Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-23
FOR SHIP SUBSIDY
A Message From the Presi-
dent.
CONGRESS URGED TO ACT
Proposed Law in No Sense Expert
mental.
NEED EMPHASIZED BY ROOT
After His Return From His Trip to
South America in His Re-
port and Speeches.
CONGRESS URGED TO ACT
NEED EMPHASIZED BY ROOT

sage to Congress today in behalf
of the ship subsidy measure, show
ing the necessity of such legislation
if the United States desires to get
its share of the ocean carving
trade.
The President today sent to Congress the
Following message on ship subsidy:
To the Senate and House of Representa-
tives:
call your attention to the great desira-
Dlllty of enacting legislation to help Amerf-
can shipping and American trade by en-
couraging the building and running of
lines of large and swift steamers to South
America and the orient.
The urgent need of our country's making
an effort to do something like its share of
It's own carrying trade on the ocean has
been called to our attention in striking
fashion by the experience of Secretary
Root on his recent South American tour.
The result of these experiences he has set
forth in his address before the trans
Mississippi commercial congress at Kansas
City, Mo-, on November 20 last, an address
so important that it deserves the careful
study of all public men.
Subsidized Competition.
The facts set forth by Mr. Root are
striking, and they cannot but arrest the
attention of our people. The great CONT
nent to the south Of u.s. which should be
knit to us by the closest commercial ties,
is hardly in direct commercial communi-
cation with US at all, IT'S commercial rela-
hpinQ q 1r,nS witt
Between all the principal South American
ports and Europe lines Of swift and COM
modious steamers, subsidized by their home
governments, ply regularly. There is no
such line of steamers between these ports
and the United States. In consequence, our
shipping In South American ports is al
most a negligible quantity; for instance, in
the year ending June 80, 1905, there entered
the port of Rio de Janeiro over 1900 steam
ers and sailing vessels from Europe, but
from the United States no steamers and
only seven sailing vessels, two OF which
were In distress. One prime reason for this
state OF things is the fact that those who
now do business on the sea do business in
a world not OF natural competition but Of
subsidized competition. State aid to steam
ship lines is as much a part Of the COM
mercial system Of today as state employ
ment of consuls to promote business. Our
commercial competitors in Europe pay in
the aggregate some twenty-five millions a
year to their steamship lines-Great Britain
paying nearly seven millions. Japan pays
between three and four millions. BY the
proposed legislation the United States will
still pay relatively less than any one of
our competitors pays. Three years ago
the rans-Missssippi congress formally set
forth as automatic the statement that every
ship is a missionary of trade, that steam
ship lines work for their own countries just
as railroad lines work for their terminal
points, and that 1t Is as absurd for the
United States to depend. upon foreign ships
to distribute its products as it would be for
a department store to depend upon wagons
of competing house to deliver its goods.
This statement Is the literal truth.
Moreover, 1t must be remembered that
American ships do not have to contend
merely against the subsidization of their
foreign competitors The higher wages and
the greater cost Of maintenance of Ameri-
can officers and crews make it almost i'm
possible for our people who do business on
the ocean to compete on equal terms with
foreign ships unless they are protected
somewhat as their fellow countrymen who
not as country afford to hive the wages
and the manner of life of our seamen cut
down; and the only alternative, If we are
to have seamen at all, is to Offset the ex-
pense by giving some advantage to the ship
itself.
Law Not Experimental.
The proposed law, which has been intro
duced in Congress, is in no sense expert
mental. 1t is based on the best and most
successful precedents, as, for instance, on
the recent Cunard contract with the British
government AS far as South America is
concerned its aim is to provide from the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts better American
lines to the great ports OF South America
than the present European lines. The South
American republics now see only our war
ships. Under this bill our trade friendship
will be made evident to them. The bill pro-
poses to build large-sized steamers of six
teen-knot speed. There are nearly 200 such
steamships already in the worlds foreign
trade and over three-fourths of them now
draw subsidies, postal or admiralty. or both.
The bill will encourage our shipyards, which
are almost as necessary to the national de-
Tense as battleships, and the efficiency Of
which depends in large measure upon their
steady employment in large construction.
The proposed bill is of Importance to our
navy because 1t gives considerable fleet
Of auxiliary steamships, such as is now
almost wholly lacking, and also provides
for an effective naval reserve.
The bill provides for fourteen steamships,
subsidized to the extent of over a million
and a half, from the Atlantic coast, all to
run to South American ports. It provides
on the Pacific coast for twenty-five steam
ers subsidized to the extent of two millions
and a quarter. some of these to run to
South America. most of them to Manila,
Australia and Asia. Belt remembered that
while the shirk>wili be owned on the coasts,
the cargoes viii largely be supplied by the
interior and that the bill will benefit the
Mississippi valley as much as 1t benefits
the seaboard.
/ have laid stress upon the benefit to be
expected from our trade with South Ameri-
ca The lines to the orient are also Of vital
Importance. The commercial possibilities
of the Pacific are unlimited, and for ma
tional reasons 1t is imperative that we
should have direct and adequate communf-
cation by American lines with Hawa4. and