The Republican journal., 1903-10-08
VESSELS IN THE FOREIGN TRADE
What American Ship-Owners Have to Con
tend With. Fields S. Pendleton Present

tend With. Fields S. PendletOn Presents
Their Case.
A very strong letter, with some trite
facts presented in novel manner, re-
Gently appeared in the Journal of Com
merce and Bulletin, over the signature
of Mr.. Fields S. Pendleton, who is Presi-
nent of the New York Maritime Ex-
change, and reputed to have an interest
in more American vessels than any
other individual citizen OF the United
States. Mr. Pendleton says in part:
l know that l could, if ! wished, buy
foreign-buit vessels as cheaply as my rivals
do, and, by employing foreigners to COM
mand, officer and man them, unhampered
by our high-tOned American food scale. run
them as cheaply as my rivals do, and l
could earn as much as they do. But it is
not the building of foreign ships and the
employment of foreigners to run them that
is an attractive proposition to me. prefer
to earn less and continue to build my yes
sells in the United States and employ Ameri-
cans to run them-DelmoGicO food scale and
all.
Mr.. Pendleton states that he is but one
among dozens of other American own
erS of American vessels in the foreign
trade of the United States, and takes
no credit to himself for preferring
American ships and Americans as Of
ficers and crews. He says further:
This sentiment must be reckoned with in
whatever the United States undertakes to
do to build up American shipping in the
your answer to "New Englander." in which
you propose that we shall buy foreign-b lit
ships and employ foreign shipmasters, Of
ticerS and Seamen, we are as far from the
solution of the problem as ever.
MI Pendleton admits that he is aDem-
ocrat, but he denies that one of the fun
damental principles of Democracy ''is
preference for the foreigner because he
is cheaper than the American" 81 go
farther than that" adds Mr.. Pendle-
ton; Il apply that principle in my bust
ness. | prefer the American, and en-
ploy him, not because he is dearer, not
because he compels me to pay better
wages and give him better food than
foreigners would, but because he is an
American He, certainly gives the
staunch free-trade Journal of Com
merce something to think of, and he
has justification for asking for Ameri-
can ships for our foreign trade, consid-
ering that he does all that he can to
keep them ahoat and in that trade
Mr. Pendleton severely jolts the
economic thinkers who are forever
preferring foreigners because they are
cheaper than Americans, and who as
sert that everybody buys where he can
buy cheapest, when he says:
We American owners of American YES
sells in the foreign trade, employing Ameri-
cans TO run them, stand in very different
position, in an economic sense, than most
other American business men do. Our
highly protective tariff compelS me to pay d
far higher price for a vast number of things
that | and my family consume than we
would be compelled to pay if there We're no
protective tariff There is no escaping the
high prices for these things-we must pay
them. But in running ships in our foreign
trade 1 have my choice of employing for
eign vessels, foreign officers and men, or of
employing American vessels, American
officers and men. With the former | can
run my business far more cheaply than do
now, and at the end of the year my profits
will be very much greater. | am not com
PEELED to employ American vessels, Ameri-
can officers and Seamen; can escape the
costly alternative, but | choose it, neverthe-
less, and | cheerfully accept the conse-
quences Here, then, are American owners
of vessels who are not compelled to buy the
dearer American labor, who may, ii they
choose, employ the cheaper foreign labor, but
who, from free choice, elect the dearer
American labor.
Americans of this character certainly
occupy an impregnable position in 60
ing to Congress and demanding the up
building of American shipping in the
foreign trade. To the extent that they
are able they are doing their utmost to
sustain the American ship in the for
eign carrying trade, and they know that
if the Government comes to its relief
and protection it means greater compe-
tition for them than ever-the compe-
tition of their countrymen-but their
sentimental regard for the American
commander, American officers and
crews, lead them to fight sturdy bat
tie for what they believe in, a belief
that costs them many dollars in the
course of the year when applied to
their businesses, as it literally is. We
can scarcely wonder that the Journal
of Commerce and Commercial Bulle-
tin can find nothing to say in answer to
the hard headed business men of the
Pendleton stripe, who are imbued with
a sturdy, sentimental regard for their
country and their countrymen, and
who, in maintaining their Americanism
in the face of keen competition, are
able, nevertheless, to win fair meas
ure of success.