Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1921-08-11
The STORY OF
AMERICAN SHIPS
SOME INTERESTING FACTS TOLD
By UNCLE TED TO THE
TWO KIDDIES.

Uncle Ted had been busy on the
back porch all morning whistling an
old sea chantey, whiting and tink-
| ering for dear life, and Ruth and
Jack rounded the corner of the
house to discover the product of his
labors taking form. 1t was beau
tiful model of three-masted
schooner With the stepping Of the
masts, the fastening Of che rigging
and the bending Of the sails the
model was completed, and both the
children calculated: ooh, Uncle
Ted, what pretty little boat! What
are you going to do with it?"
"We will take it over to the duck
pond and see IL it will SAIL" replied
Uncle Ted" and after we have tried
II out, l will tell you story about
the American shipping industry"
Al hour later, Uncle Ted having
proved his ability as a shipwrisht.
the three mariners gathered under q
shady elm, and Uncle Ted began:
Before the Civil war the flag of the
United States adorned every port in
the world. We had the makings OF
splendid maratime race in the
English of New England, Pennsyl-
yania, Maryland, Virginia and the
Carolinas, the Dutca OF New York,
| the Swedes of Delaware, and their
| descendants who had migrated to
the Pacific coast-the worlds best
seafaring stock. Shipbuilding is the
most ancient Of American industries
-as old as jamestown and older
than Plymouth. The FIRST vessel
was launched at the mouth OF the
Kennebec in 1907, the first decker
was built ON the Hudson by Adrian
Block in 1914. The rather of Amer
lean maritime policy was Governor
John Winthrop, of Massachusetts.
The growth of our snIpDuilding in
dustry was so rapid it soon excited
the jealousy of the mother country,
England, which began to pass laws
TO handicap it. AS for the. part our
ships played in the Revolutionary
war, you may read the record of
John Paul Jones during that period.
In 1888, after we gained our in
dependence, British hostility to our
shipping was illustrated by letter
] from BENJAMIN Franklin relative to
| the effect of the harbary pirates
preying upon our commerce., in
which he quoted London merchants
| as saying, If there were no Algiers
| il would be worth England's while
| to build one!' The first act of the
first congress OF the United States,
passed July 4, 1888, was a protective
tariff law--to protect our new in
dustries from the fierce competition
of European combinations. That
law allowed a reduction of ten per
cent of the tariff duties on imports
brought to this country in ships
built and owned by American citi-
zens. In 1874 this clause was
4 changed so that an addition of 10
per cent was made to the duty rate
on gosds brought over in foreign
ships. This law worked wonders In
aiding our merchant marine. and
Notwithstanding all that England
could do to impair it, by 1907 we
were carrying 80 per cent Of our en-
tire foreign trade in our own ships.
The seizures of Napoleon after that
year, and the war of 1912 which
paralyzed our carrying-trade, had
reduced Il In 1915 to "A per cent or
our total foreign trade.
Eve made peace with Great Brit
ain in 1915. Soon after, Great Brit
ain induced us to sign commercial
treaty which was our first great mis-
take SO far as our shipping industry
was concerned, for we thereby
| bound ourselves to impose no dis
eliminating duty on ships or prod
| ucts in the trade between this coun-
try and the United Kingdom. Inn
mediately thereafter, Great Britain
excluded American ships from her
West India possessions, which plac-
ed in idleness $4,000 tons of Amer
lean shipping; while the repeal Of
| the discriminating duty rates en-
abled British shippers to regain their
ascendency in our ports. Since that
time we have negotiated 80 or 40
treaties with foreign powers aban-
doning discriminatory duty rights.
Having been shut out OF the
West Indies we began deyel-
oping a carrying trade else
where, and during the decade 1920
80 we were again carrying 80 per
cent of our foreign trade. In 1928
the Reciprocity Act was passed,
which proved another blow 60 our
shipping. Great Britain availed her
self OF that act but gave nothing OF
consequence in return, while Spain
exacted large charges on our tom
mage In Cuban and Porto Rican
ports.
"In 1881 the steamship became a
factor, and until the mercantile pan
ic of 1887 there was steady growth
in American shipping. Along ABOUT
1870 Great Britain began her policy
of giving subsidies, that is, the pay
ment of a bonus to packets for car
rying mass. The Cunard line re-
ceived over million dollars annual
ly for about 20 years. This line iaid
hold Of the choicest passenger and
| freight trade. About this time VIII
| liam Wheelright, native of Massa-
chusetts, conceived the idea OF a line
down the west coast of South Amer
lea. but on seeking capital to pro-
mote il in this country he was told
that a subsidy would pc necessary.
Congress refused to give him this,
so he went to Liverpool and received
a generous one and started the IA
cific Steam Navigation Company
Had we encouraged Wheelright. che
United States, instead of Great Brit
ain. would be dominant along the
west coast of South America today.
"In 1915 congress adopted the
mail subsidy policy and our steam
ship carry trade grew from 5000 10
lis 900 tons. This period also saw
the development of the celebrated
| yankee clipper engaged in the long
VOYAGE trade to China and India.
| But in 1865 the North and South
being hopelessly estranged, all aid to
American shipping was withdrawn
Jeff Davis was then in the senate
from Mississippi. and he said he saw
mo reason why, IL We can get our
mails carried in British vessels
across the Atlantic we should estao-