The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23

built ships that under i've years of age but they are kept under foreign flags
 However We shall now let in few free shirs. It is nonsense to assume that our better coasting trade vessels are not envolved for their special uses. Hence they are not suitable for deep-sea work so that we draw but few for our foreign work from that quarter. The lake vessels are designed for fresh water use even though many have surface condensers
 No vessel that has not been the actual prop erty of American owners for fully three months which is too far back to cause a suspicion that she was bought to meet special stua- tion, should be granted registry.
 We art subject to enough unfounded charges of breach of faith not to permit actual lapses.
 The United States Steel has some splendid ships running to South America and has really forced certain measure of equality in rates These are, of course, cargo vessels The Stand ard Oil Company has number of tankers that could be so treated that they could carry grain in bulk. The Donald Steamship Com pany has several new boats. The United Fruit Company has some fine passenger vessels and two of the 7,500-ton boats might be spared
 As regards using naval vessels for mails this is the veriest makeshift. Of course, if we had some transports in good repair we could use them, but the cost would cause their use to cease.
 In running a passenger business regular passenger ships are essential. The Govern ment should have dozen vessels like the Vaderland for such service, to be used for emergency only, but to return to transport work when the need was over.
 But if we get even six eight passenger boats in service bombshel vii, be thrown into our European commercial masters that will really hurt them in the long run more than war. We shall wake up to the fact that if we can carry good volume of freight at current rates it will be most profitable.
 We have been nursed along in the belief that while we could carry ton of freight per mile on land at fraction of the cost in Europe we can compete in bridges and locomo- 1xsr rx1< some occult change only understood by those interested in foreign ships that transformed triumphant American enterprise into inca pacity soon as it passed the shore line.
 What victory for the American people to be able to disspate this fog of foreign misrep- resentation that has defeated all efforts to up build American marine.
 We shall have an opportunity, too, to cap ture markets that can be held, once an under standing of the merits of goods is had
 When in Russia I objects made in Europe brought in under discriminating duties in favor of their place of origin and promptly relabelled Made in America
 cannot in such an article show how insur- ance must be taken in hand by the Govern ment but if we to have marine this in- fuential factor in ocean carriage must be han dled by firm hand. The treatment of Ameri- can insurance companies after the Civil War damnable and destructive.
 In the balancing of our commerce, too, now that we must compete in the markets of the world. we shall have the most tremendous aid from fourishing marine.
 Look at Germany.
 In 1881, after the French had passed their shipping bounty, Prince Bismarck laid me morial relative to this law before the German Parliament. What lesson in statesmanship it isl He said:
 There is a desire (among the French) to prevent any dimunition of the 4000000O0 or 500000000 francs profit on freight which the transport trade of the French marine service annually yields. and the Ministers point to the ,t,ln Df ,r1at ,iAt, S000,0O0 tons and with profit on freight of many million francs, can look calmly on def- cts in the trade balance"
 Now we know that both France and England have adverse balances of trade-that is, i'm ports in excess of exports. In the average year of 1896 that of France was $638S3.000. Against this the income from shipping about $60,000,000. The same year Great Brit aims adverse balance was $707 ,680000, while the credit from it's carrying trade was $641,- 250,000 So we that with either but little additional credit was needed that year from sources other than shipping to balance favor ably the commerce of these two great nations. Let us not fail to note that neither of these two intelligently governed countries has, like ourselves, recurring gold exportation panics, not from non-production but from the necessity to ship gold abroad to balance excess of imports plus foreign transportation charges exports.
 Bismarck, realizing that to preserve the bal ance of commerce in favor of nation should be the aim of it's statesmen, applied his knowl- edge as above and Germany's great commercial progress was begun. This is why those who understood the real value of merchant ma rine in the foreign trade eagerly desired free tolls in that trade.
 For while the coasting trade is a valuable factor in internal transportation and should be fostered, it does not assist in balancing trade in the way indicated above for the foreign trade
 Not only do we suffer drain of $S5O. .000,O 900 year in transportation charges. but we lose in trade possibilities several times that sum, yet so-called statesmen get black in the face telling of tariff exactions and ignore or retard efforts to aid our merchant marine.
 MT Underwood, who has grasped this ques- tion with the hand of statesman. will. we trust, be successful in time.
 His efforts to bring in few vessels to help carry products to foreign markets have been prompt and business-like. Very likely some of those who amend for attention may destroy the real usefulness of what he has done.
 The Panama Canal act permits United States registry for foreign built vessels not over five years old The age limit should be waived There are plenty of vessels twenty-five years old, that have been well taken care of, that are far better than vessels of ten years of age that have been neglected.
 If England destroys the German neet Aus tria and Germany will be near starvation in less than ten weeks. There will be interfer ence with vessels on the high seas going to neutral ports and not under the German or Austrian flag. Many English vessels will be free to engage in grain carrying as they will not fear German cruisers. What need be feared in such event?
 Distorted ideas of risk at sea with inordinate freight and insurance charges prevail. Our Goyernnient should take a hand in both and if