The daily times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1902-1936, 1919-07-31


Wilmington, July 31.-Wilming-
ton and the Press Convention waited
in high anticipation the coming Of
Secretary Daniels today who was to
address the newspaper men at
Wrightsville, and then at 1890 aC-
cording to the program was to deliY-
er an address before the Committees
from the city and the Press and the
workers at the yard at the launching
of the reinforced concrete ship, "Cape
Fear The Secretary was unable
to deliver the address before the
Press Association but did speak at
the ship yard at 1890. He was de-
layed by the late arrival of his train.
In the course of his address Mr..
Daniels said that the United tSates
was on high road to being the
dominant commercial country of the
world and that the commerce of
America should never again be car
in part as follows:
Since the days of the Argonauts
the romance of the sea has been an
impe1ling factor in the affairs of
men, The opal sea, with its cease
less motion, with its far-reachi q
horizon. leading to the uttteszftfost
parts of the world, has caileG witn al
Turing romanticis.n to the youth OF
,al1 kinds.
Practical minds have capitalized
that romanticism for the benefit of
mankind. The former greatness OF
Bruges, Antwerp, Venice, Genca anu
;many other ancient and mediaev ~
cities and lands owe their place in
history to those who went down to
the sea in ships, And if sea power
meant SO much in those ancient
and medieval times when primitive
craft piled the sea, when cargo han
ding and sailing was matter o.
muscle rather than machines, when
brute strength occupied the STAGE
how much more does sea pow sr
mean today?
From the earliest times the Colon
les and then the Federation main
tanned a maritime trade with the
world, their little ships and small
craft piled an increasing trade with
J all lands. The clipper, an American
!. product, swift and beautiful, gave
, such an impetus to our shipping that
by 1855 we carried $45O,O0O,O00 of
our foreign commerce in cur own ves-
sells, being over 70 per cent Of cur
: foreign trade.
Intent on internal development
and the exploitation of manufactures
Q and failing to appreciate the need of
: / a large merchant marine, soon made
inroads in our shipping and by 1870.
q we had given way to foreign vessels,
carrying only 33 per cent of our for
= eign trade in our own ships. BY
9 continued short-sightedness, and fall
: ing to see that large national pros
+ tperity is dependent on the ability to
: carry our own products on the sea
we found ourselves in 1890 carrying
only II per cent of our foreign COM
9 merce; the downward course was
swift; in 1910 we carried only 10
per cent of our foreign trade.
II Our narrow and disinterested pol
# icy, while putting us in such condi-
q tion with respect to our imports.
Q placed us in an even more humi1iat-
v ing status respecting our export
q trade. When we were alive to our
d duty and exercising our right to use
> the sea in 1855 our ships carried
- $3.50 worth of every hundred dol
y lars worth of our exports; but i'm
r. 1910 we had dwind1ed to the insfg-
: nif1cent sum of $3.50 out of each one
q hundred dollars worth. And to
make the decadence more significant
it should be rememb bered that while
our total foreign trade in 1856
, amounted to $540,00O, 200, it had in
- creased to $4,000, 600, 900 in 1910
ID We had practically placed the carry.
ing trade of this nation into the hand
A. lof foreign shipping; other nations
ce did our work, and took as theil
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