Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-09-15
.HAULING DOWN OUR
FLAG" ON THE OCEAN

manned. Apart from a few officers and
petty officers. and ''our flag" they are to
all intents and urposes alien from stem
to stern.
The transfer of these steamers to a sub
sidiary of the international Mercantile
Marine company and the subsequent an
ouncement that at least two of these five
vessels are to be used in the New York
San Francisco run, via the canal, means
that there will be no hauling down of
"our flag" But it means much more than
that. 1t means that these vessels will
soon furnish employment to white sea-
men instead of sarvile Asiatics 1t means
that they will carry more real Americans
than ever before during all their years OF
American ought to be deeply grateful even
though righteous indignation and genuine
resentment is expressed by. the poison
press because "our flag and five coolie
crews will part
There is another phase of this affair
that needs Setting right" The daily
press processes great concern over the
disastrous consequence of the Pacific Mail
company's withdrawal from the trade to
the Orient. 1t is said that trade to the
Orient is possible only with coolie manned
vessels. But again the facts are some
what at variance with the manufactured
arguments. Some years after the inaug-
VI vi llVC OAllC 0ldICS transport
Service on the Pacific the Pacific Mail
promoters sought to abolish that service.
One of the arguments made was to the
effect that private enterprise was we'll
able to take care of the trans-Paci1ct trade
and that our government was taking the
bread and butter from legitimate and es-
tablished business. Fortunately, the Pa
cific Mail company pleas were not taken
for granted. An investigation was made
and 1t developed that there were two. sides
TO the promoters plausible contention.
1t was found, for example, IL the United
States Transport Service had charged to
its credit account the voyage fares de-
manded by the Pacific Mail between San
Francisco and Manila then the transport
service would have done we'll and realized
handsome profits. And 1t should be under
stood that the running expense Of the
transport service was very much higher
than the Pacific Mail company's could pos
sibly be. For the transports employed
white crews and paid reasonable wages
while the Pacific Mail employed Asiatics
at Asiat!c wages.
This then brings us squarely to the is
sue now confronting the American peo-
pie. 1t seems to be the universal opinion
that we must nave an American merchant
marine in the foreign going trade as we'll
as in our coastwise trade. The sole ques-
ton Is how to bring this about.
Now If American s~hipowners cannot
operate American vessels in the foreign
going trade unless they are permitted to
run their ships just as they please with
out regard to the safety of passengers and
the welfare of seamen, and If the United
States government is able to do so then
why not do it?
Why not? Why did not the last con-
gress pass the McAdoo ship purchase bill?
Well, simply because the influence of the
big transportation companies and other
public service corporations was too strong.
And let it be understood that those inter
ests were fairly unanimous upon this SUBJ
! ject.