Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-03-01
AN INTERESTING COMPARISON.
British ver.u. American sub.idie.


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 10 months
ending March 81, 1900 as mail sub
sidy $552, 29O and as admiralty subven-
tons the sum of s.. S66-in all, S177G,-
156. There We're is of these ships.
Four of them are 20 knot vessels, and
three others maintain speed of above
81 knots. Their total tonnage is $780,
556, and they made 100 trips from New
York to Liverpool.
On page 1913 of this report we find all
estimate of the subsidy that would
have been received by the four .\meri-
can vessels of the International Navi-
cation company for trips actually made
during the IL months ending Dec. 81,
1899, had the proposed Hanna-Payne
bill been in operation. The total sub
sidy of these &ur ships under the sem
ate bill is there estimated to be S1.11I,-
667. The total tonnage is 44,G00. None
Of them is over 81 knot vessel, and
they made but 10 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 so per cent more subsidy
than is paid by the British government
for both mail pay and admiralty sub
ventions to 10 ships with three times
Che gross tonnage and making more
than twice as many trips.
British. American line.
| Number of Ships ..,...... 10
| Tonnage ......... lSO,556 1900
Number OF trips made,. 100 IS
Aggregate tonnage ....... 1,03S,541 5OS,9o6
Subsidy (mail and other). S776,l56 sl,u7,6GI
Subsidy, per ton......... rs 50 %
That is to say, the senate subsidy bill
provides for the payment of subsidy al
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 Sc
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 large part of our mail car.
ried by the ships of these two British
lines = which was done at cost of
$233, 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 tc
glance at the following statement com
piled from the report of the superin
tendent of foreign mails for the fisca
year 1900:
White Star and
American line. Cunard lines
Letters carried, grams.... 72,6ll.ooo ,52t
Printed matter carried,
grams ................. 752,72s,773 007,46o. SO
Total, grams .......... s25. ss977s LOSS, 1872, Oe
Compensation ............ S647,27s $685.
Proposed subsidy ........ $1,1l7667
Yet the average time made by til,
four ships of the American line be
tween New York and London wa.
1873 1-3 hours, while that made by tn,
four best ships of the two British line
was 174A hours.
In other words, we are already pa!
= times as much for carrying a part {
our mails as we are paying the BIRTHS
ships for carrying a much larger pc
y ton and in quicker time. And in til
! face Of this 1t is proposed to doubl
the subsidy Of the American line.