Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-29
THE COAST|NG TRADE
Local Transportation by
Water in the Philippines.
GOV. TAFT'S PROTESTS
OVER 10000 LICENSES ISSUED TO
VESSELS AT MANILA.
Depressing Effect of the Tariff on
Island Imports - Duties Lower
Than Under Spanish Rule.
BY WILLIAM r. CURTIS.

BY VILLA NJ GU
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald.
MANILA. June %, 1904.
There has been great deal of uneasiness
here concerning the action of Congress APP
plying the coasting trade laws of the
United States to the Philippines. because
that would limit all local transportation by
water to American built vessels. and there
are none in the archipelago. All modern
nations have recognized the justice and
Importance of reserving their coasting trade
to their own shipping. That principl9 has
/. been too long accepted and practic4d for
anyone to make a protest against it's ap-
plication here. But the situation in the
Philippines is unusual and peculiar. They
are situated nearly 1909 miles from any
other American port; they have only re-
Gently come under the Jurisdiction of our
government; until five years ago no Amer
lean capital and scarcely any American
population were engaged in commerce here
and not one American ship was plying in
these waters Therefore it would seem to
be bad policy to adopt and enforce a law
to protect a local merchant marine when
there was no local merchant marine to
protect.
Gov. Taft's Protest.
Gov Taft made most urgent protests
against any action of Congress that would
prevent other than American vessels from
engaging in the transportation Of Philip
pine products from port to port. In his
final report to the President he discusses
this subject freely and frankly and says:
In 1872. by executive order the coast
wise trade was limited to vessels owned
either by a citizen of the United States res
ldent In the Islands, or a native inhabitant,
or a resident who had become a citizen of
the island by the treaty of Paris. Even
this order, If strictly enforced would have
excluded a large proportion of the available
coasting vessels then engaged in the bust
ness. and the military authorities to avoid
the disaster of driving them out of the
trade of the islands, winked at the coora BILE
transfers to Filipino clerks and agents in
whose names certificates of protection were
taken out These vessels had been in trade
in Spanish times and were still needed
Any change in the existing laws should pro-
vide that vessels now having certificates of
protection should be allowed to continue in
the trade
Indeed. so convinced were the commits
sioners that the interisland shipping was
not extensive enough for the good of the
Islands that we procured an amendment to
the executive order by which under certain
restrictions vessels under foreign flags may
engage in the interisland trade. The occa-
SION IOT tIllS was Il COMBINATION among the
interisland shippers to keep up unreasona-
BILE rates The amendment has had an excel
lent effect. and rates are more reasonable
although still too high. If present profits
are not sufficient to attract American capt.
tal then certainly it would be a selfish ex-
ploitation of these islands of an indefensible
character to exclude vessels now in the
trade and impose heavy burdens of higher
freight rates in order to induce American
capital to invest in coastwise vessels. and
would furnish just grounds for reproach
against a government processing good will
and doing evil. 1t seems to me that the
best provision of law that could be adopted.
so far the interisland trade is concerned,
would be to place the matter wholly in the
discretion of the commission, which. as con-
ditions change and warrant it, could make
the restrictions in favor of American and
Filipino shipping greater
The Coast Shipping.
Under the arrangement described by Gov.
Taft 10 1877 vessel licenses have been grant
ed by the customs authorities, representing
an aggregate tonnage of 106. IG0 tons, and
there are now in force at the port Of Ma
Mia licenses for the following vessels:
Number. Tonnage.