, 1900-07-19

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 25 per cent high
err thar the cost of foreign built ships.
Better food and more of 1t 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 wage 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 Sc 5000, 900 a
year in this way; France spends owe
". 000, 900 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, 000. 900 each
year.
Unaided American ships, 1t must be
clear. cannot profitably compete with
foreign ships under the conditions
above described. That is why 1t 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 a 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
platform. They oppose the accumu-
lation of n surplus to be scuandered In
such bare-faced frauds upon the tax
payers as he 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, OO0, 900 a year to
foreign ship owners whose govern
SaNS 80 a. tltIh III
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
$500. 900 900 out of the country each
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
treat Britain, whose command of the
sea n especially of American foreign
carrying the Democrats would perpet-
nate, and which present British mon
opoly the passage of that bill would
90 much to destroy, the %insincerity
inc the secret pro-British leanings
OF the Democrats are clearly dis
cerned,
Not a 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. az now, their con-
struction out of foreign materials by
foreign labor in other countries. No
policy is suggested by them-they
merely denounce the Republican policy
ina would substitute American for
British n other foreign ships in L
foreign trade. Having no plan of their
W to suggest for building UP u
shipping in the foreign trade, express
ing no regret at seeing nearly $780,
U 1000 annually paid by Americans to
foreign ship owners Chiefly BRITISH
Ior carrying our commerce, the DEM
ocrats, on the shipping question at
ieast, proclaim themselves the allies
of England.