The San Francisco call., 1901-12-18
THE MERCHANT MARINE.

~ EPORTS from Washington to the effect
X that the merchant marine bill introduced by
y Senator Frye is not wholly satisfac3ty even
10 those who are most eager to provide for the up
building of American shipping. The correspondent
of the Boston Transcript says that Senator Frye him
self has made no secret of his dislike, relatively
speaking of the present bill, of the fact that
his aim in drafting it to secure something
which would quiet the opposition of Western Repub-
lcans in the House and Senate and so make a start
upon subsidy legislation"
While such reports are somewhat dscourag ging,
they are by no means so bad as they sound. The
proposed legislation is something like new depar-
ture in American politics 1t is natural therefore,
that differences of opinion exist to what the
best means of providing for an increase of our ocean
going merchant marine, and also to what would
be the effects of adopting any particular measure.
Those differences can be harmonized only by expert
ment in the practical operation of the shipping law
Experience soon shows wherein any legislation is
effective and wherein is deficient In this, as in
everything else We must learn to do by doing We
can never build UP our merchant fleets and fit them
for competition with the subsidized lines of Europe
if we follow the policy OF hanging clothes on
hickory limb and never going the water" The
only way by which get perfected system of
legislation the subject is enact the best
devise to start with and then amend it from time to
time as occasion demands and experience proves
best
The delay of Congress in dealing with this feature
of our commercial needs has reached the point of
dilly daily Year after year. in Congress after Con-
gress we have had nothing but delay. In the mean
time our foreign commerce has expanded to mag
nitude which compes us to pay enormous tribute
to the foreign ship-owners who carry it In his re-
e IL ~
Association Senator Hanna estimated that trib-
Ute at $2oo,ooo.ooo a year.
The evil of depending upon foreign ships for carry
ing our exports and imports was pointed out by
Senator Hanna in the statement: England has
taken her ships from Us and used them in carrying
troops and munitions of war to South Africa while
the ore is lying on our docks awaiting transporta-
tion, with no ships to send it in From October I,
1899, June 80, 1900, I73 steamers cleared Boston
for Europe with 63o555 tons. The total exports on
all valued at 100000. During the correspond
ing period in the previous year the clearings for
England 258 steamers of o58,677 tons The
total valuation OF the exports was $IoI 900 ooo The
loss to Boston was the difference between these
amounts. If that true of Boston il was true of
New York and OF every seaport in the United
States"
If the transfer Of British shipping to meet the
emergency OF comparatively small war like that in
the Transyaal has caused great loss to our COM
that specified by the Senator, it is easv TO
foresee that if Great Britain became involved in a
war with some great nation like Germany the loss to
ourselves would be enormous. Our industries are
becoming more and more dependent upon our for
eign trade and if that trade were interfered with the
home market would be glutted with surplus
products and the whole country would suffer
We need an American marine ADEQUATE 70 +1,e -
quirements of our commerce. We cannot obtain suc7
marine unless willing to pay for it. Ship
building in the United States is rs per cent higher
than in Europe, the operation of ships at American
wages IS per cent higher than European ships
and moreover, Europe pays $28,oooooo annually in
subsidies. That is he situation The Republican
party IS pledged to promote merchant marine
It is high time the pledge were kept.