The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-28

bill. 1t seems that the order has gone
out among the Republican politicians
for them to make a point in favor Of
the ship-subsidy whenever they can
Notwithstanding Senator Frye is afraid
to have made public just what is pro-
posed to be done lest the people talk
the thing to death. In other words, the
Senator fears that if the people are
given time to study and understand
the proposed subsidy. they will have
none of it; therefore it is necessary TO
keep the scheme in the background
until everything is ready for it to be
rushed through Congress. Meanwhile
every now and again some Republi-
can politician has something to say
about the urgent necessity for govern
ment aid to shipping. They are grad
ually leading up to the point and get
ting the people accustomed to hearing
of the subsidy, so that the shock will
not be so great when it is sprung on
them. A member of the Industrial
Commission a DAY or two ago. COM
menting on the commercial activity of
Germany and the prospective formation
of a monster steel corporation in Eng
land reached the conclusion that it
''behooves the United States to be up
and doing something in the direction
of improving our merchant marine"
| There was no direct reference to gov
| eminent bounty. but the argument was
| in that direction.
| Nobody will dispute the fact that we
need more ships in the foreign trade.
How to get them is the question. What
are the facts with respect to the ship
! yards of the United States? According
| to all of the reports that we have seen
recently, they are as busy as can be,
and many of them have orders ahead
which must wait. Take the ship-bu
ing town of Bath, Me, as an example.
During the current year ii will turn out
a merchant tonnage of upwards of 49,
| 900 tons. at a cost of something like
$500, 900, and it has contracts in sight
which will be signed before Jan. 1.
next, that will run the total of the
| years business up to not less than
! $4,000, 900. Most of the vessels built
at Bath are small, intended for the
coastwise trade, nevertheless the port
! turns out some large craft for deep-sea
service, as well as naval vessels. Bath
has all of the work in the line of ship
| building that it can handle. Can it
be argued that the Bath builders are
in need of the indirect aid of law
| granting subsidies to ships? Nor is
| Bath alone in its activity along this
! line. Vessels are being built and sailed
under the American flag without gov
eminent aid.
And it is nonsense to say that Amer
| lea cannot build ships as cheaply as
any other country. Steel and iron are
now the materials comprising the ma
| jor portions of modern ships, and we
are leading the world in those products.
| We have invaded England with our
| steel. and are urderselling her at Shelf
field and Birmingham. 1t does not
take higher order of skill to construct
a ship than it does to construct a To-
connective, yet without protection or
subsidy we are competing with the
world in locomotives, and getting the
better in the competition. With our
improved methods of working and our
labOr-saving devices. we are able to
accomplish much more per unit of one
man than they can accomplish in
Europe. and that is why we can man.
ufacture cheaper. And shipbuildng
would be no exception to the rule In
England it takes two men to drill q
hole through piece of iron, the jour-
neyman and a helper. In the United
States one man quickly adjusts his
compressed air drill and does the job
alone and lin jiffy."
If it is true that our shipyards are
already busy, and that our shipmak-
where, then manifestly the thing to be
done. if we would rapidly and ade-
quately increase our merchant ma
rine, is to repeal the Anticipated law
which denies American registry to for
! eign-built ships. Let purchasers buy
their ships where they can get them to
best advantage, whether it be a matter
of time or cost. Let them have an
| open market. and the growth of the
| fleets under the Stars and Stripes would
be Immediately accelerated. The ship
yards would be benefited rather than
injured. The increased volume of and
| demand for American bottoms would
keep them busy building and repair
| inp