The Atlanta constitution., 1901-02-11

proposition is hadeed around by good
many ifs II might be that some OF the
great railway lines leading to south -Fll
ports would consider ii good business
investment TO establish such lines
How the provisions of this bill would
operate in case of the establishment of
such lines can best be figured out by
taking a hypothetical case. 1t will, of
| course, be a great many years before
| ocean greyhounds are run out of the
| southern ports. but ii is only natural
| to expect that some day these ports Will
I have steamship lines carrying freight 20
| the ports of South America. FOR instance.
/ So far as South America is concerned. II
would seem as if the time must come
when the ports of the South Atlantic
| coast are brought in much closer touch
with those other ports to the south OF us
which need our cotton goods, our coal.
our iron and have something TO give IN
| return.
In order to get at the benefits which
would come TO the owners Of a line or
steamers running between one of the south
| Atlantic ports and some port Oh South
America. | have asked Mr. Chamberlain.
the commissioner of navigation, To give me
some figures. He has figured out a line
between Savannah and Rio de Janelro.
| with sailings every three weeks. This
would require three steamships. He fig
ureS on a twelve or thirteep-k knot ship of
| 5000 gross tons. about such a ship
freight business between these two ports
1t is 4.S00 miles from Savannah TO Rio.
| The subsidy bill provides that for travel
ing at a twelve or thirteen-knot rate Of
speed there shall be paid SLIGO per ship
ton for the round trip. Each ship would
make about five and One-half round VOy-
ages. For each voyage it would receive,
| at the rate of $l60. the sum of $500 a
total of Oo0 for each ship per year,
4
half round voyages. The three ships Of
, the line would on this figuring. be paid
Sl32, 600 per year from the treasury of the
United States as subsidy
For the purpose of illustrating how this
subsidy would be of beneht to the SOUTH
Mr.. Chamberlain figured on the assump-
tion that the ships would carry out car
goes of coal. for which there is much
demand i'm South America. which demand
is at present supplied almost entirely
by Great Britain.
Assuming that each ship carries 6.oo0
tons of coal. each trim. which it could
readily do, and that the three ships make
a total of sixteen and a half trims the
ships would carry to Rio In round num-
bers 100000 tons of coal in a year The
subsidy of SlS2 900 would therefore act
as differential of $l.32 per ton in favor
of American coal. presuming that the
cost OF transportation from Liverpool
{
likely, however, that the rate from Eng
land Is considerably lower than the pres
enI ,IHI rate from American and that the
dlnerential would not be so great. II
for instance. ii cost s. a ton TO carry
coaI from Liverpool to Rio and S. to
carry, it from Savannah to Rio. there
would stlll be left a differentiai of .
cents a ton in favor of the American coal
ana ior the benefit. therefore. of the
American producer.
rms Illustration serves to show the
practical working of the subsidy It
is. as l say. based upon a purely b,.,o-
thctical case, but il shows the induce
ment which the subsidy holds out for the
establishment of new lines of ships
The subsidy does not. however. go only
to new lines of ships. but to all shins
sailing under the American flag A.
present the great bulk of it would go fo
lines already in existence. To be sure
these are required to build new shins
but Whether or not these new ships
would run from southern ports is a mat
ter entirely outside of the immediate ef-
feet of the enactment of the present sub
sidy bill.