Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-22
DONE IN PHILADELPHIA

! Aday an old pamphlet written by John
Roach, the shipbuilder of Chester, which
| describes rather fearlessly the causes OF
| the decline of the American merchant
marine and denounces in positive terms what
| has been called free ships. Both these ques-
| tons are uppermost in the minds of the peo-
| pie at the present time, and 1t Is curious to
| note that they occupied a somewhat similar
position 40 years ago.
Roach was an 1rishman, who came to this
country as a boy early in the 30s, and first
went to work in foundry for % cents a
day. In the course of his long career as a
ship and engine builder he failed four times,
and, had he survived, undoubtedly would
have successfully passed through his fourth
failure to fortune again. He built four Of
the warships which were known as the White
Squadron, the beginnings Of our present mod
ern navy. and it was due to his suggestion
and advice that the United States ventured
upon the development of its navy along mod
ern lines.
TT WAS this venture that finally caused
i the death of John Roach. First he aston
shed the Naval Advisory Board by making
his bids four ships far below their esti-
mated cost. When the Dolphin COM
pleted the new Secretary of the Navy,
Although another board conducted a strin-
gent test and also rejected the vessel, Sec
retary Whitney changed his view His action
came too late Roach, with so much of his
capital tied up, stopped business for the
benefit of his creditors. He declined in health
from that time, and two years later, or in
1887, he died, broken-hearted man.
Roach was responsible for large proper
tion of the iron steamship tonnage which
carried the American flag after the Civil
War. 1t is said that his yards built in all
ia ships of the most modern type for their
day. He was naturally stern advocate for
the protection of the ship industry in this
country, and one had only to mention Clyde
built ships to him to start him off on a
TRADE
TN ROACH'S pamphlet which my friend
handed me, find an explanation of the dis
appearance of our flag from the merchant
marine of the world. when our Civil War
began" the shipbuder states, I'VE had a
large commerce but small navy, and the
latter, to protect national life, purchased
215,97S tons of our best steam tonnage. The
War Department absorbed, by charter and
otherwise, 1871 tons more. OF the re-
mander, to avoid rates of insurance or
destruction by Clyde-bult cruisers, under the
rebel flag, S01,311 tons sought refuge under
the flag of England or other European bunt-
ing, while 1O4,6O5 tons were actually destroyed
by the Alabama and other pirates
"Of the ships of all sorts employed thus
by our Government few were afterward of any
commercial value, though resod at compare
lively low rates, partly because of the altera-
tions they had undergone in the process of
adapting them to uses, but more on
account Of the revolution which had taken
place in commercial naval architecture and
in the application of motive power"
d OACH comments upon this procedure as
1N one of the most extravagant and ruinous
methods that could have been devised for
supplying the United States with navy.
But at the opening of the Civil War; as at
the beginning Of every other war in which
this country has engaged, something like this
has had to be done. We always have been
unprepared. Indeed, the method appears to
be the approved method of augmenting naval
services all over the world. We chartered
ships during the Spanish War, and Eng
land, Germany and Japan, with their subsi-
died lines, also have found it convenient to
take over certain vessels from their merchant
marine in war times.
1t has been generally understood that it
was during the period of our Civil War that
England-and to lesser degree Germany
took advantage of our preoccupation to
snatch away from us the commerce carrying
trade of the world. From 1880 until the open
ing gun of the Civil War was fired our for
eign trade increased regularly and enor-
mously, ana in 1860 1t was questioned whether
the United States merchant marine was not
first. In any case, it was a close second to
that of England.
TURING that long continued strife, how
- ever, England had her opportunity and |
was keen to take advantage of 1t. Some per-
sons may have thought that our present con-
Germ to regain our proud position on the seas
while Europe is busy is triie unethical |
but to the persons who feel that way about
it Mr.. Roach 40 years ago supplied the
answer.
Listen to this; England saw the oppor-
tunity thus afforded her and availed herself
of it to the utmost. She spent millions on
millions in subsidies under various forms;
she used even the agonies of strife for
her own advantage, and the Clyde builders
were enriched in the construction of blockade
runners, not to speak of the Alabama and
other representatives of the British neutral
service Unobstructed and unrivaled by the
only people who had shown a capacity for