Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-13
NAY OFFER A SUBSIDY
Argentine Republic After
More Steamship Lines.
QUICKER WANTED
NOW IN FAIRLY FREQUENT COM
MUNICAT1oN WITH EUROPE.
Limited Service to This Country-New
Way Of Making Bread-Carnegie
Institution Publications.
QUICKER TRIPS WANTED
BY WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
| Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
There are now nine regular lines of steam
4 ers doing frst-class passenger and freight
| trade between the Argentine Republic and
| the ports of Europe. with three additional
| lines which carry freight alone and two
more-one between Gothenberg. Sweden,
| and the other between Trieste and Buenos
Ayres-wth a monthly service OF ships
of 5000 tons capacity, about to be started.
| And yet there is only one direct line be-
| tween Buenos Ayres and the ports. of the
United States, which sends a small. old
| fashioned. uncomfortable and slow steamer
about once a month. Notwithstanding the
| fact that at least two steamers depart
| from Buenos Ayres for Europe every week,
| and sometimes three, bill has been intro
| duced in the Argentine congress, with the
! Endorsement of the government, for the pay
| ment of subsidy of $4,000 in gold per
round trip for faster service between
Buenos Ayres and the following ports:
| ID Hamburg or Bremen, fourteen and a
| half days; tO Antwerp, fourteen days. CD
Southampton and Cherbonrg or Hayre, tfilr-
| teen days: "a VIgo, Spain, twelve days; t5)
Bordeaux thirteen days: go Genoa, Naples
| or Marsellle fourteen days. The bill pro-
| vides for two voyages per month both ways
! to all of these ports named; that the steam
] ers shall sail under the Argentine flag; that
the Argentine government shall have the
| right to buy them in case of war at a price
s per cent greater than their appraisement
| by board of experts; that at least two
| officers ten sailors and ten stokers of the
| Argentine navy shall be included In the
| crew of every vessel: that officials of the
| Argentine government shall be carried at
/ half rates; that the mails from Buenos
Ayres to Europe shall be carried free of
cost; that merchandise for or from the gov
eminent shall be carried at dis
count of % per cent from the regular pub
| lished freight rate: that there shall be only
one stop between Buenos Ayres and the
ports named, and that the steamers shall
pay fines of $500 gold for every hour of de-
tention except when delayed by IAN act of
God"
A Counter Proposition.
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company,
the oldest steamship company in the world
which has been sailing vessels regularly for
| 200 years or more between Southampton
and the West Indies and South American
ports. being inspired by this proposed leg
islation, has made an alternative PROPOSE
| tion to the Argentine government: % To
establish a monthly service from Buenos
Ayres and Southampton, stopping only at
Lisbon and Cherbourg and making the voy-
age In sixteen days, for $4,000 per round
trip voyage. 1t proposes to carry the
malls and comply with the other conditions
| In the bill. The second proposition reduces
| the subsidy to 1850 per voyage, provided
the steamers are allowed to stop at Rio
de Janiero. in order to take mails and
passengers from and for Brazil. The COM
pany offers to build fleet Of new vessels
| similar to the Aragon. which has been In
service since last July and is the largest
and finest ship that ever entered a South
| American port. 1t will make twenty knots
and is In every respect an up-to-date Yes-
| sci of 10000 tons register. Two other steam
| ers, called the Amazon and the Araguya
exact duplicates, are now almost completed
and will be put into commission during
| the present winter or early spring. The
Royal Mail Company offers to increase its
| feet by sufficient number Of vessels of the
| same size and speed to do the service de-
manded. .-..
The construction of these new vessels
| has compelled the competitors OF the Royal
| Mail Company to improve their fleets, and
the Pacific Steam Navigation Company is
| building two new steamers-the Ortega and
| the Oronse-which quite as fast and
| quite as modern, but % per cent smaller
registering only 1900 tons. The La Navi-
satone Generate 1taliane Company of Ge-
noa, which was recently consolidated with
| La Veloce Company of Naples. is building
| six modern steamers of 1900 tons each.
with speed of eighteen or nineteen knots,
| for the service between Buenos Ayres Bar
celona. Marseille, Genoa and Naples
The Hamburg Steamship Company is also
| increasing It's fleet. both in size and num-
Der. Ii is now giving a bi-monthly service
| between Hamburg and the Argentine ports
| The Messageries Maritimes Compaenie of
France sends a steamer every fortnight be-
tween BuenoS Ayres and Bordeaux There
| is Spanish line sailing every two weeks to
Nigo; the Pacific Steam Navigation Com
pany has fortnightly service between I.iy-
erpool and Valparaiso, touching at Buenos
Ayres. and, as l have already said there
| are several regular lines of freight steamers
"a nj fDar tor MIA ants FOR
ton and other perishable meats and mer-
chandise, In addition to their regular car
goes.
Only One Line From This Country.
And yet the only line between the Argen-
tine ports and the United States Is man.
aged by Lampert & Holt, an English COM
pany, which sends a small steamer twenty
years old or more. about once a month.
The government of the Argentine Republic
has frequently offered a subsidy to any
steamship company that will establish a
fast and regular service between New York
and Buenos Ayres. 1t has even gone so far
as to propose subsidy Of 100000 a year
for twelve voyages, and expressed the hone
that the United States government would
be equally enterprising and offer similar
subsidy. But our Congress has never seen
fit to accept the proposition. The VOYAGE
Is so long and the commerce and ma Assem-
ger service has been so meager that no
American CAPITALISTS VIII take the risk mar
ticularly as the conditions have been that
the steamers should not stop to pick nm
freight at Brazilian ports or the West In
dies. There has been no objection for them
to call at Rio and at Barbados for coal
mail and passengers. except during uuaran-
tine periods; but the Argentines have oh.
jected to having the voyage prolonged NV
taking on and discharging oargoes- at half
dozen other Brazilian ports.
Our Trade With Buenos Ayres.
One would think that there was commerce.
enough between the two countries to SUD.
| port direct line of steamers, and that the
growing trade would justify the investment.
particularly since the agricultural. CONNER
ciai and industrial development In the Ar
gentine Republic has been so rapid. During
the last eight months ending August 81,
1906, the exports from the United States to
Argentina were valued at $l602s ,325. as
against $11 ,9S7. s61 In ,a04 and So, $50 $40 in
1908. There has been similar increase In
our imports from that country, which were
valued at $1S.323. $40 in 1905, as against
81. 635. 054 during the corresponding period Of
1904 The principal imports are wool and
hides. The principal exports from the
United States are lumber and timber (about
"a. 0O0, COO, agricultural implements to the
value Of about s. 100000 year, cars and
railway construction material and supplies
n w<sn6 kSla l.,sl A.