The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-03-07
Al INTERESTING COMPARISON.


British Versus American Subsidies.
In the report of the commissioner of
navigation for the year 1900 we find
that the steamships of the Cunard and
White Star lines received from the
British government for the IL months
ending March 81, 1900, as mail sub
sidy S552,290 and as admiralty subven-
tons the sum of 1923, S66-in all, $776,-
lo6. There were Is of these ships.
-Four of them are 20 knot vessels, and
three others maintain a speed Of above
Il Knots. Their total tonnage is $780,
BOG, and they made 100 trips from New
York to Liverpool.
On page 1913 of this report we find an
estimate of the subsidy that would
have been received by the four Ameri-
can vessels of the International Navi-
cation company for trips actually made
during the II months ending Dec. 81,
1899, had the proposed Hanna-Payne
bill been in operation. The total sub
sidy of these four ships under the SEN
ate bill is there estimated to be $1,117,-
667. The total tonnage is 44,6O0. None
of them is over a q knot vessel, and
they made but 40 trips from r:ew York
to Southampton.
Comparing subsidy with subsidy, we
find that the proposition of the Hanna
Payne bill is for us to pay to four ships
Of the international Navigation COM
pany over 80 per cent more subsidy
than is paid by the British government
for both mail pay and admiralty sub
ventions to IL ships with three times
the gross tonnage and making more
than twice as many trips.
British. American line.
Number of ships. ......... IL 4
Tonnage ................. 1856 44,G0O
Number of trips made.... 100 As
Aggregate tonnage ....... 1,03s,54l 5OS,956
Subsidy (mail and otheE. s776,l5G $l,ll7,G6,
Subsidy, per ton. rs So %
That is to say, the senate subsidy bill
provides for the payment of subsidy at
the rate of three times the amount per
gross ton paid by England for both
mail pay and admiralty subsidies.
Nor is that the worst of it. For these
four ships of the American line are so
much slower than the four fastest ships
of the Cunard and White Star lines
that in order to get our mails carried
in anything like proper time we We're
obliged, in spite Of our already too lib
eral mail subsidy to the American line,
| to have a large part of our mail car
ried by the ships OF these two British
lines - which was done ut a cost of
$3.50, 541.75.
To get an idea Of the way the pro-
posed subsidy to the American line
compares with the cost Of sending the
mails by other lines one has only to
glance at the following statement com
piled from the report of the superin,
tendent of foreign mails for the fiscal
year 1900:
! White Star anC
American line Cunard lines
Letters carried, grams. 12,Gll.oO0 1866, 52I
| Printed matter carried,
grams ...........,.,... 752,72s,773 9O7, SO
lolai, grams '....,,.... S2o5oJ,uo l,UJe, 'oZ,Uo
| Compensation ............ $647,27s 1898 50
| Proposed subsidy ........ $lll7,667
Yet the average time made by TIT
four ships of the American line be
tween New York and London was
1873 1-3 hours. while that made by thu
four best ships of the two British line
was 174A hours.
In other words, we are already pay
ing the American line nearly three
times as much for carrying part O.
our mails as we are paying the British
ships for carrying much larger por
ton and in quicker time. And in thu
face Of this it is proposed to double
the subsidy of the American line.