Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-21

the export trade of the world and we
carry less than ~ per cent in Amer
lean ships. If war came, for instance,
between Germany and England, our
steamship trade would be paralyzed;
there would practically be no bottoms
for our trade. We are absolutely at
the mercy of our trade rivals.
The benefit of merchant marine is
seen in the great countries of Europe
particularly in England and Germany.
Merchant marine and steamships
built under subsidy, conditioned In
case of war to be at the service of the
navy, under a stipulated rental, have
the plans and details of their construc-
ton carried out under the supervision
of the admiralty.
EnqIand's Good Example
1t is said that England recently Of
fered a bonus of $50, 900 to the two new
ships of the Cunard line, the Lusitanla
and the Mauritania, on the condition
that they make over twenty-s1x Knots
an hour. In fact subsidy bullt them
and they can carry 10000 soldiers.
These vessels in time of war are not
turned into battleships, but they be-
come scouts or supply ships or trans
ports lust as the st. Louis and the
New York did for us in the Spanish
American war. They can carry large
bodies of troops and supplies and In
time of war can swoop down upon
country and because of their speed
oftentimes it is beyond the power of
the ordinary cruiser to overtake them
1t is sufficient to call attention to the
importance of Hawaii to us in case OF
war. Occupied by a hostile power,
within easy distance of our coast, there
would be no possibility of information
as to the coming of hostile fleet un-
less we have our scouts and defenders
on the ocean.
The development OF our merchant
marine would mean not only the de-
velopment of our commerce, increased
opportunities of employment for our
working people, but it would also sup
ply In time of need the ships OF the line
and seamen to man them in an aux
iliary navy. Will our great captains
of trade lay the keel of a mighty mer-
chant marine, build the ships in our
own yards, Of our own steel, and by
our own mechanics? Will our Califor-
MIA capitalists move in this matter?
1t means everything to us. The answer
means much for our future world
trade development. We have now large
interests in South America and in the
islands of the sea and no ships with
which to carry on trade with them
We build the Panama canal and have
no merchantmen to pass through 1t.
We are building. so far as trade build
ing is concerned, for our trade rivals.
1t is a practical question, too, not to
be discussed here, but at least to be
asked-When will our own shipyards
be able to buy steel of American man
ufacturers at least as cheap as the
English shipyards are able to buy it
here? With our merchant marine
crossing the seas, bearing to those vast
populations the product of our fields
and the finished work of our shops
and bringing back whatever those ma
tions have for us, the trade possibili-
ties are tremendous and every oppor-
tunity of trade should be encouraged,
Merchant Marine Needed
The need of a great merchant ma
rine must impress itself upon our COM
mercial ambitions as one of the impor-
tant means for the development of our
country, opening up new avenues or
employment for our people, increasing
our shipyards, and giving profit to our
traders. The need of a great navy pro-
tecting our trade on all seas is appar-
ent to any one interested in the larger
world commerce.
. There is no doubt that the later day
change in the worlds opinion regarding
the United States is largely due to the
action of our naval. fleet. Force I'M
presses, skill and machines are strong
notes of warning. The splendid show
ing of our men. the sound judgment,
the self-restraint the manliness and
the bravery are all indications Of the
magnificent fighting qualities of a great
nation. We are ambitious enough to
yield to no one of the great powers
in the personnel of our navy. We
should give to that personnel the abil-
ity to maintain our rights by the build
ing and maintaining of navy worthy
of our position in the family of ma
tions.
These thoughts are suggested to us
as we welcome you our distinguished
guests to our hearts and our homes.
Heroes of the Past
AS you passed through the Straits
Nof Magellan you may have thought OF