The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-15
SEEKING SOUTHERN HELP.

Senator Hanna has an article in the
current number of the Manufacturers
Record in which he undertakes to show
that the industrial development OF the
South would be greatly promoted by
the passage of the ship subsidy bill.
Evidently he is beginning to have Sc
rious doubts about the passage of that
bill. 1t has not been brought forward
in the Senate as promptly as it was
expected it would be, and it is begin
ming to be said in the Washington dis
patches that its friends are by no
means hopeful of it's passage.
Senator Hanna says that the output
Of certain industrial plants of the
South was not quite as large last year
as the year before. Particularly was
this the case in respect to iron ore and
steel products. The reason for this, he
thinks. was that the South is lacking
in a home market. She has to pay
freight on the products Of her factO-
ries to get them to market in the
North or in foreign countries, while the
industrial plants of the North have
great market at their doors.
He illustrates what he means by
saying that Pennsylvania produced
100000 tons of pig iron last year and
Alabama 100000 tons, and Pennsylva-
MAS iron was turned into many kinds
of steel products at home, thus yield
ing the state a vast amount of wealth.
while Alabama's pig iron was carried
elsewhere to be made into steel pro-
ducts. The reason for this, Senator
Hanna says, was THAT there is a mar
ket in the North for all sorts of steel
products while there Is only limited
market for such products in the South.
In his opinion, if the ship subsidy bill
were to become a law, there would be
shipyards established on the South At
lantic and Gulf coasts, and they would
make a market in the South for steel
plates for ships. and with steel plate
factories once established there would
be a demand for factories which make
other kinds of steel products.
1t seems to us that this argument is
| not quite as clear as 1t ought to be in
order to make friends in the South for
the ship subsidy bill. The various
kinds of steel manufacturing plants
were established in Pennsylvania
without subsidies being given to ships.
Why then is it necessary that subsi-
dies should be voted to ships in order
to get factories in the South for MAX
ing steel products?
AS matter of fact, is 1t not because
40 NoYf1, n f11a oopftaI Hllo tho SfaoI
interests of Pennsylvania have been
developed far beyond those of Ala
bama? The iron and steel interests of
the former state had attained i'm
mense proportions before similar in
terests in the latter state had receiv-
ed any attention. If the ship subsidy
bill should not become law the iron
the steel interests of the South will
probably show as wonderful develop
ment as those of the North have when
the South's wealth approximates what
that of the North now is. Even if the
Snip subsidy bill should become law
it is doubtful if ship yards would be
established on the South Atlantic and
Gulf coasts sooner than they would
without that bill. The South will have
ship yards when she has money to put
into them, and not before. AS far as
we are able to see now the ship subsi-
dy bill would take money out of the
South and put it into the pockets OF
Northern ship builders and ship own
ers.
Senator Hanna calls attention to the
fact that the South furnishes one-third
of all the exports OF the country, and
says that one result of the passage of
the ship subsidy bill would be to give
the South cheaper export freights.
That is a statement that would have
to be strongly supported before it
would be accepted. The promoters of
the ship subsidy scheme are not NOV
ed by a desire to provide cheaper
freights for the South or any other
section of the country. If We are not
mistaken some of them are in the re-
Gently formed combination of shipown-
ers to put up freight rates and keep
| them up. Senator Hanna's article
makes interesting reading, but is not
| convincing.
MAKE HAY.
rrararaIlxy understood that the