Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-06
OUR MERCHANT MARINE


is natural. and because protection to
our interests afioat and ashore may be
assured the interest grows; but it is
timely just now to look over our assets
afloat in the Pacific, or likely to be in
the next decade, to sum up our risks.
In the matter of our merchant marine
we know that our flag flies on only one
line Of transpacific steamships-the
Pacific Maitland that nearly all of our
foreign trade is carried in foreign bot
toms.
Now comes Capt. James p. Butman
of the American clipper ship e. B. SUIT
ton, in an interview in the New York
Evening Post. to say:
81 have just arrived from Cape Good
Hope. making a record passage under
sail in forty-two days, and as soon as
the ship is discharged she will be dis
mantled and converted into a coal
barge. Our miserable maritime laws
are forcing our merchant marine off the
seas.
1.-THE way the business is going to the
dogs is illustrated by the price that
these fine ships are bringing. In 1898
had an interest with the firm of Pen
dleton, Carver & Nichols of this city
in the purchase of four big ships which
we got for an average of about $32, 900
apiece. They were the Agnes Coburn,
1900 tons; Governor ROBBIE, 1900; Mary
L. Gushing, 1900, and Henry b. Hyde,
2300. In 1898 we sold them to the Cali
fornia Shipping company for half what
they had cost us, and today we are SELL
ing the r. B. Sutton, the fastest square,
rugged ship afioat, sound as dollar
and only 26 years old, for $4,000.
Then again, mates and sailors are
demoralized. The higher wages paid
during the Spanish war are responsible
in large measure for that. The mates
of today are not looking to be masters
and the young men Of today are not
going in sailing ships, so we have no
material for mates, and so the whole
business is going to the deuce"
In the matter of the sale of the ships, |
which is but another proof of the
decadence of the American merchant
marine, the causes have been so often
and so clearly set forth that the people
know the source of this shameful con-
dition to lie in the partisan congress
now in power. The Republican party, |
through its willing representatives, has
interests of railroad companies with |
attachments. and will never |
let go till subsidy sop is given, which, !
while 1t may help the American carry
ing trade. would help 1t only to help the |
and fasten their grip more
firmly upon transportation facilities.
The subject of the decadence of
American seamanship. however, is one
hat reaches to the root of our national
being. We must be a nautical people
1rst hand proof that we are degenerat-
ng, and for the reason-read between
he speakers lines-that pull with
corporate interests has taken the place
If professional effort and that officers
who used to hope to attain to a COM
nand through winning their way now
lave lost heart and live happy-go-
ucky life because the pull which they
10 not have places a novice, friendly to
in command.
Argument is unnecessary to prove
the lasting hurt such things must bring |
to our marine service, and it must |
bring the tinge Of shame to "Fighting |
Bob's" cheek to learn that he has
brought a great feet Of warships TO
he Pacific to defend our commerce in
oreign bottoms. It will not relieve that
,fflcer any to find also that the officers
Ind crews of the foreign flags are
argely Americans who have been driven
~ disingenuous corporate influences to
,Iy their only vocation under a foreign
lag.
The Republican press is busy hurting
filings at the Democratic party
or its alleged want of tenable issue in
he coming campaign. With a strangled
merchant marine, a colonial policy
ibhorrent to Americans and costly to
he public treasury; trusts controlling
he steel, coal, lumber, oil and almost
LII other needs of the people and en-
1hasizing their power by mastery of all
transportation facilities: a tariff that
Expresses all but the rich and power
'ul, producing an annual surplus ap-
hundred millions of dollars,
and coming platform for the continu-
ince of these wrongs. it is highly prob
lble that a suffering people viii find
sufficient therein to take issue with the
party in power and redeem the nation
rom it's thraldom, if upon no higher
plane than that change would be
blessing and could not possibly make
things worse than they are.
The assertion that Standard oil will