The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-11-12
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE C0nMISSiea
Err OF NAVIGATION.
THE GROWTH OF OUR SHIPPING
cessive Year OF Notable Prosperity.
Our Tonnage Now Equal to the MAXI
mum OF 1S6I-Our I'm FOR
eign Trade Too Few to Compare with
Foreign Nations-Advantaoe I'm Fa-
vor of Building and EoreIon
Steamers

NOAAs He TeIOIL
of Mr.. Chamberlain, the United States
commissioner of navigation, states that
the past fiscal yea has been the third
successive year of notable prosperity
and growth in American shipping, ex-
ceeding the two previous years. The
extent and nature of work under way
or projected in s~hipyards promises an
even greater growth for the current
fiscal year.
American tonnage has now attained
practically the former maximum of 1861.
The figures of 1901, compared with 1861,
show an increase in coasting trade YES
sells from 2,704, 544 tons to 4,502, $50 tons
(two-thirds of this increase being on
the great lakes); a decrease in foreign
trade vessels from 2,496, 1914 tons to S79,-
595 tons. and a decrease in whaling and
fishing from 33S,375 tons to 81, $40 tons.
Of our total tonnage, 3,625, POI tons are
wooden vessels, and only 1901, OFT tons
are iron or steel. In 1900, Great Britain
launched LAO, 600 tons of steel vessels.
Although registered American vessels
increased 2,435 tons during the year,
American vessels carried only So per
cent. of our exports and imports, the
smallest percentage in our history.
Our feet of ocean steamers in foreign
trade, tie report says, is too small to
be compared with that of foreign ma
lions. 1t is compared with the fleets of
four large British and German steam
ship corporations, each of which ex-
ceeds the American fleet in tonnage,
mileage and business. The tonnage
built and documented in the United
States during the past fiscal year COM
prised 1850 vessels and 4S3, 469 gross
tons.
The steel vessels under construction
or under contract during the current
fiscal yea will much exceed similar
tonnage built in any previous year. The
bureau is advised of SO such merchant
vessels of 355, 645 gross tons, to be
valued at about s36, 600, 900. Besides
these, seventy-one naval vessels of ISL
las tons displacement are building at
contract prices of $7S, 200, 900. In this
work A plants, with a capital of about
SOS, 0O0,0 900 and employing about $1,000
men are engaged.
The building of ten transatlantic
steamers presumably rests on antici-
pated legislation by congress. Six for
the Atlantic Transport line are building
from the same plans used in building
steamers in England for the same COM
pany. The American cost of a steamer
of the "Minnehaha" type viii be 81, S46,-
600; the British cargo steamers will be
$4,000, for which the British price
ranges from s544, 900 to $4S6, COO.
The difference in wages on American
and foreign vessels is considered in de-
tail. In illustration, the pay roll lex
Guiding mastery of $50 men on the
steamship st. Louis is $11,S00; of APT
on the British steamer Oceanic is $4,000,
n Of 500 on the German steamer
Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse s7,715. The
German is the fastest steamship, the
American the smallest.
The report contains a detailed state
ment of the foreign voyages of Ameri-
can vessels last Year, showing that the
American flag was seen much oftener
on the north Atlantic during President
Jefferson's embargo QS0S) or during the
cruises of the Alabama than at present.
Foreign shipping in our Pacific trade
has doubled in these years.
The purchase of the Leyland line is
considered as evidence that American
capital is willing to invest in ocean
steamships; that there is an advantage
to American exporters in American con-
troll of ocean steamships, even if not
under the American flag and that in
the coming development Of our ocean
transportation facilities the union Of
trunk railroad lines and ship corpora
lions will be an important factor. In
cluQ1nS the LeylanO purchase american
capital owns fully go, 900 tons of steam
ers under foreign flags, which in actual
carrying power exceed all American
vessels now engaged in foreign tra"t
The war and avy departments also
own 1865 SAT gross ton of foreign built
transports and Golfers. By various
special acts Sc foreign built vessels Of
1872, 1S7 gross tons have been admitted to
registry. American money, according,
of late years has purchased 331, 900 tons
of foreign built steel steamers, while
since 1891, there have been built in the
United States 1,006, 900 tons of steel
steam vessels of all kinds.
The principal foreign and American
ocean mail contracts are printed in full.
and it is shown that at the present
prices of steamships, British ocean mail
contracts are more advantageous for
steamship lines thu American con
tracts under the act Of 1891.