The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1900-07-18
PARTY ON SHIPPING.
DEMOCRACY HAS NO PLAN BY
WHICH TO BUILD UP.
ExpentispsAII Its Efforts in Attempts
to Tear Down-A1ways Opposes Re.
publican Policy, but Has No Policy
of LIS Own.

OF Its Owns
The platform utterance Of the Demo
cratic party regarding American ship
ping is a clear index of the inherent in
ability of that party to construct. 1t
seems only to be able to oppose and
denounce the constructive policies of
its progressive political opponents.
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 Unit
ed States.
But per cent Of our foreign trade
is carried in American ships. Foreign
ships carry 90 per cent. This carrying
is worth fully $2OO,O0O,0O0 each year.
All but per cent Of it goes out Of the
pockets of American producers and
consumers for paying foreigners for do
ing our foreign carrying. Not only
does it go out of our peoples pockets,
but it goes out of the country. 1t gcsas
abroad and is there used to pay for the
building and running of foreign ships.
1T gives the employment to foreigners
that the carrying of our foreign COM
merce creates.
People ask, Why is this? The an
swer is simple. Foreign ships are built
more cheaply than American ships.
This, however, is a disadvantage that
could in time be overcome if the ship
building industry were put on a basis
Of permanency. If steady and large
demand were created for our ships very
soon the cost Of their construction
would be reduced to the level of foreign
prices. 1t is the unsteadiness, the IT.
regularity, and the uncertainty Of en-
ploylnent in American shipyards that
keeps the cost of American ships from
20 to % per cent. higher 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, foreign
governments pay their merchant ships
great subsidies and bounties. Great
Britain spends about 100000 a year
in this way; France spends over ST.
100000 year. Germany, Italy, Spain,
Russia, Austria and Japan all give large
subsidies to their ships. In all the SUBJ
sides and bounties paid by foreign gov
ernments to their ships amount to more
than S26,OOO,OOO each year.
Unaided American ships, It must be
clear, cannot proftably compete with
foreign ships under the conditions
above described. That is why it Is
that foreign ships have driven Ameri-
can ships from Off the seas. The Re.
publican party, recognizing the unequal
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 plat
form. They oppose the accumulation
of a surplus to be squandered in such
bare-faced frauds upon the taxpayers
lis the Shipping Subsidy bill, which un-
der the false pretense Of prospecting
American shipbuilding would put un-
earned millions into the pockets Of IA
vorite contributors to the Republican
campaign fund" The alternative of
the shipping subsidy bill is to keep on
paying nearly $20O,00O,O00 d year to
foreign shipOwners whose govern
ments, in paying them subsidies, en-
able them to prevent American ships
from competing. Rather than have
our government pay q subsidy to Amer
lean ships, the Democrats would pre-
fer to have our people send nearly $780,
100000 out of the country each year to
build and sustain foreign ships.
In their platform the Democrats
respectfully 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 perpetu-
ate, and which present British monopo-
ly the passage Of that bill would do
much to destroy, the insincerity and the
secret pro-British leanings OF the Demo-
Gratis are clearly discerned.
Not a word have the Democrats to
utter in behalf Of a policy that would
cause the building of the ships our for
eign commerce employs out of Ameri-
can material and with American labor,
instead of as now their construction