Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-19

seven large ocean steamers end among
them ships sailing to Asia, South America
and Australia, as we'll as across the Allan
tic. l am told that its steamer lines now
number about thirty, but these include
some branch lines and minor lines in other
parts of the world.
Germany has a large steamship connec-
tion with South and Central America. 1t
completes with England and France for the
trade of the east coast of our hemisphere
and also does a large business on the lower
western part of it. One OF the chief lines
Is known as the Kosmos. This sends ships
clear around the continent via the Strait
of Magellan. Its vessels often go as far
north as San Francisco and it has a big
trade with Mexico, Peru, Chile and Argen-
tina. Another steamship line goes from
here to Brazil, and German vessels sail far
up the Amazon. Most of the South Amer
lean ships are paying good dividends. The
Kosmos company made a profit of Is per
cent in 1900, and some other companies pay
almost as we'll.
1t used to be that the English had the
monopoly Of the Chinese and Japanese
trade. They had the best steamers and 1t
was the aristocratic thing to go on the P.
& o. or late years the English bats have
fallen off. They are far behind the times in
comfort and speed, and the Germans are
getting the travel. The best
tions from Asia to Europe are now found
on the North German Lloyd steamers; and
they carry a large number of passengers,
both first and second-class. The same Is
true of Australian ships of this line.
The Germans now trade along the coast
of China, and they are even trying to cap
ture the rivers. They are building steel
ships on the American plan for the Yangtse
Kiang which shall sail under the German
flag. They will make twelve knots an hour,
and will have triple-expansion engines,
worked by crude petroleum. They will run
from Shanghai TO the great tea port of
Hankow, about TOO miles in interior China,
and there connect with smaller German
steamers, which will go as far up Is the
goTges Of Ichang, or altogether about 1000
miles from the coast.
They have also regular lines OF steamers
to Kiauchau, their port on the Chinese
coast.
The Germans have ships which call at
Tlen Tsin, and they regularly trade at the
Japanese ports. They have recently put on
a line to the Philippines. The ships go
from Hamburg down to the Mediterranean.
and crossing that through the Suez canal
to Ceylon, Singapore and thence to Manila.
They now practically control the shipping
VI Oldn. rING y6dIS dBO ~ DIIlibu udu
So per cent of this business, but now 80 per
cent of it is carried on under the German
flag. The German capitalists bought out
the British steamers and added more. The
service now is better than 1t has ever been,
and the Siamese trade is going to Ger
many. 1t is the same in many other parts
of the globe, and were 1t not for the Nor
ganization of our lines, as the merging of
the steamships by the Americans is called,
they would have a fair chance to eventually
capture the commerce of the world.
The Germans are not only making money
out of commerce., but out of shipbuilding
as we'll. They have now some of the largest
of the shipyards. They make the biggest
and the best ships, and they are manufac-
turing them not only for themselves, but
also for foreign countries. The Krupps
have big shipyaTds at Kiel, not far from
Hamburg. There are other yards at Flens-
burg and Bremen, and the largest of all at
Stettin on the Oder, not far from the Baltic.
All of these establishments have increased
their capital within the past year or so to
the amount OF more than 81, 600, 900, and
they are all making monNy. In 1900 the
Flensburg yard paid IS per cent on its cap
ital stock, and the Vulcan company, which
builds the greyhounds for the North Ger
man Lloyd and Hamburg-American COM
panies, paid IL per cent.
The kaiser is doing all he can to encour.
age shipbuilding. He thinks Germany ought
to depend upon its own ships and in case
of a protracted war should be able to make
its own gunbOats. He frequently visits the
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