The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-30
TIE DECLINE or FRENCH MARI
TINE INTERESTS.

backward state OF the foreign
OF the country. M. Charles Roux. preei-
dent OF the Compagnie Generate Transat-
lantlque. delivered an address on the sub
jet lately In Paris. In which he showed
that In 1900 the foreign trade Of France
only amounted to ten milliards two hum
dred and seventy-throe millions (i0.273,-
100000 ~francs). against twenty-five andsa
half milliards for England. seventeen for
Germany and sixteen for the United States.
Still worse. England showed a growth OF
two milliards from 1905 TO 1900. Germany a
milliard and a half. tho United States seven
hundred millions and France only six hum
drcd and twenty-seven millions.
The causes OF this condition seem. like
30 many other things in France at present.
to be due TO short sighted craftsmanship
and the blind s~elHshness Of tho organized
labor element, which appears 20 be bent
on driving tho republic to ruin. French
treaty making. the shipping interests in
sist. has been most u~nfavorable TO their
development since 1892. In the first place,
existing trade conventions which assured
reciprocal exchange OF commodities were
denounced right and left and later, when
the Government undertook to renew them.
terms far inferior to tho old ones were Sc
cured. Thus all natural tendency to trade
expansion was hampered and killed by q
tangle OF protective blunders."
The special grievance OF the ship owners.
however. In that they canno compete with
the ships OF other nations in carrying mer-
chandise because OF the expense OF building
and %equipping their vessels. The subsidies
/ paid by the Government to merchant ships
az retainer for transport and other ser
vices In case OF war are treated as negli-
gible. They altogether fail to Offset the
incubus OF the labor unions. the -syndi-
Gates" upon the shipbuilding industry.
As an illustration of the perversity Of those
bodies a striking anecdote IL told by M.
Charles Roux about an experiment which
he tried in one Of the shipyards OF his COM
pany.
The riveters had been taking life easy.
driving $50 rivets a day at a wag Of 7 francs.
or about SITS. After inspecting some Of
the English works and finding out how much
more it was possible for a man to do he
called his hands together and made them
a speech. He pointed out that IL was quite
possible for all OF them as first rate work.
men to drive 800 rivets in the same number
of hours. and he announed hat he was ready
TO give double pay for double work. Fur
Their. he promised to furnish a dinner OF
beefsteak and wine every day to all who
would reach the 300 mark.
The mon took up the proposal enthu-
siastioally and for some days they doubled
their work. took nome double pay and en-
joyei the beefsteak and the wine to boot.
But one morning M. Charles Roux received
in his Office a visit from the president OF
the general syndicate Of the trade.
Monsieur" said he, Il have come to tell
you that beginning with tomorrow the
riveters will only finish $50 rivets as for
merly.'
But" said NJ. Charles Roux. your COM
rades were quite satisfied with the new ar
rangement. They are good workm en-. and
they we're delighted to be able to take home
7 francs more every day n to get a good
meal into the bargain"
There are no good and no bad workmen
in our syndicate" said the delegate. 1T is
not just that some men should earn Il francs
and others only 7 francs a day at the same
trade. That's all
The word OF command to keep down the
product OF the days work comes from the
Government d~ockyards, IL is asserted. The
State employees seem more bent on Incidence
than profit. and their influence is corrupt
ing the entire body OF workers. And, as
M. Charles Roux said in telling the story,
what hope can there be of France SUCCESS
fully competing with other nations in any
line when an appeal to the intelligence,
the common sense, OF the producing class
only falls on deaf ears?
Another cause Of the decline of French
shipping and maritime trad In the in
feriority of the French ports. This IL largely
due to Government Incompetence and Job
berry. Twenty years ago a comprehensive
scheme for the improvement OF the larger
ports and OF the railways feeding them
was laid out. Nothing practical has come
of it. While England has been constantly
increasing her facilities, while Hamburg,
Bremen. sven Genoa have been making
strides. little or nothing has been lone for
Marseilles, Bordeaux or Havre. Some costly
improvements begun at Havre In 1893 are
not yet finished after fourteen years and
already the development In ~oceangoin1
ships has rendered the new basins inade-
quate to the new needs Of the day. The
Government engineers seem to wake up
every twenty-five years or 80 to the need
of bringing things up to date and then
they set such q pace for the work they
project that it is just completed in time
for a new start to be made.
In connection with this complaint a pro-
posal is being discussed which is really but
Q detail OF a new movement that seems to
be setting in throughout France. . move
ment Of decentralization. The dominance
Of Paris. the tyranny. so to speak. Of the
national Legislature In its ignorance or dis
regard Of local conditions and tho sone-
what wooden rigidity Of the Ministerial sys-
tenn have stimulated much thinking md some
plain speaking, and In the oourse OF q few
years results are certain to accrue. In the
meantime the great seaport towns are be-
ginning TO talk OF their right TO some sort
Of autonomy. including the power to devote
the surplus Of their income from commerce
to their own development instead OF seeing
IL drained away to make good deficits
elsewhere.
Father Curry on tho Scnkey Incident.
To TIE EDITOR or THE SUN-Sty: A monkey