twenty years old. and as such ves-
sets disappear their places are not sup
Piled by construction
Dsstrsbstion ~ Tonnage.
Our tonnage y distributed between the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts. s.5s5ss2 gross
tons. Great Lakes i5ssss7 tons: Pacific
coast Including Hawaii. si2.eos tons Mis-
sissfppi and tributary rivers. rs sss tons
The Increase IN our shipping during the
decade was rose tons. Of which fsa.sis
tons was on the Pacific coast and was
due mainly 10 Alaskan and Hawaiian
trade. The eftective carrying power OF
the worlds merchant fleets has increased
~ per cent.
The most notable change IN the worlds
shipping has been the size Of steamships
In 1850 there were LIS ocean steamships
o. 1000 tons or over. while now 80 such
steamships agxregating 5.s,o 6ss tons CON-
stitute onr-fourth Of the worlds steam
tonnage. Increased speed though great.
has been less noteworthy.
Concentration OF the worlds ship-own-
ing has been notable Tho thirty princi-
pal steamship companies OF the world
own ~ steamships. or one-fourth IA
tonnage and more than or1e-sgnarter In
carrying power OF the words ocean
steamships. OF these Only nine OF the
i.p0 tons. owned By the international
Navigation Company. are American
" " estimated that during 1859 the gross
earnings Of steam and sail vessels in the
| foreign carrying trade Of all nations
amounted 10 t7epGNa The export trade
NJ
cent. Of the worlds aggregate tonnage ~
the steamships
steam and Wooaeu v~ss~Is.
The problem ~ ocean transportation nj
this time. the report SAYS. Is essentially
one az transportation by steel screw
steamships, The purposes to which wood
en- fure-and-aft vessels and steel square
rugged vessels adapted are important
hut restricted The suex canal reduced
opportunities for sail vessels. and the
Nicaragua canal. II Is said. will further
reduce them
In the past ten wears Great fsrftaIn has
huit f@S steel steamers af a1gT.co tons.
while the United States has built as steel
steam vessels 90 7Es@s TONS Ok witch lss
Of sSaesa tons, We're built on the Great
Lakes our entire construction for the
dccssie - mech more than aalf OF Grrat
Erttnin's output ~ fas9t.a tons during
ismt We have built for the foreign trade
slnrs. isse orsy ~ steel sfea nshtpa " So
90 tons and ~ this total n steamships
Of sSss tons were baiit ~ rnsii steam
erx unsisr The postal subsidy acts.
on August s. isa - merchant sfeel
steam vessels agxrpxatin. eTxsso tons.
and u naval vessels Of f1.ges tons dis
placement were building ar contracted
| Tor.
Contracts since that date bring the
merchant fatal 40 20 n, go tons sntlsd-
1 Tag iesgs tons On the lakes Congress
has authorized ~ 40 toms displacement ~
/ naval vessels nos yet rontraffea for The
! eusreA5 scar aili r~eurd musn she isyx-
srt ssaa4at - stfei rap building IN our
( history,
rha report says IN. csasisns law ana its
/ extsnslan# aar heaxB rxpsndstaF.s Tor
naval construction and the easiaing "
vessels ~ r~piase tkass hSWxas FOR trans-
I ports and shr sssstat sssss<tiy law have
tttrn aseei ship building a. recent gilns0-
I ins
A.. Cham aslsla fsvieMs Ia sams aesan
! ne hiis rep-aFfsd - ths senate ard naAs~
( " representative. kNawA as ths subsidy
nsl@ ana sives lsigssyalioss q shs aires.
1 sl@se Ia ea4s ~ hssttsinK an* auef4tfng
1 AmeFiean and Bsgttea stsamsh Alps 81 tae
Breesas sas iis ssys hat ias sun-isiics
I s5eps@~a aeaesAHt saQaiAEs fAsset sirer-
vnses
Comparative t.-s vs Haglatng
re- sxAs Steamship eActgtmK &aaa iaan
4 ~ rssxa waa eaase 81 $50 IN shs United
1 States esapafwd slsh fsifaS ~ Gvras
4 sfsfsia ttaaxh sse<l y mnsA cheaper
here sssn sees2s sse-.'~s AAsrf esss. shs
4 R~stssh a8F4nt&2e fsr. in sas sH@sm,sss
I stAia Is prsa@rsfen Great RraalN h~tsx
( iee w0TtEe Natrsftrnent zshre ~ snsp.
I saaK Mnnshv aases oa ihs Aueests4a
I Ysssess sfg NHs sKsfaei NAs 81 Ne Nrt'.
- SAB