The age-herald., 1900-11-19
GREAT INCREASE
 . IN OUR TONNAGE
Interesting Report by Commis-
 Sioner of Navigation
23,333 VESSELS ARE USED
For the First Time Since the Civil War the Documented Tonnage Has Ex- ceeded 5,ooo,Ooo Gross Tons.
 Some Fine Vessels.

Washington, November 1S.-The report
 of Commissioner of Navigation Chamber
 lain for the past fiscal year says that for
 the first time since the civil war the docu-
 mented tonnage of the United States ex-
 ceeds 100000 gross tons, the tonnage com
 prising 23,333 vessels of 5,164, ,S39 gross tons,
 an increase of 30O,000 tons over the pre-
 vious year. Our maximum tonnage was
 5,539, ,S13 tons in 1881. Our shipping, the re-
 port adds, in 1861 was larger than Great
 Britains and nearly equalled the British
 empires. British shipping now amounts
 to 14,261, GOO gross tons. American vessels
 are almost wholly confined to the coasting
 trade, which employed last year 4,33S, 1i5
 tons, or more than the total tonnage of
 Germany and France. Our tonnage in the
 foreign trade was only S16.795 tons, and
 carried only g per cent of our exports and
 imports. A century ago American ship
 ping registered for foreign trade was 669,
 921 tons, while this tonnage now in the
 thirteen original states amounts to 4S29O7
 tons.
 For competition in the ocean carrying trade we are practically restricted to 97 registered steamships over 1000 tons az gregating 26O,325 tons. Single foreign steamship corporations own greater ton
 mage. Japan has S3 ocean steamships of
 over 20OO tons, aggregating 2S6,00O tons.
 Besides these steamships we have 125 regis
 tered square rigged sail vessels over 1000
 tons each for the foreign sea trade. Our tonnage is distributed between the Atlantic
 and Gulf coasts, 2,727, 1892 gross tons; Great
 Lakes, 1,565,5S tons; Pacific coast .dnclud-
 ing Hawaii. 6129O2 tons; Mississippi and
 tributary rivers 25S 456 tons. Our steam
 vessels amount to 2,657, 797 tons, doeumented
 canal boats and barges to 622, GOO tons, and
 the remainder 1,SS4Si2 tons are sail vessels
 and schooner barges. The increase in our shipping during the decade was 740,942 tons,
 of which 02,523 tons are on the great lakes.
 The increase on the Pacific was 1S4,512 tons
 due mainly to Alaskan and Hawaiian trade and on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts
 s. 297 tons while the tonnage on the Missis-
 sippi and tributaries has decreased 36000
 tons. The wrolds steamships have in-
 creased from 12,9 900 gross tons to 22,-
 969,0OO gross tons; sail vessels have de- creased from 9166,0OO to 6,67400O tons and the effective carrying of the worlds merchant fleets has increased 60 per cent.
 rz More Steel HuIIs.
 
 shipping are now made of steel, compared with 20 per cent in 1890.
 Concentration of the worlds ship own
 ing has been notable during the decade. The thirty principal steamship companies
 of the world own sixteen hundred steam ships of 5616,0OO gross tons, or one-fourth
 in tonnage and more than one-quarter in
 carryiAg power of the worlds ocean steam- ships. Of these only nine of eighty-one thousand tons owned by the International
 Navigation Company are American. It is estimated that during 1899 the gross earnings of steam vessels in the worlds foreign carrying trade amounted to $7O0,- | 900, 900.
 The export trade of the United States re- | quires about 20 per cent of the worlds sea-
 going tonnage in foreign trade, including | the largest, fastest and most expensive | steamships The weight of our exports by
 sea in 1899 was 2,0OO,000 tons of 224O pounds. To carry these exports and passengers re- | quires steady employment of about 1200 steamships, aggregating 3,6O0,O 900 gross tons,
 and 1900 sailing vessels of 900 tons The problem of ocean transportation at | this time, the report says, Is essentially one | of transportation by steel screw steam ships. The purposes to which fore and aft l NeSSelS ana Sleel square rlSSeu vessels are | adapted are important but restricted. The | SueZ canal reduced opportunities for sail vessels and the Nicaragua canal, 1t is said, will further reduce them.
 In the past ten years Great Britain has built 463S steel steamships of 9,973 600 tons,
 while the United States has built 465 steel | steam vessels of 743,0O0 tons, of which 19S of | 4500O0 tons were built on the great lakes. l Our entire construction for the decade is | not much mos than half of Great Britain's
 of ATA I, 1 built for the foreign trade since 1890 only | 24 steel steamships of so. 900 tons, and of this 1 total Il steamships of 5s0OO tons were built | as mail steamers under the postal subsidy l acts. The current year will record much | the largest amount of steel shlp-building in
 our history, including merchant ships of
 900 tons. The report says the coasting l law, our heavy expenditures for naval con | struction, and the building of vessels to
 replace those bought for transports and the
 postal subsidy law have given steel ship | building it's recent stimulus.
 l Cost of Steamships. e-r, l A freight steamship carrying 5000 tons
 cargo now costs S275,0o0 in ths United | States compared with $2l40OO in Great | Britain, though steel is much cheaper here l than abroad Besides labor cost the Brit 1 ish advantage lies in the enormsls sale of l production, Great Britain being the world s l department store' of shipping. l Monthly wages on the American vesGal 1 are $1,200 against $900 on the British ship. l Comparisons are made with foreign sub l sidies to fast steamships which aggregate | s20,000000 annually and the report holds | that the subsidies proposed for American | steamships are not more than adequate to secure American ocean mail services to | the great continents; equivalent to those l of Great Britain, Germany and France. | In the past sixty years Great Britain and her colonies have spent over $24O,000,O0O for British ocean mail steamships The report says the expenditures under | the Senate subsidy bill would have been l $29O7,000 and under the House bill $2.790,- l GOO. Details and estimates show that with l the additional shipping eligible the cost I during the first year of the bills operation would be about s4,5OO,OOO The maximum | of $9.00000O, 1t Is said, probably would be 1 attained during 1904-5, when reduction l of subsidy rates would be necessary. Un- l der the bill in five years American steam- 1 ships in foreign trade, it is stated, would 1 doubtless reach 100000 tons and sail ves- sels 900 tons
 Tonnage taxes were sSSO 4S2 In view of