The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-18


granted on all Prussian railroads for all
raw and finished materials intended for
the construction of ships The subsidy
scheme was tried and it was successful,
for 1t was operated only within the mar
row limits" before referred to. There
was no thought of developing a great mer-
chant marine by this method. The pur-
pose of the plan was to enable certain
steamship companies to secure mail con-
tracts and to develop a fast passenger
service. One need only point to the great
ocean greyhounds of today to see what
results have been achieved.
In 1881 the imperial Government entered
into a convention with the North German
LLOYD Steamship Company by which the
latter bound itself to establish certain
lines of steamships. Since then the con-
vention has been greatly enlarged, and it
cannot be denied that Germany's export
trade has been greatly benefited. But the
Government knew what it was getting
The conditions were stipulated in the con-
vention. renewed i; 1885 comprising for-
d, ty-four articles. There was no granting
of subsidies without an equivalent in
| bounties would not equal one-third Of
what will be expended under the Hanna
! Frye-Payne scheme after it has been in
operation five years. The success Of Ger
many's navigation policy shows what can
be accomplished by honest, intelligent eff
fort. carefully planned and faithfully ex-
ecuted. 1t shows also that a nation must
F, have products to export, and that fair
rates to the seaboard must be granted to
enable commerce to be profitable.
| We now turn to Great Britain, whose
shipping tonnage is greater than that OF
| the whole world combined. We find no
| policy employed to increase commerce.
The subsidies granted are trivial in COM
! parison with the kees afloat. The boun-
| ties paid in 1900 are estimated by Consul
General Osborne at three million eight
hundred and fifteen thousand six hundred
and three dollars for postal subsidies, and
TWO hundred and forty-three thousand
| three hundred and twenty-fv dollars for |
| the right 10 use certain ships as armed /
cruisers in time of war. Mr. Osborne also |
says some of the steel for building Eng |
lish ships is imported from Germany, that |
a great deal of the woodworking ma |
chinery comes from the United States, and |
that the timber most largely used is pitch |
pine from our Southern States.
The above review has shown, We be- |
Iieve, that subsidies are powerless to build |
up a merchant marine II not subsidies, |
then what? Germany and Great Britain |
afford composite answer. First, coun-
try must have exports TO send to other
countries. Second. q country must be able
to build ships cheaply.
America is now abundantly able to fulfill /
both these requirements. So far as the
exports are concerned, one has merely to
point to the record of the last few years
to employ a Hanna argument against
Hanna scheme.
The second point requires more ex-
haustive treatment. and We shall be COM
PEELED to review briefly the history OF our
own shipping Prior to 1860 the American
merchant marine was second to none in the
world in point of efficiency Our fast clip
pers practically ruled the seas. We could
build them more cheaply than other ma
tons, and they were faster sailers. Then
came the revolution owing to the dis
placing OF wooden craft by vessels of iron
and steel. Great Britain had all her re-
sources developed, and could build the new
style ships more cheaply than America or
any other country. American attention /
was then devoted TO opening up new fields
of industry, and shipping iangulshed for
years. We were surpassed by Great Brit
ain as a manufacturing nation. IN the pro-
duction of articles requiring coal and iron
|
able to undersell the English manufac-
turers along ipnumerable lines, if we
take the prosperity" assertions SO
freely made during the last campaign
We have laid our steel rails on English
railroads; American engines pull British
trains, and those trains run over steel
bridges that are marvels of American
English manufacturers are reported to
be panic-ss.icken at the state of affairs,
and that eminent economist, NJ. Leroy
Beaulieu has even proposed a European
trade combine to shut out American com
petition.
Our resources are unlimited and easily
obtained in vast quantities. American
the cheapest because more work is done
for the wages received. The American
tolls with his brain as well as |
his hands, and England has repeatedly
bemoaned the fact that trades unionism |
has brought the British workman far be-
low the level of the American laborer. |
There is no ''on time" or ION piece"
work in the English sense, and the
American manufacturer of today has no |
cause to envy his English rival in the
matter Of labor.
Under the showing made by the very G
advocates OF the Ship Subsidy bill. when
they were trying to elect their candidate |
for President. we are forced to insist
that we can build ships as cheaply as
any nation in the world A few weeks
ago a Glasgow despatch announced that ,
a shipbulding firm at that Scotch port q
would order its steel from this couu- t
try, because it was cheaper. AS for the r
wood, it has already been shown that 1
England imports most OF her timber =
rom this country.
At present America is the natural
home of shipbuilding; it is the best
source for the supplies for shipbulding | =.
and OF products for commerce. 1t has i
low all the advantages in the construc- '
ion of steel ships which it formerly :