Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-06-30
SUBSIDY Is HOPE
Of AMERICAN
SHIPPING

A very graphic and disinterested
analysis OF the merchant marine out
look of the United States following
the war has been written by Winthrop
II. Marvin OF Boston, former secretary
OF the congressional merchant marine
commission and appears in the Pacific
Marine Review. Marvin says:
1T would be grave error to as
sumo that the present extraordinary
activity in American shipyards and
sudden Increase of a few hundred
thousand in our registered tonnage
means a solution of the long.standing
problem OF the American merchant
marine In overseas trade. All this is
war baby, and nothing else. and
though the ending OF the conflict viii
leave few really concrete advantage
es, like the experience gained by our
yards in standardizing and working up
to full volume OF production. most OF
the factors which have stnbbornly
kept the Stars and Stripes off the
ocean will inevitably reassert them
selves as soon as peace is declared.
First Of these adverse factors is
the difference in the cost of operation
between American and foreign YES
sells. II our slawsaa regulations
were repealed and the British laws
and regulations adopted wholesale 1t
would still cost more to operate an
American than q British ocean vessel
Full proof of this significant fact has
been recently afforded in actual .ex-
perience under the Emergency Free
Ship Act; of August Is, 1914.
THE United States Steel Products
Company transferred nine steamers
from the British to the American flag.
Immediately the American rate OF
wages was demanded by the British
officers and crews and as a result the
cost of operation rose from 81, Ats a
month to $17,537. This was early IN
the war before the ship wages had
begun to soar the world over. Again.
W. r. Grace e Co. found that wages
and food under the American flag am
odnted to $27T3 a month as against
1891 under the British for the same
vessel.
When the great war has ended and
freight rates have sunk to their nor
NAL level this difference In the cost
of operation. of small Importance now,
will become substanti TALLY the same as
ever, and VIII again discourage the
maintenance Of ocean vessels beneath
the American flag. The new. La Fol
lette seamep's act win also make its
burden felt as there can he no pos
sible going back to Asiatic labor.
sThe question will, therefore, be an
urgent one at the wars close of how
best to equAlize conditions SO that
American ocean ships may be enabled
to retain the American flag and reg
ister
AThe swiftest and most direct meth
cd of achieving tits lis by subsidy.
The word subsidy has lost most of
its terror to inland agricultural Amer
leans who in this war have seen the
out of sight because Of lack of bot
toms. Strange to say, the organized
union seamen Of this country have
been recorded in opposition to subsi-
dyEthat is. to protection On land it
is very different as skilled labor as a
rule is IN favor of tariff protection.
The International Seamen's Union is
the only free trade Organization in
America, and this is probably due to
the fact that very few native or nat
uralized Americans are members.
Higher wages on shipboard, which
have come in with the war, will uh-
questionab bly, increase the number OF
Americans Following the ocean for a
Eivennood and those Americans will
ultimately control the seamen's union.
They WIN naturally seek to maintain
the high wage rates which make the
existence OF real American seamen
possible, and just as skilled iaborers
on shore are always otectionists, so
it is inevitable that the majority Of
American seainen will be for protec-
tfon on the sea that is, for subsidy
I'M se1f-defehse, and the American
Federation OF Labor will have to stand
with them.
The carving trade Of the world.
like the land industries, will sinevitabs
| ly go to the. lowest wage nations nm
less there is vigorous governmental
action to prevent it. And this war
has demonstrated to all the world the
SURPRISING importance OF native
shipping and of loyal citizen seamen
not only for the purpose of commerce
but for the imperative need of nation
al defense" 4
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