The Republican journal., 1903-12-17
Plain Story of Our Shipping
THE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE,
IT'S WEAKNESS AND ITS STRENGTH,
As SUMMARIZED FROM OFFICIAL FIG
rREs OF THE GOVERNMENT.

rs WEAKNESS AND ITS STRENGTH,
IS SUMMARIZED FROM OFFICIAL FIG
TRES OF THE GOVERNMENT.
There are. all told, 24,425 vessels of
, aggregate tonnage of 6,OS7, 900 in the
reliant marine of the United States.
This looks like an impressive total
nj so it is, until it is analyzed. Then
ie American citizen is astonlshed and
to find how weak his great
,untry actually is upon the ocean.
The American fleet, excluding the
male and fishery tonnage, consists of
Ko chief divisions:
,,,l,ase registered for foreign trade. $4,000
oIuagt enrolled or licensed FOR dOmes-
t. trade. ............ ..b,l4l ,OUO
a at is. more than five-sixths of the
,prthant shipping of the United States
now engaged in lake or river or coast
ase service. 1t was not always thus.
,utv wears or more ago, our American
arrthant fleet, in 1851, was almost
ruallv divided, as follows:
,se registered for foreign trade ...2, 496, 900
l ge enrolled or licensed for dOmeS-
r +Tatt t.r..-.s tVf,uU
rns domestic tonnage has almost
,ubied since 1861, in spite of the i'm
mise growth of American railroads,
..- the deep sea tonnage, owing in
..-- but not wholly, to the Civil War,
"a. -Wo-thirds of it, vanished from the
.-tu
der normal conditions, the deep
-. .,unage of the United States ought
=, ave expanded since the Civil War,
armony with the increase of our
',..a.ru commerce. If it had continued
low. as it was growing, and as our
site tonnage has grown, instead of
..,rrhant marine of 6,0S7, 900 tons we
.... 4 now have a merchant marine of
900 tons, about equal to that of
uited Kingdom.
r 5 significant that the decline of
Herchant shipping has been entire
-hat part of it which is exposed to
wage. often subsidized foreign
l-tition. and is unprotected by the
mment. Laws as old as the nation,
..d by Washington, Adams, Jeffer-
Madison and their successors, ex-
foreign vessels from the coast
the lake trade and the river trade
United States, and reserve abso-
az to American vessels the carrying
. CHIT and passengers from one
4. can port to another.
is the rigidly protective policy
which our coastWise tonnage has
to five times the domestic ton
uf Great Britain. This IS the
under which the American ton
.4 our northern lakes has increas-
-,m 613. 900 in 1876 to 1902, 600 in
While the coast. lake and river
. ~ has been thus protected, and
s1spered as has 10 like tonnage in
MD, the American fleet registered
AN carrying, from an American
reign port. has had none of the
..- lent protection which has been
F.. yed upon other industries. In
-.t of doubling, as the protected
5ise tonnage has doubled, this
feet has actually fallen off to
3. one-third of the total of 1861.
has not been from any lack of
r,. - to carry, for since 1861 our eX-
,. and imports have Increased four
a N volume. In 1861, American
.- conveyed 65 per cent. of our over
4, .ommerce; i'll 1908, only 81 per
decrease of our ocean tonnage
I., -one on steadily, with no apparent
II .-uce to tariff policies or changing
,.W.Histratious. In 1865, when the
War ended, we had l,51s, 900 tons
+. pping registered for foreign trade.
we had 1.37S. 600 tons; in 1888,
H. 900 tons; in 1898, SS3, 900 tons; III
$1,000 tons.
]. .as been said that American ship
.. .pgistered for ocean trade has not
any years been protected by the
umpnt. This is true of the indus
a whole. but there is need OF
Qualification as to part OF 1t. In
5. 1891. Congress enacted postal
.w offering moderate subsidies Oh
severe terms to American steam
carving United States mails to
Ia countries. This protection, OF
--. was limited i'll it's application.
lid not be applied to sail vessels
ulinary cargo steamships. More
the law as the Senate passed it
ut down one-third in the rate OF
-lbsidles by the action of the
M this measure has been availed OF
..lf dozen excellent lines OF
-.,can steamers-one to Great Brit
one to Cuba and Mexico, one tC
4lca, one to Venezuela, and one tC
.-ralia. wEie under other laws mai
apensation is paid to an American
to the Isthmus of Panama and
IS the Pacific to Japan and China
sc mail payments, amounting tC
1000 year, or less. than the Brit
Isl government gives to one British
H- the Peninsular & Oriental, have
.Eabed the American steamship com
lauIes to renew their fleets and improve
H&7I service, and have saved to the
I uted States a small but fine, stancf
and efficient nucleus of modern nava
leserve.
besides these mail steamships, there
AZ few, a very few, American cargo
s&-anships in the ocean trade, severa
sores of sqnare-rigged sail vessels, ant
.aumber of schooners. These various
asses make up the present registered
44rrican ocean tonnage OF S79,OO'
cl is sufficient to convey only g.
I cent. of our imports and exports
-4 remainder Of our ocean commerce
arried by the ships and seamen o.
treat Britain, Germany, France, Nor
'a Italy, etc.
For this service, which used to b'