Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-02-13

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listened to by those in the senate.
Senator Gallinger began with quo
tations from the late President Nc
Kinley's speech at Buffalo, in which
he deplored our inadequate steamship
service, especially to South America,
and from the annual messages of
President Roosevelt, urging that con-
gress do something for the merchant
marine. Tie practical question be-
fore u.s. said the senator. is, will
congress heed the admonitions of
presidents Mckinley and Roosevelt,or
will it continue to neglect this impor-
tant industry until the remnants of
our once prosperous merchant ma
rine is driven from the seas? Today
alone of all the nations ambitious for
expansion, the United
States neglects it's ocean shipping"
He then drew an interesting picture
OF the contrast between the condition
of our coast and lake protected
by federal statutes which are the
most prosperous and the greatest in
the world" with navy of 5,500,000
tons, and that OF the poor shrunken
fleet of $4,000 tons registered for
foreign commerce The gradual dis
appearance of our shipyards, the bank
ptcy of our ship merchants, the loss
Oh our skilled mechanics and seamen,"
he continued, though great calam-
ity, is far less serious than the cramp-
ing and whitening effect of our lack of
American ships on the export trade of
the United States. William McKin-
ley's prophetic vision in that final adj
dress of his to his countrymen saw
that without ships Of our own to con-
vey our goods to our customers, we
should be more and more hopelessly
against our maritime
competitors in the neutral markets of
the World"
AS an illustration, Senator Gallinger
asked If any merchant engaged in
sharp contest for business would
dream of intrusting to a rival the de-
livery of his goods to his customers
Should such merchant dispose of his
wagons and cease his delivery service,
even if his competitor could and
would do the work for him more
cheaply, "his fellow merchants, part
ners or assignees in the bankruptcy
proceedings that would certainly en-
sue, would have grave question of his
sanity" Yet this is exactly the po-
sition of the United States today, he
continued, which of all the great mer-
camille nations alone intrusts to it's
rivals the business of carrying it's
goods to its foreign customers "Our
formidable competitors are Great Brit
ain and the two continental nations
Bay Of Biscay," he said, What
foip nd
have done and are doing is of very
live significance to the United
States" The speaker then reviewed
at length what was being done by
Great Britain, Germany and France to
maintain and extend their merchant
marine in sharp contest with the do
nothing policy of this government
The results are apparent from the fact
that the merchant marine OF these
three countries is in fourishing con-
dition, while America has none
worthy the name. When the British
subsidized lines began to drive our
packets off the ocean, he continued,
a democratic congress, at the initia-
tive of President Polk, offered gener-
GUS mail subsidies to American trans
Atlantic lines Of which the Collins
line became the most famous and sue
cessful. England continued its policy,
while the unhappy feud between the
north and south in congress led to
the cancelling of the mail subsidies in
1858 at the very crisis of the contest
and for thirty years after 1851 the
British flag retained the mastery of
the North Atlantic. He instanced the
case Of the Pacific Steam Navigation
company operating in the South Pa
cific which was started by William
Wheelwright, an American, who OBJ
tanned subsidies from the British gov
eminent which an American congress
refused to give. BY subsidy of ST.
100000 parliament created British
steam line to the West Indies, the
isthmus Of Panama Brazil and Argen-
tine. $50 effective has been this
British maritime protectionism," he
continued, chat in the ports Of Chilli,
Bolivia, Peru and Brazil the stars and
stripes flying over an American mer-
chant steamer are now never seen,
while the British commerce which
these subsidies were given to promote,
far surpasses ours in every one of
these Latin American republics"