Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-03-14
AN INTERESTING COMPARISON.
british Versus American Subsidies.

british Versus American Subsidies,
In the report of the commissioner of
navigation for the year 1900 we find
White Star lines received from the
British government for the II months
ending March 81, 1900, as mail sub
sidy 1902 300 and as admiralty subven-
tons the sum Of 223,SGG-in all, $77G,-
1856. There were Is Of these ships.
-Four of them are 20 knot vessels, and
three others maintain n speed Of above
II knots. Their total tonnage Is 130,-
DJG, 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 Amerl-
can vessels Of the international Navi-
cation company for trips actually made
during the II months ending Dec. 81,
1899, had the proposed IIanna-Payne
bill been in operation. The total sub
sdy of these four ships under the SEN
nte bill is there estimated to be SLIT
6G7. The total tonnage Is $4,000. None
Of them is over Il 81 knot vessel, and
they made but a. trips from New 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 13 ships with three times
the gross tonnage and making more
than twice as many trips.
British. American line
Tonnage ................. l3O,55G 1900
Number Of trips made. 100 40
Aggregate tonnage ...... 1,O3s51 50S,056
Subsidy mail and othcD. $0Gl60 $l,ll7GGf
Subsidy, per tou.......... rs 50 %
That Is to say, the senate subsidy bin
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 ana White Star lines
that in order to get our mails carried
in anything like proper time we were
obliged, in spite of our already too lib
eral mail subsidy to the American line,
to have large part of our mail car
ricd by the ships of these two British
lines 49, which was done at a cost Of
1898, 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 Mt the following statement com
piled from the report of the supcrin-
tendent OF foreign mails for the fiscal
year 1900:
White Star and
American line. Cunard lines.
Letters carried. grnms.... 72Gll,OO0 l5l,265,b 500
Printed matter carried,
grams ................. 752, 72s7?s 007. ACC, 537
Total, grams ......... S25, $3.50 773 LOSS, 1872 O06
Compensation ..,......... SGi727s S233, 5i1
Proposed subsidy ........ h,ll7607
Yet the average time made by the
four ships of the American line be-
tween New York and London was
1888 Is hours, while that made by the
four best ships of the two British lines
was 174H hours.
In other words, we are already pay
ing the American line nearly three
times as much for carrying part of
our mails as we are paying the British
ships for carrying n much larger por-
ton and in quicker time. And in the
face of this it is proposed to double
tho Subsidy of thp American limo