Omaha daily bee., 1902-03-05
TO PROMOTE AMERICAN SHIPPING.

The bill before the senate proposes to
promote the building up Of an American
merchant marine for our foreign com
merce by government aid In the form
Of subsidy. II contemplates, as pointed
out by Senator Frye, the application Of
the protective policy to the shipping In
t~erests, which the Maine senator said
has been without protection for fifty
years. One Of the earliest acts of the
first congress-, in 1889. was to legislate
for the protection OF American shipping
by imposing discriminating duties on
goods imported in foreign vessels. On
der that legislation our merchant ma
rine grew rapidly and at the beginning
of the civil wal 70 per cent or more Of
our exports and imports were carried In
American vessels. That policy cannot
be applied now, because it would con-
travene commercial treaties and provoke
retaliation on the part Of foreign gov
ernments. The free ship policy urged
by the opponents Of protection being
out of the question, since it would seri-
ously injure IL not utterly destroy our
great shipbuilding industry, the alter
native, If we are to have a merchant
marine for the foreign carrying trade
and not continue to depend upon the YES
sci owners of Europe. is to promote the
building up OF such a marine by gov
eminent and as other maritime nations
do.
President Nc Kinley said; ~Next in
advantage to having the thing to sell is
to have the convenience to cary it to
the buyer. We must encourage our
merchant marine. We must have more
ships. They must be under the Ameri-
can flag, built and manned and owned
by Americans. These will not only be
profitable in a commercial sense; they
will be messengers Of peace and amity
wherever they CO." With judicious en-.
enlargement on the part Of the govern.
ment there is reason TO believe that IN
the course of ten years there would be
| constructed a merchant marine thai
would be equal to every demand and
which would be a most important sup
plement to our navy, as is the merchant
marine of Great Britain to the navy OF
that country.
This matter is of the greatest import
ance to our commercial progress and nj
| section of the country has a monopoly
of interest in 1t. An American mer
chant marine would be no less beneficial
to the agricultural producers of the ives
and south than to the manufacturer
Of the east and the middle states
Our present dependence upon for
eign ship is extremely ex
pensive. At a conservative estimate
it costs u people $3.50, 000,00t
a year and nearly the whole Of tina
sum goes abroad, only a very small par
Of it being expended in this country
1t requires no great intelligence to un
derstand that If this large sum wer'
kept at home and expended for ship
building material, labor and supplies, /
would be a material benefit to numeroui
interests. But this is not all, for thi
dependence places us at a disadvan
tage in competition with commercial ri
walls that have a merchant marine. /
is UNREASONABLE that a country who's,
trade is carried on under its own haj
has a very decided advantage. Gu
experience with South America has dem
onstrated this.
The outlook for the proposed legisla
ton, appears to be more favorable thai
ever before. 1t is the intention of Sen
ator Frye to push the bill in the senat
and while the opposition will undoubt
eddy freely discuss it, 1t is possible tina
a vote on it will be reached within
reasonable time. If it should pass tn
senate there is no doubt of its promp
passage by the house.