The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1904-11-22
COL. KAY'S SPEECH
CAUSES DISCUSSION
New York Paper Talks Interestingly
on His Address Here Last
Week.

t. the splendid address delivered h,
Col. w. E. Kay, of this city before tb,
subcommittee of the Congressiona
Merchant Marine Commission in Brun,
wick last Thursday will be of interest
| Col Kay is an eloquent speaker and
he was thoroughly at himself last
Thursday, The article from the Jour
nal OF Commerce is as follows:
AT the heasing Of the subcommittee
OF the Congressional Merchant Marine
Commission at Brunswick, Ga, prom
Trent citizen Of that town, a mere
lawyer who had no direct personal in
terest in ships or in foreign trade.
made this Illuminating statement:
The American people have found
the avenues OF agriculture. commerce
and manufactures so much more profit
allie than to engage in shlpbuilding
and operation that they have hitherto
chosen to senI their exports IN foreign
bottoms, and this condition will con
tinue until either a bounty in some OF
the forms named is given or shipping
is made free for the system which
makes the rlanuacture of ships 50
much more costly in the United States
than in foreign countries is wiped
Oft our statute books" The report OF
the address of Mr.. Kay. of Bruins
wick, Ga. does not indicate which
alternative he advocated, but The few
words quoted revealed the heart OF
the mystery" of why the American
people do not build ships and engage
IN the foreign carrying trade. It Is
simply because they are more profit
ably employed in other ways and car
better afford TO pay foreigners to do
Heir ocean carrying than to do it
themselves his is the whole secret
at the bottom of all the labored ex
plantations of why that is thus the
cost of building the cost of navigating
under the American flag, the reluc.
tunce Of Americans TO go to sea, and
all the rest if it. Capital and labor
can do better by bestowing their eff,
forts upon internal resources indus,
tries and trade than by entering into
the competition Of carrying cGniiiiJtii-
ties on the ocean, and they make and
save more by hiring others to do the
carrying that they need to have done
The explanation is simple and it is
sufficient
The question then is whether for
other reasons than business profit
or advantage, for other than economic
and commercial reasons, the nation
should have 4 large merchant marine
of it's own and is willing to pay the
price for it would have to be paid Tor
and the cost would come out of the
productive industries of the country
Il, apart from the clog of tariff and
navigation laws, it costs more to build
ships in this country and operate them
ou the ocean than it costs in other
countries, il is because capital can get
more profit and labor better wages
n other employments in this country
than they can get in other countries
They have no inducement for going
from the better paying to the worse
paying while in other countries there
is no occasion for that, since shipping
avs as well rs other things that cap
ital and labor engage in. If we must
have a merchant marine, more than
We can have by merely removing oh.
structions and restrictions, and if we
must build the ships as well as oper.
ale them. this difference in cost ard
profit must 10 made up in order 10
Hrn capital and labor into that bus
mess and it must be made up at the
expense Of capital and labor that are
otherwise and more profitably employ
ed II makes no difference whether
tEis is done ~ paying bountes or sub.
sides by burdens on foreign shipping
that compel Dlr people to pay higher
fieights, or b. any other device, there
must be extracted from the fruits OF
our productive energy on lard sufh-
cient to divert part of it TO the sea
and maintain it there and the cost will
be decidedly greater than all we pay
t. the foreigners for fetching ana
carrying for IS.
II there are other than economic
and commerciu reasons for building
NJ American shipping let that be ac
kowledged and attention devoted to
the best method Of securing it. Let
the real reasons be admitted and in
sisted upon, the real cost recognized
and counted, and let us drop the pre-
tence that it is for the benefit of for.
eign trade OF to the advantage ol
American capital and labor. 1t is
really a question Of how much we
are Wiling % pay for a large mer.
chant marine and whether reasons for
having it are sufficient to justify the
tax upon everything else.
| LOST MONEY ON RACES.