The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-05-25
TONNAGE BOUNTY.
j. j. HiH's Prescription for Establish
ing a Merchant Marine.

JOINT congressional committee which
is investigating the causes of the de-
cline of American shipping.
The first thing necessary said
Mr. Hill. lis to create a desire in the
It is a purely commercial question. If
there is a profit in it people will en-
gage in it; if a loss, it is a question
how long people will stick.
Our conditions on the high seas
as a nation seem hard to meet. On
| land, in spite of high rates of labor.
the United States has been able to
work out a system without an equal
why we are not able to do this on
the high seas is not clear tc me, and
as far as 1 have investigated 1t I be-
lieve that no amount of direct bonuses
Will build it into a life worth living
What the country wants is 2 mar
ket- Outside of our agricultural prod
ucts, cotton, grain, oil, there are very
few things we can export because
cost of production is so high. We
cannot sell them. If we could carry
those products in our own bottoms it
would be a source of great profit.
They can build ships in England
much cheaper than here. Citizens of
other countries have owned ships for
tent than We
II have had experience in building
two ships-the largest freight carriers
in the woodland 1 don't want any
more.
Il would rather undertake to build
4sUUU IulleS OF railroad than two ships.
1t has taken four years instead of two,
what through strikes and other de-
lays.
If we are going to build a mer-
the country it won't last long. We
must give people confidence to invest.
In Japan they have built up
large marine; they have paid tonnage,
but 1 do not remember the details.
Our business on the Pacific is
nara; we have to compete with all ma
tons and they are fighting very hard
FOR the Oriental trade. and think
that we have placed. distractions in
the way of this trade. We cannot
comply with the regulations placed on
US ana compete with ships of other
nations We have been forced out.
don't think you will make much
or a success of buying a merchant
marine; it won't stay with you You
must get people interested, but there
| does not seem to be much disposition
on the part of the people to 20 into
shipping
In answer to a question of Repre-
sentative McDermott. Mr.. Hill said
| that his two big ships cost 20 to 80 per
cent more to build here than abroad
aodlng' Beside, we have very few
sailors even on pleasure ships. Go to
Puget Sound-the heads of the unions
are the boarding housekepeers A
man who is dead broke and broken
/ down by excuses is the man sent to
US Same way along shore. You hire
zoo men as stevedores, good, com
| petent men, and tell tn EN- 40 come
next day. They don't come as long
sent. -
Suppose your fremen leave your shin
| 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 sail
/ Ing under a foreign. You might lust as
well try to catch a blackbird in the air
as to make these fremen come back.
/ a foreigner might come in and take
away our coast trade, but let me tell
you that on the lakes the lowest rat es
/ are paid that are paid anywhere in the
world SIX years ago wages were high
but ingenuity and dispatch gave the
best service in the world
Mr. McDermott pressed the question
Of governmental aid.
/ But is the government able to go far
enough?" asked Mr.. Hill. IF you will
| admit foreign built ships free" he said.
you will get merchant marine quick
How are we going to get back a
merchant mariner" asked McDernott
IF you are willing to put a tonnage
tax on all that goes to a foreign market
everything that goes out of the country
even to new market. I think you
would get the ships. That would come
out of the people. The ship subsidy
started in about 80 minutes. I had in
duced the japanese to take our cotton
to mix with their own so that it would
make a better yarn. The BOer war
broke out and we could not get a ship
on the Pacific coast. I had to cancel an
order for $4,000 bales of cotton in De-
cember. l came on east and saw Sena-
tor Fairbanks and Senator Hanna, /
asked why we could not get ships to
carry our goods. Senator Hanna said
he would see me in the morning and he
did. The result was he opened his cam
paign in Ohio on ship subsidy"
Then your remedy?" asked Mr.. Nc
Dermott, lis an export bounty?"
Sc
You seem to be very pessimistic
over the outlook" said Senator CALM
THAT is because have looked at it
built those two ships as a regulator, to
try the experiments.
There are two courses open: either
an export bounty or government as
sistance, which would rise into very
large figures"
Then you are convinced that we
shall have to give some sort of govern
menr aid or go out of business % asked
Senator Lodge.
Exactly if you fix a limit of ten
years on the subsidies the favored par
Ety must make the cost of his plant in
the ten years. Otherwise he will sell
out to the other fellow"
How much do you think would be
required for subsidy" asked Senator
Mallory.
HOh, s1O.OOO.OOO or s15,OOo,OOO would get
a lot of tonnage. You might take it
out of the river and harbOr bill. But I
tell you the great big navigation is go
ing to be on steel rails"
THAT japanese line you spoke of, =
asked Senator Lodge. lis very skillful-
~ subsidized is it not2'
4 talked to Ito about business. he
was with me two or three days and is
very capable. If there is a bounty it is
so skillfully covered up that I was not
able to discover it.
Emporia, Kas-. May 25.-The first
LIQUOR smashing the county has had