New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-05-25
FREE SHIPS, SAYS HILL.
HE F4VORS TONNAGE TAX
Great NOrthern's Head Tells Ho5C
Shin Subsidy Idea Started.

James J. FIill. president OF the Northern Sc
curities Company and the Great Northern Rail-
way Company. gave his opinion Of the POSSIBLE
fties Of the American merchant marine yesterday
before the commission appointed by Congress to
investigate the subject.
The first necessary" he said, sis 20 Gre
ate a desire in the people of this country to own
ships. 1t is a purely commercial question. IL
there is a profit in it people will engage in it.
II a loss it is a question how long people will
stick Our conditions on the high seas. a
nation scent hard to meet. on land. in spite Of
high rates rofIlabor. the United States has been
able 20 work out a system without equal.
Why we are not able TO do this the high
seas is not cEear tonne. and. as far as 1 have
investigatedFit believe that no amount of direct
bonuses wilsbuild il into a life worth living.
What the COUNTRY wants is a market. Out
side of our agricultural. products-cotton. grain
oil-there are very few things export
because the cost, Of production is so high. We
cannot selIthem. If we could carry these prod
ucts in our, own bottoms it would be a source of
great profit. They kcan build ships in England
much cheaper than here. Citizens OF other
countries have owned, ships for the last forty
years TO a greater extentlthan We"
Mr.. hin said he had experience in building
two ships, the largest freight carriers in the
world, and would rathertundertake' to build one
thousand miles Of railway
IF We are going TO buy a merchant marine
out Of the Treasury of the country it won't last
long" he continued. We must give people con-
fdence TO invest In Japan they'haye built up
large marine; they have paid tonnage. our
business on the Pacific is,very hard; we have 10
compete with all nations, and they are fighting
very hard for the Oriental trade. And l think
we have placed obstructions.in the'way of this
trade. We cannot comply with regulations
placed on US and compete with ships of other
nations. We have been forced out"
Mr. Hill said that England paid only postal
subsidies His two big ships cost from 2S to 80
per cent more TO build here than they would
have abroad
Besides, have very few Sailors" headed.
GO TO Puget Sound. The heads of the unions
are the boarding house keepers. man'who is
dead broke and broken down by excuses is the
man sent TO us. Same way along shore: you
hire two hundred men as stevedores. good COM
petent men, and tell them TO come next day
They don't come long as they have money;
the others are sent: Suppose your firemen leave
your ship at some port. What are you going TO
do? Hire Asiatics; and the result is that while
you are nominally sailing under the American
flag you are sailing under foreign"
IF you viii admit foreign built ships free,
continued Mr.. HILL you Will get a merchant
marine quickly If you viii put tonnage tax
on all that goes TO a foreign market, everything
that goes out of the country. even 10 new mar
kets, think you win get the ships. That would
out of the people.
.sThe shin subsidy started in about thirty
minutes. / had induced the japanese TO take
out cotton mix with theirs, so that II would
make better yarn. The Boer war broke out
and could not get ships on the Paclhc coast
I had 10 cancel order for sixty thousand
bales of cotton in December. / came on East
and saw Senator Fairbanks and Senator Hanna
az a little reception. 1 asked why we couldn't
set ships to carry our goods. Senator Hanna
said ne would in the morning, and he
did. The result that he opened his cam
paign in Ohio on the ship subsidy"
How much do you think would be required
for subsidy" asked Senator Mallory.
"Oh 100000 or Sl500OO0O would get a
lot Of tonnage. You might take il out of the
River and Harbor hin. But tell you the great
big navigation is going to be on steel rails
THAT japanese line you spoke Of asked
Senator Lodge, SIS very shlfully SUBSIDIZED
7 talked TO Ito about this. If there is a
bounty for the line il IS so skilfully covered up
that I was not able 70 discover il. No. all the
japanese are buying the coast is a little
canned fish"
Fx-Congressnan Hervey c. Calkins. surviv
ing member of the committee in the ALlst
Congress that investigated the American snip
ping problem. declared in favor of the shipping
bill Of 1891. William G. Sewall, of Arthur Sew
all e. Co. Of Bath, Ne. said he had no faith III
free ships nor did he favor discriminating du-
ties. Alfred q Smith, secretary and treasurer
Of the New-York and Cuba Mail Steamship Com
pany. said that bringing over foreign ships would
ruin American companies and yards.
Recommendations Of the Atlantic Carriers
Association We're read. They urge discriminating
duties and an increase in the postal subsidies
Those examined in the afternoon We're a p
c. Smith president Of the American Mali se IN
ship Company. Wallace DoWney, pres.d7t OF
the Townsend Downey Shipbuilding Company;
DR.. John Franklin CrowelI interstate commerce
expert of the bureau Of statistics in the Depart
ment OF Commerce and Labor, and five sailors.
The commission viii meet to-day at 10 a. m.