The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-24

exceeds 3O,OO0,o00 tons. 1t Is probably not
an exaggeration to say that no other ma
ton employs as many vessels Of as good
capacity, in its coastwise trade as does
the United States; but that ends the dec
laration, for four-fifths of our foreign
trade is carried in foreign vessels.
From 1870 to 1898 the average size Of
American vessels engaged in foreign
trade rose from 54S to 651 tons, while the
average size OF those engaged in the
coasting trade rose from 1870 tons df We
exclude the twenty-ton sloops) to 2s9
tons; and upon the great lakes the av-
erage rose from less than 100 tons to
more than 400 tons. The value Of the
goods carried has swollen from a mere
two or three hundred millions TO up
wards of a billion dollars, the approx
mate figures being extremely difficult to
obtain. owing to the deficiency of the
treasury reports.
And now, all at once, we are to witness
the construction upon the Pacific coast OF
ships Of 1000 to 5000 tons registry for
the anticipated eoastwise trade to Ha-
wall and the Philippines; upon the great
lakes those Of 1900 tons registry for the
coal and iron business; and on the Attain
tic those Of 1900 and 5000 for the expect
ed trade to Havana and Ponce Not
alone Mr. Hill, but the sugar king of the
Pacific, Claus Sprecke1s, Is about to VEN
ture few millions In Pacific coastwise
ships of large capacity, to run In our
Oriental trade. The Clyde line Is build
ing three large steamers for the Cuban
traffic, with Puerto Rico and San Do
mingo as side lines. But are they 10
have the traffic? Are they investing in
foreign trade vessels, or in coastwise
ships? That is of Importance to them, as
coastwise means surety of business on
American bases.
We are paying I.loyd's insurance con-
Germ in London large sums for vessel IN
surance, and our manufacturers are
ceaselessly dropping into the hands of
British commission men and agencies
other large sums for securing unprof1t-
able business The C l o b e is reliably IN
formed that European commission men
absorb every year over $4.00O,OO0 of our
reasonable profits on flour, and for cot
ton they must step as high as $500 600.
Huge sums that we are paying to Eng
lish Office men-sfactors" and govern
ors'' of English stock concerns QimiteO.
No wonder the English investing public
can swallow up a billion or two of South
African gold and diamond shares in
space of five short years, and still have
something left for American industrfals.
With her 100000 tons of merchant
marine, Great Britain does many times
over the carrying trade implied in her
board of trade returns of English Inn
ports and exports, for she carries from
Rio Janeiro to Baltimore, and from Phil
adelphia to Hamburg and Bremen, as
well as from Liverpool to New York.
And with the profits of the enterprise
she buys shares in the Federal Steel COM
pany which owns numerous steamships
on the great lakes, all paying g good
profit to the ownership.
To return, therefore, to the original
proposition If Puerto Rico and Hawaii
and the Philippines are not to be con
stitutional inherents Of the United States,
fl,a ricini Of
tariff laws and all the privileges of all
other parts of the country where Will
they stand relative to the navigation
laws? VIII the ships of Germany ana
England have the same privileges In the
ports Of Manila and Honolulu and Ha-
vana as will be accorded those of the
United States? If not, what should be
the limit of the subsidies that should be
granted American sflip-owners for engas,
ing in the improbable traffic? And If we
subsidize, Instead of Incorporating into
ourselves, will we not build up the
English city of Hong Kong, and support
on the Asiatic coasts a similar body OF
English or japanese commission men to
those who now feast upon our trade i'll
Germany and England? Are we still to
kotow to the English bond-buyers, or
shall we pay ourselves the profits of the
business?
Neither congress nor the president
should have any hesitation in the prem
ises The country demands the strong
hard and cold head. 1t is all bosh and
nonsense to say that the administration
has not yet made up its mind what 1t
will do with the Philippines. 1t has never
had but one mind on the subject. And il
that Is so, let it throw down all diss1m-
ulation and jump at once to the climax
of the whole business-free trade and un-
INSTRUCTED traffic between all parts Of
the Union, and special privileges tic
American ships engaged in the trade be-
tween the old and the new territory
of the United States. The American citi-
zen who cannot see what this means
ought to put in an apprenticeship In a
ship masters office In London.
The Milwaukee Sentinel says that 1t
begins to look as if the selection of a
running mate for President Mckinley
may have to be referred to the Rep,ib-
lican national convention after all This
is a great concession for a Republican
journal.