The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1900-07-20
DEMOCRACY ON SHIPPING.
Has No Plan by which to Build Up
Can Only Tear Down.

Ocrauc party regarding American
shipping is a clear index of the inner
ent inability of that party to con-
struct 1t seems only to be able to op-
pose and denounce the constructive
policies of its progressive political OPP
ponents.
The foreign commerce of the United
States is regarded the world over as
the most important of all. To this
country come the finest foreign ships.
The greatest and most powerful steam
ship lines vie with each other for our
trade. The largest, the swiftest, the
safest and the most luxurious ships
that are built are for the carrying OF
the trade in merchandise, passengers,
specie and mails from and to the
United States.
But s per cent of our foreign trade
is carried in American ships. For
eign ships carry so per cent. This
carrying is worth fully S200,000,000
each year. All but per cent of it
goes out of the pockets Of American
producers and consumers for paying
foreigners for doing our foreign carry
ing. Not only does it go out OF our
peoples pockets, out it goes out of the
country. 1t goes abroad and is there
used to pay for the building and run
ming of foreign ships. 1t gives the en-
ployment to foreigners that the carry
ing of our foreign commerce creates.
People ask, Why is this? The an
swer is simple. Foreign ships are
built more cheaply than American
ships. This, however, is a disadvan-
tage that could in time be overcome IL
the shipbuilding industry were put on
a basis of permanency. If a steady and
large demand were created for our
ships very soon the cost Of their con-
struction would be reduced to the level
of foreign prices. 1t is the unsteadi-
ness, the irregularity, and the uncer-
tainty of employment in American
shipyards that keeps the cost of Amer
lean ships from 20 to 20 per cent high
or than the cost of foreign built ships.
Better food and more of it is given on
American than on foreign ships. This
also creates a disadvantage which the
American ship cannot easily overcome.
Then again wages on shipboard are
much higher under the American than
under foreign flags. In the cases of
officers the wages on American ships
are on the average twice as high as
they are on foreign ships.
Worse than all this, however, for
eign governments pay their merchant
ships great subsidies and bounties.
Great Britain spends about S6,000,C00 a
year in this way; France spends over
100000 a year. Germany, Italy,
Spain, Russia Austria and Japan all
give large subsidies to their ships In
all the subsidies and bounties paid by
foreign governments to their ships
amount to more than $26, 900, 900 each
year.
Unaided American ships, it must be
clear, cannot profitably compete with
foreign ships under the conditions
above described. That is why it is
that foreign ships have driven Amer
lean ships from off the seas. The Re-
publican party, recognizing the I'M
equal conditions which confront
American ships in the foreign trade, is
committed to policy of substituting
American ships in that trade. The
amount of the subsidy proposed is
barely enough to enable American
ships to compete on terms OF equality
with foreign ships
This bill Democrats have singled out
for denunciation in their national
n1atforu, rTbay OODnOea +Io ooo,,,,,,
lation of a surplus to be squandered in
such bare-faced frauds upon the tax
payers as the Shipping Subsidy bill,
which under the false pretense of pros
pering American ship-building, would
put unearned millions into the pockets
Of favorite contributors to the Repub-
lican campaign fund" The alternative
Of the shipping subsidy bill is to keep
on paying nearly 5000, 100000 a year to
foreign ship owners whose govern
ments in paying them subsidies en-
able them to prevent American ships
from competing. Rather than have
our government pay a subsidy to
American ships the Democrats would
prefer to have our people send nearly
F@Ou,OuO,UUO Out vi the country edcn
year to build and sustain foreign
ships.
In their platform the Democrats "es-
pecially condemn the ill-concealed
Republican alliance with England"
When we remember that Democracy's
platform denunciation of the Shipping
Subsidy bill will nowhere be received
with such favor and gratitude as in
Great Britain, whose command of the
sea and especially of American foreign
carrying the Democrats would perpet-
uate, and which present British mon
opoly the passage of that bill would
do much to destroy, the insincerity
and the secret pro-British leanings
Of the Democrats are clearly dis
cerned
Not word have the Democrats to
utter in behalf of a policy that would
cause the building of the ships our
foreign commerce employs out of
American material and with American
labor. instead of, as now, their con-