Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-01-23
James ], Hill and Welding Ring
Are Against Administration
Measure for Boosting For
eign Commerce.
SECRETARY REDFIELD
MAKES SHARP REPLY
Objection Is That Government.
Vessels Could Garry Com
merCe Where Private Cor
porationS Cannot,
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St Louis. Jan. ga thrce-corn-
cred debate between James ]. I'm of
St. Paul. Secretary of Commerce Red
field and Welding Ring, shipper and
ship owner of New York. developed
at the national foreign trade conven-
ton here today.
Mr.. iiill was not present but pa
per which he had prepared was read
and this drew forth n reply from Sec
retary Redfield in defense of the plan
for governmeflt-own steamers.
Mr. Hills paper on Freedom for
our Foreign Trade" said the "indls-
pensabe' condition for such freedom
was adequate ocean carriage in Amer
lean ships. To buy service by big sub
sldles was, he declared, a losing game.
The need of merchant ships In Amer
lea was almost as great as that of
other nations for munitions OF war.
In the month OF November" he
said. the exports from the port of
New York were $i2,000,000 more
than the year before. There was an
Increase of about 500 per cent In the
exports OF food products The foreign
demand must Increase In direct ratio
with the exhaustion of supplies in
warning nations How are these goods.
which we desire To sell and which
! others are anxious to buy, TO be car
ried to the oversee markets?
Only Slight Relief Given.
such a slight relief as was afford
ed by the wise removal of the prohihi-
tion OF registry OF forelgn-built ves-
sells has been given. II Is hardly a
drop In the bucket Up to the week
ending December go. 1914 American
registry has been granted to l05 ves-
| sells heretofore operated under for
! eign control. aggrgating 373.s40 gross
tons This Is not enough to prevent
| present congestion and holds out lit
tie hope for the supply of further
needs.
American cost of ship-eonstruotion
is from so to 100 per cent higher than
that abroad, and according 10 rcl
ported statement of captain Robert
Dollar, who operated ships In both
domestic and foreign trade. II costs
about $17,236 more a year TO operate
a ship OF 5000 tons under the Ameri-
can than under the British flag.
These are the disadvantages under
which our foreign trade labors.
There are but two resources. ono
a merchant marine owned and oper-
ated by the government; the other
merchant marine provided by and for
the people
Unwise Experiment.
'''rhe former just now urgently adj
voeated, Is an unwise--and would be
certainly n disastrous experiment.
Aside from the complications almost
certain TO drag us sooner or later into
the European conflict, owing to the
uncertain and conflicting claims of
national neutrality, this policy would
be followed by the total destruction
Of the private shipping interest pfl- |
Vate enterprise cannot possibly COM |
pete with a government which pays |
no interest on the cost of its ships and |
throws aside consideration OF profit |
and loss.
aWhat Is the prospect, IN this case (
Of economical management and OF /
those lower rates which the advo- /
Gates of the plan hold out as a bait /
for its adoption? We have an exact |
measure OF the fact IN some compara- /
tive railroad statistics The Panama /
railway is entirely owned and opcrat- |
ed by the United States Like most /
affairs on the isthmus 1t has been /
handled By honest and competent |
men IN their several lines We have I
It's official report for the year ended |
June 30, 1918. to be compared with
the statistics of all the railways of |
the United States for the same period.
The rate on the Panama line was 3.dS
cents per ton mile, as against, 1868
Of q cent for all the railways OF the 4
United States That Is. the goyern-
ment rate was almost five times the
rate made by private enterprise over
the entire country
Position Clearly Stated.
"At the international trade confef-
ence Of the Mississippi valley and
central west. which met at Memphis
last November, the following reBOlu-
tion was reported;
"'Resolved, that congress be urged
to enact maritime legislation looking
toward placing the American shlps
pers ana ship-ownors upon 70 basis
more nearly equal with those OF COM
petlng nations, thereby enabling
American exporters and shiw-oWntra
TO meet the competition of other nat
tlons in the ocean carrying trade.
Not more nearly equal but abb
solutely equal should be the require
ment OF American ability and Amerl-
can pride; an equality secured neither
by such protection ~ III accorded tol
the weak or by gift money IN the
form Of a subsidy but a privilege of
fered 10 the strong that he may CON
quer what Is his by right. That is the
key to an ample provision OF Amori-
can commerce which we all know 10
be possible and which Will be lost or
won according to our wisdom or our
folly
RedfieId's Reply.
Mr., Redfield. secretary OF COM
merce, replied 60 the paper prepared
by James J. Hin, which he said was
based on sufmiscs and not fncls
what does II mean" he said, 'if
to speak Of the complications almost
certain 10 drag us sooner or later into
the European conflict II has been 4