The sun., 1903-11-11
THE TRANSATLANTIC "WAR."

II one believes the sensational press, lively
times are ahead on the Northern OCEAN.
The Cunard company is equipping tho Lu-
cania and Camp, with 8-inch rapid-hfe
guns and torpedo tubes, and the slower
Ivernia and Saxonia as troopships. Admiral
Sir Charles Beresford Is to command the
feet, and Lord Roberts Is to lead the attack
on rs Broadway, the headquarters OF the
International Mercantile Marine Company.
Meanwhile the four flyers Of the American
Line have been ordered back into service
The New York and Philadelphia are to re-
sumo their war-worn names of Harvard ana
Yale, and the trophy rooms at Cambridge
and New Haven are to be robbed OF Their
guns and colors The st. Paul and the ST.
Louis are 10 be the Barnard and the Radcliffe,
and fair collegians are already embroider-
ing colors, putting up jelly and scraplng
lint The North Atlantic Is to be ablaze with
war. And all this excitement is caused by
the change in the sailing date OF the Ameri-
can Line from Wednesday to Saturday
seemingly q simple cause for all this heart
and powder burning.
Yet there is an underlying cause, or rather
there are two, and certain amount OF active
competition. The first cause Is the decision
tile Marine Company to utilize the advantage
OF combination by no longer having their
two first class lines, the White Star and
American, compete with each other by sail
ing on Wednesday, but by giving, instead
two first class services by sending one line
out on Wednesday and the other on Saturday
The second cause is the desire OF the Posi-
Office Department to reduce the time OF all
our transatlantic mails by sending large
part Of the Saturday mail, via the American
Line and Southampton, gaining day or
more In their delivery abroad. The war"
that exists is lively but not bloody, com
mercial not martial, thoroughly good
natured business contest. 1t ID between
English and American commercial and
financial interests, with the private business
men OF the International Mercantile Marine
Company as the American champions
against the British Government and the
Cunard company on the other side. A great
stake is involved, but while the British public
IL backing it's champions, the American
public Ii curiously indifferent or actively
unfriendly to its.
The contrast In attitude has been marked
since the organization OF the ship merger.
Denounced In England as threatening her
supremacy, it was equally denounced in this
country as a foxy British scheme. The
trouble is that we have been SO fortunate.
so big, 30 rich as a producing nation that
we have not minded paying toll on the high
seas; but England, with an apparent balance
OF trade against her, has maintained financial
stability by taking sea tolls from American
pockets. When the organizers Of the COM
pany proposed that tolls paid by Americans
should come back to American pockets
there was national alarm abroad, bat we
were so used to the tax that we could not
SEQ the advantage, and went into hys-
terics over O mysterious trust" which
which was to bottle us up on the seas. We
ignored two facts-that the control of trans
atlantic shipping was not centralized, but
that large part of the ships were brought
under one control to increase the efficiency
OF the service, to increase the earnings
and to give Americans one-;hird of the
profits OF the trade to which they had
contributed two-thirds of the gross earnings
for the chief benefit of England. The sec
ond fact is that wise financiers saw that it
was time we stopped the bleeding of our
financial system through the stream of gold
for freight and passage money flowing into
oiitASh oIioiBOoASp' 4AAoooloiuy 10 u
remedy is in as much disrepute with finan-
ciers as with physicians.
The British Government sees the Meme,
meme. tekel, upharsin' on the wall, and takes
warning. First, it backs the Cunard Line
with sl3 600 900 to build two ships, and then
gives postal and navy subsidies that will
enable the Cunard company TO pay back
the loan and to have sufficient surplus to
run the boats without loss But the British
Government is wise. 1t knows the value
Of building ships at home and Of sailing
them under the flag. but it knows more
1t knows that ownership determines tho
ultimate end Of the profits. 1t fears some
day to read that Americans have bought
up control of the Cunard company, thus
keeping more American gold in America;
20 it lays down an ironclad rule that no
American may own, control, borrow or even
look at a share OF Cunard stock, but the
Cunard company is allowed to carry Ameri-
can passengers and freight-for consid-
Grafton, which John Bu!! may stuff in his
waistcoat pocket. Verify the days Of Peck
sniff have not passed,