The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-08-27
WHILE OTHER NATIONS
ARE PROGRESSING
Speaker Also Handled Ver-
mont's Taxation Question
in Clear Manner

representative in Congress, in an ad
7 dress in this place last evening, tn
speaker coming on invitation of loca
Republicans. The chief national matte
taken up was the lack of United State
merchant marine and in state affairs h
discussed the taxation question in al
able manner.
"Why is it that 9s per cent of tht
vast European commerce of the UniteC
States is carried under foreign flags ?"
asked Mr.. Gordon, when little nations
like Sweden, The Netherlands and Bel
! GUM, in proportion to this size, share
in the carrying trade of the oceans in
3 far greater degree than we do. you
may sail around the earth and back
again and yet you will not find the
American flag in any of the seven seas
over our merchant marine for we have
practically none. We have only six sub
sidized mail ships for our trans Atlantic
service"
Providence has Just blessed us with a
marvellous wheat crop OF 930,000,000
bushels and with cotton crop of near
| ly 100000 bales and yet, what plight
we are in in view of the European war.
The great transportation companies of
| Europe have withdrawn their freighters
| from our service and left our products
stranded upon our shores. We have not
ships enough even 10 bring home our own
citizens, as we ought to have. Taking
| all our war and coastwise vessels that
can be spared it would take us nearly
four months to transport 100000 Amer.
leans from Europe to America.
Our Lack of Merchant Marine.
And why has our flag departed from
the ocean? We once carried over 90 per
cent of our own commerce in American
bottoms because our forefathers dealt
with this question more wisely than we
have done. The very first real law OF
the republic under our new federal gov
eminent, sanctioned and favored by
Washington, Adams, Hamilton, jefferson,
and Madison and passed on our national
holiday of July 4, 1889, RENTED 10 per
cent of customs duties and gave pref
erential tonnage tax on all foreign goods
imported under the American flag. In
decade our registered deep sea shipping
leaped from $4,000 tons to $4,000 and
the proportion of our commerce carried
by our own ships from % to 50 per cent.
In 1900, when our population was a lit
tie over 100000, our deep sea shipping
was about the same as II is to- day when |
our population ia nearly l00,000,0OO. |
The growth of our shipping from 1850 |
to 1907 is said to be without parallel in I
the history of che commercial world |
For the purpose of encouraging long voy-
ages to the far East our government |
levied a high duty on tea if imported
in foreign ships and a low duty if |
brought direct in American ships. An
American ship bringing 100000 pounds
Of tea from China had an advantage of
$4,000 in duties.
1t was such early laws as these that
gave us the merchant fleets of Salem,
Boston, New York, and Philadelphia
But our statesmen. largely under the
of the South that had no great
owe for the northern shipping interests,
these preferential duties after
he war of 1912. In four years we lost
over 10000 tons of shipping. But the
ll-starred convention of 1916 with Eng
and left our commerce protected in part Z
Until 1919. In 1898 the maritime
tates succeeded in passing an act abol-
shing all preferential duties against ma
ions that imposed no duties on our
hips. This was a miscalled reciprocity I
ct. Our registered tonnage gradually
ell from 90 per cent until in 1850 il
lad dropped to 60 per cent. Because of
of our shipping industries
hey had begun to diminish years before
he Civil war and that war was not the
ause of the loss of those industries, :
s some claim. The war was the cause
{ a temporary interruption, not a per- !
lanent suppression of those industries. I
When the foreign nations found that !
re had bound ourselves by treaties and !
cts against fostering our deep sea com
lercc they began an insidious policy
( subsidies. From 1884 down TO the !
resent time England alone had expend-
d S30OO00O00 in subsidies. We have
OF the figures for other nations. but !
he result has been that foreign subsi. 2
lied ships have conquered the ocean
-ade that legitimately belonged to 2
merica. We are paying an annual trib-
be to foreign ships Of over $500, 100000
,r transportation. nearly all of which
should b. the earnings of 3
merican sailors. In one year we pay Z
,reigners two thirds as much money as \
ngland mas expended in IS years to OBJ :
lin her mastery OF the oceans. So far 2
our commerce OF $4,000, 100000 is con-
.rned, this folly on our part is due to 2
le prejudice OF the South and middle Z
est against subsidies. There is a lit :
e satisfaction. though a poor one. in 2
ed in thinking that the South has 4
Ter-reached itself in its opposition to Z
e shipping industry. =
During the present year she has raised \
.arly l4.000. 900 bales OF cotton. a large q
oportion Of which must b. exported in =,
der 10 make the industry profitable y
account Of the European war and the =
TX Of a merchant marine Of our own. 3,
e price Of cotton in less than four q
seks fell three cents a pound or SIS x,
bale, making a loss in q month TO The D.
ttOn producers o. s2l0000000 on q e
lgle crop. II the amount Of the loss 4.
the present wear on q single crop -
a been expended in small amounts for ~
hsidies during the last 50 wears w- ;.
Wild to-day - carrying over 90 per q,
10 NJ our own commerce, earning s100.- ~
1900 in transportation and our ship q