Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-05


good money for all concerned. Such
ships could be had for $4,000 less per
ship than they could be built for in
America and even at the higher rates
OF wages and maintenance could be
profitably run because of low first
cost. We cannot have such ships be-
cause of the onerous steel tariff and
the vicious shipping law which but
tresses 1t.
Now come the subsidy men to say:
I'VE could again gain eninepce In
marine trade If we had ship subsidy
law which would make UP the differ
ence in original cost and grow as trade
grew. whether the law held per ton
per knot or regular voyage subsidy.
To be nautical we say that Is some
thing to tell to the marines and not
to shipping men. The men who now
scheme for a subsidy law are the men
who keep the odious shipping laws on
the statute books and who have, by
virtue of their power, control OF all
the possible deep water outlets to ma
transcontinentai railroads and have
now built and are ready to run great
steamships to all possible foreign mar
kets as soon as they can get favor
ing congress to hoodwink the people
and grant subsidies. SO per cent of
which would be gobbled by them.
Next we have the subsidy man-who
is always fast to string that leads
to a railroad somewhere-to cry that
II we do not keep up the tariff we
cannot keep up the wages. What pos
sibie good can IS per day do work
ingman now when it costs $3.50 to live
ana pay rent. over that he enjoyed at
IS per day when 1t cost him but 81 to
live and pay rent? II American wages
are high. made so by the Republican
party. ostenkibiy as a result OF high
tariffs, so is the cost of living high
made so. likewise. by that same tariff
and the dividend glutton cuts coupons
at both ends of the line, while the
worker contributes his best years In
brain and Drawn and looks forward
to a penniless old age. 1t Is certain
this full dinner pair' argument Will
not be in evidence in Republican ora
tory next year.
Next comes the subsidy man in an
other guise, who claims that If the
shipping laws are changed and our
merchants permitted to buy ships In
foreign ports our shipbuilding industry
will go to the dogs. If it were possible
to hurt that industry more than 1t is
now hurt this would be good argu-
ment, but even if it were true 1t would
not excuse the prevailing robber tariff
rates on much which must be imported |
to build and fit ships. But 1t is a
solemn truth, patent as the sun at
midday, that our shipbuilding indus
tries are dead and that the tariff laws
and shipping laws killed them. These
avs add 40 per cent to first cost OF
building and 60 per cent to the cost
IF living for the men who do the work,
md combined are prohibitive to Amer
can shipbuilding and maintenance.
The Democratic policy is for clean
sweep of the throttling shipping laws;
a Just and discriminating cut in the
tariff laws and subsidy law strictly
regulated not only to aid struggling |
shipping firms engaged in legitimate
carrying trade, but to rigidly exclude
ownership of great traffic
ines and keep the subsidy where 1t
will do good to the greatest number
Of bona fide shipping firms.
If these measures should reduce the
wages of workers they would certainly
reduce the cost of living in greater
proportion and increase the foreign
commerce of the nation tenfold.