The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-03-02
REPORT ON SHIPPING BILL
SEN1TOR FRIES STRONG ARGU-
 MINT FOR THE MEASURE.

Decline of American Commcre-The l Proposed Annual Subsidy of S9,0O0,- l OOO-Hoxv 1t Is Proposed to Expend It. | The SI ,5OO, 1000 Now Paid for the Carr | rying of Mails Could b 3 Saved. Washington, March 1.-The report prepared by Senaor Frye on the ship
 ping bill reported by the committee on | commerce of the senate was made pub- | lie today. The reports asserts the self value of national merchant marine
 and deplores our almost entire depend-
 ence upon foreign shipping for our ocean carrying, suggests the danger Of reliance upon the merchant ships of other nations which may become ln- volved in war and the possible com plete exclusion of American exports from their regular foreign markets. The
 British Boer war, it says. has material ly reduced our means of transportation
 and embarrassed our ocean mail ser- vice. The humiliation of our reliance
 upon foreign vessels bought and char
 tered during our war with Spain, is
 referred to, and the broad ground is taken that under those sections of the
 constitution which empower congress to
 provide for the common defense and
 general welfare is found the highest
 authority for the promotion of our mer-
 chant marine.
 The decrease in American shipping
 since 1869 is shown. In that year the
 value of imports carried in Anne. Ian
 vessels was $2S9, ,956,772 and foreign ves-
 sells $506, ,492,012. In 1899, American ves-
 sels carried $160 0,644, ,006 and foreign ves-
 sels $1,S06, ,370075, the percentage in 1869
 for American vessels being 33.1 and in
 1899 only S.9. Three prime factors are
 given for the decline of the American shipping in the foreign trade, namely:
 1.-The greater cost of building ships in the United States than elsewhere.
 1.-The greater cost of operating Amer ican as compared with foreign ships and
 3-CauSes based on foreign legislative encouragement.
 The suggestion that this situation may be overcome by the free admission of foreign built ships to American reg ister is met by pointing out that if such an admission were unconditional it would result in destroying existing American shipyards on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts The report says: "As vessels can be built cheaper abroad than in the United States owing to lower wages there as unquestionably demon strated by the testimony taken by the committee the free admission of foreign ships would prevent any ships for the foreign trade being constructed in the ship yards of the United States unless wages were reduced to the foreign level. Hence the free admission of foreign ships means the destruction of Ameri- can ship building or else the wholesale reduction of wages in American ship yards and the allied industries connect ed with ship building.
 All competent authorities the report states, agree that this bill if enacted, will involve @a large increase in the American merchant marine. The pas sage of this bill, it is claimed, would effect a reduction of $25. .000 000 a year in ocean rates on American com merce, through the additional shipping and the competition that would be ere ated. Foreign opposition" he report says, ifs being concentrated upon the bill because foreign shipping interests clearly see that they will be seriously injured by the replacing of American for the foreign vessels now in our for eign trade.'
 The maximum annual expenditures are fixed at $9,000O00 in the bill. About | s1, ,5O0,O00 is now being paid to American ships under normal conditions for car rying our mails, a sum which should be | deducted from the additional expense of | the opera ton of this bill. About 100000 | additional tons of new shipping, costing | approximately $40,000, 900 and occupying | several years in it's construction, would oe built in the United States if this bill | Is passed before the maximum expendi- ,ure of $9, 000,000 could be reached.
 The special higher compensation pro- vided for steamships of twelve knots speed and over is also elaborately ex- olained, it being pointed out that under | he operation of this bill no monopoly { )f route is possible, as is the case with pecial subsidies to certain favored lines, put that the same routes and the same are open to all who care O put on ships or lines. There are but | 61 sea-going screw steamships in the world to-day that come within the size md speed conditions that higher com- 1ensation is fixed for, and of these wenty-two are protected by the coast ng laws of the United States, while the balance receive from their respective governments upward of $20,000,O00 annu- lily The extra compensation that is provided for this class of vessels is merely sufficient in amount to equalize he advantages enjoyed by the foreign ivals of prospective high speed Ameri- an vessels.
 It is expected that some 340000 tons f foreign built vessels now owned or ,uilding for American citizens will be dmitted to American register under the erms of this bill, their owners being equired to built equal tonnage in the Tnited States before receiving any com- ensation. 'The provisions of the bill rom every point of view" adds the re- ort, "are overwhelmingly in favor of CIV and more vessels, more shipyards nd greater facilities for ocean trans ; While deemed unnecessary,
 provision has been inserted under ,hch a vessel cannot receive full com- ensation unless she carries one-half of l
 cargo