The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-11-21
brighter Prospects Of til" "''''"'
of oar Merchant Marine.

cay ani pTOttTatlnH oI tH' Nih"l Nh' 'h''
chant marine, To malntainthla proposition
thoy nre compelled to ignore tho fact thnt
IN the fftlcs, when the American merchant
marine was most prosperous. those sam"
.o-oalled antiuuated laws were ~ potent III
their application an In tho years lsp7-o'
when tho -hipbuildIna industry OF tho
country probably reached is lowest Obj.
Those laws are still In force to-day. and yet
tho frat year or the new century bids fair to
begin the epoch OF the restoration OF the
American flag to it, proper place on the
high seas.
Deeper causes than legal enactments
brought about the pro-trat.on OF the Amer
lean merchant marine. and profounder IN
fucnoes than mere temporary business
prosperity are acting to restore 1t. Tint It
has begun TO revive there can be no doubt.
Neither can It he denied that the prospect
Of a prompt passage Of a shipping Subsidy
bill has already had n rowling Influence
uuon this most important Industry, an In
duStry that appeals peculiarly to national
s'utImcnt.
Opponents IA well a. advocates Of n ship
ping subsidy measure agree that our ma
tIonal intcrost. require the revival Of the
merchant marine, They also agree that It
would add to our national prosperity II the
money paid to Great Britain for carrying
our goods across, the deep seas. amounting.
according TO some estimates. TO as much IA
t3oo. o0o. 900 In gold q year. could be kept In
th,s country and invested here instead OF
being added TO the financial strength Of
London. Both sides know that II costs
more to run an American ship thun
any other. hut It IL doubtful IL the
ordinary citizen understands thoroughly
why this Il 80. A recent number OF Marine
Engineering throws some light on this
matter. II publishes a table complied from
special reports Of American Consuls In dii-
terent parts Of the globe on the wages that
are paid 70 sailors. officers and men under
various flags. The table IL not extensive
enough for exhaustive analytical study, but
fortunately It IA able to speak with con-
vincing authority upon the expense OF
maintaining the American flag atioat in the
channels Of trade.
We append this extract from the explana-
tory matter furnished with the table:
- very direct comparison can Be mste between
our leading steamship company the American Line
and hrs,-clas, British lines leaving The same po', Of
sou,h.n p,on. The Royal Mail is one Of III. old
established British lines to the West indies and South
America. and the Union Line nov euu.oiica,.d with
the Castle Lane TO South Africa Is one Of the leading
lines connecting the mother country with an 'mpor-
tan, Colony. Taxing the head Of n. iist. :, viii be
noted tina, the chic, ofc.r OF an American liner re.
csives 81 20 q moth, while on The Other Nnssthe max.
mum Is ss7 so a month. An American Line chief
engineer receive, $3.50 a mouth and the British en-
glne.r a maximum of S!eI.75: and coming down TO
nremen, a class with exsctly similar cutesin vessels
Of both countries, We and the American Line paying
$40 a month and the other lines paying s:3 a month.
Able bodied seamen On the American Line receive
s25 A month and on the British mail boats SO so a
month.
Turning now from the Atlantic to the Pacinc.
very similar conditions are found. The United States
Consul At Yokohama reported the average wages paid
on American, British. japanese and German ships
st that port. Mates on American vessels receive. Q
maximum Of 500 a month British. $3.50; Japan
eSe, SIS German, S7j. Again. American ch.e' en-
sIne.rs receive $3.50 a month Japanese, 500, and
German. 500. American and European nr.men get
a m aSinun Of $50, while the Japanese pay Tor he
same work is s.. 81 a moutn"
The opponents Of the subsidy measure
advocate cutting down the wages. II that IL
what prevents the revival OF the shipping
industry. Wiser heads say. keep up the
wages through the payment OF a modest
bounty and Join in the keen competition for
supremacy In the ocean carrying trade by
adopting measures that other nations use.
II is certain that a policy which calls for the
maintenance Of superior wages as a primal
necessity should commend itself to approval.
1t has a sound basis as a beginning.
II is the matter Of a which makes the
maintenance Of the American flag upon the
nigh seas more expensive than the main
tcnance of any other nations flag. Marine
Engineering remarks with truth: Taking
modern steam vessels as they run. wher-
ever built, no nation possesses any great
advantage over another as to tho economi-
cal operation Of the machinery" Wear
and tear are about the same on any given
ship, no matter what flag she may fly. 1t
Is probable that repairs would cost some
what less and that a ships condition would
be better under the American flag than
under any other, because it is the American
ldDll W b' 'l'bh uiht III us MA
property, but these elements would amount
70 little in the total cost in running a vessel.
Marine Engineering also issues a PAM
phlet giving some pertinent facts as to the
revival of shipbuilding in 1900. 1t says that
ten steamships, aggregating NJ 900 tons. are
under construction for the foreign trade,
and that forty-nve steamships. a%ggrogating
1900 tons, are being built for coastwise
service. To these must be added about
thirty steamships. varying in size from
l 200 TO 5000 tons. for traffic on the lakes.
The pamphlet calls attention to the fact that
in 1875 the few sailing vessels built in this
country had an average of only 90 tons each
and that the average for steam vessels was
only pol tons. The Huntington shipyards
at Newport News. according TO a recent
Government report. had. when the report
was made. n tonnage OF IO2. $50, of which
So, 600 was for the merchant marine. At
the same time the construction at the Cramp
yard in Philadelphia amounted TO 50, SOS
tons. of which 90, 900 was for the merchant
service The tonnage record for apv ipdi-