The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-04-02
SEA POWER
ESSENTIAL TO
COMMERCE.
Amended Shipping Bill Presented to
the House by Chairman
GroBvenor.
URGES The NECESSITY
OF It's Early Passage-sums Up the
Cardinal Purposes of the
Measure.

tative Grosvenor OF Ohio, chairman of
the house committee on merchant ma
rine and fisheries, presented to the
house yesterday the amended shipping
bill, and the report in It's support by
the majority of the committee, consti-
tuting ali the Republican members.
The report says in part:
"Our abundant natural resources and
our industrious and increasing popula-
tion make 1t OF great value to increase
the means of proRtably dIsposing of our
surplus productions. and as our export
trade is increased so will be home con-
sumption and employment.
"our exporting competitors have for
a long time been devotlng themselves to
increasing their export trade and get
ting possession OF markets. Africa is
an example Of the methods pursued of
pnrtltloning territory or recognizing
spheres of influence; possibly eastern
Asia being eventually destined to re-
celve similar treatment"
"Chlna," the report continues, may
be left open to fair and equal competi-
ton with respect of trade with the
United States" in which event the
committee believes "one of the largest
il not the largest fields for the trade and
commerce of other nations will be open
to thoge possessing the facilities for
taking advantage of opportunity"
The nation first in the field" with ito
own productions and its own means Of
transportation" will achieve the largest
success, for which reason China must
remove the barriers which now almost
entirely exclude foreign intercourse.
Other parts OF the world in which our
commerce holds so small a share would
repay particular study.
Ready fo: Any Exigency.
"Thc need Of abundant establish
ments for the construction, docking
and repairing OF ships, an adequate
navy" "and a great feet of merchant
vessels" all in readiness for any exi=
gencies,is asserted by the report to be "a
sell evident propostloa," on these
grounds other nations have fortified
themselves by increasing their sea
power in all OF the ways referred to-
with the double object "of strengthen
ing their facilities and power for carry
ing on foreign commerce"
After giving the statistics on the ex-
tent of tonnage the world gUr, the cost
of ship.buIldl1g. wages. ETC., Mr. Gros-
venors report sums up "the cardinal
purposes OF the bilr' as follows:
81. To aid in n real practical way
and no doubt, under existing conditions
the only possible way--in bringing. to
the greatest extent possible, our own
foreign trade back into our own hands,
and thus saving to our country certain
Iy more than $lOO,OOOOoO transportation
money annually. which now goes to in
crease the wealth OF other nations.
"2. To greatly increase the exporta-
tIon and sale of all kinds of our super
abundant productions, and especially in
the vast regions of eastern Asia, evil
IDENTIFY very soon to be opened to the
trade of the world. This is n trade that
the nation best prepared to engage in
will necessarily get the great proportion
OF by Its own products under its own
flag and with It's own postal facilities
and Its own commercial establishments
for the disposal of It's productions,
A Great American Fleet.
"3. To bring into existence at the
earliest possible time great American
fleet OF merchant vessels, built in our
own country, with our own material
and by our own labor as most neces-
gary means of national aid and national
safety in times Of international war and
other disturbances, the probability of
which is unhapplly not SMALL even
now.
q. To increase the number Of our cit
izeps who viii be educated in seafnring
work. and who will thus have the skill
and be better able to defend tho honor
and interest Of our country on the seas.
however suddenly the occasion may
happen.
"5. The bill, we think, will, II the pro
posed compensation is large enough. ac-
complIsh these great and important
PURPOSES"
General arosvenor's report concludes:
at will, of course, take q considerable
time to reach the desired end, but the
,,s,- ,ho roiIcv ,s entprJd tpon the