New-York tribune., 1909-12-30
HILL FOR SUBSIDIES
F4TORS SHIP BOUNTY.
attacks Limitations on Rate
making by the Railroads.

-
Continuing his series of articles in The
Worlds Work" James J. Fill. in the jan
uary number. discusses Oriental trade and
snip subsidies On the latter subject he
speaks strongly. saying:
The American ship owner IS discouraged
because ne cannot earn a reasonable profit.
The American merchant marine alone
smonE the commercial nations OF the earth
rs unsubeidized. Yet completes with foreign
vessels. government paid under one dl~-
sUise or another. so far. for some reason,
Il has been found Impossible to give proper
federal encoura cement TO cargo carriers
which the people approve ana wou!a IKE 70
see doDe-UithOut opening the Treasury
wide TO the demands of cencerns Operating
s@ift passenger steamers ana contrloutlng
little o. nothing 10 the growth OF fofelSn
trade. This the people properly refuse 10
sanction So the actual carriers or our
products TO the Orient and elsewhere fare
like Mother Huebard's cog
Then the American VINO has put his
money into vessels to be sailed under the
flag Of his country and wishes to heip his
enterprise by earning the small eoInpsns..
mails can qualify for thts only by having
his ships built by tlle high priced labor ana
out Of the high priced n aterlals OF thls
country. Offered by American citizens,
and on each departure from the home port
zor the first two years he must prove Inat Ia
one-fourth Of his crew are Arner4cSsn ~. -
zens, for the next three years II must ne
oue-thiro. and thereafter at least ohe-hali.
3lis competitors may man Ihe-5 N~essciS ~
with cheap Monaghan labor. lie must
make lower rates than they and pay highel
wages.
Discussing Oriental trade, Mr.. Hill says
that the country needs 10 rid itself OF
the Illusion that its Oriental trade is 10
he one of the big clements in its future
prosperity "a conception still lingering
Erotesouely in many minds along with the
idea that we are powerful competitors of
other nations IN the worlds markets for
manufactured Eoods-and settle down TO
saving such Of il as can be saved There
are stiu possibilities If all the transporte-
lion forces. all the people, the federal
government and the laws should unite to
protect, to encourage this traffic and to
Nberate il from the bondage against which
s. has almost ceased to struggle" MI
15iIl adds.
The history OF our trade with the
Orient Is a tale of lost opportunity.
Fifteen years ago conditions were favor
able Tor new commercial epoch in the
relations Of the Orient to the outside
advantage in dealing more largely with us
than with other nations. but d large part
might be detected al its origin, so as TO
turn eastward across the Paci1c instead
Indian Ocean. If this should prove feas.-
hle. the United States would gain an ad-
vantage not easily TO be overestimated,
would realize dream that has held the
minds OF men since the time of Alexander
the Great II was the strategic moment:
The opening Of that doorway OF oppor-
tunity for which men and nations wait,
After this development was well under
way the future depended almost entirely
upon the attitude OF the government and
the people. The railroads and the ships,
the customers and the freight were ready:
The thing could be done. but only II
those who were doing ii we're not ham
pered in dealing with that distant trade,
domestic commerce From the beginning
there We're obstacles At home TO be over
come, and these grew steadIly IN nunoer
and in difficulty The making or low rates
- secure foreign business was stopped
1t was decided that the portion OF a
through rate which applies TO transporta-
lion within this country-that is. the por-
ton covering the distance from the point
of origin OF foreign-bound freight TO its
port OF Shipments subject u regulat ton
Just the same as commerce wholly WITHIN
the United States. The railroad and the
steamship could no longer act as partners
Results may be found in the following
figures: Our exports To Asia in 1850 were
less than per cent OF those 20 II. 6,uFop.' coe.
BY 1876 they had risen 10 over L per cent
In the next three years they dropped TO
less than & per cent. L Is sharply defined
trade movement
Further attacking governmental regula-
ton Of railroad rates. Mr.. Hill says that
direct restraint on foreign trade is in
volved in the Limitation Of the rate-nak
ing power. over commerce on the high
seas he writes neither Congress nor the
Interstate Commerce Commission has any
direct authority. But their indirect control
can be made complete and decisive" Fol-
lowing up this idea, he gives this illustra-
ton
: through rate is made, say from Chi
cago 10 Yokohama That through rate IS
the affair Of nobody but the transportation
system that gives il and the merchant who
gets IT, Formerly the rate was made such
II would get the BUSINESS, because this was
new trade. which il was desired TO secure
for the producers of the United States. II
exceptionally low rates had TO be given on
line OF business or a heavy consignment,
TO take il aWay from the British or Ger
man or Belgian competitor, they were
given
Il was possible 20 make them because
heavy shipments TO the Orient usually
meant cars loaded TO their capacity and
an uninterrupted long haul. These condi-
fions are favorable to d low cost Of trans
l.ortation. Then Jhc railroad companies
and the steamship company adjusted the
matter between them Each bore Its pro
vor-ion of the sacrifice. Each helped the
other 70 get the business and all of them
helped The country by creating II and keep
ing Il for the country. Whatever may be
true of local traffic or against domestic
competitors this method is Indispensable
against the outside world If We are TO
compete for foreign trade For our trade
rivals abroad are UnhampeTed-