The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-14
eIgn shipping trade that Is worthy OF the

eign shipping trade that Is worthy OF the
name.
The fereign maritime exchanges of one
kind or other Of every land give a prefer
ence to the ships of the people OF that
land. Marine insurance concerns pur-
American ships naturally get the worst
Of It. Our commercial concerns, being
bound up with foreign interests, and see
ing their government Indifferent or bound
up as they are. naturally avoid anything
that might Interfere with their business
or cost them anything either presently or
ultimately. In the conduct of our nation
al affairs at any time during the past
twenty years, while We have been hear
ing a lot of balderdash proceeding from
the floor of each house of congress-, we
have as a matter of fact been refusing to
pay our own ship owners a reasonable
sum for the carrying Of the national
mails, and have chosen to send them and
pay for sending them in English bottoms
and by roundabout ways to their destina-
ton rather than that even an appearance
of discrimination should be made in favor
Of our own Industries or our own people.
From the beginning-from the days OF
Jefferson's embargo laws-the develop
ment of American shipping power had
Our people were induced to prefer the
employment and use of their own vessels.
Regulations of trade, In the nature Of ton
mage duties and inhibitiVe laws OF one
advantage of our own vessels and the cor
responding disadvantage of other nations
We Disseminated In favor OF ourselves,
and as long as we did so we had a mer-
chant marine When we put it out of our
power to do so, we lost it. Not through
our custom houses or our boards Of trade
or our insurance companies or by our
ship register associations, or by individ-
ual corporations. shipping concerns or in
dividuals, are we doing, or have we done,
a thing for years in any such direction.
Yet every nation that has or has had a
foreign marine carrying trade has prac-
ticed this discriminat ton, is practicing it
today, and could not maintain its posi-
ton on the ocean single year did 1t not
do so.
The passage Of the naval subsidy law
during the next session of congress Is
reasonably assured. But there will be
much more to do than pass the subsidy
bill and distribute the money payable I'M
der 1t, If the American merchant marine
is to be restored Subsidies may be de-
structive, as well as constructive, in
their operation When A. B. Stockwell,
the then president Of the Pacific Mall
Steamship company, was shown a number
of years ago to have declared that in the
securing of q certain subsidy he had
bought congressman rs he might so
much pork, he delivered blow against
the interests of the concern OF which he
was president that 1t never recovered
from. and which for q number Of years
succeeded In killing every movement that
had been made to inaugurate any intelH-
gent system Of ship protection through
act of congress.
The people must have inducements Of
fered to them to prefer their own ships
to make the construction and operation OF
American ships profitable. National SEN
dment must be aroused on the subject,
and the cooperation Of the people in all
their relations OF life, social as well as
commercial, must be appealed for. There
are still some influences In this world,
even In politics and legislation. that will
accomplish many things that money can
not accomplish.